Mammal ft. Osaka Punch, Slim Jeffries
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Mammal ft. Osaka Punch, Slim Jeffries

Down the dark stairway of the former underground McDonald’s turned electronic music nightclub, BLOOM, echoing bass can usually be heard from the street. The bass drop tonight was not that of Fat Man Scoop or Jax Jones, but instead from hard rock outfit, Mammal.
Opening the night was Melbourne’s Slim Jeffries. It’s hard to put Slim Jeffries into a genre. Slim Jeffries sound like a love triangle between Brisbane three-piece, Good Boy, the Offspring, and Tame Impala. A perfect mix of that classic and heavy rock you would hear on Triple M, with a dash of psychedelic flavour. Their set was exactly what you would expect- high energy, youthful quick wit and banter between band mates, and an all together tight set, but because of their multi-genre core it was quite an excitable journey- a sentiment that would be consistent throughout the night.
Following Slim Jeffries, the highly charismatic Osaka Punch took to the stage to deliver a stand out set, reinforcing that they are a band to watch! If you have seen any of their social media posts, you know these guys don’t take themselves too seriously. Same goes for their stage show which lead to one hell of an entertaining set! Front man, Jack Venables possesses the charm, childlike cheekiness and star quality that has the potential to sit him with the likes of Brandon Flowers and Brendon Urie. Tracks ‘How We Operate’, ‘Make The Call’ and ‘STONK’ translated well live with the funk infused hard rock making it near impossible not shimmy along, which is probably why the lads injected a cover of Salt n Peppers ‘Push It’ mid song and it surprisingly worked! ‘Eat Red Carpet’ from the 2012 Voodoo Love Machine was a highlight as it verges on a cover of a System of Down song with the on-stage theatrics from Vernables adding to the appeal.
8 years after they called it quits, we had high expectations for the Mammal comeback given their reputation for high energy and plain bizarre on stage (and in crowd) antics. What we got was anything but disappointing! With a ceremonial fist bump before taking to the stage, Mammal immediately commanded the crowds’ attention before kicking into new track, ‘Virtue Signalling’. The personal differences that split the band 8 years prior seemed as though it never happened- Mammal were as tight as ever- in sound, in stage presence and in group dynamic. This band is the epitome of the IDGAF attitude which serves as pure entertainment in itself but their passion for their music and the crowd is evident with their on stage antics. If there wasn’t a barrier between front man Ezekiel (Zeke) Ox and the crowd, he would be one of them. Hold that thought- it only took two songs before he was on the other side to get the crowd ramped up for ‘Dead’, and where he would stay for majority of the set. This show lacked nothing- disco ball helmets with light beams strategically bouncing off blinding the crowd, Zeke borrowing a faux fur neon light up jacket from a punter to parade on the bar counter for a song (he would then buy the jacket from the punter and use it as a prop at other shows), a Jimmy Barnes injection, ranting about employment rates and the political propaganda behind it and a full two minute drum solo. Did I mention this all took place within a one hour and fifteen minute set. While the entire set didn’t have a dull moment, song wise, ‘Community’ and ‘Smash the Piñata’ were clear crowd favourites. It was whirlwind but my god it was good to have the boys back!
BLOOM Geelong
Thursday, 9 August 2018
Reviewed by Tammy Walters