[Live Review] MS MR

MS MR 20

The Triffid, Brisbane
Tuesday May 3, 2016 :

Being a new resident of Brisbane I haven’t had a chance to catch a gig at The Triffid until last night and I have to say this venue is fantastic. As soon as you walk into the amazing industrial hangar you can tell this conversion most definitely has the punter experience in mind. Not surprising, as it’s owned by a musician (former Powderfinger bassist JC Collins) the band room is spacious, amazing sound quality and has a mezzanine level to hang out overlooking the crowd. It’s only downside was the absence of a crash barrier, making things very difficult for the photographers getting shoved about in the crowd (big apologies to the girl who’s head connected with my camera lens… I didn’t see you there!).

The room filled up on arrival of the support act, the cute-as-a-button electro duo GRRL PAL from Perth. These two have such a great vibe and amazing energy on stage, and their synth pop tunes certainly set the tone for a great night of live music that awaited the crowd. Tracks like ‘Paradise’, ‘Dare’ and ‘Suggest’ had the audience moving (not an easy feat on a Tuesday night!) as did their epic covers of Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ and SBTRKT’s ‘Wildfire’.

After a short break New York lovelies MS MR hit the stage… It’s been three years since I was last lucky enough to photograph this gorgeous duo and I must say that their energy and enthusiasm has not wavered at all in that time. It’s always so amazing to see a band that is just so genuinely happy to be on stage, the smiles and humble banter that they have with he crowd is so charming, even after all these years of touring they still cannot believe that people on the other side of the world are singing the lyrics that they wrote in their bedrooms.

With the lights down low and a massive MS MR projected in swirling visuals behind them, vocalist Lizzy Paplinger (MS) and producer Max Hershenow (MR) took to the stage with their touring bandmates, a live drummer and bass/synth player bringing a much bigger sound this time around, and to roaring applause from the crowd.

The set kicked off with ‘Reckless’ from 2015 album How Does It Feel. Within a few beats of the drum Lizzy’s flame red hair was being whipped from side to side and her energy only increased as she danced across the stage, her epic voice just commanding attention. Next up they played one of my favourites, ‘Fantasy’, from 2013’s Secondhand Rapture, to say they absolutely did this song justice live is an understatement, with Lizzy belting out the vocals while Max was showing off some of his best moves.

From here things got a little sultry with ‘No Guilt In Pleasure’ and ‘Salty Sweet’, and by this time the crowd was completely seduced by the duo. Things took a slower turn with ‘BTSK’, which was only just reintroduced to their live set and I am so glad that it was, this spine tingling performance was a definite highlight of their night.

Next up was feisty break up track ‘Think Of You’ followed by the title track of their new album, which had the entire crowd chanting ‘How Does It Feel’ at the top of their lungs. The band then took us through a few newer tracks including ‘Wrong Victory’, ‘Tunnels’ and induced another sing along with ‘Criminals’.

They wound things back again with the stunning ‘Dark Doo Wop’, wooing the crowd “Baby, you should stick around, Brisbane you should stick around…” and then blew everyone away with ‘Pieces’, ‘Leave Me Alone’ and wrapping up the set with ‘Painted’.

After a quick break they came back for their encore, playing a cover of Miike Snow’s ‘Genghis Khan’ which they had only recorded days earlier for Triple J’s Like A Version, and we were lucky enough to see play live for the very first time that night. They absolutely killed it and it felt like they had been playing it for years.

The set then wrapped up with crowd favourites ‘Bones’, showcasing Lizzy’s epic vocal range, and an absolutely spectacular rendition of ‘Hurricane’. Definitely a top shelf Tuesday evening.

Reviewer and Photographer : Chrissy Kavalieros

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