Mammal @ The Annandale Hotel,Sydney (13/03/09)

Mon 16th Mar, 2009 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE.

There is nothing better than entering the Annandale to the typical music venue smell. You know the one; with its combination of sweat, cigarette smoke and alcohol. Being a gig that involves one of the Aussie heavy rock bands, you also know you’re going to be able to play “spot the band shirt”. Tonight involved differing ratios of Cog, Tool, Karnivool and of course Mammal shirts.

Jerrico started off the night with some good, solid heavy rock with just enough grunt in the vocals to warm up the crowd. Their sound is, at times, similar to that of Dead Letter Circus and was very well received by the small but supportive audience.

Up next was Superb Lyrebird, a Sydney act with a sound that borders on prog-rock, with its spacey instrumentals and haunting vocals. The anticipation in the room was palpable, but the band managed to keep the crowd focused and entertained.

Even while still setting up and doing soundcheck, the Mammal boys already had the crowd chanting for them. When the lights did finally go down and the screen came up, the applause was deafening. The crowd was duly rewarded for their patience with the cutting guitar riff of The Majority turning the room into a frenzied sweaty mass of bodies. It continued through The Aural Underground, with the Annandale groaning from the brunt of a packed house.

Mr Devil followed, with some help from none other than Lucius Borich, drummer for prog rockers Cog. An amazing violinist then accompanied on My Religion: two perfect choices for guest performers. But it was Smash the Pinata that really erupted, with the band cloaked in a smoky haze as the temperature rose and the crowd pounded the floorboards. The power and force in Zek’s vocals as he screamed, “We want it all” was nothing short of electric.

Mammal really does have every base covered: a powerful rhythm section, guitar riffs that give you chills and a lead singer with more energy than a kid who has just downed a litre of red cordial. So what’s the moral of the story? Down some red cordial and buy a ticket to a Mammal gig.