The photos from this gig are available here
In the middle of one of Brisbane’s coldest winters in recent history, The Mess Hall warmed up punters with an electrifying set, ably supported by two local Bris-bands.
Stature::Statue get things off to an extremely raw start, to an almost empty Zoo. The music of this frenetic four-piece is all barreling guitar chords and dark basslines, propelled forward by the drumwork of the manic James, who handles each songs numerous tempo changes with ease. The guitar play is excellent, especially from second guitarist Eddie, and Luke sings like a man possessed by demonic musical forces. Sitting somewhere in the void between And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Cursive, Stature::Statue may never be radio darlings, but if you like your wall-of-noise rock dirty and demented, these guys should be your new favourite band.
The flannie is out in force tonight, and that has as much to do with local grunge band Violent Soho as it does the headliners. Opening numbers Son Of Sam and Bombs Over Broadway sound terrible, ruined by poor levels in the mix, and the constant whine of feedback from the mic of frontman Luke Boerdam. But Jesus Stole My Girlfriend sees them back to their chunky best, and the crowd, which has now packed tightly at the front of the stage, responds in kind. The bassline of new song Slippery Tongue strikes straight to the heart, via the feet, and the boys are getting better and better as the set goes on. A dirty version of radio single Love Is A Heavy Word, and an amped up rendition of Generation get the moshpit moving, and when they end with the vitriolic Muscle Junkie and the typically psychotic Scrape It, the band have turned a poor start into one of their tightest ever performances.
Tonight’s backing music has been a bizarre mix of indie rock and Jay-Z, so it’s slightly surreal when Jed Kurzel and Cec Condon aka The Mess Hall take the stage to Jay-Z’s Takeover. Still, they clear all hiphop out of the system with the crash and bang of opening number City Of Roses. It’s full steam ahead for this dirty footstompin’ balls-out rock duo, as they rip straight through Shake Shake and Pills, and the pulsing bass thump which sits behind Pulse, although programmed on a loop, is still visceral. Guitarist Kurzel has just an inkling of showman in him, pausing occasionally to gesture for acclaim from the crowd, and the always-exciting Condon drums with his whole body, right up to his bouncy afro. Metal And Hair and Disco 2 get a huge cheer from the crowd, while more programming is required for the bass line of the soft ebb and flow of Cookie. This allows Jurzel some room to play with his guitar parts, and flesh out his vocals, both to good effect, and the song really takes off in a rocked out second half.
Lorelai shouldn’t work without the piano that forms the core of its recorded version, but Kurzel plays it soft with the guitar, and it soars. The pair then whip the crowd into a frenzy with the one-two rawk punch of Disco 1 and Keep Walking, with the latter having an extra chorus added at the end, by which time the crowd is dancing all the way back to the sound desk. The boys take a short break, and return to play Skyline and Diddley from their fantastic debut album, Notes From The Ceiling. It’s a notably short set tonight, as was their last trip to the Zoo in April, and it would be nice to see them play some more songs from latest album Devil’s Elbow (although admittedly many of those songs require three people to play, as they had the assistance of producer Burke Reid (Gerling) on the album). Still, it’s another fantastic show from The Mess Hall, and as long as they keep coming to Brisbane and playing sets of this quality, their solid fanbase should continue to sing their praises.
