Mercury Rev + Primitive Motion + Fainting Spells @ The Zoo, 11.12.2015

Friday night brings the 7th day of Gigmas

It’s a show I wasn’t expecting to get and indeed it’s come via a really late confirmation on the day of the show.  The show obviously hadn’t sold very well as there was a two-for-one fire sale in the last few days leading up to the gig but even with that enticement the place was mostly empty, less than 100 people in The Zoo, and no doubt a chunk of them were either guest list or had used the 2-4-1 offer.  It was a $65 gig, putting it at the upper end of Zoo shows, but it felt strange that it was so poorly attended, especially given this was the first time they’ve played a headline show in Brisbane for a while.  I’m not sure when exactly but I can’t remember them playing a show of their own in the time I’ve lived here and that’s more than a decade away now.  They did play at Harvest a few years ago and were sounding excellent for the three songs I got to see them for before having to depart for another band on another stage.

Mercury Rev aren’t phased by it though, look like a band that’s really enjoying playing together and play as if playing for thousands.  It’s such an impressive show, one that was meant for much bigger venues than the Zoo and a much bigger audience.  The band sound huge. There’s lights, smoke machines, the whole set up and it’s one of those times when you feel lucky to be seeing such a show in such close quarters.  I guess we just hope that next time they tour they don’t decide to skip a Brisbane show like so many other bands.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.