Mammal have long established themselves as one of the “must see” local bands for many reasons, including explosive live performances, an outspokenly charismatic frontman in the form of Ezekiel Ox and a blisteringly heavy sound that is tempered by the “groove” quality.
Mammal’s appearance at the Hi-Fi Bar celebrates two equally important events – the Hi-Fi Bar’s 11th birthday, as well as the official launch for the first single: Smash The Piñata, rumored to be the title from the forthcoming album.
The band were greeted by legions of fans decked out in Mammal attire, mingling around the mosh pit, which had been divided by a runway. The stage itself was decked out with little piñatas in the form of red and black horses with red eyes.
Seated behind the drums, with two sticks in his hand was Zane Rosanoski, shirt off in anticipation of temperatures rising. Guitarist Pete Williamson was resplendent in his customary black shirt, as was bassist Nick Adams with four strings in his hand. On the end of the runway, flat hair and sideburns replete was none other then Ezekiel Ox, with the mic in his hand, fixing the crowd with his trademark ten-yard stare.
The set was a pleasant mix of new and old tracks, including Hell Yeah!, Groove Junkie, Nagasaki in Flames, new track Majority, a re-arranged version of Think and of course, Smash the Piñata.
The band were in fine form, at moments, it was difficult to tell who was more entertaining to watch – Ox as he struggled with a non-responsive microphone (resulting in a instrumental version of Inciting), or Adams’ manic dancing through all the tracks.
Basking in the adulation of the capacity crowd, Ox appealed to all to get up and dance, sing along and clap. Halfway through the set, they paused to issue an apology to the crowd regarding the after-party, before launching back into the crazy, infectious performance that had the whole room on their feet and moving along, be it feet shuffling, or full on knock-out dancing.
After a too-short set a hair’s breadth from an hour, Mammal left the stage, Ox returning to thank the crowd in his usual exuberant manner, and inviting all to stay and continue to party on with the band.
Yet again, another amazing performance from the band who continue to improve with every live performance. Can they do better? Stay tuned to find out, as Mammal have announced more tour dates preceding the launch of their upcoming album due out August 30th.
deft ones
said ages ago