Live Review: Oh Mercy, Pearls, Steve Miller Band

One-time member of The Moodists, Steve Miller, seems to have found his 3rd Eye Girl and now works with a couple of high-spirited gals who go by the names Duchess and She Wolf (they are, of course, Steve Miller Band or SMB). Harnessing the raw power of a three-piece, these cats get down, deep and dirty, adding psychedelic noise and a whole lot of feedback to classic rock’n’roll influences. Miller’s punk roots shine when SMB start to grind like a Detroit garage band to feel-good effect. Fine covers of classics such as Lucille and Who Do You Love? have the house rockin’.

Amusingly, SMB pack up and Pearls set up to an inappropriate soundtrack of classic ‘80s rock that takes in cuts from Midnight Oil and The Church. Attracting much acclaim with the release of their debut album Pretend You’re Mine, Pearls deal a short-but-tight set that showcases highlights from their album. The Melbourne-based four-piece trade in glam wrapped in irresistible pop hooks. Soft dreamy and a touch sensuous, Pearls sound pretty slick as they effortlessly work the middle ground that exists between easily consumed pop confection and heavier, guitar-driven workouts designed to exhilarate. Pearls are definitely a local act to catch before they hit the road to promote Pretend You’re Mine.

It’s been a couple of years since Oh Mercy played a show in Melbourne and it seems that long-time fans eager to wrap their ears around the bands new material have packed out The Gasometer Hotel. Alex Gow is appreciative and deals cuts including My Man, Keith St and, of course, Sandy gets the set off to a very fine start. Gow and his four-piece band, which includes a viola player, produce a classic pop sound with timeless songs about love and desire that showcase Gow’s obvious strength as a songwriter. New tunes Let Me Be Him, I Don’t Really Want To Know, Without You and All Roads Lead To You have the crowd listening in rapt contemplation as Oh Mercy deal a proper teaser of When We Talk About Love, which clearly comes with the promise of being one of their very best. Gow muses that some of these songs are Smooth FM-ready while others are more Gold FM-worthy. Paul Dempsey helps Gow deal with what feels like an impromptu acoustic cover of The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon.  It’s hard not to feel a certain nostalgia when Oh Mercy tug at the heartstrings with a cover of Echo & The Bunnymen’s evocative The Killing Moon. Gow rounds off the night with the first song he ever wrote, Lay Everything On Me, which is an upbeat groover that puts appreciative smiles on faces across the room. Tonight’s laidback show feels like a prelude to an album launch that ought to knock your socks off.