Review: Oh Mercy at the Northern Star, Hamilton

by Kathleen Ferguson on March 29, 2011

Saturday 26 March 2011.

On Saturday night Oh Mercy graced the stage at the Northern Star Hotel in Hamilton, their fourth stop on the Great Barrier Grief tour promoting their new album of the same name.  Crowds lined Beaumont Street in anticipation for the doors opening…

The first delight of the evening was supporting performer Gossling, a rising star from Melbourne, whose angelic voice and emotive lyrics captured my heart.  Gossling herself was a picture of style in a black floral dress, leather jacket and cute ankle boots, and the seven songs she played were delivered with conviction. Such is the plight of the support act, while Gossling captivated my attention, she unfortunately didn’t have the crowd support she deserved.

A short time later Oh Mercy began their show, opening with crowd favourite Keith St. While the band presented with fantastic potential for a great live show they were unfortunately let down from the beginning by the inadequate sound at the venue. This was disappointing, particularly in light of the hour long sound check following doors opening at 9:30pm.

Between the sound issues I appreciated hearing new details in the songs, like clapping sticks in ‘Mercy Valley’ which are mixed down in the album version but rang out clearly on the night.

As the band settled in, they began to interact with the crowd.  Quirky lead singer, Alexander Gow, spotted “the coolest t-shirt he has ever seen” and pulled the wearer on stage to share it with the crowd (the t-shirt showed cats and read, ‘Cat-tastic’, in case you were wondering) and soon after invited the band’s best friend from Newcastle, Brett, to dance solo on stage (cheered on by the rest of the band) while Gow left for a bathroom break.

The crowd was a young, energetic and alternative mirror of Oh Mercy themselves, many remaining front & centre throughout their set.

Oh Mercy’s songs are great, and I imagine they can deliver a hell of a live show (this was my first time seeing them live), but the long wait through the sound check in the packed room, and then sound issues throughout the set were disappointing. There was a solid turn out, and Gossling delivered a beautiful set.