The Mess Hall, British India,Hytest @ Annandale Hotel,17/12/05

Wed 21st Dec, 2005 in Gig Reviews

What a conglomerate of genres and sub-genres we have here tonight, everyone’s favourite watering hole is as lively as it will ever be on a Saturday night. There’s a little bit of something for everyone if live music takes your fancy. One thing that discombobulates me is that the entrance has shifted to outside the pokie room. Now punters have to escalate past the atrocious gambling devices and into the back bar. Why not make use of the main door? Because that is where The Watt Riot entertains between sets.

As I cling to my beer and perform the always-awkward one-man tango past the throng of bodies cluttering the entrance into the main room I hear music. No, let me clarify: I hear loud, pseudo-angry punk rock. And that cheers me up. It turns the noise is coming from a young three-piece known as Hytest. Unfortunately not too much is known about them but if tonight’s set is their benchmark things will change. It would appear I’m not the only person here tonight that has an instant liking towards them, right in front of the stage there are at least a hundred heads bopping in unison to these young boys churning out some crunchy good old-fashioned power riffs with enough screeches to alert the neighbours.

Right after the second song that I witness the boys declares the next song will be their last one for the evening. That’s what I get for arriving late. The trio bust into a raucous little number, complete with ground-shattering kickdrum, distorted bass and an electrifying three chords of power. The get the applause they so richly deserve and it’s back to the bar for some more amber liquid.

Don’t you just love interstate bands that hit your town full of poise? There’s a good chance that if you listened to our national youth culture radio station at anytime in the last couple of months you would have heard the catchy Vines-esque tune Outside 109. Yep, that’s right: British India is in the house and people want to hear that song.

And so this quartet takes to the stage. Coming straight out of Melbourne with authentic looking scruffy hair they bash and clash their way around the stage, leaving a cacophony of indie/pop/punk in its wake, much like Craig Nichols and company did before them. It’s quite brave of these lads making Outside 109 the second song off the rank, so where to from here?

Well, more of the same really. There’s some fine pop songs all the way through their set and the lighting guy works his magic to illuminate the stage and the four boys performing on it. One has to wonder why bands perform a cover song in their set – is it to pay tribute to the original artist, perhaps they are running low on their own material? Whatever the case may be, British India belt out the Buzzcocks classic Ever Fallen In Love and there’s hardly any complaints from the crowd, although I find it a tad grating. They end their set with We Are The Counter Culture from their debut ep and the packed crowd ceremoniously applauds and all too soon turn to their drinks, awaiting the arrival of the next band.

As a nation we embrace hard work. It’s the only way to make it in this world so we perform relentlessly in the pursuit that it all pays off at the end of the day.

Well it’s finally going that way for those loveable rogues Jed and Cec, collectively known as The Mess Hall. Over the past few months they have played everywhere in Australia; supported and played with every band imaginable. During their tireless trek they have clocked up fans like a junk food outlet clocks up drunks at 3am. They even hit the high rotation mark on certain radio stations with a few catchy numbers.

When the screen finally raises we are greeted by the skinny pair and that’s when things get loud. For a duo they make as much noise as any four or five piece. The crowd really gets into the swing of things when favourites such as Lock and Load and Disco #1 are performed. In all honesty they can just stand there in silence and still be applauded. With Cec hunched over his drumkit and Jed in full rocker stance they seamlessly fuse elements of rock and roll, grunge, blues and even stoner rock into their sound.

Pills gets the crowd merrily shuffling moving, not that we expected any less. Any song about narcotic substances equates to a vibrant crowd response. The second cover for tonight is Nirvana’s Breed, bringing grunge back, albeit only for three minutes.

It’s a mix of old and new tonight as The Mess Hall performs tracks off both ep’s and their album. If there’s anyone in the crowd who didn’t find comfort in this performance at least they have eye candy to stare at in the form of this drummer and singer/guitarist. So maybe that’s why there are so many shrieks from the ladies in the crowd? Like I said, touring with every band imaginable didn’t tarnish their reputation one bit. The hard work is finally paying off and The Mess Hall are reaping the rewards they so richly deserve.