Sydney duo The Mess Hall have been missing of late – disappearing from the live scene to write and record their fourth album, For The Birds. Appearing at the East Brunswick Club to introduce their new single Bell, the duo showed why they’ve been missed, with some fine supports in tow.

Melbourne rock quintet, The Polites opened the stage, proving to be one of the local bands that continue to heighten its value with every gig. With quality sound to their advantage in the East Brunswick Club, the local lads squeezed as many tracks in as they could, laughing their way along between tracks like a band enjoying themselves. Labelling themselves as psyche-rock, the qualities were certainly there, the 60s inspired harmonies a treat, but mixed in were straight up country and blues numbers, too. Eloquent yet appropriately psychedelic vocals and twangy guitars led their closing number, If It Tastes Right – a good taste of everything they had provided previously.

Next up, representing some super cruel Sydney rock and soul, was The Holy Soul. From the moment they started their raucous set, they made The Polites seem, well, rather polite. Singer/guitarist Trent Marden sings like someone that gargles salt water without the water. His callous tones certainly suit the style of blues they play and along with a hard energy from the whole band it made for an engaging set. The band’s frontline provided tri-vocal harmonies on tracks like I’m Spent, adding some less abrasive moments, while Just Another Day was all about Marden’s harsh voice. Shaking his head and pelting his chest for varying vocal effects, The Holy Soul certainly left an impression.

The Mess Hall arrived as casually as you could imagine, joined by the hardest working keyboardist in the country, Steve Hesketh, on board to help out on the bevy of new material the Sydney duo had on offer. Jed Kurzel hit the opening chords of Long Time Death (the first of many newies) and sounded almost like he was still performing sound check. The deceptive intro soon kicked off the kind of beat-driving rock The Mess Hall is known for. Another new track followed ( My Villain )with an almighty “Wooooo” from Kurzel, but perhaps a less enthusiastic response from the crowd, who were eager to hear more familiar material given the pair have been hidden away writing for a while.

That material soon followed, with Cec Condon’s percussive thump in Pulse first satisfying the masses. The track developed into an extended jam between Kurzel and Condon – the pair’s energy blatantly displaying their love of playing rock music. Kurzel then showed off his awesome scream throughout City of Roses, another crowd pleaser. Whilst the duo offered a lot whilst playing, they really seemed to have a “we’re just here to play the songs” attitude, making quick transitions between tracks and not interacting with the crowd at all. In one respect it certainly kept a momentum in the set, but at the same time it only made for Kurzel’s tantrum at an idiot punter throwing water all the more awkward.

New single Bell impressed with its slow build up to serious rocking out, but of the new material on show, the best offering was Bare – a kind of drive through the desert track, complete with a bass track thump, plenty of rattling percussion and the kind of lyrics The Mess Hall do best (“I’m gonna take off my clothes and empty my bones into the river”). Still, the fact they were being road tested and hence unfamiliar with the crowd meant the material’s live potential is yet to fully reached. Oldies like Pills and Keep Walking – appropriately saved for the end – had no such woes, and the crowd were certainly happy to hear their favourites.

By request, the night ended with Lock and Load, a track off 2006’s Feeling Sideways that the pair hadn’t played in ages. That fact wasn’t evident though, and Kurzel thrashed his way through the number like it was a favourite set staple. By the hour long set’s conclusion, it was clear that The Mess Hall are still a dominant live force with plenty of great new material on the way with their forthcoming album.