Moses Gunn Collective at The Lansdowne Pub Sydney Live Review

BBM’s Ashley Leszczuk’s Live Review of Moses Gun Collective at The Lansdowne Pub, Sydney, Thursday 7th August 2014.

If only every Thursday night could be this good. The Lansdowne pub was awash with bass, moody, uplifting, progressive rock and a shed-load of 60’s inspired soul.

Moses Gunn Collective, supported by the excellent Mezko (more on them later), pulled us back to the era of psych with their bluesy, upbeat sound that is sure to be across airwaves soon.

As Ian Dury once famously sang, these guys are less “hit me” but more blow by blow with their rhythm stick. Encompassing a blanket of kaleidoscopic soulfulness, MGC grabbed you by the hand and dragged the audience back to the era of love, flower power and down and dirty funk.

With so many alternative psychedelic bands hitting the Aussie music scene right now, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. But, alas, I think we may have just unearthed a group that does exactly that.

The sure fire hit of their show was their newly released single ‘Shalala’, a mix of dreamlike, winding guitar riffs, combined with a hip-swinging rhythm bassline, crashing, captivating drum beats and vocals that are awash with a stirring feel-good factor. Quite simply, it just makes you want to sit back, grab that beer and let the good times roll. Even if it is supposedly an ode to death….

Now, if that isn’t what music is here to achieve, I don’t know what is.

Each song felt fresh, each song felt youthful, with a care-freeness about it that reminded the audience of being juvenile with those long summer holidays off school to look forward to, it’s just a shame that we have to grow up.

Supporting Moses at the Lansdowne Hotel were Mezko, a three piece made up of two female guitarists (one combined with electric keyboard) and a drummer. Nothing new there I hear you say? You would be wrong. With a sound echoing that of U.N.K.L.E and a ferocious drum score, these gals (and guy) quite literally smashed it.

Within each song, the music built up from a moody, dark storm of a beast into a lashing of guitar slaying, drum pounding beats that blew your eardrums into oblivion, in a very, very good way.

If Moses Gunn Collective become the darlings of psych-rock here on the east coast, then Mezko could surely become the darlings of big-beat, neo-psychedelia pop.

What a mix. What a night. As I said, if only every Thursday night could be this good…

By Ashley Leszczuk