Thirsty Merc @ The Holy Grail, Canberra |
Source: Faster Louder |
Author: Boxy |
Date Published: Monday Jun 28th, 2004 |
Tonight there were barely 50 people inside the Holy Grail in the city, and by the time Thirsty Merc came on we were down to 30 odd. Damn it Canberra, when good bands come to town you need to come and see them! No wonder we’ve lost our live music scene. End rant.
Kicking off proceedings was local band Little Smoke. Their set was… ummm, just a moment I’m thinking of the right words to describe it… ordinary. Their set sounded muddy and like each member of the band was playing a different song, all at the same time. On the plus side they did use glow in the dark paint for their backdrop. They concluded their set, whilst the mass of punters and I waited for Thirsty to make their way on stage.
When they did the crowd … applauded politely like the members at Lord’s and they kicked into their first track. Whilst the assembled crowd was small the boys didn’t let that stop them from playing fast and loud, a truly professional band. The show was marred by some minor technical difficulties, with Rai having troubles with fold back, but this didn’t stop The ‘Merc from pulling out a great set.
One of the highlights was a rousing rendition of their current single Emancipate Myself, which had the small crowd on its feet. Throughout their set, Thirsty Merc showed their flexibility and depth. Effortlessly changing pace, from the slower tracks like Lazy Susanne through to power of Emancipate Myself and Undivided Love. Thirsty Merc reminded me of some of my all time Australian acts. Rai is unafraid of singing in a voice that is Australian, which can, at times, sound uncannily like Tim Freedman from The Whitlam’s. The band's songs have a sense of fun and playfulness to them like the almighty Custard. But perhaps the strongest influence I can see, is that of You Am I. The structure of their songs is like those classic You Am I tracks, Mr Milk, Cathy’s Clown, Good Mornin’ and others. Whilst there is that reference there to classic Australian artists, they don’t flatter them and have a style uniquely their own.
