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Mammal

Posted on July 8 2009

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Review: Mammal

A very long working week including crazy takeovers and a freezing Friday night equal’s a lack of motivation to do anything at all really; a night on the red velvet couch seemed the right remedy. Trust the little voice in the back of my head shouting at me incessantly to get into action I gathered my last bit of strength and energy, smashed a couple of Red Bulls and was ready for action. I arrived slightly on the late side but enough to see main support Sydonia and local big guns Mammal! I hadn’t been to The Corner for a while and it truly feels like an old mate you haven’t seen in a while and I had a slight guilt about my neglect, so I tried to get back in the good books by visiting the always sticky bar and ordering a manly diet coke, with a squeeze of lemon! The crowd was a little odd, I must add, a mixture of folk, people obviously there for a viewing of Sydonia but the majority (no pun intended) to see Mammal.
Sydonia are band which I always have trouble describing, but one thing I can say is that once witnessed never forgotten. Although tonight having to deal with slight technical difficulties and with a rather average mix to begin with, the lads got past this and powered on. Pure melodic genius inspired by the sexiest bitch in Melbourne music, frontman/guitarist Dana Roskvist, whose dulcet tones truly compliment their soothing sounds in tracks such as No Womans Land and Taste More, which were a delight to the lobes. The set consisted of two discernable new tracks, one which had a frantic off beat rhythm and a thunderous riff, which totally blew me away; unfortunately I didn’t catch what it was called but definitely one to look out for once the new material is released. On the grapevine I hear early next year.
The glares of interest emanating from the crowd as Sam Haycroft (Guitar) and Adam Murray (Bass) leave their preferred axes to unleash their hallmark triple percussion assault with Sean Bailey (Drums) that is very reminiscent of inter-galactic combat! This always derives a feeling of being punched in the face by Mike Tyson, obviously in a good way and definitely a sound that any Sepultura fan would have thoroughly enjoyed! This is what makes this band special and stand out from the many tiring same sounding post nu-metal Melbourne bands, their ability to take music to the brutal extreme with songs like Rubber Bullet and to their softer ballads which I previously mentioned. This is what allows them to encapsulate many of the music minions and build their ever growing fan base. Like most you will either like them or not, with their humble natures and Sam’s great entourage of jokes (cough cough), they are truly just too hard not to love!
Next up, the greatest rock show in Australia! Some would argue that being the case, some in the crowd I spoke to renounced them, labelling them as simple music for simple people, I beg to differ. What ever it is, this driven funky quartet have never disappointed me, putting on a clinic for the ‘wanna be rock stars’ out there and tonight Mammal fans were provided with a classic show probably surpassing their album launch in October of last year. This band is quickly being recognised as one of the elite outfits in Australia, their blend of funk and rock make it such easy music to listen and dance to and hey, it does help when you have one of the most enigmatic front men in Australia if not the globe, Ezekiel Ox. Sporting a new hair-do and a pro-political microphone quite clear with an aboriginal flag attached to it, the man was definitely vocal as usual throwing all his political no-how to the crowd. I take it for what its worth, information! Don’t let this over shadow his showman ship though. Tool, wanker or what ever he may be labelled, there’s no doubting this guys talent.
The crowd was thrown into a frenzy when they opened with two crowd favourites, The Majority and Hell Yeah very untypical to do so as well but it was superb way of getting the crowd right into the action. They continued to play a repertoire of songs from both their EP and recent full length, Zeke announces to the crowd that they plan to release their second live album in September and proceed to reward their fans by playing an oldie off their first release the live CD The Aural Underground, the sexy track Push and Shove. The night was filled with quirks and surprises and the highlights include a random Piñata floating around in the crowd and Pete Williamson (Guitar) going for a sixer on the side stage followed by a great cover up solo on his back, one of the best recoveries I’ve seen to date.
Out of all these moment the most memorable and buzz creating effort I have seen on a Melbourne stage was during the back half of the song Inciting, invited to the stage is Martin Martini along with his mini tap platform. Zane Rosanoski on drums and Martin proceed to have a percussion vs tap dance show, capped off by Martins little sprays of magical confetti into the crowd, it can only be described as simply awesome! Something I’m sure people would have been telling all their mates for the next few days. It was amazing to think an hour and fifteen minutes later that Zeke announces the final song and they begin to play Smash The Pinata. How time flies when you are watching something that totally encapsulates all your senses of mind, sight and sound, these boys are headed to London which I predict being their first step in world domination.

Review by Jason Clair
Corner Hotel, Melbourne, VIC (July 3 2009)

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