Live Review: Mangelwurzel w/ Kirkis & Donny Love @ The Foundry

Mangelwurzel’s ‘Gary’ album launch show got off to a quiet start with only a few couples sitting inside the main stage room by 8:40pm. Members of the band could be seen walking around the venue, looking right at home in their edgy rock ‘n’ roll outfits before the show. As the clock inched towards nine, a larger crowd began to gather, just in time to catch the electrifying synthesisers and dramatic lighting that announced the first supporting act.

Melbournian one-man-band Kirkis knelt onstage before the microphone, laying down a moody electric guitar melody over the synth. From the outset, it was clear that the set was going to be anything but ordinary. Kirkis’ psychedelic tune seemed to have no logical direction, but the growing crowd was prepared to follow it anywhere as they stood silent and perplexed, nodding along to the rhythmless track.

“Wearing what looked like pyjama pants, this indie-rock 4-piece was perfect for lovers of mainstream pop and rock with a penchant for all things weird and wonderful.”

Hardcore rock guitar and microphone feedback reverberated around the room, the high-pitched squeals seeming like a planned part of the performance. Within five minutes, Kirkis’ long hair was dripping sweat onto the stage as he produced intricate effects and heavy melodies, perfectly complemented by the moody purple lighting. His chilling, high-pitched vocals left the audience surprised, confused, and sort of into it. Then, as suddenly as the song had begun, it was over, and the background music returned.

Gold Coast band Donny Love were up next, the ideal appetiser to Mangelwurzel’s main course. Wearing what looked like pyjama pants, this indie-rock 4-piece was perfect for lovers of mainstream pop and rock with a penchant for all things weird and wonderful.

Everything about these guys oozed personality. Even the soundcheck turned into a spectacle as they jumped onstage one by one and started throwing random sounds over the pop background music. Surf-rock number The Monster was packed with screeches and wacky rhythms, sounding almost as weird and wonderful as Mangelwurzel’s indescribable concoctions. While most members of the audience stood motionlessly soaking in the sounds, a few let loose with their best crazy dance moves.

Frontman Andrew Hodges described his mysterious track The Esplanade as “a darker ode to some aspects of living on the Gold Coast”, and carried off some impressive trumpet manoeuvres to go with his crazy screamer vocals.  Donny Love’s performance was probably one of the strangest combinations of unpredictable instrumentation, screeching, and never-before-seen facial expressions the crowd had ever seen – at least until Mangelwurzel finally hit the stage around 10:15pm.

“After the opening number, she popped a celebratory bottle of champagne on stage, marking the beginning of an hour and a half full of antics and shenanigans.”

One thing is for sure, there’s nothing uniform about Melbourne’s weirdest band, but still Mangelwurzel somehow came together as one outfit onstage. Blinding strobe lights and a psychedelic rhythm kicked things off with a bang. Lead singer Cosima Jaala screamed into the microphone as saxophonist Anna Joy Gordon and trumpeter Charlie Woods whipped out some epic quirky dance moves.

Jaala brought her craziest facial expressions and buckets of energy to the stage, and just like on the recording, everything was done in perfect timing. After the opening number, she popped a celebratory bottle of champagne on stage, marking the beginning of an hour and a half full of antics and shenanigans.

As the band played through the best of their debut album ‘Gary’, they had the crowd eating out of their dirty hands. Early on, Hawaii was a hit thanks to the band’s trademark mixture of brass, bass, and banging dance moves. While the absence of vocal harmonies in Fishy Fry left things feeling incomplete, it was difficult to be disappointed by the smacks of brass that replaced them. Amazingly, the energetic, semi-synchronised dancing in My House still never got in the way of Mangelwurzel’s perfect instrumental timing, and in crowd-favourite Everybody’s Friend, Woods’ trumpet solo stole the show.

The band showed off their incredible improvisation skills by making up an entirely new song on the spot using the phrase “you can’t make me”, and even managed to throw a bonafide ‘slow dance song’ into the mix. Of course, the punters in the front row obliged by channeling all of their excited energy into a good old-fashioned sweaty partner dance.

By the last song, the crowd had transformed The Foundry into a mosh pit, thrashing around and loving every minute of it. Gary was an unforgettable way to finish the show. Mangelwurzel played their formidable title track perfectly as the crowd threw themselves into its ever-changing rhythm. Jaala’s scream never lost its piercing passion, morphing the song into a psychedelic rock anthem.

The endlessly energetic frontwoman of Melbourne’s weirdest band finished with some memorable last words: “I think everyone has something to say, and I’m not wearing a shirt, and that’s okay”

Just when it seemed that things couldn’t get any weirder, Jaala handed the microphone to a stranger in the crowd, and from there, it quickly turned into a free-for-all. Soon enough almost everyone in the audience had enjoyed three seconds of fame, screaming or singing with impressive conviction into the microphone as it passed.

The ‘Gary’ album launch show had everything: partial nudity, sex jokes, mid-show champagne, rampant audience participation, crowd surfing, and the weirdest music you could hope to find in Brisbane on a Friday night. Mangelwurzel aren’t the sort to do anything by halves: between mingling with the crowd before their performance, setting up their own stage, and delivering an energetic show to exceed all expectations, they made sure that no one went home disappointed.

For all the blinding lights and the deafening sound, the fans wouldn’t have changed a single thing about it. The endlessly energetic frontwoman of Melbourne’s weirdest band finished with some memorable last words: “I think everyone has something to say, and I’m not wearing a shirt, and that’s okay”. You had to be there…

Read our album review of ‘Gary’ HERE, and read our interview with frontwoman Cosima Jaala HERE.