HOT MULLIGAN | THE FORUM | April 22nd
It’s Wednesday, 22nd of April, and one this fine, strangely muggy evening, I find myself strolling down Collins Street with my dear friend, Tristan. Sipping on Red Bulls and talking shit about nothing really, adrenaline shoots sharply through my body as we near The Forum. As we walked down Hosier Lane, the line for the gig mercilessly wrapped around the block. Eventually we found the man of the hour, Jai Groza, as I took him under my wing and we scurried inside to secure some merch and a mint spot in the pit.
With nothing short of impeccable timing on our behalf, as we shuffled our way to the front of the stage, the lights dimmed as Forests made their way onto the stage to rock my Garfield socks off. I’ve only been waiting an agonising 7 years to catch these guys live, and they did not disappoint in the slightest. Darrell Laser, on vocals and bass, kicked off their set by making the crowd sing along to “Living On a Prayer” before transitioning into “Fool of Hell”. Equally hilarious as they are talented, between songs Laser stated “If you like what you hear - We have merch. If you don’t like what you hear… We have merch”. I don’t know if I was just freaking out over finally getting to hear my favourite tracks “Kawaii Hawaii” and “You Must Be Fun at Parties”, but my jaw began to ache from grinning as I threw myself into the circle pit for “Jazz Ruined My Life”. Definitely a top 10 set of all time for me.
Forests / Photo Credit: @skellvisuals
Of course, as per tradition, we guzzled some Hard Solo’s before Saturday’s At Your Place graced the stage. As if the energy wasn’t intoxicating enough, the opening chords to “cross my heart” pierced the room, and my limbs loosened as I thrashed myself around. These guys are one of few bands I have the gall to admit that they are even better live than on their records, they are so incredibly tight and without exaggeration, do not miss a beat. I was enthralled by drummer Gabe Wood’s natural ability to belt out the lyrics while effortlessly keeping in time. Lead vocalist Stafne was a very charming frontman, switching between soaring vocals and having a little giggle with the crowd between songs, even eventually getting peer pressured into doing a shoey when someone threw a shoe on stage for him. Since that night, I’ve been absolutely rinsing their tracks, especially after their performance of “eat me alive”, though it simply did not compare to getting to see it live. I was slightly (very) heart broken when the set ended, but I knew that it could only mean one thing.
Saturdays At Your Place / Photo Credit: @skellvisuals
It was time for Hot Mulligan, baby! The room shook thunderously as lights dimmed, and a large banner was revealed hanging on the back of the stage of their logo. They walked out onto the stage, grinning ear to ear and waving at the crowd, then slammed into the familiar, scaling intro to “How Do You Know it’s Not Armadillo Shells?”. If there’s one thing you must know about this band, it’s that they have the most awesome and sometimes mind bending song names, so strap in for that. Nathan is simply astonishing on stage, with one high energy track after another belting out and his voice has no issues keeping up at all, or running out of breath, his very distinct gritty, heart wrenching voice never faltering. He has this mesmerising physicality while performing, too. He wraps the mic lead around his wrist and twists and throws himself all around the stage, his hair covering his face as he leans forward for the higher notes.
Hot Mulligan / Photo Credit: @skellvisuals
Guitarist Chris Freeman had a sign taped to his shirt that I could only make out the writing of about halfway through the set. It read “Do not let me hit a vape under any circumstances, no matter what,” but yet of course, in true Aussie fashion, about three people around me were waving their vapes in the air, trying to get his attention. I was absolutely flawed by the stamina of this band, managing to cram so many great songs from their discography into an hour and fifteen minute set. Some highlights for me were “I Don’t Think It’s The Right Time For Emoji’s,” and “Monica Lewinskibidi,” getting to hear some new material from them live was so bittersweet, and it’s noticeable how much they have honed their own, unique sound within the genre that only keeps getting better. The crowd was in utter adoration, not one song went by where most of the room didn’t know at least 90% of the lyrics, even while bodies crowd surfed and went over the barricade, they still kept singing along.
Wrapping up with two of their most beloved tracks, “BCKYRD” and “*Equips Sunglasses*”, the satisfying, chugging bass tied together with the gleaming, serene guitars made me want to cry a little bit. It’s the perfect sprinkling of all my favourite sounds combined, and I truly never wanted it to end, and no one else around me did either. It’s very hard to be able to enamour a room of 2,000 people, but to Hot Mulligan it’s second nature. The utter devotion of their fans is really a testament to this band's incredible work, and the unforgettable show that they put on. Filing out of the crowd was slow, my feet heavy from dancing, and as we trudged outside, I still couldn’t find a reason not to be grinning from ear to ear. I wish I could repeat gigs like this every night, where the music is everything I could ever hope for and the people are even nicer, but for now I’ll hug my friends goodbye and anxiously await the next show.
Hot Mulligan / Photo Credit: @skellvisuals
Massive Thankyou to Destroy All Lines!