It’s a strange time in Melbourne. Over the last year or so, the town has changed drastically, and it only feels like we’re now paying the price: the weather is freezing, the pubs are smoke-free and threatening a close of doors at 2am and alco-pop tax is waiting in the wings. But no matter what restraints are placed on our gig and boozy weekend culture, good music and good venues still reign supreme. The Toff is a prime example, bringing more and more brilliant live bands to Melbourne, all housed in a warm interior. And with Perth’s number one young band, Institut Polaire, co-headlining with Sydneysiders Cuthbert & the Nigh Walkers, there’s still plenty to love about Melbourne in wintertime.

Cuthbert & the Nightwalkers, full of exuberant performance skills and painfully catchy pop harmonies, blew the seated audience out of their chairs with an energetic, precise set. With an album under their belt already, this eight-piece has developed their own style and they stick to it: “they’re a twee Arcade Fire,” WB’s Ed Butler was heard to mutter, and he was bang on the money. With their penchant for harmonies, pounding rhythms and ear-shattering dynamics, they play with the gusto of the Montreal band, but littered throughout is a playfulness that gives them their own little touch of cheek. A great deal of the time, this is through the lyrics: lines about Vegemite and favourite colours offset the melodramatic instrumentation.

But Richie Cuthbert himself, lead singer and superb frontman, is for the most part drowned out by the almost unconscionable sass emanating from his female-vocalist counterparts; they stare down each and every member of the audience, pouting as they add their own vocal touches (whether audible or not...). It’s not difficult, however, to fall by the wayside, or be swamped even, when you’re on stage with such an enormous number of people (but vocalist and quasi-multi-instrumentalist Giulia Polito managed to draw a great deal of attention in her front-and-centre position). The crowded Toff stage was then stretched to breaking point when, in their finale, Cuthbert, with admirable chutzpah, invited members of Institut Polaire to join them to belt out a few lines. Cuthbert & the Night Walkers were, quite simply, extraordinary. Without doubt, they’re the best band I’ve heard from north of the border for a long time.

Institut Polaire took the stage to rapturous applause. It was clear that, although co-headlining, they were the drawcard for the evening, having had a little more coverage in this town than their counterparts. Belting out a few numbers to which the crowd could sing along with thanks to an acclaimed, if strangely frustrating EP, Eric Hecht and his band looked as comfortable as can be in front of the packed house. Rather than their joyous, dramatic co-headliners, Institut Polaire have a seriousness to them that lies eerily beneath the joking remarks and seemingly at-ease demeanours. On the EP, you heard it through ‘Lullaby for a Warmonger’, but tonight the ten-minute epic ‘To New Holland’ was most definitely the centrepiece. The song comes in waves: gradually building, then being razed to the ground with superb craftsmanship. If, as Hecht uttered onstage, this track is to be the opening number on their forthcoming record, it will be both an incredibly beautiful way to begin and the gutsiest choice as an opener since Augie March pointed at ‘Hole in Your Roof’ and said, “that one!”

Rightfully neglecting to do an encore, the band sauntered offstage, exhausted, leaving the crowd positively beaming. Whether it was the bouncy pop genius of ‘City Walls and Empires’ or the intensity of the newie that stuck with you, Institut Polaire again showed why they are such a tantalising prospect of a band.

There is one final thought for the night: if the aforementioned Augie March release another album of the lacklustre quality of Moo, You Bloody Choir, there will be numerous bands lining up to take the mantle of “Australia’s best band”. Tonight, we witnessed two truly great young bands, each deserving of a claim in that highly-talented pack.