Mindless Self Indulgence @UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney(11/04/09)

Tue 14th Apr, 2009 in Gig Reviews

As a small and intimate venue, the thought of the Roundhouse as one giant, sweaty, drug-fuelled party is suffocating. Add to the frenzy – œ80s-influenced synthesisers, gothic ravers and strip-teasing vocalists, and you have Mindless Self Indulgence.

Supported by the South Coast’s Spazmoo and Brisbane’s The Red Paintings, MSI made their only Sydney performance on the – œIf’ tour one of bad behaviour and relentless energy. First onto the stage, male duo Spazmoo warmed up the eccentrically dressed crowd with their bluesy stoner rock. Almost a contrast to the maniacal genre that is MSI, Spazmoo’s performance was tight, yet their musicianship was not enough to maintain the attention of the crowd. Some early technical difficulties also added to the band not making a valid connection with their audience.

Unfortunately for indie-darlings The Red Paintings, the technical difficulties continued into their set, forcing them to cut their performance short. However despite this and vocalist Trash McSweeney’s guitar not working, the band was true to their reputation. Creating a haunting, eerie atmosphere through their evocative orchestration and unique stage costumes, The Red Paintings had an enormous amount of support from the crowd. Packing their short set-list with songs composed of suspenseful vocals, dark break-downs and contrasting violin/cello solos, the band overcame the immense sound problems to deliver a beautiful set. Finishing with their renowned cover of Mad World, McSweeney’s agonisingly stunning voice encouraged the entire crowd to launch into a waving sing-along.

As many began to flock to the bar, MSI surprisingly filled the room with the pounding, electro introduction to Shut Me Up, inciting a dancing frenzy across the venue. The previous sound problems had suddenly disappeared, and Jimmy Urine appeared onstage in all his rock god glory. Pirouetting on Kitty’s drum kit, Urine was a blazing source of energy, jumping and screaming his way across the stage.

Having done some serious research before their tour, Urine and guitarist Steve Righ? threw out some Australian insults in-between songs (“Tonight is the night you can make up for all Paul Hogan’s mistakes!”) before breaking into highlights Never Wanted to Dance and Stupid MF. Urine’s vocals were angsty, yet completely suited for the electro punk four-piece; his screeching voice blending perfectly with the party-driven drums, loops and thrashing guitar. Ever the entertainer, Urine was a picture of bad behaviour; light-heartedly insulting fans he brought onstage (“Why do I always pick the dumb ones? She’s fucking terrible!”), sharing whisky with selected members of the audience and stripping off his clothes mid-performance.

MSI were certainly an overpowering, synthesising force to be reckoned with. Had they not run out of energy, I fear many fans would have continued dancing on into the early hours of Easter Sunday.