Third time was the charm as I finally got to see Merpire perform for her album launch on Thursday night at Brunswick’s Howler.
It was fantastic to finally hear the songs from MILK POOL live, and while I was gutted to have missed the early shows this year, I honestly think seeing them performed with a full band was probably the best possible live experience. There was an excited energy in the room and a palpable sense of enjoyment that carried from the set’s opening through to the end of the night when people were clearly reluctant to leave. There’s a moment in the night when Merpire takes a moment and recognises the feel of the room, commenting to Bec Sykes that she wishes people were this excited all the time, like when they’re brushing their teeth – guess I’m the only one vibing to Chappell Roan or listening to my new music playlist while they get ready in the morning huh?!
Anyway, speaking of Bec Skes, something I particularly enjoyed was that throughout the night Merpire brought out special guests to join her for several songs. I think this reflects her genuine passion in trying to uplift everyone around her and the Melbourne music landscape in general. She’s an artist who truly recognises that collaboration can make everyone stronger and it just set such a warm tone for the whole evening.
Continuing my oversharing era for a moment. I grew up in the Manchester music scene so I never had to search to fit in. As soon as I go ‘home’ I slip into talking about bands in this shared sense of community that will always be an intrinsic part of me. Moving to a new city meant it has taken me a long time to work out what being part of the Melbourne (or wider Australian) music world looks like for me. For a long time I avoided going to gigs and live music because it made me homesick and lonely. But walking out of that gig on Thursday made me realise I’ve found what I was searching for. I want to soak up every moment of being around these women who are creative, talented song writers but also not afraid to be incredibly raw and truly themselves on stage. So thank you Merpire (and Mia Wray, The Buoys etc. – I’m not going to keep listing people because I’ll definitely miss someone and then I’ll feel bad), it’s taken me a little while to realise it but this is exactly what I need.
I enjoyed that it was such an engaging evening. So many artists at an album launch just blast through a few of their favourite tracks or play through the album with little consideration for how that might land with a live audience. This felt more curated. There was thought put into where to place certain tracks throughout the night and a couple of older songs were scattered throughout the set too. It was also awesome that every single album track was played, and they sounded so much like the recorded versions. I’m always that person who loves the random obscure track on an album that never gets any airtime at live shows, which can be a little bit of a bummer, so hearing a full album put together in this was was really quite lovely.
I’m not sure when you’ll next get the chance to hear Merpire live, but in the meantime I’d recommend checking out MILK POOL if you haven’t already. You can read what I thought of it here. Or give her a follow on insta so you can keep an eye on what she’s up to.
Or, get hyped while you’re brushing your teeth here.