Songs to match the gimmicks: White Denim live in London

That could not be truer for any act than White Denim tonight (11 Oct). The heaving venue is a flurry of whispers and excitement as those in the audience fiddle with the plastic 3D specs they were given upon entry, and a huge backdrop sits behind the band’s gear onstage. It’s anyone’s guess what they have in store.

It is however fully expected that tonight will be a very special performance for White Denim; not only is it one of the hottest tickets in town, it’s also the biggest headline show the band have ever played anywhere. It highlights their recent meteoric rise, particularly off the back of this year’s feisty album Stiff.

Taking to the stage with a brute feistiness that almost makes you blush and blasting in with their signature Southern garage rock in the form of a no-nonsense instrumental, they lay the foundations of the evening and prove themselves more than capable of filling the venue both with sound and ticket buyers.

The backdrop dances with a confusing and mesmerising array of disjointed images that bombard the senses, but unfortunately anyone standing there with their 3D specs on is left looking like a fool as the images stay in a perfectly 2D format.

Fortunately for White Denim, they haven’t rested their hopes on the success of the 3D gimmick and tunes such as "Real Deal Momma" and "Ha Ha Ha Ha Yeah" bring a real feeling of plain good fun while they effortlessly lick around complex rhythms, time signatures and improvisation. The whole musicianship of the recently restructured group is impressive on its own, but it only helps that they have a whole heap of tunes under their belt as well.

"Take It Easy" provides one of the evening’s only tender moments, where frontman James Petralli brings down the fret-busting whirlwind and smoothly creates a new dynamic. As impressive as their seismic riffs and pounding instrumentals are, it would have been interesting to see a bit more of this side to the garage rock jokers and would have been a great way of upturning the set, however this rare moment of calm didn’t last long and it’s straight back to business.

Tonight is simply a masterclass in what American garage rock should be – balls-out, goofy good fun supported by a myriad of excellent musicianship. And even though the crowd were slightly flat at the beginning, but the end of a 17 song set that ends with an encore of "Pretty Green" and the heavy bass-drive of "Mirrored In Reverse", it becomes absolutely clear that White Denim have more than fulfilled expectation and have fully conquered the Roundhouse. Next stop – the O2 Arena?