I haven’t been out that much lately (it’s too damn cold) and being at Zula the night before had made me a little uneasy, so going back to Mercury last week was like coming home. The line-up attracted a weird mixed crowd making the night rather odd, but in that comforting way it always seems to be – how I’ve missed Mercury.

First impressions are funny things; usually I try to be open-minded but sometimes you just can’t shake your initial opinion. I remember watching the Lottery Tickets for maybe 30 seconds at Synergy last year, and that was enough for me. Unfortunately, listening to them again on Saturday, I was reminded why I didn’t hang around last time…

Verona Walls were pretty much on another planet compared to the Lottery Tickets (and maybe just in general) – I hadn’t heard (of) them before so had no idea what to expect but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the crazy energy they unleashed. Vocalist Marco De Sousa started the set by jumping off the stage and thrashing about in the crowd, before climbing back up and attacking every song with such intense force that he physically collapsed a few times.

I have no idea what their music’s about, (I was distracted by the arresting performance) but there were moments that reminded me of Deftones, which is definitely good…though I confess that while their energy is awesome and watching them is pretty exhilarating, I’d have to be in a pretty specific mood to brave listening to them on headphones.

Thinking about it, the transition feels subtle but maybe it wasn’t, either way, The Sleerpers‘ sets have shifted to almost exclusively new(er) material these days. While this makes total sense I have to say I wouldn’t mind hearing the old favorites every now and then…Still, they’re great – in a way it’s almost annoying, because I feel like I’m running out of things to say about them – I love watching them and they never disappoint.

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Verona Walls  |  The Sleepers  |  The Lottery Tickets