The Festival Ladies don’t tend to travel outside the greater Sydney metropolitan area for festivals terribly often, but the line up for Sounds of Spring was too good to miss. Gemdilem managed to win a ticket, and that’s all that was needed for Ambascamba to commit to the trip northwards.
Brisvegas did not disappoint.
Nancy Vandal
Gemdilem: God bless the Global Financial Crisis for bringing bands like Nancy Vandal and Frenzal Rhomb back out of retirement. Although a sure sign that you are getting old must be when you can remember them the first time round and those memories have a nostalgic feel about them.
Gemdilem: We arrived just in time to see Nancy Vandal. For those not familiar with the band they are a punk band from Sydney that existed from 1993 to 2001. In 2003 they played a one off reunion / farewell gig at Sydney Uni. Earlier this year they launched another reunion and a comeback tour with Frenzal Rhomb.
Ambascamba: I haven’t seen Nancy Vandal before, but I’ve been told there’ll be horns so enthusiasm is high.
Gemdilem: The band takes to the stage with a trombone, sax, keyboard, guitars and drums. Their songs are clever, funny and deeply cool. They play all the classic songs – ‘Move over Satan’, ‘Egg sandwich’, and ‘Frenzal Rhomb Were Better When Ben Was In The Band’. Jay from Frenzal Rhomb joins the band on stage for ‘There’s No ‘I’ In Rock’. The set rocks from start to finish. Before the last song they announce “We are going to play one more song. Then we are going to piss off back to 1996.” Hopefully the rumours aren’t true and we didn’t just witness Nancy Vandal’s last set and they stick around in 2009 for a bit longer.
Ambascamba: My favourite song is definitely Egg Sandwich. Why are there not more songs about sandwiches? Sandwiches rule. I also enjoy the smut and the swearing pregnant lady on sax. It is very exciting seeing Jay back on stage and I may have squealed a little bit. Nancy Vandal is an excellent way to start the day and we leave the Big Top in high spirits.
Brass action
Nancy Vandal plus Jay from Frenzal Rhomb
Punk is back
Kram
Gemdilem: It was the first time I’d managed to see Kram and to be honest initially I was a little disappointed. In the first few songs, the rock and roll we’d come to love from Spiderbait, had been replaced with acoustic, boring, mellow songs with Kram looking very lonely on the big stage. Thankfully this did not last and Kram was joined by other band members who helped belt out a few of the more well known rock numbers doing the rounds lately on the radio. Kram seemed more comfortable during these songs, wandering around the stage while twirling his mic and interacting with the crowd. This was more on par with the energetic, rock and roll performance I was expecting. However, overall the set was nothing to rave about.
Ambascamba: The only non-Spiderbait song of Kram’s that I know is Silk Suits and I’m expecting a set of similar rockingness, so the slow songs throw me a bit. He comes through with the goods eventually, so I’ll let it go just this once.
Ambascamba: I’m noticing a definite trend throughout the crowd today, and I’m very pleased to see it’s not orange girls and southern cross tattoos. Parklife seems to have lured them away, Pied Piper style. Instead we have a fantastic array of mohawks (some requiring a little extra product in this heat) and various other proper punk stylings. Diggin’ it.
Kram rocking out
Kram jumping into the crowd
The Scare
Gemdilem: The lead singer of The Scare is the biggest weirdo. There I’ve said it. Throughout the set he dances and prances around the stage, making overdramatic gestures to the crowd and carrying on like a nutter. He clearly fancies himself as the crazy band front man and acts like he is performing to a jam packed stadium, when in reality he’s on a small side stage playing to about 40 people.
Gemdilem: Music wise I think their songs could be greatly improved with a cowbell.
Ambascamba: I haven’t seen The Scare since about 2006 at Spectrum when the lead singer ended up thrashing around in the crowd and pashing dudes. I’m enjoying his antics and general nutbaggery, and the music is holding my attention well too, but Gemdilem is spot on about the cowbell.
Ambascamba: Southern Cross tattoos spotted so far – 1.
Tall Ship tattoos spotted so far – 3.
I like the way Brisbane rolls.
The Scare
The Scare performing to a massive crowd
Mammal
Gemdilem: From the grandstand, while eating a Subway (yes, Subway at a festival!), I watch the madness that is Mammal. The crowd was going crazy, with the mosh pit pulsing to the beat of the music. The lead singer, between songs, appears to be preaching to the crowd. Something about the flag, Aboriginals, and Australia. I struggle to follow the ramblings so I return to my Subway.
Gemdilem: Word of advice to Mammal – A festival on a stinking hot and dusty day is not always the best place to preach.
Mammal performing on the main stage
Shihad
Ambascamba: I’m not paying much attention to Shihad because I’m too busy with my plate of tasty Indian food. City festivals definitely beat regional festivals when it comes to food options. I did notice that the lead singer has cut his hair though. About fifteen minutes before Shihad are due to finish on the left hand stage, the crowd starts veering towards the right hand stage where Frenzal are setting up. We take this as our cue to get the hell out of the grandstand and down to where the action is.
Frenzal Rhomb
Gemdilem: Like Nancy Vandal, Frenzal Rhomb are a Sydney punk band on a bit of a comeback at the moment. I have a very special place in my heart for Frenzal. I went to many of their under age gigs back in the late 90s. Sometime around 2005 Frenzal Rhomb’s music went into semi-retirement while Jay and the Doctor worked as the hosts of Triple J breakfast. Then Jay went travelling around the world. Jay returned sometime last year and the band did their first comeback tour earlier this year with Nancy Vandal.
Gemdilem: Right from the moment Frenzal Rhomb stepped onto the stage at Sounds of Spring I knew we were in for a treat. Jay greets the crowd with “Welcome to Parklife. We are Lady Sovereign.” An almighty roar erupts from the crowd. They start the set with a series of short songs and continue to joke around on stage: “If you are going to throw stuff can you make sure it doesn’t hit my beer.” – Doctor.
Gemdilem: They play the song ‘Genius’ and the whole crowd goes nuts. A highlight. ‘Genius’ is closely followed by ‘White World’ which Jay dedicates to all the fucking fuckwits with Southern Cross tattoos. Jay – this is why we love you!
Ambascamba: Frenzal Rhomb definitely take out the award for Best Band Banter. They abuse each other for our entertainment and generally make with the funny. My personal highlight, as always, is the song about Russell Crowe’s band. It’s just so darn catchy!
Gemdilem: For ‘Never Had So Much Fun’ the crowd helps Jay out, singing the entire first verse. Another highlight and a pretty special moment for a long term fan like myself. They end with ‘Punch in the Face’, always a crowd pleaser and never disappoints. Frenzal, it’s great to have you back!
Frenzal Rhomb
Frenzal Rhomb
Hungry Kids of Hungary
Ambascamba: The Hungry Kids lose two points before they even start playing for having stupid hair. I have no problem with men spending time and effort on their hair, but at least use that time and effort to produce something good. But moving on…
Gemdilem: The Hungry Kids are not pretending to be anything but what they are they – happy go-lucky guys playing indie pop music. In the set they played their songs without missing a beat, they said hello to the crowd, they played the big radio tune and the crowd danced along. They then thanked the crowd and left the stage. It was a flawless and enjoyable performance but somewhat unmemorable.
Gemdilem: P.S. Does anyone else think their song “Scattered Diamonds” sounds a bit like Vampire Weekend?
Ambascamba: I do! I am actually expecting a whole set of Vampire Weekend-esque songs, because Scattered Diamonds was the only HKOH song I could remember. Oh well. The frontman wins back one point for having a Gretsch guitar, because I am shallow.
Hungry Kids of Hungary
Hungry Kids of Hungary
Dave McCormack & the Polaroids
Ambascamba: We head round to the Time Off stage which is in a delightful little grassed area with a bunch of nice big trees. Quite impressed with the venue on the whole. The stages are well-placed, not too far apart so you don’t spend ages trekking between them, but not so close that there’s sound interference. We find a spot on the grass and wait for Dave.
Gemdilem: Dave McCormack & the Polaroids was the surprise highlight of the day. I was a big fan of Custard back in the day. And time has only seemed to increase my love for them. Having not seen Dave Mc for quite some time I had asked around and been told he did not play Custard songs. Regardless of this fact we still decided to check him out.
Gemdilem: We were chilling on the grass when to our surprise Dave started to play Custard’s song ‘Girls Like That’. I couldn’t believe it!! My initial shock quickly changed to ecstasy and before long I was jumping and dancing around and singing along to the music. A couple of songs later he played ‘Apartment’, which was also fantastic. He’d given me two Custard songs but still I wanted more. In every quiet moment I yelled out a request for ‘Music is Crap’ until Ambascamba pointed out that it might be taken as heckling so I abruptly stopped.
Gemdilem: Another highlight of the set was the new-ish song ‘AVO’. How can you not love a song which has the lyrics – “If I put an AVO out on you, will you put an AVO out on me?” (Note: This song will be on Dave McCormack’s new album “Little Murders”, which is out Monday!)
Ambascamba: DM & the Ps get us nicely hyped, resulting in dance-offs. I wasn’t expecting him to play ‘The Inner West Has All The Beautiful Girls’, my logic being that Brisbane might not have an Inner West. They do, and I am stupid. Regardless, Gemdilem and I are convinced he’s singing about us, and we amp up the dancing.
Dave McCormack
Ash Grunwald
Ambascamba: We drop in on Amity Affliction on the way to Ash, and I’m not too bothered that I have no memory of them from Coaster.
Gemdilem: To escape the dust storm approaching we took shelter in the Big Top where Ash Grunwald was playing. I find it hard to believe I’ve never seen Ash before. I wasn’t expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. His tunes are uplifting and the way Ash interacts with the crowd is captivating. Had a good dance. The sound and atmosphere in the Big Top was amazing.
Ambascamba: I love the way weather can affect people, and the SoS crowd is no exception. The wind and the dusty haze is creating an apocalyptic atmosphere, people are going nuts, and Ash Grunwald is providing an excellent soundtrack. My only issue is that his set today seems very similar to every other time I’ve seen him over the last three years or so. It’s good, but a little variety would be nice.
Salmonella Dub
Gemdilem: A couple of NZers told us we HAD to see Salmonella Dub. So we did. From the minute they started playing a party-like atmosphere erupted in the Big Top. Swept up in it all we joined a congo line and the dance floor. It was so refreshing to see a dance act without all the drug fucked idiots there to ruin it – they must have been at Parklife.
Ambascamba: I like that the main guy has bright red hair, and that there’s a melodica, and the way the band seems to grow by another member or two for every song. I also like the cartoon about the man being chased into a volcano by monsters. More bands should adopt cartoons as part of their live show. Dance-offs continue.
Gemdilem: We congo-ed, we danced and we enjoyed the lazer light show that was occurring on stage. Unfortunately, congo lines and lazers can only go so far and by halfway through the set we became bored with the repetitive nature of the music and left the Big Top in search of Dagwood Dogs.
Gemdilem and Ambascamba with Dagwood Dogs
Tim Rogers
Gemdilem: Tim Rogers steps onto the stage wearing a suit and bowtie. He starts with some of his older songs that I am not familiar with, however it doesn’t lessen the experience. His songs are so great that even when you are hearing them for the first time you can still connect to them. For me the highlight was ‘Heavy Heart’. It was so moving and beautiful.
Gemdilem: Oh Timmy. The way you move those hips is just so damn sexy. Don’t even change.
Ambascamba: How can one man be simultaneously so very classy and so very saucy? I do a very good job of holding myself together and not swooning, but it takes effort. Mr Rogers is testing my limits with every shake of his maracas (this is not a smutty metaphor). It’s a fantastic set from start to finish.
Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers
Tex Perkins
Ambascamba: I’ve been very excited about getting to see Tex Perkins again since the lineup was first announced, so to make me wait an extra twenty minutes is just cruel. Luckily, I would forgive Tex for anything. His voice and his neck vein are mesmerising. I must admit that I keep peering over to the side of stage area, hoping to see Tim Rogers come and join in for a little TnT action, but it’s not to be.
Gemdilem: A slight breeze was cooling off the last of the day’s heat while Tex played. The atmosphere was great. 100% dickhead free. His songs, a fusion of country and rock music, were great and each one got the respective applause it deserved. Despite being 45 years old, you get the impression that Tex could still be a heartbreaker if he wanted to be. Tex turned out to be a perfect end to a great day. I left the festival chilled out and happy.
Tex Perkins
Tex Perkins
Overall
Gemdilem: The festival was alot of fun but also chilled and relaxing. The venue had a lot to do with that as there was lots of space, grass to sit on and trees and the grandstand for shade. It reminded me a lot of the Sydney Big Day Out when it was still at the showgrounds (in Moore Park). The line up was large enough and diverse enough that there was something for everyone. Good day out.
Ambascamba: I was very impressed with Sounds of Spring and it was definitely worth the trip to Brisbane. Great venue, great lineup, great facilities, great crowd. I believe the bar lines were huge, but this wasn’t something we had to deal with luckily. I would definitely be up for it again next year if they can produce another lineup this good!