The four well-dressed ladies and one gentleman of Bridezilla took to the stage, opening with ‘Lunar Eclipse’ from their debt LP The First Dance, before launching into my personal favourite ‘Brown Paper Bag’. I always love to watch this band play, but tonight there was something about their set that wasn’t captivating. Lead singer Holiday Sidewinder appeared unenthusiastic, while Daisy managed to pick up a little slack on her violin with her highly animated stage performance, writhing around the stage. They closed with older number ‘St Francine’, ending in the usual hectic whirlwind outburst, sharp frantic violin battling with Millie’s undulating saxophone; a mess of instruments creating one lasting impressing.

Filling in the waiting time between the main acts was Melbourne’s Money For Rope, playing rock and roll songs on the smaller side stage. They played with enthusiasm but their songs are nothing special - just uninteresting pub rock songs.

Jed Kurzel and Cec Condon, better known as The Mess Hall, swaggered onto the stage welcoming their Corner Hotel audience with ‘My Villain’, its jarring drumbeat getting the crowd moving. Though only guitar and drums, the pair sure know how to create the perfect racket between them, shown in tracks like ‘Pulse’ and ‘City of Roses’, from their 2007 album Devils Elbow.
The Mess Hall’s rustic rock songs manage to take on a greater amount of energy when played live, in particular watching Cec Condon annihilate his drum kit song after song. For several songs, the two gentlemen were joined by a keyboardist, one of those tunes being my favourite ‘The Switch’. It’s jerky piano melody radiating through the distorted guitar.

Though only two men, the Mess Hall’s blues-enthusiastic songs show a rough-and-ready appeal, an electric vibrancy that proves them as a worthy live act.