Oh Mercy, Slow Dancer & Alexander Gow (Solo) @ The Northcote Social Club (16/05/2013)
Photo by Chelsea McIntyre
Oh Mercy are saying “bon voyage” for an indefinite amount of time very soon, as they leave our shores to set up shop in the United States, looking to share their latest release Deep Heat with a wider audience. It was a great pleasure of mine to attend their second last show in Australia at the Northcote Social Club before they leave us for bigger and better things, and I can assure you it was indeed a fitting departure.
It became increasingly apparent during the lead up to Oh Mercy’s arrival on stage that they well and truly are a community focussed band. Even while supporting act Slow Dancer (a solo project of Oh Mercy’s lead guitarist Simon Okely) set a deceptively relaxed opening mood to the evening, the remaining band members mingled with fans, family, and friends who had all turned up, and joined in the support of Simon’s solo efforts.
Slow Dancer are a fantastically talented trio, with music that has an emphasis on balladry of the highest degree, with Simon’s impressive guitar chops creating an interesting fusion of pop, country, funk, and soul stylings.
I would tell you to check them out, but with Simon out of the country for whatever period of time Oh Mercy may be gone for, its truly a tragedy that Slow Dancer may be out of action for that same period, at least as far as Australia is concerned.
Alexander Gow, the front man for Oh Mercy, next took the stage and delivered a set of what he described as “old songs from when I was a sad young man”. With just a guitar to accompany him, Alex ached his way through a set of ballads with emotion and conviction in his words. It was obvious he was not only playing his songs for the audience but also for himself, a fact he later commented on, telling the audience, “I might not get the chance to play these again for a while, or maybe ever”.
A real treat however was Alex being joined on stage by Australian vocalist Gossling, with the two of them sharing a duet named La Minute Silence, sung entirely in french, it was a slow, sober affair, but no less a treat for the ears.
When the time rolled round for Oh Mercy to finally take to the stage you’d be forgiven for thinking that they were going to be playing a collection of slow ballads in a relaxed atmosphere, with the audience swaying along. But, of course, you’d be terribly wrong.
Coming off the back of Deep Heat, Oh Mercy sauntered their way through an impressively energetic and tight set of their latest songs, such as My Man and Drums, with the band obviously having just as much fun as the audience was. I’m sure it would be generally agreed among most people who have watched Oh Mercy perform, that they are a much bigger band than a venue such as Northcote Social Club can contain.
Not even in terms of popularity, but just in terms of sheer explosive potential and ambition. Oh Mercy is truly a band that takes you by the wrist and leads you through their catalogue of songs with incredible confidence, even with times in between songs taken as an opportunity for Alexander Gow to spit hilarious one-liners such as “allow me to set my guitar pedal to the next smash hit song” and “I’ve always dreamed of supporting myself at my own show”.
By the time the band ended their set with an impressive cover of Fisherman Blues, Alexander also had a confession to make that the band really didn’t like encores because “we don’t think you’ll ask us back on” and “we’ve literally played all the songs we know, I think”. I know one thing for sure that the band would have been showered with encores time and time again but I guess it is indeed true that all good things must come to an end.
It’s truly upsetting to see Oh Mercy leaving us for what could be more than two years, as they’re one of the true jewels of Australian music right now. One consolation for us however is after a show like I experienced at the Northcote Social Club it is obvious it’s just as hard for them to leave as it is for us to watch them go.
Best of luck, Oh Mercy.
Nick Kennedy
It became increasingly apparent during the lead up to Oh Mercy’s arrival on stage that they well and truly are a community focussed band. Even while supporting act Slow Dancer (a solo project of Oh Mercy’s lead guitarist Simon Okely) set a deceptively relaxed opening mood to the evening, the remaining band members mingled with fans, family, and friends who had all turned up, and joined in the support of Simon’s solo efforts.
Slow Dancer are a fantastically talented trio, with music that has an emphasis on balladry of the highest degree, with Simon’s impressive guitar chops creating an interesting fusion of pop, country, funk, and soul stylings.
I would tell you to check them out, but with Simon out of the country for whatever period of time Oh Mercy may be gone for, its truly a tragedy that Slow Dancer may be out of action for that same period, at least as far as Australia is concerned.
Alexander Gow, the front man for Oh Mercy, next took the stage and delivered a set of what he described as “old songs from when I was a sad young man”. With just a guitar to accompany him, Alex ached his way through a set of ballads with emotion and conviction in his words. It was obvious he was not only playing his songs for the audience but also for himself, a fact he later commented on, telling the audience, “I might not get the chance to play these again for a while, or maybe ever”.
A real treat however was Alex being joined on stage by Australian vocalist Gossling, with the two of them sharing a duet named La Minute Silence, sung entirely in french, it was a slow, sober affair, but no less a treat for the ears.
When the time rolled round for Oh Mercy to finally take to the stage you’d be forgiven for thinking that they were going to be playing a collection of slow ballads in a relaxed atmosphere, with the audience swaying along. But, of course, you’d be terribly wrong.
Coming off the back of Deep Heat, Oh Mercy sauntered their way through an impressively energetic and tight set of their latest songs, such as My Man and Drums, with the band obviously having just as much fun as the audience was. I’m sure it would be generally agreed among most people who have watched Oh Mercy perform, that they are a much bigger band than a venue such as Northcote Social Club can contain.
Not even in terms of popularity, but just in terms of sheer explosive potential and ambition. Oh Mercy is truly a band that takes you by the wrist and leads you through their catalogue of songs with incredible confidence, even with times in between songs taken as an opportunity for Alexander Gow to spit hilarious one-liners such as “allow me to set my guitar pedal to the next smash hit song” and “I’ve always dreamed of supporting myself at my own show”.
By the time the band ended their set with an impressive cover of Fisherman Blues, Alexander also had a confession to make that the band really didn’t like encores because “we don’t think you’ll ask us back on” and “we’ve literally played all the songs we know, I think”. I know one thing for sure that the band would have been showered with encores time and time again but I guess it is indeed true that all good things must come to an end.
It’s truly upsetting to see Oh Mercy leaving us for what could be more than two years, as they’re one of the true jewels of Australian music right now. One consolation for us however is after a show like I experienced at the Northcote Social Club it is obvious it’s just as hard for them to leave as it is for us to watch them go.
Best of luck, Oh Mercy.
Nick Kennedy