On arrival at about 10 o’clock, the crowd seemed pretty thin given that Oh Mercy were taking to the stage in only an hour’s time. If you’ve ever been to the newly furbished *East End Bar in Fremantle, you may understand when I say the venue gives off a small bar vibe in a relatively large space. However this didn’t seem to be much of an issue as a number of punters started to have a boogie. The funky tunes from FKN MIDAS downstairs had crowd pleasers like Michael Jackson and Girl Talk with Groove Armada playing from Grubby upstairs. As the crowd built steadily on the lower level, FKN MIDAS moved his sound slightly more toward the indie scene playing a new track from !!! rounded out by The Twelves remix of Something Good Can Work by Two Door Cinema Club.

Considering they had been in the USA writing for album number two following an extensive tour in Australia, when Melbourne’s Oh Mercy took to the stage, they seemed a little tired. This theme carried through the entire show and may well be part of the band’s image. It seems to work well as front man Alexander Gow’s lazy vocals rolled wonderfully with the slow, mildly distorted chords of his guitar and the layered melodies from birthday boy Thomas Savage. This was thickened up with rolling bass lines from Eliza Lam and synchronised by drumming from Rohan Sforcina. Nicely dressed and fitting the representation of an indie folk rock band, Oh Mercy reeled off numbers from EP In The Nude For Love such as Can’t Fight It and Seemed Like A Good Idea while adding newer material like Hold Out Your Hand and their new single Keith St. All the while, the congested dance floor of the lower level swayed in a synchronous bob with the band. After one song, Gow declared “You’re doing well dancing to that one – maybe this one is a little easier to dance to”. Although the Oh Mercy live show packs a bigger punch than the album material would suggest, the nonchalant vocals did seem somewhat muffled. This may be an issue that was probably not the singers fault though could be blamed on a bad microphone or the EQ desk. This was a shame for me. As the lyrics fit the style of music so well and added so much romance and playfulness to the songs, clarity is a must. Gow’s slight quirkiness was highlighted by the fact he plays a right-handed guitar as a left handed-guitar – meaning he played it upside down – the same style as Jimi Hendrix. He kept the crowd involved throughout the gig, coming to a highlight when he produced a birthday cake for local West Australian and Oh Mercy’s guitarist Thomas Savage. And yes, we all sang Happy Birthday.

Towards the end of their set, the crowd began to dwindle. I suppose this is an organizers issue when an indie band like Oh Mercy play at a night dedicated more towards disco and dancing. Although, after the close of Oh Mercy, the party continued on both levels with 90s beats firing up the top level while FKN MIDAS returned to the stage downstairs accompanied by the live saxophonist.