I first heard Gotye perhaps 4-5 years ago on Radio Paradise, an online radio station that has been responsible for introducing me to a lot of new, interesting, and lesser-known music over the years. The song most played was "Heart's A Mess" and while I really enjoyed hearing it, I didn't pursue more of his music until his single "Somebody That I Used To Know" came out this past year. I heard it before it blew up on the radio (and online) and knew then that he was someone I needed to check out more and see live if I could. By the time he came around to the Bay Area, he'd become popular enough to fill the relatively large Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and for an artist who had never toured visibly in the area, that's pretty significant. With that new-found fame came some issues however, at least for fans. The Bill Graham Civic experience was crowded and I had a fairly poor view from the floor. But even so it was a good show.
It was plain to see that Wally, the front-man, is an incredible musician and vocalist, and that his song writing talent ranges much further than even the fairly disparate major singles I'd heard before, mentioned above. I had in fact already delved into the album he was touring on at the time and really enjoyed the range of material there. In this particular show he seemed to stick mostly to newer material, with a few older songs, and the fact that it was only an hour and 15 minutes (or so) probably speaks to that fact. I was disappointed in the short length of the show, I must say, but still the energy and performance on display was worth it. He has a talented band, he himself is a multi-instrumental whiz, and his unique voice has a surprising range and power to it. Definitely one of the more unique artists to go mainstream in the past 10 years.
Since this show I have been to see Gotye a second time and that was even better, with a much longer set, and an incredibly choreographed projection/light show (I've already written that review). So with 2 out of 2 shows being good, I'd say odds are pretty good you'll enjoy him too.