The Evelyn bandroom was bubbling with punters eagerly awaiting the return of Melbourne’s scuzzy garage punk emperors Mesa Cosa, marking the tail-end of their widely praised Spill ‘Em All tour, and the band’s first headline show in a year and a half.
A late cancellation by key support act Amyl and the Sniffers threw cult emcee Purple Duck into the ring – the last minute addition wildly welcomed by all. Punters revelled in Purple Duck’s masterful lyricism and flawless flow as he delivered a set bursting with all things dorky, deliberating and entirely self-deprecating, taken mostly from his 2009 release, Duck Side of the Moon. The crowd bounced feverishly along to tunes that focused on both the perks and perils of being Purple Duck. His set closed with a cover of Part Of Your World from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, sending the crowd into a completely devoted fanfare.
Emerging onto a stage drenched in a satanic red glow and littered with snakeheads and skulls, Mesa Cosa summoned the masses to the front of the pit and into their seething fortress of gods, goddesses, demons and the occult. The band smashed through a huge hour-long set, consisting predominately of new tracks from their forthcoming LP, slated for release in 2017.
Cannibal and Frozen Eyes warmed the heavily lubricated crowd up early, and by Stone Bone, the band’s first single off their approaching LP, the crowd erupted into a sweat-drenched, writhing sea of bodies. Sydney set the crowd into a chanting fit, complete with flailing limbs and airborne beer. Then the band’s latest single Blood and Brains, a swampy punk rock number, filled with gruesome lyrics matching the song’s equally dreadful clip, reduced the tempo and slowed the crowd down a little.
It didn’t last long, though – as Mesa Cosa launched into a cover of Silverchair’s Tomorrow. Punters consequently propelled themselves across the bandroom, clambering high up onto the rafters, hoisting themselves onto people’s shoulders and scrambling onto the stage.
By Matilda Carthew
Highlight: The band’s supremely excellent Spill ‘Em All Metallica piss-take tour branding.
Lowlight: Damn the person who tore that adorable racoon doll apart.
Crowd Favourite: Purple Duck. Brought the house down.
