Review: Mondo Rock, Eatons Hill Hotel, June 20, 2014
REVIEW: Thirty-three-and-a-third years after their debut album Chemistry, Mondo Rock’s vintage lineup reunites to play it again track by track.
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YOU’D almost think Mondo Rock were a one-hit wonder, the extent to which they’ve become synonymous with their megahit Come Said the Boy. But of course the band have a much deeper discography from both before and after that 1984 zenith.
Case in point: their debut album Chemistry, which they played in full in Brisbane last night to kick off a tour marking its 33 1/3 anniversary. That album spawned an impressive number of top 20 singles itself, including Cool World, State of the Heart, Summer of ’81 and the title track. And the band drew a near-capacity crowd to the Eatons Hill Hotel, a testament to their enduring popularity despite not having reached the dizzying heights of, say, INXS or Midnight Oil.
Mainstays Ross Wilson and Eric McKusker are well preserved, with the only obvious signs of ageing being extra chunkiness and grey beard respectively. And Wilson’s stage mannerisms are still there, from the swagger to the swaying arms and 100-yard stare.
Wilson said they were paying homage to the album which was “33 frickin’ years old” — and with a lineup that hasn’t played together in that long (Mondo Rock has had almost as many lineup changes as LRB). Their performance was tight and professional despite the passage of years, though after briefly flubbing Popular View, Wilson admitted: “Haven’t sung that one for a while!”
And he paused “between sides” of the album to relate a personal story: “I’ve got a 15-year-old daughter who just bought her first vinyl album. After 20 minutes she came and said, ‘Hey Dad, it’s stuck. It won’t go past track six.’ I said, watch this (simulating flipping the record) — problem solved!”
After the Chemistry album was completed — with “bonus track!” - they took the unusual step of an intermission, before returning with a barrage of hits including Baby Wants to Rock, The Queen and Me, Primitive Love Rights, No Time and, of course, Come Said the Boy.
McCusker assumed lead-singer duties for his own tune Out the Window. And Wilson thanked the crowd for coming out to help them kick off the “monster tour — five shows!”
“Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne — then we’ll get out of your lives again!”
With Mondo Rock still as quirky yet sophisticated as ever, hopefully that won’t be for too long.
Originally published as Review: Mondo Rock, Eatons Hill Hotel, June 20, 2014
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