Reviewed on Saturday October 31 (photo by Katrina Clarke)
Of all the revellers at Frankie’s Halloween Party, the one who seemed to be enjoying the proceedings the most was none other than Michael Myers himself. Flanked by Ryan Gosling from Drive and a short man who could have either been Charles Manson or a Rastafarian, he head-banged along to the music, shuffling about the mosh pit in his stained overalls.
But though he was the most visibly enthusiastic, the general mood was uniformly high across the night. There was a kind of decadent euphoria to the evening, as three strong bands played three strong sets. Hedge Fund kicked things off, belting out their new single ‘Boyfriend’ with style and energy. Bucking and gyrating around the stage like the unholy lovechild of Ian Curtis and David Lee Roth, the band’s frontman William Colvin proved to be legitimately hypnotic, and the music combined frenetic riffs with arch, incisive lyrics.
Horrorwood Mannequins took over next. Prowling the space like hyenas, the band’s bassist Spud and guitarist Steeden were enjoyably intimidating, and even a drunken mid-set tumble failed to unsettle lead singer Audri Medicate’s slick and sick demeanour.
Last to the stage were Mesa Cosa, deliriously raucous rockers from Melbourne. The most unhinged performers of the night, they invited an audience member up onstage to drink beer from a boot; sang from atop speaker piles; used a variety of four-letter words to introduce a song inspired by Sydney’s lockout laws; and dedicated their final number to Satan.
But it wasn’t a case of style over substance, and more interesting than the onstage antics was the music itself. Though the Halloween-appropriate slow-motion sludge of ‘Day Of The Dead’ was a set highlight, the entirety of the 40-minute show impressed, with each surf- and garage-rock-indebted tune feeling more fresh and inventive than the last.
By the end of the evening, Harley Quinn was dancing with a vampire. A staff member dressed as a beer bottle was picking up empty beer bottles. Sub-Zero was lifting up his mask in order to down a pint of Blackula, the delicious specialist dark ale put on tap especially for the occasion. And, amidst it all, there was Michael Myers, raising his fist in grim solidarity as Mesa Cosa brought the night to its crashing end.
