Live Review: RIDE & Mercury Rev @ The Forum, Melbourne

Tonight's double bill delivers a nostalgic sojourn in ‘90s indie rock in shades of psychedelia and dreamy shoegaze from a couple of bands who continue to refine their artistry with the consistent release of new music.

Mercury Rev, relegated to open for RIDE, delivered a short but flawless set rolled out with all the majesty the band could muster. Scheduled to release their new album Born Horses at any moment now, Mercury Rev didn’t treat us to a preview of any forthcoming material. The set was comprised of just six songs from the back catalogue that were stretched out over 45 minutes.

Touted as something of a collective of musicians, Mercury Rev have seen a huge number of contributors and collaborators some and go over the years as Jonathan Donahue and guitarist Grasshopper now form the core of the band that steers the ship. These days they present at live shows as a five-piece rock outfit that delivers these tunes with a certain raw elemental energy that sheds the orchestral flourishes that feature on some of their records.

Mercury Rev played noticeably louder than RIDE and aimed to pulverise the ear drums with a massive wall of majestic distorted guitar noise that forms context for searing guitar solos that have a kind of cosmic intent and Donahue’s reflective vocals which sit just a little low in a mix.

Focussing on Deserter's Songs, The show starts with The Funny Bird and Tonite It Shows before giving us a cover of Bob Dylan's Love Sick. Naturally everything is fed through a myriad array of effects to create a shoegaze swirl of sound that immerses listeners in its lusciously deep dreaminess. Tides Of The Moon is an epic tune that silences the awe struck crowd with its overwhelming majestic beauty.

Holes is a sentimental old favourite that sees many smiling as they soak up the sweet melancholy of the moment. Donahue dedicated the song to Died Pretty with a soft mumble. Reinvented on a grind of heavy guitars, Opus 40 breaks into wild psychedelic improvisation. The Dark Is Rising swathes us in its soothing but powerfully anthemic vibes. It is a Mercury Rev classic that feels appropriate for the times. Donahue reminded us not to forget the power of our dreams.After just six songs it was disappointing to see Mercury Rev wave goodbye.

After a short break, RIDE took to the stage. The quintessentially ‘90s indie rockers are experiencing something of a renaissance after reforming a few years back. They surprised everyone by releasing Weather Diaries in 2017 some 21 years after their last album for Creation. RIDE were always the kind of band destined to be signed to Alan McGee’s label. McGee signed many bands that delivered fairly traditional sixties styled pop rock tunes with verse and chorus and psychedelic twists.

Influenced by shoegaze RIDE applied heavy effects to their guitars to achieve mesmerising results. They are no longer the angsty pretty boys that had the girls excited for them when Nowhere came out in 1990. Instead they serve middle aged dad realness now but these lads are still capable of delivering blistering guitar workouts with plenty of grunt. Where Mercury Rev’s guitars had the tendency to swirl and entrance listeners, RIDE is a much more direct and punchy proposition. A classic sound that attracted fans who span many generations tonight.

Promising the crowd that they were going to play all of their second album Going Blank Again at the second of their Melbourne shows meant that this, their first Melbourne gig, was to be focussed on showcasing recent work with fan favourites from all those years ago thrown in as a bonus.

Things get started with Monaco from their latest album Interplay. It's reassuring to see that after all these years RIDE still play it super tight and uncompromisingly hard. They follow this up with the softer, more introspective Last Night I Went Somewhere To Dream. Continuing with the theme of dreaming, Dreams Burn Down from their masterful debut album offers a wild rumble of thunderous noise that only RIDE can conjure. The setlist features older material such as Unfamiliar, Cool Your Boots, Vapour Trail, Seagull and even Black Nite Crash with its garage inclinations mixed up with tunes from their latest album.

Where songs from Interplay feature synths in the arrangements, when performing live RIDE are all about the roar of their guitars. Andy Bell and Mark Gardener’s guitars and vocals lead the way while Steve Queralt on bass and Loz Colbert on drums add weight to the mix. Amusingly, Queralt supported Aussie music with a tee that had Kylie written on the front and Danii on the back.

Newer material such as I Came To See The Wreck, Lannoy Point, Portland Rocks and Light In A Quiet Room reflected a maturing of their collective talents and the shifting perspective from youth into more adult concerns. The omission of Twisterella felt deliberately annoying but a fine version of Leave Them All Behind topped off an otherwise satisfying evening of good old fashioned indie rock.