2007 saw the man who is Devonte Hynes break free from his previous mould, crafted for himself while playing with hip hop punk hybrids Test-Icicles, and form a new guise as Lightspeed Champion. Now the time is 2008 and all signs point to the likelihood that this new folk infused form will out live, out grow and out succeed the achievements of his former band.

But before we get ahead of ourselves lets have a few worthy words for the support – Operator Please. Operator please consist of 5 teenybopping Australians who probably would been asked for ID entering the bar area had they not been performing that night. Despite being young in age Operator Please play like a band in full swinging maturity. The inclusion of a violin into the line up adds a tint of folksiness that goes some way to separating them from so many of the other breakthrough indie bands that are flooding onto the musical market. Operator Please played to a relatively passive crowd but each song was greeted by generous applause and you got the feeling that other than just warming up the crowd they managed to sneakily swag a few new fans to check out their myspace page when they got home (see bottom). The talent of the young band was really exemplified by their performance of “Just a song about Ping Pong” – the only song I have heard that has a drum and bass remix that is slower than the original. So certainly a band to keep an eye on if you like your indie a bit different and filled with bags of energy. A great performance but it was clear that the punters had paid their good money for only one man that night. Roll on Dev ‘Lightspeed Champion’ Hynes.

Dev was welcomed to the stage with rapturous applause and all eyes fell on him to see how he was going to kick off a set based on 1 album, 3 e.p.s and 3 successful singles. After stepping back somewhat to fully appreciate his skinny tweed slacks and fluffy Cossack style hat the crowd were treated to a rendition of a new happy birthday song. This set the evenings tone for a performance riddled with unexpected charms.

One of the great talents of Dev is his ability to transfer his recorded music to the live stage. From listening to an album consisting of a huge range of different string and percussion instruments it seems hard to imagine how well this will be pulled off. On this topic Lightspeed champion fires on all cylinders, with great renditions of album tracks and singles that don’t loose any of their impact being played in variant forms compared to how they are recorded. These indie-folk favourites were not alone and were interspersed with some new, more electric guitar based, material to mix it up somewhat. Of particular note was an electric guitar fused shredding solo to kick off the song ‘Dry Lips’. In this way the audience pay a fair price to trade certain aspects of songs heard on the album to get new live flair that they will more than likely never hear again. It all makes up for a particularly unique and enjoyable experience – especially the inclusion of a bass powered Imperial March pulled straight out of the Star Wars soundtrack (what a trooper).

Dev also seemed much more confident than he has been when I have seen him in times of past. A lot more audience interaction displays the endearing appeal of a genuinely nice bloke who is seemingly enjoying performing his music as much as other people are enjoying listening to it. All of this adds, further still, to the treat of witnessing a true performance when you buy a ticket to see Lightspeed Champion.

Devonte Hynes is undoubtedly an incredibly creative and talented man. He isn’t afraid to put on a real performance and it seems clear that the motivation for him to try and wow an audience comes from his passion to make fresh music and not get tied down to the same boring routines. The 3 times I have seen Lightspeed Champion have all been unique in their own way and this is a rare achievement considering that they have all been within about 5 months of each other. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go and watch Dev and the band perform once again because I have full confidence in his ability to come up with new ideas and fresh songs to keep the experience as good as ever. The only suggestion I would have for the man is that at some point it would be nice to see an orchestral Lightspeed Champion tour to breathe the fully envisioned life that is captured on the album into the performance. But don’t get me wrong I am more than happy to keep seeing Dev perform as he is till then.

Get a CD or go see this man faster than Lightspeed will carry you.