Saturday 25 April
Supports: Saturdays At Your Place, Forests
From the constant crowd surfers, “piss yourself” chants, to the two ladies next to me getting into a fight and being pulled out of the gig, it was exactly what I expected from a Hot Mulligan show – absolutely hectic. It’s been 2 years since the band graced Australia with their rowdy antics, and since PitPass hasn’t seen them since that debut Australian tour, of course we had to witness their chaos yet again. Supported by two emo 3-pieces, Singaporeans Forests and Americans saturdays at your place, they brought some heat to the iconic Fortitude Music Hall on a rainy Brisbane night.
I was pleasantly surprised by our first openers, Singaporean emo rock self-proclaimed “one of the bands of all time”, Forests. With drummer Niki planted centre stage, and guitarist Daniel and bassist/vocalist Darrell placed to each side of him, they took the Music Hall’s grand and at times intimidating stage with confidence, like it was absolutely no issue. Professionals in playing shows across the US and Asia, it was clear these guys were no strangers to the expertise of engaging stage presence. But what truly took me by surprise was hearing Darrell’s Singaporean accent between songs. Yes, I knew before the show where these guys flew from, but as a Malaysian gal myself, hearing that familiarity woke me up like a sleeper agent, immediately washed with a sense of pride seeing folks from so close to home in my second home.
With a seamless blend of Daniel’s satisfying and intricate math rock-esque guitar riffs and Darrell’s vocal screams, they fluently moved between heavy breakdowns to a slower embodiment of groove. It was a relatively short set, but the 3-piece made sure it was jam-packed with a setlist of ‘Fool From Hell’, ‘Saint Loser’, ‘Jazz Ruined My Life’, and ending their set with the seemingly fan favourite from their album, Sun Eat Moon Grave Party, ‘Tamago’.
I think what truly enamored the crowd was their flawless comedic timing, with Darrell uttering multiple jokes of “make sure you stay for the last band” and alluring the crowd to partake in a “I’m on smoko, so leave me alone” bit, garnering a wave of laughs from around me. Despite the fact that a majority of the crowd were only discovering them tonight, their crowdwork was impeccable, amassing a sing-a-long from the crowd during the chorus of ‘Kawaii Hawaii’, and anthem-style ‘You Must Be Fun at Parties’. Their set ended with Darrell launching into the crowd with a jump… that he didn’t land, which I suppose could be symbolic of the band’s general IDGAF demeanor.
Our second openers, fellow Michigan-born midwestern emos, saturdays at your place kept up with the pace Forests’ set with killer energy from drummer/vocalist Gabe Wood, bassist/vocalist Esden Stafne, and guitarist Mitch Gulish that made we wonder, “Is this the theme of tonight? Intricate and twinkly guitar riffs?”, knowing exactly what was to come with Hot Mulligan’s signature guitar work. As soon as they started, my +1 said “great band name”, and she’s right. It’s one that immediately invokes a nostalgic memory or image you can hold onto as you’re witnessing their stories through the music, which is exactly what I (and the rest of the hall) felt as they played ‘it’s always cloudy in kalamazoo’, signaled by the crowd cathartically singing along to the final chorus.
I’m always quite surprised when an act sounds heavier in the flesh than their studio recordings, but I guess that’s the charm of live music. The 3-piece took us through a satisfying setlist with ‘cross my heart’, ‘pourover’, ‘forest bubbles’, ‘i’d rather be in michigan’, ‘loon mobile pt 3’, ‘hospital bed’, ‘eat me alive’, and ‘coffee cups’. Balancing the embodiment of that distinct Midwestern longing paired with an upbeat and deceivingly light-hearted sound, the circle pit was opened a few times as they motioned through to some of their heavier sounds.
Stood stage-left and a few rows back from the barrier, I found myself often mesmerised by guitarist Mitch’s riffs and classic rockstar jumps. But in my peripheral, I could see bassist Esden grooving away, with a stride and rhythm reminiscent of Ryan Scott Graham from State Champs, with the exact hat and long red hair getup. As they moved into ‘what am i supposed to do?’, I noticed drummer Gabe singing the main vocals while drumming, and I was in awe, imagining that would’ve been a challenging task, but he did it (literally) without missing a beat. Then, he did it again for ‘future’ and that’s when I knew these homegrown talents had won me over.
I suppose the other theme for the night was the natural rapport with the crowd, as Esden poked fun at Australia’s drinking and gambling culture, and how Americans think Aussies only drink Foster’s beer, accumulating a wave of boos from the crowd. Like clockwork, the shoey chants started, and almost enthusiastically, Esden obliged, skulling down a beer with a shoe thrown up from the crowd. It is their first time in Australia after all, so when in Rome, right?
While it seems the obvious reason why they chose ‘tarot cards’ to close out their set would be to honour their most-streamed song on Spotify, in the moment, it seemed to signal something much more for the 3-piece. The claps, singing along, and crowdsurfers had ramped up, and while they had been having fun throughout the whole set, as I watched the band, I noticed the biggest smiles creep up on their faces. I had wondered if this was an “I made it” moment for them. What a way to end their first time in Brisbane.
A quick bathroom and water break later, and I was back at our same spot, only a little closer to the stage this time. Having spent the past few days exclusively listening to the band and donning all black and a red flannel tonight, I was more than ready for Hot Mulligan.
Opening their set with an explosive hat-trick of ‘How Do You Know It’s Not Armadillo Shells?’, ‘Drink Milk And Run’, and ‘Shhhh! Golf Is On’, I knew every hope I had for this to be a feral show would be fulfilled. Sure enough, our self-proclaimed post-emo Midwesterners pumped us through an impressive 22-song setlist, a welcome 3-song addition from their last Australian shows.
If you thought screaming along to their songs at full blast in the car was satisfying, doing the same at a live show takes it to an extreme dopamine-hitting level. Frontman Tades Sanville’s and guitarist Chris Freeman’s screams formidably held up for the whole show, powering through raw and scream-heavy ‘It Smells Like Fudge Axe In Here’ and ‘And a Big Load’, before weaving back into the melodic scream-singing of latest single ‘I Don’t Think It’s the Right Time for Emojis’ and ‘Bon Jonah’. It’s no wonder they had four water bottles each placed on the stage. While the high-leaning screams of Hot Mulligan may not be for everyone, the combination of their vocals, full instrumentals by guitarist Ryan “Spicy” Malicsi, drummer Brandon Blakeley, and bassist Jonah “Fantasy Camp” Kramer, and the somehow natural crowd harmonies made for a richer sonic experience compared to their studio recordings.
The hype from the crowd was palpable from the start of the set, as there wasn’t a moment without clapping, singing along and folks surfing their way through the crowd. As soon as the band started, my +1’s 17 year old son disappeared into the pit, and only reappeared again 45 minutes later during “And I Smoke”, in all his drenched-in-sweat and still-head-banging glory. A personal standout moment from the set was ‘Monica Lewinskibidi’, as the volume in the hall progressively turned up harmonising to, “it’s 1/3/5 a.m. in Tokyo”, with Tades, and the dancing increased with the up-tempo bridge, only to have a sobering end as one of the final lines, “I didn’t try hard enough to be a proper son”, hit our consciousness.
Paired with their addictive performance, what made the show rank high in my books was their natural humor. Early in the set, I noticed they were all dressed in a white tee and black pants, except for guitarist Spicy. Sure enough, in the next song break, Tades calls this out, followed by requests to “take it off” by the crowd. Unfortunately, the stars didn’t align for us tonight, but he did briefly join the gang after the audience threw up a white tee for him. The back-and-forth banter with the audience was constant throughout the night, with Tades booing audience members in the balcony, followed by a sea of middle fingers flipped back at him, refusing to do a shoey but instead asking an audience member to do one instead, and requesting the opportunity for a bathroom break before the encore, followed by a slowly building “piss yourself” chant. It’s always a treat seeing acts having genuine fun on stage, and it was pretty hard to miss that these guys were funny in the most effortless way.
Who knows if he actually made it to the bathroom, but the crowd erupted at the first semblance of the word “play” as they started ‘BCKYRD’. Phones up and crowd surfers aplenty, I thought, of course they chose to end with their best-known songs. The energy in the Music Hall was frantic, and that continued through to their final song, ‘*Equip Sunglasses*’, serving one last chance for us to revel in the chaos and boy the crowd did not hold back. I suppose the magic of Hot Mulligan’s music, and akin to other emo acts, is that their sound is often a perfect blend of fun and catharsis, where dancing and screaming your lungs out turns into a seamless motion, forcing you to be present in the moment.
The end was relatively abrupt, with a short “thank you” before the band walked off stage. I realised the consistent high they created over the past 90 minutes had ended, and the comedown was tangible. I suppose it’s a good way to keep fans wanting more, and I can vouch for everyone when I say, I want more and very soon (please).
Hot Mulligan, saturdays at your place, and Forests are set to continue on with the remainder of The Sound A Body Makes When It’s Still Tour with stops in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, before jetting off to Japan for shows in May.
Review by Mariyah Shahrin
Photos by Reece Trudgen
