Thirsty Merc @ The Annandale, Sydney

Source: Faster Louder

Author: Laser

Date Published: Monday Mar 22nd, 2004

I had not seen Sydney/Dubbo rocker’s Thirsty Merc play live, and having not heard a great deal of their music other than the radio airplay, I went into the Annandale without any preconceptions. There was no ‘Sold Out’ sign on the door when I arrived, but by the time Thirsty Merc were due to come onto stage, the ‘Sold Out’ sign was firmly attached to the entrance. The Annandale felt more full than the previous night’s ‘Spiderbait’ show. This is testament to Thirsty Merc’s fast rising popularity. 

The crowd were a fascinating mix. Thirsty Merchave either struck it big with the over forty demographic, or there were a large number of industry reps at the show. Judging by the size of the door list, I suspect the latter.

The evening began with David Hibbert, initially acoustically for a song, and then his band joined playing his easy listening ballads. Pete Murray has proven recently that this type of music can prove very popular when executed effectively, however I don’t think this audience was too enthused with the genre. This was quite unfair to David, as he gave a very good performance that deserved a more appreciative reception.

Sydney three-piece Bastian gave a powerful performance of punk-funk rock that really livened up the room. Having not seen these boys play live, I was very pleasantly surprised. The Annandale was already reasonably full when this tight outfit entered the stage, and brothers, Chris and Jeff, have an outstanding stage presence that got the crowd going. Bastian reminded me of a funky Red Hot Chilli Peppers with a little At The Drive In thrown in for good measure. Even in this new rock world within which we currently live, I can see much larger things in the future for these very talented lads.

By the time Thirsty Merc were ready to come on, getting to the bar to get a drink had become a two song exercise. This is great to see, as local acts enough in Sydney are not supported nearly enough. The band entered the stage neatly dressed in the vein of The Hives. Rai, Phil and Matt, on vocals/guitar, bass and guitars respectively, were all outfitted in non-matching suits. Karl on drums must have decided it was casual Saturday, and had settled on merely a vest.

Thirsty Merc having been getting some quality time on Channel V with Emancipate Myself recently. This showed through with the crowd breaking spontaneously into a mosh when this well crafted piece of pop-rock was belted out early in the set. I was a little surprised that this was not an encore song, or at the very least at the end of the set, however playing it early was a sure fire way to ensure that the punters were fired up.

At times during the set, front man, Rai, vocally sounded like a rocking version of Tim Freedman. Thirsty Merc’s music is a little more rock than The Whitlams, but it is also well suited to breaking into the mainstream. Towards the middle of the set, the audience appeared to thin out considerably, and I wonder whether the Channel V fans may have turned up for the single. I suppose that can be the price of popularity. An early exit was certainly a mistake, with the double bass making a late showing for the song ‘Homewrecker’, which boasted a cover of Ben Harper’s ‘Steal My Kisses’ chorus as one of it’s verses. 

The set concluded with ‘Wasting Time’ and, as well as the moshing up the front, a good chunk of the crowd were singing along to this finale. The encore consisted of only one song, ‘Undivided Love’, although after a varied set of what Rai refers to as “rock Sinatra”, we were left barely satisfied, and thirsty for more.