The Ocean Party- Farewell Tour and Nothing Grows EP Launch

The Ocean Party have embarked on their farewell tour as a band, beginning with tonight's sold out show at Howler. Besides being a farewell, this show was also the launch of the Nothing Grows EP, which were songs written by Zac Denton before he passed away last year that the rest of the band finished on his behalf.

Opening the evening was Melbourne band Cool Sounds, who came out on stage wearing t-shirts from different eras of The Ocean Party. Besides playing their own songs, they also threw in a few songs by Zac, who used to be a member. There was a lot of support for the band in the crowd, and they finished their set by inviting Ashley Bundang to join them singing the Ciggie Witch track "Wrong Crowd."

The Ocean Party's set was split into two parts. For the first section they played the Nothing Grows EP in full, bringing out musician friends to sing lead vocals on most of the tracks. It was the final song "Birth Place," which was sung by Zac's partner Mashara, that packed the biggest emotional punch.

After a short break the band came back out for what they termed a "greatest hits" set. Each band member took turns singing songs from their back catalogue, with highlights for me being the dolewave track "Quarter Life Crisis" off the album Split, "Deluded" and "Head Down" from Soft Focus, "Guess Work" off the Light Weight album, the title track "Restless," and "Rain On Tin" and "White Cockatoo" off their latest album The Oddfellows' Hall. For such a prolific band that also has members playing in other bands, they spoke about knowing songs were meant for The Ocean Party because they were the honest ones. For the last song of the night they invited friends and people from the audience up on stage to sing one of Zac's first singles with the band, the now anthemic "Split." Although it's sad to see the band finishing up under these circumstances, I'm sure they will all continue to make music in one form or another. Farewell The Ocean Party - you will be missed.

Here's the video for "Rain On Tin"

Oh Mercy- The Gasometer Hotel

As part of the "Collingwood Open" open-air series the Gasometer Hotel is hosting musical acts through February with the roof to the bandroom open. Tonight was Melbourne's own Oh Mercy in their first show since winning the 2015 ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album for When We Talk About Love.

I arrived about half way through the opening act Gabriella Cohen, who played a solo set on electric guitar and sounded good. Mary then joined me before The Ocean Party took the stage. They are probably Melbourne's most prolific band, having released an album each year since 2011 and recently putting out the hilariously titled EP Mess & Noise Critics Poll 2015. It was good to see them live again (and once again supporting Oh Mercy) but unfortunately the sound mix was off for most of their set, particularly around being able to hear the keyboards and vocals. They played some new songs along with the album tracks "Guess Work, "Greedy," "Light Weight" (which featured Zac dancing around a bit on the floor as part of a bet), and one of my favorites "Head Down" to finish the set.

It was a full band show for Oh Mercy tonight and they opened with "Can't You Hear My Body (Calling Out To You)." Alex was channelling the Deep Heat era in his very shiny pink lame button down shirt. The set list was mainly songs off When We Talk About Love, with highlights being "Without You," "All Roads Lead To You," a solo version of "Lady Eucalyptus," "Sandy" and "Let Me Be Him." I thought the band sounded good and this was the first show for me where they've really gelled with the songs and made them their own. Tracks from previous albums were also played, including "Keith St." "Drums" (complete with a Burt Bacharach style opening verse), "Deep Heat" and "Lay Everything On Me." Alex said he is currently recording new songs in his bedroom and played "Get On." The band once again did a cover of The Waterboys' "The Whole Of The Moon" and finished the night with "My Man." It was good to see Alex feeling well and being in a more positive head space these days. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to hear some more of these new tracks he is working on.

Oh Mercy- Melba Spiegeltent

The Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is on at the moment, and as part of the events around the City of Yarra Mary and I went to see Oh Mercy play at the Melba Spiegeltent tonight. The opening act was one of our Melbourne faves, The Ocean Party. It was good to finally see them play live again, and their set mainly featured new songs off their upcoming album. We also got to hear the latest single "Guess Work," as well as "Deluded" and the fantastic "Head Down" off their previous album Soft Focus.

It was a full band show for Oh Mercy, and they started the evening with "Iron Cross." As this was the first official gig since the release of When We Talk About Love, the set list featured most of the songs off the new album. Many of my current faves are the uptempo tracks such as "Sandy," "All Roads Lead To You," and "Let Me Be Him." "Lady Eucalyptus," which Alex played solo on acoustic guitar, and "Can't You Hear My Body (Calling Out To You)" were also quite good tonight. We even got treated to an unreleased song with funny lyrics called "Hot Topic."

Alex was in good spirits and told an amusing story about being out jogging and getting hit with a dirty puddle of water as a car drove by. This ultimately led to him singing a short ode to his asthma inhaler. The band played some older tracks as well, with "My Man," "Stay Please Stay," "Deep Heat," Drums" and "Lay Everything On Me" making it into the set list. The final song of the evening was a cover of The Go-Betweens' "Love Goes On!" in honor of their upcoming slot at the GW McLellan Tent at Splendour In The Grass in a few weeks.

Here's the voyeuristic video for "If You Come Around Tonight"

Fave Albums: The Ocean Party - The Sun Rolled Off The Hills

Melbourne (via Wagga Wagga) band The Ocean Party released their debut album The Sun Rolled Off The Hills early in 2012.  In the great tradition of the Australian singer-songwriter the album features quite honest lyrics that tell a story about everyday life with references to the Australian landscape.  It is a subtle album that features jangly guitars, piano, and Lachlan Denton's laid back vocals on songs such as "The Farm," "Shakin' Like A Leaf," "Still Raining," "Shepparton" and "Every House."  For a relatively young band it is a solid debut, and they are also prolific as they have recently released their second album Social Clubs.

Favorite Lyric: Shakin' like a leaf when I said it was my first time ("Shakin' Like A Leaf")

Favorite Song: "Still Raining"

The Ocean Party- Tote Residency

Every Saturday in July has seen The Ocean Party playing at The Tote Hotel Front Bar in support of their recently released EP In A Knot.  Since this was the last Saturday of their residency Mary and I made sure we finally got down there to see them play (despite the rain today).  We arrived as the second band on the bill, MSG, was about to start.  They were a low-fi indie trio with a female lead singer/guitarist and some short, punchy songs.

The Ocean Party began the evening with their two recent singles "On The Floor" and "In A Knot."  Their set list mainly featured songs off their upcoming album Social Clubs, which showcased Lachlan, Curtis and Liam on lead vocals at various points.  It was nice to have a sneak preview of these new tracks, including "Bored of it All," "Sit on the Hill" and "Waiting."  We were also treated to old favorites "The Dogs" and possibly the most honest song ever written about male puberty "Shakin' Like a Leaf."  After the show I had a lovely chat with Lachlan and finally got a copy of The Sun Rolled Off The Hills CD.

Here's the video for "In A Knot" (feel sorry for Lachlan- it was cold when this was shot)

THE OCEAN PARTY - IN A KNOT from Lucky Dolphin on Vimeo.

The Ocean Party- Young Love Single Launch

Last night Mary and I went to the John Curtin Hotel to see The Ocean Party launch their latest single "Young Love."  First up for the evening was Slow Dancer, who played a great set.  Simon was once again accompanied by Rohan Sforcina on drums and James Harding on bass.  "Leave It To Me" and "Home" were my highlights and it was nice to see Simon's Oh Mercy bandmates out to support him.

The second band on the bill was Melbourne three piece ScotDrakula.  They played a very energetic set of punk/indie sounding songs with a hint of rockabilly as well.  I really liked them and it was good to see a female drummer in the band.  Next was The Eliza Band, a side project of Rory Cooke, the lead singer of Gaslight Radio.  They played songs from their debut album Firework Dogs, of which "The Preston Front" was a stand out, and finished their set with a Gaslight Radio song.

Surprisingly there was just a small crowd in the bandroom by the time The Ocean Party took the stage. Nevertheless they played a solid set of songs from their various releases, including "The Dogs," "Deadbeat," "Shaking Like A Leaf" and their new single "Young Love."  After the show Mary and I scored their entire back catalog for $10, which was an amazing offer.  Their debut album The Sun Rolled Off The Hills will be released in February.

Here's the video for "The Dogs"

Oh Mercy- Great Barrier Grief Tour

Last night Mary and I met up at Mexicali Rose for dinner before heading to the Corner Hotel to see Oh Mercy's sold out show.  The first band of the evening was The Ocean Party, who I have been wanting to see live for a while now.  They had a good set of indie music with some standout tracks, and contained members of other bands that I saw at the Kins residency a few weeks ago.

Next up was Gossling (aka Helen Croome).  Her songs and band were decent but I just couldn't get past her voice, which sounds like a chipmunk.  It was like they had some sort of helium effect on the microphone, but no, it was her real voice.  Very unfortunate.

Before Oh Mercy took the stage they played a very good selection of classic Aussie music over the PA while we waited.  The band started their set with "Keith St" and then played my favorite song off Privileged Woes, "Broken Ears" next.  We were very fortunate to hear all of the new album Great Barrier Grief played live.  Highlights were "What You Do" with a great guitar solo by Simon, "Let Me Go," "Tenderness," and having Eliza sing lead vocals on "Doldrums." They finished the main set with "Stay Please Stay," and for the encore did a ripping cover of Leonard Cohen's "Memories" before finishing the night with "Lay Everything on Me."  It's exciting to see them become more popular and to sell out the Corner was a great accomplishment.

Here's the video for the fabulous "Stay Please Stay"