sounds of spring 2009

The definition of Festival … a day or time of celebration, marked by feasting, ceremonies, or other observances; a periodic commemoration, anniversary, or celebration; a period or program of festive activities or entertainment; gaiety; revelry; merrymaking.


A periodic anniversary….tick

A program of entertainment…ummm…tick? If you forget about The Living End being cut short due to “wind” difficulties, and the Toothfairies being a no show due to illness

A celebration marked by feasting; gaiety; merrymaking….ummm perhaps not…. unless your idea of feasting is defined by the consumption of meatball subs from subway or Dagwood dogs… and your definition of gaiety involves paying $5 for water on a day when the temperatures rose to high 20s.
Despite my scorn,kudos must go to the organizers who managed to turn around last year’s disorganized complain-fest into a smooth running well-oiled machine. They seem to have learned from their mistakes even responding with a statement of Having spent 6 months making sure the event is a much better experience for all concerned. The event will remain 18+ and you will not be checked all day for ID. There will be 3 bars spread out around the site (two 30m wide and the other 15m wide). You will be able to drink everywhere.
There were more bars, less lines and smarter policies including trading empty cans for money off drinks… and the weather gods shined upon the 2009 Sounds of Spring festival - turning last year’s rain bath into a distant memory as sunny sunny skies prevailed throughout the day.
Five stages were spread throughout Brisbane’s RNA show grounds: The Triple J Big Top had a laidback spacious feel, the Main Arena gave you a chance to soak up some rays and felt just like the Gold Coast Big Day Out, the Zebra Top were for those hardcore dance fans, the Time Off Stage attracted an older crowd with its serene garden-themed setting and Club Trash was an intimate confined stage randomly thrown in the middle.

Sounds of Spring drew a younger crowd than we expected - but perhaps that was from the spillover of Parklife fans who missed out on tickets to that sold out event… Parklife and SOS being on the same day… stuff up by the event managers or clever marketing ploy?..who knows?

After the Fall rallied the angst ridden teenagers early in the day with a big turn out to see them play some of their punky rhythms. ‘Sunshine Towers’ got the kids on their feet and the set continued with high energy bass pulsating tunes from their latest album ‘In Exile’ being pumped out for their 40minute slot.

I then rushed over to the see the Toothfairies belt out some favourites, but were surprised to be supplied Melbourne-based multi-piece The Gin Club as last minute replacements. The shady Time Off stage was a cool change to the beating heat of the Main Arena and the slow tunes that the 3 guitars, 1 keyboard and 3 singers were soothing the audience with was a lovely start to the day.

Local band Mexico City had a country rock feel but seemed to miss out on the crowds due to the awkwardly placed Trash Stage. Highlights included the lead vocalist Adam Toole surprising AoTW with his echoes of Caleb Followill’s pipes and the sweet touch of a big lovely old electric guitar on stage.
Nineties rock band Nancy Vandal (who hail from ‘Planet Sex’?) started their set with a personalized spin on AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds. The saxophone, trombones, bass, drums, trumpet all sharing the stage created an aural sensation for the audience however this big band feel still could not wipe the thought away that Nancy Vandal are a akin to a poor man’s Living End. No real charisma, just big noise.

Next up: Midnight Youth’s Mars Volta-esque stage persona and lyrics. The lead singer Jeremy Redmore has a really impressive voice and the band just seems to mesh so well it seems like they’ve been playing together since infancy. This young New Zealand band just seemed really happy to be playing and gave everything they had to belting out hits from their The Brave Don’t Run debut album.

Announcing that they were an optimistic band with an optimistic website entitled www.roottheband.com.au, Root! set off with some funky country and western tunes and looked the part with all members donning cowboy hats. Highlights included joking that they felt like old fathers waiting to pick up their sons in Birds of Tokyo and belting out I Wish I Was Tex Perkins (which was a hit with the older audience).

Let’s face it, Kram will never gain the popularity of his former band Spiderbait, and seeing audience members more interested in guessing what a passing sky-writer was scrawling confirmed this. He busted out a drum laden aggressive set with lots of showmanship and swearing, however Kram also pulled out some sweet slower tunes which were not all about the drums. It’s a massive call to say this… but his voice was Bob Dylan-esque and the keyboard based tunes were not half bad. Maybe he needs to stick to this in future.

Sounds of Spring was characterized by young rock and punk heads, extreme heat, overpriced drinks, good tunes and saliva-inspiring Dagwood dogs… all in all not a bad day out, but if Splendour in the Grass is the BMW X5 in this scenario, Sounds of Spring is an early model VK Commodore…it gets you to where you want to be but it aint pretty!


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