The Olympics opening ceremony might have held the attention of much of the world but The Mess Hall’s Jed Kurzel was right on it with his declaration “this is way better than watching the fucking Olympics!”
The Mess Hall, who last night kicked off their national tour, had the sometimes reserved Adelaide crowd right where they wanted them and then lifted them another notch to reach the level of frenzy.
Jed and drummer Cec Condon, who have had an awesome couple of years with highlights including the recent support tour with the Foo Fighters and their new album Devil’s Elbow earning them The Australian Music Prize, could have just lazily played their way through the new album tracks on this tour and the crowd would still be happy. However, rather than just focusing on the new material they made sure older fans would also be rewarded with much of the live material coming from Notes from a Ceiling and the 2003 EP Feeling Sideways.
The boys kicked off with Diddley, and then with hardly drew breath before they launched into the massive City of Roses and Pulse, before going back in time to Metal and Hair, Disco 2 and Holes.
Also getting an airing from the new album was Cookie but then they took it back again to the very funky Shake with Jed inciting the crowd to shake their asses with him. They then finished the set with Pills and Keep Walking.
After a quick on stage conference the boys realised just how stupid it would be if they attempted to penetrate the crowd to get back stage before having to battle through again to come back for the encore so they punched on through and finished with Lock and Load and Disco 1 before really having to battle through the crowd, who while parting to let them through, didn’t hesitate in showing just how much they appreciated the awesome set.
In support were Lady Strangelove who continue to get better and better and show why they have become one of Adelaide’s best bands. They seem to have recovered from the unfortunate and very low act of having their equipment stolen earlier in the year and sound better than ever. Their Hendrix inspired psychedelic rock was only further enhanced by Azz’s home decorating attempts of gaffe taping tied dyed fabric to the amps and keyboards. It was a nice touch.
Mona Lisa Overdrive provided first support and normally these guys have a big 60’s garage sound with high energy but for some reason they didn’t quite reach it tonight. While they were probably tighter musically than previous sets I have seen but it seemed as if they were detached and unconnected with the music and the crowd. This is more disappointing only because I know how good these guys can be.
