IT’S not every day the fire department shows up to a rock gig.
But that’s how hot Reece Mastin was on Saturday at the Lakes Theatre.
Smoke machines set off alarms with the system needing to be re-set after the show.
But it could just as easily have been Mastin’s brand of blistering rock which sent the fire alarms into overdrive.
A former X-Factor winner, Mastin has yet to reach the dizzying heights of success some of his reality television counterparts have enjoyed.
But none of that mattered to loyal fans who screamed, squealed and swooned to the teenage rocker who may just be the first person to ever utter the f-word in the Mandurah Baptist College theatre.
Chatty and gracious, Mastin treated the half-full venue to a full pelt rock show, turning the auditorium into a sweaty hive of star-struck girls.
Opening with the title track off his new album, Mastin reached Led Zeppelin heights before bringing his back catalogue to the fore.
Highlights included Shout It Out and Shut Up And Kiss Me, but it was a funked up version of The Way You Make Me Feel and a pitch-perfect Paradise City that stole the show.
Accompanied by his band, which included rock royalty’s Mahalia Barnes, Mastin proved he was more than just a pretty face.
Howling vocals echoed The Darkness and a heavier sound called to mind metal bands of the late 70s/80s.
Mastin has more than shaken off the manufactured machinations of on-screen talent shows and looks set to take on the world on his own terms.
I Wish I Was A Rock Star may be one of his anthems.
And it looks like Mastin’s wish has come true.