Live Review: BIGSOUND Festival 2017: Night One Live Reviews

Jim Lawrie kicks thing off at Black Bear Lodge for night one at BIGSOUND. The guitars are jangly to begin with and Lawrie and his band draw the small crowd in. They change to a more sombre blues-influenced sound for their second track. Lawrie is jovial, telling the crowd that the band will be hosting a masterclass on how taking Tupperware to the Virgin Lounge can benefit your band on tour. They’re met with happy laughs and cheers.

The first band to open up the iconic Zoo stage is Horace Bones, the frenzied goth-punk lovechild of The Drones and The Cramps. There’s a healthy little crowd in the wide open space in front of the stage, as drummer Christian Fish lays out an intense, moody drum beat and frontman Oisin Kelly shouts guttural sentences into the crowd like a possessed madman at a slam poetry night, all the while wielding his mic stand like a weapon, waving it about his head.

Wild Honey kick off the night at The Flying Cock almost as soon as doors open and, although the crowd is still finding their way in for the beginning of the set, the Sydney indie-rockers perform as if the room was packed out. Their upbeat and catchy tracks (as well as an insanely talented lead guitarist!) get our attention early and anyone making their way in had all eyes on Wild Honey. A perfect start to day one proceedings. 

First act in the early hours of a slogging BIGSOUND schedule, fuck a tumbleweed-rolling hall, Merk and crew stadium-stunted their set. A product of Neil Finn, the falsetto vocals of Kiwi singer Merk swapping in and out and his keyboard-MPC band of bedroom-designed distortion allows this alt-pop line-up from across the ditch (or is it dutch?) to lend a proper cassette-tape windback. New album Swordfish is dished out in doses as the crowd slowly doubled and tripled, Merk himself warming to it. Most tracks are a road tripping, summer-tinged polaroid fading into colour. Talk about a band with everything in front of them.

Melbourne indie four-piece IV League ease us into the first night of the BIGSOUND marathon at the Brightside Carpark, getting under way with a self-described 'slow burner' that draws their crowd ever closer. They pick things up with the driving Basket and toms-driven bounce of Fidelity, which sets the bodies nearby swaying reflexively in response. With a new single (the well-executed Trick Pony) on the horizon, a super-solid cut just behind them (Change My Mind, also more than soundly delivered) and an EP due early next year, the band are still refining some aspects of their live show but there's no denying their potential, which shines through from all members around the central brightness of frontwoman Bella Venutti's mellifluous yet powerful vocals.

Beginning the night over at Laruche, Didirri starts things off at the gorgeous venue by diving straight into a finger-plucked tune. As soon as the set begins, everyone occupying the bar makes a few steps closer to the solo act. It’s relatively comforting to start the night with acoustic bliss. Pulling at the heartstrings of his audience through novel yet realistic lyrics, the night begins to ease tensions of the crowd into bliss and relaxation.

Fierce Mild are certainly a band that has put some time and effort into their stage presence. Each song is accompanied a matching video and the group are all kitted out in matching white painting suits, with, of course, what looks like fake blood splash around too. It’s a small stage for seven members but they make it work, producing a post-rock trance environment that enraptures the audience.

Unsurprisingly, finding a good vantage spot in the Mammoth Alehouse proves to be a tough ask as Oh Mercy have pulled in a big crowd well before they hit the stage. The ARIA Award-winning outfit has the audience moving by the very first song, and frontman Alex Gow looks to be having a ball on stage, often sharing a laugh with his back-up vocalist. Oh Mercy fans are right into this one, and the pipes on Gow ensure even your casual punters got a look in.

Byron Bay sweethearts PLTS are the second band to grace the stage of The Zoo, and they start the set with brand new single Spill. The already considerable crowd swells throughout the entirety of the song, with throngs of people ‘spilling’ into the venue. While PLTS lack the wild energy of, say, Horace Bones, they’re at home in the slower pace of their honest and charming indie-rock roots. You can’t not feel good while listening. 

As Brunswick Street Mall’s hidden jewel Black Bear Lodge begins to fill for the first set of BIGSOUND for the venue, Jess Ribeiro and her band The Bone Collectors begin to effortlessly explore into a summer vibe with warm, enriching vocals. With strangely nice levels of instrumental feedback and the perfectly timed layering of the lead electric guitar, this act makes the atmosphere of the Lodge feel almost like swimming in a backyard pool on a nice Sunday evening.

Melbourne’s singer/producer pair Hannah Lesser and Julius Dowson — collectively ALTA — pour a viscous lava of mood-altering alt-pop and treacling vocals. Offering last year’s Sincere EP and a few of their latest, Fix It being one that goes over particularly well. Hannah basks in the form of an outside cat prowling at shadows; she’s vocally sublime and justly connected to the industrial drum-clapping echoes and glitchy-dream synth pushed by Dowson. It works like butter on toast. 

Push through a heaving crowd for Oh Mercy and you'll find solace in Donny Benet’s performance on the Mane Stage upstairs at Woolly Mammoth. Benet and co are ready early and wait on stage until their 9pm time rolls around. They kick things off and elicit huge cheers from the crowd throughout the entirety of the set. Benet shares new track Love Online and closes to Konichiwa, telling the crowd "I'll be around all week — come and kiss my head."

When we finally manage to push through the mass of bodies lining up for beers from The Brightside’s side bar into the carpark, we’re greeted with the gravely voice of Reverend Ray, frontman for West Thebarton. Gravelly voice aside, the band sounds as clean and crisp as something you’d hear over the radio or off a CD. That being said, there’s a lot of energy on stage, and it makes you wonder: do they ever stop? Will they ever stop? Will we come back for the next band and they’ll still be thrashing around up there?? We look forward to finding out. 

In the midst of conversations among crowd-goers in Crowbar, general conversations are interrupted by a screeching “What the fuck is up BIGSOUND?” from vocalist Nikki Brumen as Pagan hit the stage. Unravelling a loud and brutally gruff set, there’s a consistent mess of hair flings and whips as the band take the Crowbar stage as their own. While it’s quite the sinister set, the Christmas-like lighting arrangements of the venue are almost completely mismatched to the overall aura this band tried to display.

Jesswar is automatic attitude as fuck. A sawn-off with bodies on it — not seen since MC Lyte. Jesswar and her all-girl get-up has the tent-like stage doors blown off. The hometown hero, in Adidas tracks, strides her stage, hard-out with homegirl Aywin Manyoul who pumps back and aims her Bitcchh Boy (Body Bags) shotta at the crowd. The last track blazed is Savage, which stones those gathered before winding down with a head-nod to K Dot’s Humble. For Golden Era’s latest inkee, she firmly stands her ground in the scene, eating it with one hand.

West Australian singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly has clearly built a significant buzz for herself ahead of her showing at Oh Hello!, and it only takes a short while for the reasons why to make themselves overwhelmingly apparent. Flanked by nought but her trusty six-string, her voice commands instant attention as her personal and clever lyricism brings a hush over the crowd. She's bloody funny too, declaring "trumpet solo!" midway through first track Mean To Me before instead diving into a delightful singsong passage, and delivering some A+ banter throughout her standout set. She garners a hugely enthusiastic response from the get-go, her effortless, conversational charm nicely complementing her slightly bashful performance style. The borderline litigious You Owe Me and hoedown-esque Sportsbet Sausage Sizzle, the introspective Grey and the diary-style confessional tragicomedy of Should Have Stayed At Home further demonstrate her formidable songwriting chops. Donnelly is also wholly capable of striking sincerely emotive chords too, with the devastating Boys Will Be Boys bringing her audience to an awestruck standstill. Across the board, this muso is firmly on the path to greatness; it's genuinely only a matter of time before she's the name on everyone's lips.

Apakatjah kick off their set at the Empire Hotel with a small crowd, but it soon picks up on the back of the Alice Springs duo's interaction with punters. The boys love a good chat with the audience, and even challenge us to pronounce their name correctly, just for fun. The passion they play with is so infectious and their set was tight — some of the best guitar-playing we've seen all night.

Running over to The Zoo, Pandamic take the stage getting all geared up for what everyone already knows will be a wild performance. The overdriven guitars kick into Archer and instantly the front of the stage is flooded with young crowd-goers dancing wildly. It’s a fanatical display, playing fan favourites like Old Dog, Yeah Nah Yeah and Scumbag; those occupying the venue never once stop breaking a sweat or repeating every single lyric to every track. After closing with Heck, smiles and emotions run at an all-time high for the night.

An uncanny return of a Neneh Cherry, Thandi Phoenix opens fashionably late in pinstripe slacks and blazer, ‘bout to put in work. Heavy live drums kick open her entrance on this, her 24th birthday tonight. So into her set, Thandi tells herself to pack it all into the tight schedule, taking on all duties, from patting her drum pad with glow sticks to keying the Korg. Inspired by her African heritage, the sampling reflects this around the broader scope of dance-pop framing her mellifluous R&B vocals. The consummate performer, Thandi is a warming influence in her dance-laden set.

Back at the Brightside Carpark, it’s impossible to move. There are hundreds of people pushing and dancing along to Brissy favourites Good Boy. Even with the mess of bodies sticking together for lack of space, it seems like the easiest task when the crowd at the front suddenly splits and forms a mosh. Busting out classic songs Ya Mum’s Ya Dad and Green Dress early on in the set, they finish on new single Fishing With A Shotgun and cult favourite Poverty Line, and everyone files out of the carpark content, barely acknowledging the lack of iconic fave Transparency, which hasn’t been played live by the band for some time.

"I'm from Tasmania and it's mad to be here!" That's all Maddy Jane needs to win punters over at Oh Hello! Within the first two songs, the crowd has almost doubled, and it's easy to see the room is filled with fans of the promising songwriter. If you were standing towards the back of the room, you'd have seen almost the full front third of the audience bopping their head along or moving their feet. While Jane herself certainly impresses, her band does too, moving effortlessly from one song to the next. It's not surprising to hear why people have their eye on Maddy Jane.

Hatchie start off about five minutes late — an unnerving amount of time when sets are only 30 minutes each. Musically they sound good but there could be benefit from moving through their set a little faster. The crowd choose to talk rather than listen for the first few songs. Once everything warms up, about three songs in, the vocals are able to take over and the crowd start to pay more attention.

A dedicated audience has turned out to The Foundry for Machine Age, who kick things off in the best way possible — a shitload of energy. Due to the one-guitarist, one-drummer set up, the hometown duo naturally draw comparisons to Royal Blood, but they completely make the set their own, with hints of EDM throughout the heavy rock tracks. If you walked in tonight not knowing much about Machine Age, there is a very good chance you also walked out planning to listen to Machine Age when you got home. 

Lupa J's brand of intensely performative electro-pop has attracted a modest but dedicated crowd to the basement confines of Heya Bar. She seamlessly fuses classical elements — she periodically wields a violin, and is joined by a fellow bowsmith to her right, along with a drummer on pads — into her expertly crafted, sample-heavy set, an eclecticism that isn't an obvious choice but is deeply effective. The dynamic Moth highlights the depth of her talents, the producer clearly in thrall to the hypnotic beats spilling forth from the stage. Her audience grows as the set progresses, having reached a more deserved size by the time she moves (quite literally) into layered, lush new tune Fabric. The trio treat us to a two-part fusion of tunes from her upcoming EP, the separate movements — both in terms of the tracks and their players — melding seamlessly into a seriously enchanting whole, holding us utterly captive through to her final cut (and recent single) Hold Back.

Romy Vager’s voice snaps the room to attention and RVG get things under way, with the crowd continuing to move closer and closer to the stage. They move quickly through their songs, with three appearing in their first seven minutes. Vager speaks fervently with hands gesturing wildly to punctuate the lyrics. Notably, during one track, they pause to describe an effect of an old motor that should be in place, a humorous approach to the studio-to-live situation.

Walking down the stairs to New Globe Theatre, we’re greeted instantly to the punchy girl-power energy of local gals WHALEHOUSE (“one word, all capitals”). One second, co-frontwoman Zoe Wilson is at one side of the stage, and next she’s on the other, writhing around on the floor and kicking her legs in the air. A quick guitar change and some friendly banter between themselves later, and they kick straight into their next song. It’s a furious frenzy of screams and kicking from singer/guitarist Amy-Rose Lawson, as the girls punch out songs Cellophane, Sexy Whale Beach Party, DEVO’s Girl U Want, Alien Man and finally, hit song Fresh Bread.

Holiday Party are in full swing by the time we've trekked back across the mall and down a laneway to the hidden treasure of 256 Wickham. It becomes quickly clear that the late arrival is our loss though, the band — tonight, central members Mel Tickle and Luke McDonald along with two additional live players — clearly having well and truly won over their audience already. It's not hard to see why; seasoned musicians both, Tickle and McDonald take what they've learnt in separate careers playing with several other renowned acts and take it to new and unexpected heights with their quirky, endearing electro-pop, introduced to the world as it was through their first single — and tonight's closer — I'm Still Here. Rarely has a band's name so aptly described what they bring to the table: the unrestrained, carefree relief of a much-needed holiday, expertly meshed with the communal, infectious joy of the best of parties. There's enough accessibility here to please the casual listener, sitting alongside more than enough songwriting nous and ear-grabbing complexity to ensure even the most hardened of audiophiles aren't immune to their copious charms.

While Oh Hello! seems to be flooding out with those who attended Maddy Jane’s set, the triple j Unearthed stage venue remains almost completely full of people ready for Cronulla’s best, Ruby Fields. As the young artist takes the stage, every punter in the room prepares to go wild, and are evidently ready to get crazy. Playing new material written only a few days prior to her performance, Fields continues to tease her ever-growing crowds and continuously build a thirst for the release of a full-length album.

The man is an eclipse on stage setting up — Joyride practices on a soundcheck like an Islamic call to prayer. Heavenly. Big beats versus the holied vocals of Joyride are a signature of his product. The One Day big man and his band make light work of what he does, putting out Chivalrous music with of course This Is It and plenty of gems we’ve come to see shine. As well, new track Stay Awake drops from is as-yet released new album. When you realise he’s hitting that note to makes him sound AutoTune, but it’s all him: floored. 

Back over at The Flying Cock, Good Morning don't have the biggest turn-out, but a nice showing nonetheless. The four-piece look to be having a lot of fun on stage... maybe even a little too much fun. It feels a little disjointed at parts but, because they're having a blast, it's hard to feel too distracted by it. We even get a shout out twice in the set: "Fuck theMusic.com.au." Thanks, guys.

Less than thirty seconds in and The Cactus Channel have bought the party to The Empire Hotel. A big ol’ blend of funk and soul, there’s ample horns and just the right amount of charisma. If you’re looking for a band for your next house party, this is the one for you.

As the night only gets colder, the enigmatic verses of Endless Heights can be heard whole streets away from The Brightside. As vocalist Joel Martorana leads into a combination of both gruff and gorgeously layered clean vocals, it’s no surprise to anyone why their music is adored by whoever knows how many. Playing fan favourites Pray I Fade, Haunt Me, Teach You How to Leave and finally closing with You Coward, the many occupying the venue leave impressed at yet another breathtaking performance delivered by this band.

Twenty minutes before Confidence Man are even due to hit the stage, 256 Wickham Street is already packed and overflowing with punters, ready to see the electronic wonder and enigmatic dance that is Janet Planet, Sugar Bones, Reggie, and Clarence. The set finally begins to deafening screams and applause, and the band quickly make work of several songs before playing latest single Bubblegum, all the while busting out their signature dance moves. It’s not hard to see why so many people speak of them as possibly the next big thing to come out of Australia. 

There's kind of a weird odour in the air at the TBC Club — akin to a roomful of melted Rainbow Paddle-Pops — as we wait for Gold Coast producer Golden Vessel to start his set. Is it the heavy-handed use of the smoke machine? The mix of alcohol and sweat? Is it all of it, fusing into this weirdly indefinable olfactory nightmare? Hard to tell, but what is perfectly clear, just from glancing around the room, is just how far this young musician's renown has come in the space of only a year. He's fronting an especially eager crowd tonight, and more than gives them their time's worth — because, really, time is currency at this event — once his set finally gets under way. However, the 10-minute delay to that eventuating runs dangerously close to being a deal-breaker. We're forced to abandon ship much earlier into proceedings than we'd like, especially given how enjoyable his performances really are (Wave is an early highlight, as is new track Daylight) thanks to his well-honed blend of wonder-laden aural and visual wanderings. 

Back down at Oh Hello!, Dear Seattle — only definable as Sydney’s latest and greatest — take the Unearthed stage. Jumping straight into a loud set, there’s already a huge group of headbangers and crowd-goers singing lyric by lyric in perfect unison. Settling into The Meadows, there’s not one person in the venue who isn’t yelling out the infamous call of, ‘Fuck being sad, I’m so over it!’. Words can’t even define the rest of the set, playing both Afterthought and Concrete whilst closing on relatively soft yet enigmatic track Quiet. While a few callouts are made for an encore, the venue empties out relatively quickly as the night ends.

SLØTFACE are certainly one of the biggest drawcards for BIGSOUND this year, and the Norwegian group certainly deliver. Kicking things off with Magazine, they roll on through their set, dropping in crowd favourites and some newer tracks. Frontwoman Haley Shea commands the stage, encouraging sing-alongs and clapping. It’s easy to see why they are taking over stages all over the world.

After a 10-15-minute break, The Creases turn out to close The Flying Cock, and the room fills out very quickly. Taking to the stage in matching black turtlenecks, the Brisbane boys lead by example and have everybody up and moving, and even somehow manage to create a small dance floor at the front amongst the packed house. Frontman Joe Agius is super energetic, making it difficult, really, for anyone watching to not have a great time. New songs, old songs and a few they hadn't played live before, The Creases treat their fans and BIGSOUND punters to one of the sets of the night to close out day one.