With Brisbane finally getting its own festival once again after a few years of neglect, Time Off is proud to bring you the first installment of our two part review (concluded next issue).
SOUNDS OF SPRING FESTIVAL
RNA Showgrounds: 11.10.08
If there was to be a theme song for the inaugural Sounds Of Spring festival it would unfortunately have to be The Go-Betweens’ classic ‘Spring Rain’, as a deluge has soaked the grounds around the four stages, while continuing sporadic showers lead to an early delay in proceedings. The damp, however, doesn’t stop the masses of excited punters from getting into the swing of things and a massive portion of the sold out crowd is on hand early to watch things get underway.
Despite delays at the gate, the Time Off stage kicks off with indie rockers and winners of the SOS band competition The Gallant setting to it with clever guitar riffs, tricky psychedelic effects and the odd splash of electro keys. A few keen punters are already downing the amber ale in the conveniently located drinking section nearby and the drummer joins in, with regular salutary swipes from his bottle getting things going for the day.
Line-checking her mic with the word “syphilis”, The Mercy Dolls vocalist Misery Doll leads the vanguard into the breach of Sounds Of Spring, battling miserable weather and sobriety (the crowd’s and her own). There are a few moments of instrument swapping, with bassist Hitchcock Blonde picking up a mic for a vicious duet before the band crack open sleazy single ‘Version One’. With only a short set, they bugger off to take advantage of the early slot; namely fixing that sobriety problem.
Next up the Butcher Birds – who are always sassy, always sexy and always sound awesome – bring their beautiful mix of sludgy punk riffs, ear blistering wall-of-noise guitars and hypnotic harmonies to the growing crowd. Then the skies open up.
After a delayed start Calling All Cars finally arrive onstage to barrel into tracks from their self titled EP. With only 15 minutes to play they can only fit a handful of tracks in, but the lack of stage time is made up for with their explosive stage presence and aggressive rock demeanor, all highlighted by Hayden Ing’s crowd surfing while playing gem track ‘Hey You’.
Armed with an acoustic guitar and a disarming stage presence, Sydney-based singer-songwriter Laura Imbruglia opens with vegetarian anthem ‘Lettuce And Anarchists’. Her Jewel-esque voice and the bubbly, humorous ditties are a delight, with ‘Surly’, a brand new number and ‘It’s Getting Worse’ rounding out her performance. Her set is unfortunately almost drowned out by the racket coming from the main stages, but she wholeheartedly thanks her audience for ‘folking it out’.
Poor Mary Trembles. Opening their set with ‘Geranium’ from new album Borrowed Ears, Borrowed Eyes, they manage to incite the day’s first moshing, the enthusiastic crowd ignoring the light shower that creeps in during the number. Unfortunately the stage crew can’t ignore the rain, and the band’s set is cut short halfway through their third song, leaving many punters disappointed and scratching their heads. Bummer. Luckily the boys will be able to make the most of their set at the after party later tonight.
While other brave souls on the adjacent stages battle on through the rain, it seems the Galvatrons cancel their set due to too much water on the stage leading to a risk of electrocution. While one can respect the basic biological imperative of the survival instinct, the fact that these boys aren’t willing to die for their art is just not very rock’n’roll.
But the die-hards who arrive early enough to catch funky indie-pop group The John Steel Singers go through their paces are not disappointed. This Brisbane-bred six-piece showcase their obvious talent, belting out catchy tunes which abound with feet-tapping melodies. The short set gains momentum as the musicians all have a go at various instruments. By the last song both the band and the crowd are fused with energy – heightened by a four-handed drum solo – and the show ends with a sad farewell expressed by an exchange of toy snakes from the band, in return for an orange from the crowd.
Local rockers Shifter are doing their best to turn out their big guns, but they’re coming off as a bad incarnation of Jet – and that’s pretty bad. The quintet’s intent can’t be faulted, and they’re playing proves they aren’t half bad a rock band, but their whole stage persona is clichéd, from the guitarist’s poses to an unnecessary, unenlightening drum solo, to frontman Michael Nason’s rantings about how much Shifter rock. And Nason beckons criticism when he ends their set by proclaiming Shifter as the “greatest band in the world”.
Winning the day’s award for Biggest Game of Human Scrabble, the Red Paintings take the newly dried stage for a set of surprisingly heavy “quote/unquote” “art rock”. A thickening crowd leans in for their albino Mikado riffery, accompanied by a soaring string section and a stage packed with no doubt freezing semi-naked people covered in paint. Frontman Trash McSweeny does a fantastic job of hyping up the crowd while ensuring his towering crown of twigs remains in place.
There’s something about mud, loud music and a good old fashioned downpour that inspires copious beer consumption and while the rain ceases activity on the main stages the pace doesn’t let up here as the Vegas Kings set about ripping it up with their raw, dual geetar attack. Playing favourites from their two albums the no-nonsense swamp rockers provide the perfect setting for the many soaked festival goers now enjoying the fruits of their drink tickets.
A band with a dedicated fan-base and a wealth of live experience, The Boat People appear on stage in a laconic tumble which belies the precision and polish of the group’s songs and performance. Robin Waters is in fine form throughout, offering banter equal parts intelligent and intoxicated, while the group’s songs manage to sound exceptional even against the rain-soaked backdrop of the festival’s early hours, with ‘Panic’ serving as a fine slice of adrenaline for the moribund masses.
If there is one act that manages to make an entire crowd’s jaw drop, it’s new wave punks Young & Restless. From ball-tearing riffs to melodic breakdowns, they cover it all, and with lead singer Karina Utomo in grand final form she surely has some other acts backstage scared. ‘Need A Hit’ and ‘Police Police’ get the crowd thrashing but it’s the special guest appearance of Johnny Mackay from Children Collide (whose set is unfortunately squeezed out today because of weather-induced rescheduling) for ‘Dirty Kicks’ that sends the crowd into a frenzy.
Alleged ‘next big thing’ Trial Kennedy finally kick off their set way behind schedule, but surely they could’ve been scratched instead of the much more respected Children Collide. ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Colour Day Tours’ evoke audience participation, and guitarist Stacey Gray throws himself into his instrument, but any credibility the Melbourne four-piece were clinging to is dispelled by overzealous frontman Tim Morrison, who could almost pass for a Backstreet Boy.
It’s Cuban heels all round for The Vandas, who are playing the only stage that seems to be running to schedule They bring with them a huge sound, helped out by The Gin Club’s Dan Mansfield on keys. Appropriately for their southern flavoured rock’n’roll, said stage faces the festival’s second drinking area, and many keen (and sloshed) fans watch from a distance as the Melbourne band rip into crowd pleaser ‘Know It All’ from their album Slow Burn.
DJ duo Masheen, sandwiched between band sets, have precious little time to make their point, but they use it effectively, launching immediately into a pulsating groove before rapidly developing momentum. The dreary weather and the pair’s mid-afternoon slot mean that audiences are disinclined to indulge insofar as dancing, but the duo deserve credit for turning in an excellent set under trying circumstances.
Kid Confucius, sporting eight sharply dressed members and a horn section, make a definite visual impression when they stride onto stage, but unfortunately struggle to have any lasting impact beyond that novelty. It’s difficult to quantify, but the band seem to lack any form of true enthusiasm, turning in a workmanlike performance that overshadows even their finest songs. The octet loosen up as their set progresses, but it’s too little, too late to save their average overall performance.
Brisbane supergroup (or so it has been said) Final Days Of Autumn – featuring members of The Butterfly Effect, Resin Dogs and Shifter – deliver a set of atmospheric rock that doesn’t evoke any of its members previous bands, which is a feat in its own right. Frontman Clint Boge reveals a different, more subtle side to his vocals on set highlight ‘Ghost’.
Intercooler has been a little quiet on the home front of late, aside from playing this same location for the Ekka. They’ve pulled a decent crowd of fairly mellow fans in close to watch, tearing through a hot set of favourites, with Phil Ballantyne swapping his electric guitar for an acoustic for one tune, before launching into ‘All Coming Back to Me’ from last year’s Forever Or Whatever. Later in the set Darek Mudge takes his own guitar on a crouched, delay-heavy space trip.
Indie-pop rock with a touch of hip-hop, who wouldn’t enjoy it? Bluejuice is surely one of the liveliest groups to rock SOS. The charismatic antics of Jake Stone provide a perfect distraction from the first melody-less noise which the band pumps out, but the music steadily improves and hit song ‘Vitriol’ goes off. With each member pouring out all they have, Bluejuice put on a great show and their energy is infectious.
Appearing on an alternative stage to which they are scheduled is retro specialists The Spazzys, with their token brand of Ramones tribute three-chord punk. Due to the change, though, Lucy Spazzy explains “If we sound drunk it’s ‘cause we are, we weren’t sure if we were playing so, we’ve been out back drinking, sorry” As most Spazzys’ tracks are only around a minute-and-a-half anyway, the shortened time slot takes nothing away from them and they manage to cram in around ten tracks including ‘Paco Doesn’t Love Me’, ‘Divorce’ and newbie ‘Makin’ Trash’.
Despite the long time between drinks for the band, Sydney indie legends Smudge delight from start to finish with their timeless indie rock gems. Rather than the over-bloated gimmicks of other bands on today’s bill (no points for guessing who…), the trio need no more than their compelling tunes such as ‘Hot Potato’ and ‘Impractical Joke’ to delight a small-but-attentive gaggle of punters. A drunk lobs a full beer at bassist Adam Yee towards set’s end, and in undoubtedly the low point of the day, nobody puts the prick’s lights out.
Perth’s The Dirty Secrets hit the stage some 30 minutes later than scheduled and to add insult to injury, vocalist Jarrah’s vocals are lost in the mix for the first few minutes. Once technical hiccups are resolved, the band’s keyboard-driven indie rock is infectious, with vocalist Jarrah moving around in a fashion somewhere between spasming and dancing for the majority of the band’s set, which includes ‘My Heart Is On Fire’, ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Sharks’.
Melbourne's Behind Crimson Eyes jump straight into ‘Sometimes Forever Means Never’ before vocalist Josh, sporting a sleeveless Iron Maiden t-shirt, greets the crowd with a pointlessly rhetorical, “How ya doing today Brisbane? Are you wet?” The band rips through a mix of old and new, stretching from ‘The Art Of War’ from the band's Prologue EP through to forthcoming single ‘Addicted’.
As they do at virtually all festivals they play, Brisbane’s finest The Gin Club prove one of the SOS standouts. Somehow squeezing onto the stage, the Ginners open with ‘Already Gone’, and keep the goods coming thick and fast with ‘Something Rotten’, ‘Days’ and ‘Waiting In Line’. Stripping their numbers back to a trim five-piece, the lads delight with a typically impressive Neil Young-inspired new tune featuring Dan Mansfield and Ben Salter trading licks and vocal lines. They could’ve gone on forever, and this reviewer surely wouldn’t have complained, but they wrap up with ‘Drug Flowers’.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK
MARK BERESFORD, JUSTIN GREY, EMMA HEARD, DAN JOHNSON, MATT O’NEILL, DAN SIMMONS, TAL WALLACE

SOUNDS OF SPRING FESTIVAL
RNA Showgrounds: 11.10.08
If there was to be a theme song for the inaugural Sounds Of Spring festival it would unfortunately have to be The Go-Betweens’ classic ‘Spring Rain’, as a deluge has soaked the grounds around the four stages, leading to an early delay in proceedings. The damp, however, doesn’t stop the masses of excited punters from getting into the swing of things and a massive portion of the sold out crowd is on hand early to watch things get underway.
Despite delays at the gate, the Time Off stage kicks off with indie rockers and winners of the SOS band competition The Gallant setting to it with clever guitar riffs, tricky psychedelic effects and the odd splash of electro keys. A few keen punters are already downing the amber ale in the conveniently located drinking section nearby and the drummer joins in, with regular salutary swipes from his bottle getting things going for the day.
Line-checking her mic with the word “syphilis”, The Mercy Dolls vocalist Misery Doll leads the vanguard into the breach of Sounds of Spring, battling miserable weather and sobriety (the crowd’s and her own). There are a few moments of instrument swapping, with bassist Hitchcock Blonde picking up a mic for a vicious duet before the band crack open sleazy single ‘Version One’. With only a short set, they bugger off to take advantage of the early slot; namely fixing that sobriety problem.
Next up the Butcher Birds – who are always sassy, always sexy and always sound awesome – bring their beautiful mix of sludgy punk riffs, ear blistering wall-of-noise guitars and hypnotic harmonies to the growing crowd. Then the skies open up.
Armed with an acoustic guitar and a disarming stage presence, Sydney-based singer-songwriter Laura Imbruglia opens with vegetarian anthem ‘Lettuce And Anarchists’. Her Jewel-esque voice and the bubbly, humorous ditties are a delight, with ‘Surly’, a brand new number and ‘It’s Getting Worse’ rounding out her performance. Her set is unfortunately almost drowned out by the racket coming from the main stages, but she wholeheartedly thanks her audience for ‘folking it out’.
After a delayed start Calling All Cars finally arrive onstage to barrel into tracks from their self titled EP. With only 15 minutes to play they can only fit a handful of tracks in, but the lack of stage time is made up for with their explosive stage presence and aggressive rock demeanor, all highlighted by Hayden Ing’s crowd surfing while playing gem track ‘Hey You’.
Poor Mary Trembles. Opening their set with ‘Geranium’ from new album Borrowed Ears, Borrowed Eyes, they manage to incite the day’s first moshing, the enthusiastic crowd ignoring the light shower that creeps in during the number. Unfortunately the stage crew can’t ignore the rain, and the band’s set is cut short halfway through their third song, leaving many punters disappointed and scratching their heads. Bummer. Luckily the boys will be able to make the most of their set at the after party later tonight.
While other brave souls on the adjacent stages battle on through the rain, it seems the Galvatrons cancel their set due to too much water on the stage leading to a risk of electrocution. While one can respect the basic biological imperative of the survival instinct, the fact that these boys aren’t willing to die for their art is just not very rock’n’roll.
The die-hards who arrive early enough to catch funky indie-pop group The John Steel Singers go through their paces are not disappointed. This Brisbane-bred six-piece showcase their obvious talent, belting out catchy tunes which abound with feet-tapping melodies. The short set gains momentum as the musicians all have a go at various instruments. By the last song both the band and the crowd are fused with energy, heightened by a four-handed drum solo and the show ends with a sad farewell expressed by an exchange of toy snakes from the band, in return for an orange from the crowd.
Local rockers Shifter are doing their best to turn out their big guns, but they’re coming off as a bad incarnation of Jet – and that’s pretty bad. The quintet’s intent can’t be faulted, and they’re playing proves they aren’t half bad a rock band, but their whole stage persona is clichéd, from the guitarist’s poses to an unnecessary, unenlightening drum solo, to frontman Michael Nason’s rantings about how much Shifter rock. And Nason beckons criticism when he ends their set by proclaiming Shifter as the “greatest band in the world”.
Winning the day’s award for Biggest Game of Human Scrabble, the Red Paintings take the newly dried stage for a set of surprisingly heavy “quote/unquote” “art rock”. A thickening crowd leans in for their albino Mikado riffery, accompanied by a soaring string section and a stage packed with no doubt freezing semi-naked people covered in paint. Frontman Trash McSweeny does a fantastic job of hyping up the crowd while ensuring his towering crown of twigs remains in place.
There’s something about mud, loud music and a good old fashioned downpour that inspires copious beer consumption and while the rain ceases activity on the main stages the pace doesn’t let up here as the Vegas Kings set about ripping it up with their raw, dual geetar attack. Playing favourites from their two albums the no-nonsense swamp rockers provide the perfect setting for the many soaked festival goers now enjoying the fruits of their drink tickets.
A band with a dedicated fan-base and a wealth of live experience, The Boat People appear on stage in a laconic tumble which belies the precision and polish of the group’s songs and performance. Robin Waters is in fine form throughout, offering banter equal parts intelligent and intoxicated, while the group’s songs manage to sound exceptional even against the rain-soaked backdrop of the festival’s early hours, with ‘Panic’ serving as a fine slice of adrenaline for the moribund masses.
If there is one act that manages to make an entire crowd’s jaw drop, it’s new wave punks Young & Restless. From ball-tearing riffs to melodic breakdowns, they cover it all, and with lead singer Karina Utomo in grand final form she surely has some other acts backstage scared. ‘Need A Hit’ and ‘Police Police’ get the crowd thrashing but it’s the special guest appearance of Johnny Mackay from Children Collide (whose set is unfortunately squeezed out today because of weather-induced rescheduling) for ‘Dirty Kicks’ that sends the crowd into a frenzy.
Alleged ‘next big thing’ Trial Kennedy finally kick off their set way behind schedule, but surely they could’ve been scratched instead of the much more respected Children Collide. ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Colour Day Tours’ evoke audience participation, and guitarist Stacey Gray throws himself into his instrument, but any credibility the Melbourne four-piece were clinging to is dispelled by overzealous frontman Tim Morrison, who could almost pass for a Backstreet Boy.
It’s Cuban heels all round for The Vandas, who are playing the only stage that seems to be running to schedule They bring with them a huge sound, helped out by The Gin Club’s Dan Mansfield on keys. Appropriately for their southern flavoured rock’n’roll, said stage faces the festival’s second drinking area, and many keen (and sloshed) fans watch from a distance as the Melbourne band rip into crowd pleaser ‘Know It All’ from their album Slow Burn.
DJ duo Masheen, sandwiched between band sets, have precious little time to make their point, but they use it effectively, launching immediately into a pulsating groove before rapidly developing momentum. The dreary weather and the pair’s mid-afternoon slot mean that audiences are disinclined to indulge insofar as dancing, but the duo deserve credit for turning in an excellent set under trying circumstances.
Kid Confucius, sporting eight sharply dressed members and a horn section, make a definite visual impression when they stride onto stage, but unfortunately struggle to have any lasting impact beyond that novelty. It’s difficult to quantify, but the band seem to lack any form of true enthusiasm, turning in a workmanlike performance that overshadows even their finest songs. The octet loosen up as their set progresses, but it’s too little, too late to save their average overall performance.
Brisbane supergroup (or so it has been said) Final Days Of Autumn – featuring members of The Butterfly Effect, Resin Dogs and Shifter – deliver a set of atmospheric rock that doesn’t evoke any of its members previous bands, which is a feat in its own right. Frontman Clint Boge reveals a different, more subtle side to his vocals on set highlight ‘Ghost’.
Intercooler has been a little quiet on the home front of late, aside from playing this same location for the Ekka. They’ve pulled a decent crowd of fairly mellow fans in close to watch, tearing through a hot set of favourites, with Phil Ballantyne swapping his electric guitar for an acoustic for one tune, before launching into ‘All Coming Back to Me’ from last year’s Forever Or Whatever. Later in the set Darek Mudge takes his own guitar on a crouched, delay-heavy space trip.
Indie-pop rock with a touch of hip-hop, who wouldn’t enjoy it? Bluejuice is surely one of the liveliest groups to rock SOS. The charismatic antics of Jake Stone provide a perfect distraction from the first melody-less noise which the band pumps out, but the music steadily improves and hit song ‘Vitriol’ goes off. With each member pouring out all they have, Bluejuice put on a great show and their energy is infectious.
Appearing on an alternative stage to which they are scheduled is retro specialists The Spazzys, with their token brand of Ramones tribute three-chord punk. Due to the change, though, Lucy Spazzy explains “If we sound drunk it’s ‘cause we are, we weren’t sure if we were playing so, we’ve been out back drinking, sorry” As most Spazzys’ tracks are only around a minute-and-a-half anyway, the shortened time slot takes nothing away from them and they manage to cram in around ten tracks including ‘Paco Doesn’t Love Me’, ‘Divorce’ and newbie ‘Makin’ Trash’.
Despite the long time between drinks for the band, Sydney indie legends Smudge delight from start to finish with their timeless indie rock gems. Rather than the over-bloated gimmicks of other bands on today’s bill (no points for guessing who…), the trio need no more than their compelling tunes such as ‘Hot Potato’ and ‘Impractical Joke’ to delight a small-but-attentive gaggle of punters. A drunk lobs a full beer at bassist Adam Yee towards set’s end, and in undoubtedly the low point of the day, nobody puts the prick’s lights out.
Perth’s The Dirty Secrets hit the stage some 30 minutes later than scheduled and to add insult to injury, vocalist Jarrah’s vocals are lost in the mix for the first few minutes. Once technical hiccups are resolved, the band’s keyboard-driven indie rock is infectious, with vocalist Jarrah moving around in a fashion somewhere between spasming and dancing for the majority of the band’s set, which includes ‘My Heart Is On Fire’, ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Sharks’.
Melbourne's Behind Crimson Eyes jump straight into ‘Sometimes Forever Means Never’ before vocalist Josh, sporting a sleeveless Iron Maiden t-shirt, greets the crowd with a pointlessly rhetorical, “How ya doing today Brisbane? Are you wet?” The band rip through a mix of old and new, stretching from ‘The Art Of War’ from the band's Prologue EP through to forthcoming single ‘Addicted’.
As they do at virtually all festivals they play, Brisbane’s finest The Gin Club prove one of the SoS standouts. Somehow squeezing onto the stage, the Ginners open with ‘Already Gone’, and keep the goods coming thick and fast with ‘Something Rotten’, ‘Days’ and ‘Waiting In Line’. Stripping their numbers back to a trim five-piece, the lads delight with a typically impressive Neil Young-inspired new tune featuring Dan Mansfield and Ben Salter trading licks and vocal lines. They could’ve gone on forever, and this reviewer surely wouldn’t have complained, but they wrap up with ‘Drug Flowers’.
One of the most popular names in Australian Hip-Hop, Muph & Plutonic are greeted with a rapturous reception from the moment they bounce onto stage and the pair fail to disappoint. The presence of a live drummer can work wonders for any hip hop act, but combined with the deep funk stew of Plutonic Lab’s productions, the kinetic rhythms allow Muph to soar on finely honed tracks like ‘Day Off’.
Byron Bay metalcore maestros Parkway Drive are renowned in these parts for making the kids lose their shit and today’s performance is no exception. As soon as the band launch into ‘The Siren Song’ the pit becomes a chaotic mass of flying shoes and bottles. By the time ‘Carrion’ starts, so do the circle pits and ‘Boneyards’ lives up to its name, with one girl being dragged out unconscious. Parkway Drive’s set also includes ‘Dead Man’s Chest’, ‘Pandora’ and ‘Romance is Dead’.
The Getaway Plan launch straight into Triple J fave ‘Streetlight,’ before vocalist Matthew delcares that “despite the weather (he’s) having a pretty fucking good day.” The songs in the band’s set – which include ‘Sleep Spindles’, ‘Shadows’ and ‘Where The City Meets The Sea’ from this year’s Other Voices, Other Rooms and ‘The New Year’ from their Hold Conversation EP – are pretty accurate recreations of their recorded counterparts, but the band’s set gets a little melodratic, especially during some of the slower numbers.
Looking through the crowd as Root! arrive on stage, it seems to be 80% people who have no idea what Root! is about and 20% fans that are absolutely loving the eccentric blend of spoken word poetry, country rock, and general good times that one Mr. DC Root and his ensemble deliver. Running through ‘Introducing Get Up Yourself’ ‘I Still Call Australia Ho!’ and favourite ‘I Wish I Was Tex Perkins’, the cavalcade of cerebral goodness is too good for some punters as they walk away, but for the stayers, it’s pure gold.
The sun is setting and the Dukes Of Windsor spark what are the first scenes of dance floor hysteria at the Yellow stage, as they crank up their tight electro rock sounds. The first strains of smash hit ‘Others’ sees a now huge gathering go absolutely completely spaz. There is however a large contingent of shirtless bogan pill freaks trying to recapture the lost vibe of Parklife, showing way too much plumbers crack over the top of their flouro boardshorts. Come on boys, pull em’ up...
Melbourne’s own British India explode onto the stage in their usual fashion and instantly transform the crowd into a flurry with the high paced ‘This Dance Is Loaded’. They are absolutely relentless throughout the set and pick the best of the best from their two records to ensure the energy doesn’t drop for a second. Lead Singer Declan Melia is uncontrollable in his rock swagger and builds to a blistering finish with ‘I Said I’m Sorry’ and ‘Black And White Radio’.
If noisy pop-rock is your style, then this Screamfeeder set is Gucci. Frontman Tim Steward leads the Brisbane three-piece through half an hour of strong tracks, including one of their first hits ‘Hi Cs’. The band is not disheartened by the small crowd and play an impressive set characterised by calm chaos.
Spiderbait have been spreading their quirky punk-rock across Aussie festivals for the better part of a decade and their experience shines through as they coolly and calmly get the entire audience jumping and yelling. They pump out crowd pleasing classics like ‘Calypso’ and ‘Buy Me A Pony’ and end the set with an extended version of their latest and greatest Huddie Ledbetter cover ‘Black Betty’. With Kram’s drum work was as incredible as ever, all in all the show is, in the words of another Spiderbait hit, fucking awesome!
Resin Dogs appear at the perfect time of the evening, the sun’s just gone down and everyone is ready to dance, dance, dance! The boys draw in the crowd with a ‘phat’ bass-ed track and once you’re sucked in it’s impossible not to move your body. Joined by special guest MC Hau from Koolism for their latest single ‘Definition’, the Resin Dogs pump out 45 fabulous minutes of their unique hip hop/ dance/ soul tunes.
Epicure provide one of the lighter sets of the day, dishing up a serving of bright country-infused pop rock with emotive vocals. Kick arse Hammond keys are a highlight of their sound, and a constant stream of bubbles courtesy of the hippy chick at the front of the crowd lends a nice touch to the sentimental atmosphere created by the sad lyrics of songs like ‘Landslide’ and ‘Tyrone Walker’.
Being one of Australia’s best live act’s, it doesn’t matter where Gyroscope play – they have expectations to meet – but unfortunately they don’t quite seem to hit the mark. Being constantly plagued with audio troubles makes what should be fantastic, frustrating, as hits ‘Doctor, Doctor’ ‘1982’ and ‘Safe Forever’ aren’t really done the justice that they deserve, though the brass of lead singer Daniel Sanders is impressive as he shows complete disregard for himself with fantastic stagediving. Fortunately it all pulls together for the last few songs and the crowd is treated to truly great versions of ‘Australia’ and ‘Snakeskin’.
The Herd are arguably one of the major drawcards at Sounds of Spring this year, but, missing a member, the group seem surprisingly handicapped. The collective’s songs sound as fresh and relevant as they always have but their energy is significantly below par, while the lacklustre performance of Jane Tyrrell only further tarnishes proceedings by robbing many of Summerland’s effervescent tracks of their central hooks. Disappointing.
The festival’s Best Dressed act, Rocket Science, are rearing to go, bringing with them Brisbane ex-pat and guitarist for Melbourne’s Dead South, Mickey Heartbreak, whose screaming guitar perfectly complements Roman Tucker’s Keyboards of Doom, Dave Gray’s growling bass and Kit Warhurst’s frantic drumming. They open with classic tune ‘Burn In Hell’, stomping and sweating up a storm – when Tucker finally removes his jacket steam literally rises from his shoulders as he boogies within arm’s reach of the keys and mounted theremin. Wicked.
Bondi’s Cog predictably open with the epic ten-minute sprawl of ‘No Other Way’ but considering how awe-inspiring the track is in any incarnation, it’s an excusable oversight. The track highlights immediately what an impressive band Cog can be when not hampered by cumbersome production, with their sound proving textured, atmospheric and visceral. Flynn Gower’s voice sounds remarkably under the weather, but the band’s songs and sound carry the performance into triumphant territory.
If ever there was a band to define the ‘sounds of spring’, it would be dub-reggae outfit The Black Seeds. The moment the sparkling notes of ‘Come To Me’ cascade over the muddy, weary masses, the entire atmosphere of the Corner Stage is transformed completely. The group maintains a pulsing groove throughout and offers the gorgeously hazy portrait of spring-time vibes that the weather utterly failed to provide. In a word: delightful.
With the night well and truly upon us and the coming down feeling starting to settle in, the small crowd that has avoided the larger stages and chosen to see Sydney outfit Dappled Cities are treated to shimmering vocals, sweeping melodies and the superb craftsmanship that surely got these lads the closing stage set. Apart from some recurring bass issues it’s a flawless set that will garner many fans with ‘Fire Fire Fire’ and ‘Vision Bell’ echoing superbly.
Although not as full of energy as we’ve known them to be, Grinspoon play an hour long set that both satisfies old fans and impresses the new listeners. It’s packed with both golden oldies like ‘1000 Miles’ and newer tracks such as ‘Hard Act To Follow’ and ‘Sweet As Sugar’. Frontman Phil Jamieson has the whole crowd in awe with an acoustic rendition of ‘No Reason’, while ‘Chemical Heart’ is simply inspiring. Grinspoon end the day perfectly with the fast and rockin’ hit ‘Champion’.
So there you have it. The weather may not have been kind, but the inaugural Sounds Of Spring festival triumphs nonetheless by bringing some of the best bands Australia has to offer right into the heart of Brisbane, and as the crowd staggers towards the Valley it’s clear that this event is primed to become a recurring feature on the Queensland musical calendar.
MARK BERESFORD, JUSTIN GREY, EMMA HEARD, DAN JOHNSON, MATT O’NEILL, DAN SIMMONS, TAL WALLACE