An evening with locals

This Friday evening in Sydney saw us head to George Street to the old faithful, the Metro to see Thirsty Merc play their last gig as part of their national Mousetrap Heart tour.

Our evening began with a bite to eat at Mamak in Goulburn Street in Chinatown. Now for those not aware, I strongly believe that Mamak is the best Malaysian food in Sydney – and from my experience the best satay sauce ever. Needless to say satay chicken skewers were ordered and devoured along with plenty of other delicious flavours.

On the way to the Metro we stopped off at the World Square Pub. I have never been to this pub but I was quite surprised at how good it was. Happy hour was on and included $5 spirits from 5pm to 7pm and cocktails were $8 till 9pm. The crowd was good (no pretentious individuals), and everyone seemed to be having a good time! Plenty of mos were spotted in the crowd courtesy of Movember.

Around 7.30 we headed upstairs at the Metro where there was a DJ playing in the Foyer keeping everyone entertained. As we arrived, we were asked if we were Virgin Mobile customers (which none of us were) but because we were kind enough to stop and chat, we were given special VIP passes (not that they were trying to off load them or anything). The passes gave us access to a designated upstairs area and food (which we didn’t use) and given free drinks vouchers (which we did use).

Doors were opening at 8pm and as the time drew nearer the crowd surrounding the doors swelled. We hovered relatively close to the front and when the doors opened, we managed to get our favourite spot, the first tier behind the barrier – providing somewhere to sit while we waited, a drinks holder plus a great view of the band.

Lucy and her paper

A lass by the name of Lucy Hall was first up. Her sounds: acoustic and folk; and she has the voice to pull it off! She played the drums softly, the guitar and eukalalee. There was also an instrument where paper was wound through it to play music. It was interesting, especially when a short interlude was needed during this performance as unfortunately the paper had been ripped into separate pieces – but I was impressed as this didn’t stop her.  Phil from Thirsty Merc performed a couple of songs with Lucy and her voice really shone.

The White Bats doing their thing

The second support act was a band called The White Bats. At first I described them as sounding a little like the Foo Fighters, and Danny described them as sounding more like the Queens of the Stone Age. Later towards the end of their set, I thought I should add to that mix, a touch of Jet – rock style with a little bit of punk edge. They were entertaining and got the audience up and moving – providing a great vibe and energy in the room for the looming Thirsty Merc appearance.

Thirsty Merc wowing the audience

Not long after 10.30, the boys came on – Rai, his curly locks (which give my own a run for their money) and the rest of the crew came running on stage and started off with an oldie – I Wish Somebody Would Build a Bridge. The crowd got into the music and didn’t stop!

Thirst Merc covered a great mix of songs from their first album through to their most recent, Mousetrap Heart. The songs were balanced and at the end we were treated to Emancipate Myself. The only disappointment was that they weren’t on stage for long enough! (about 1 hour 10 minutes in total, but really for $35 I shouldn’t complain).

Waiting with baited breath for the encore!

Afterwards the band was courteous (as always) and was signing merchandise at the stand.

After the show we were on such a high that Danny, Jorge and myself headed down to King St Wharf to meet up with friends at Cargo Bar. The DJ at Cargo for the evening I reckon was pretty much just playing all the songs from the Ministry of Sound Annual 2010 - but that didn’t stop us from staying there till the ugly lights came on and the DJ stopped playing music!

A great evening full of entertainment - with the highlight of course being Thirsty Merc! Despite it being my third time seeing them and Danny and Jorge’s seventh, if not eighth time, they are still bloody fantastic!