Mark Roxburgh of Joeys Coop.
Joeys Coop
+ Birdsville
The Union Hotel, Newtown, NSW
The Men From U.N.C.L.E
+ The Escapes
+ The LangLangs
MoshPit Bar, St Peters, NSW
Sunday, 8 November 2026
WORDS & IMAGES: The Barman
The Rugby League World Cup elimination match between Australia and Samoa is on TV tonight. It’s worth mentioning because the afternoon-early evening of rock and roll that preceded it was also A Game of Two Halves, the first of which I could only partially complete because of an unavoidable scheduling clash.
So an apology is in order.
The Men From U.N.C.L.E. are a Sydney institution, a garage-cum-frat band chalking up their 25th anniversary at MoshPit this afternoon. The U.N.C.L.E.s are quirky and fun. With MoshPit counting the days until its lease runs out and it closes its doors, catching TMFU birthday show on a Sunday afternoon seemed a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, a mid-week re-shuffle of the playing order and a prior commitment to be at my first Joeys Coop show in a year or more meant only catching the openers, The LangLangs and The Escapes.
“Sorry about that, Chief” seems the appropriate thing to say - even if it’s quoting the wrong spy show.
The LangLangs deliver a no-nonsense set of their own stripped-back garage rock peppered by a handful of covers (notably Roxy Music, Kate Bush and Blondie). Like The Men From U.N.C.L.E., they’ve been around for decades but with various line-ups.
Virginia commands the microphone (above) while Hak Nodstrum steers the ship on guitar and between-song patter.
A fast-swelling crowd warms to their set and it’s standing room only by the time local trio The Escapes take to the small but beloved MoshPit stage.
The Escapes have a hard-earned reputation for making an art form of studied casualness. Rehearsals are usually the day of the show, and their on-stage banter competes with beer-drinking in what passes for a breather between songs.
Today’s set is typically nonchalant. One song had its first and possibly last outing, bassist-vocalist Rodney Todd tell us. If you're looking for math rock or tender ballads you're in the wrong place. Two chords are usually enough for these guys and three chords are one too many.
The Escapes are all fuzz and atonal fun this afternoon and if their act was any dumber, it would be dangerous - like one of those electric fat bikes as opposed to the Lime cycles Rodney (pictured above) rides. In his band's case, inobody gets hurt.
So to The Union where Wollongong support Birdsville have finished their set and Joeys Coop’s members are deep into changeover.
For those not in the know, Joeys Coop have been around for a decade-and-a-half and are three albums in. Singer Mark Roxburgh (The Decline of the Reptiles, ME-262) joined by guitarist Brett Myers (Died Pretty), bassist Marc Lynch (Glide) and drummer Lloyd Gyi (Perry Keyes, Dave Warner) are seasoned veterans. Just our sort of band.
Some people don’t “get” Joeys Coop which in itself is hard to fathom. The songs are strong and the playing immaculate. They rock intensely while exhibiting top-shelf musicianship. They're hard to categorise. although if they were from the USA you might tag them as Americana. Just don't call them Australiana because Austen Tayshus is so last Century,
Rhythm sections don’t come better than this one. Marc Lynch’s mellifluous tone and fluid playing leaves spaces for the songs to breathe and Lloyd Gyi drives the music forward or lays back on a feel in all the right places. The band has dynamics to burn – as evident on the track “Lachlan Valley Dirt”.
Mark Roxburgh’s distinctive vocal and shimmying stagecraft leaves nobody in doubt. While his usual brothel creepers have blown a tyre and been retired, the new bowling shoes add a fresh element in the footwear department.
Brett Myers was, and is, one of the country’s most distinctive guitarists with a tone all his own and an arsenal of four, five and eight-string guitars at his disposal. As unfathomable as their tunings are to a technical numb-nut like me, the sound is all in his hands.
Brett Myers and eight strings.
Marc Lynch and four strings.
Lloyd Gyi and no strings.
People say Joeys Coop sounds like Brett’s old band and while that’s selling Joeys Coop sort it’s also understandable. His playing is that distinctive. One of my most abiding live music highlights is seeing Died Pretty debut the "Free Dirt" record in 1986 and being pinned to the wall of the Sutherland Royal Hotel by Brett's spine-chilling solo in "Landsakes".
Tonight's set is a mix of the old and new balanced across all three Joeys Coop albums. The swelling magnificence of “Once A Man”, the tensile opener “Dancing”, “I Am Alive” with its regal build-up and the skeletal “Henry Collins” are special highlights.
“In The Pines” is announced as the recent single and visibly moves the Sunday arvo crowd. The dark “Trouble” is revealed as a childhood recollection of a sheep being offed on a family farm.
“I Saw The Light” adds a touch of self-deprecatory levity while encore “I Stand Alone” closes things down with a massive dose of swagger and some withering Myers pyrotechnics.
If you’re wondering, Australia did beat Samoa 44-12 in the World Cup game that followed but it was an anti-climax.
Buy Joeys Coop's music here. Joeys Coop supports The Crystal Set with Alannah Russack (Ex_Hummingbirds) at the Burdekin Hotel in Darlinghurst on Thursday, December 10 from 7pm. Tickets are here.
