How to make a Mercury Lounge Wednesday Pie:
- 7000 lbs of British Accents (Ripened and Pale)
- 7000 lbs of Pure Aussie-ness (Seasoned and Tanned)
- 2 tsp. of New York Peeps
- 50000 lbs of Black Hip Glasses – Top-siders included
- Denim Jackets – ready-made from any vintage store
- Body Odour
- One pair of crutches
Put all your ingredients into one room and soak in PBR until pleasantly merry. Then expose your dish to Roadie sauce for 60 minutes at approximately 375 degrees (this won’t be enjoyable for the crowded dish, but don’t worry, they’ll get over it). You want to cook until there is a B.O. stench from at least one sweaty man. Right at the time when the dish seems to have had enough of it, throw in your Mystery Jet juice and watch the Mercury Lounge Pie come to life…
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Considering they missed their twin show on Tuesday (not their own fault), took more than an hour to make it onto the stage and dealt with technical difficulties, they still provided a performance that gave every punter within the Mercury Lounge the most pleasant form of amnesia… they must be good.
I was getting riled. An hour to get your arses on stage! ‘C’mon people, I’ve got work at 7am!’
Regardless of the wait, Mystery Jets were on form Wednesday. By far the best band I’ve seen grace the Mercury stage, they really made up for what was a tiring hour. The Eel Pie Island-based band confidently took the stage, gave their apologises and broke into a smart, crowd pleasing set. A few songs from Serotonin, their latest album, but more from Twenty One, their more established and stronger record.
Mystery Jets come from a breed of British bands which sit under an umbrella of sound referred to as Thamesbeat, mixing folk with experimental electronics. Much more indie than Mumford and Sons yet a little less progressive than the Klaxons, Mystery Jets perch somewhere in the middle.
This was the first time I’d seen the band, who I had a fond love affair with during my college days, and what struck me was the stage presence of each of their four members. Each member was a lead. If Blaine Harrison, rooted to his stool due to his spina bifida condition, wasn’t positioned centrally, anyone one of the band could have been in the ‘controlling spot’. Because of this, boredom was never an issue, and someone always had something to say. Mystery Jets are known for sharing vocals, and it provides spontaneity, intrigue and the element of surprise.
On this night, the band piled through hits such as “Two Doors Down”, “Hideaway” and “Flakes”, sliding effortlessly into each and fusing the crowd who were beginning to unsettle beforehand. Hands in the air and awful dancing white kids galore, the people showed to be having fun.
Mystery Jets ended on “Behind the Bunhouse” and to huge applause, which at one point looked like it would take the power of Moses to achieve. Through technical difficulties, no shows/late shows and Blaine Harrison’s hair, Mystery Jets filled me up.
