RHUM

Especially for such a  big outfit, there's a remarkable precision to shows by The Herd. From the friendly crowds like Splendour to the projectile-hurling bogans at Pyramid Rock to the pub gigs for 500 people, these guys come up with the best show for the occasion, and deliver on it. We're lucky to live in a decade when they've played so often: in future, they should be regarded as one of Australian music's great live acts.

A lot of the energy comes from the unusual configuration of having a front three. Urthboy is the impish intellect and people-wrangler, Ozi Batla plays the enforcer, and singer Jane Tyrrell (the heart and soul of the band, for mine) charms and elevates the audience. The effortless way the three throw the spotlight from one to the other means that no-one gets bored with the presentation. Plus, they always look like they're having the best time.

Lots of freestyles and rewrites injected fresh relevance to older work, and the bits from the forthcoming record (August 26) sound pretty spot-on. They'll be touring soon - even if you're not a hip-hop fan, go and catch what is purely a great live performance.