Grafton Primary got the ball rolling in the Stonefest playground with a bit of musical education from their latest EP Relativity. The synth-electro sounds were a groovy start to the festival and an impressive effort for the act’s first main stage festival gig.
Cut Copy won the hearts of many with a brilliant live set that demonstrates the gap between indie rock and dance music is narrowing – particularly when you’ve got a bridge like So Haunted to assist. Their tracks transitioned between gritty 80’s themed guitar hooks to electro-pop sounds all capped off with frontman Dan Whitford’s vocals, leaving little doubt in anyone’s mind why they have been given the honour of supporting Daft Punk in their upcoming tour. Indeed, Cut Copy personified the meshing of indie rock and dance music, providing in a snapshot set the overall theme of this year’s line-up.

Next up for the punters was to – œwitness the fitness’ of New Zealand’s hip-hop hero Scribe. Opening with Not Many he had the crowd off to a hopping start. As the Crusader wolf howled beneath the full moon, the hip-hop fans in the crowd were going a little crazy, but perhaps he lost some with his lengthier rap pieces. The tracks with driving baselines like new single Fresh and Don’t Look Back earned a better response. Two back-up singers helped out on My Shit with one taking centre stage for an impromptu flow of her own.

For those ready to dance the night away The Arena was the (only) place to be, with Ashton Shuffle, Bagraiders, TV Rock and Aquasky ready to provide the tunes. A scheduling error might’ve caused a little confusion for some, as an earlier published timetable had TV Rock scheduled for midnight, when he actually took the stage around 2am. By all reports though, the night was filled with slick mixes and tasty beats from all four acts.

Saturday afternoon the word was all about hard rockers Spoil , who played a solid set in the newly dubbed Green Room. On the main stage Expatriate played to a grass-lounging crowd, impressing with their sublime cover of Everything But the Girl’s Missing. Incessant gigging has earned them a high-quality live sound and converted many in the crowd. Perhaps it was the spread of acts between stages, but this year’s festival seemed to be down on numbers than in previous years. Although the crowd it did draw was demonstrative of the eclectic music on offer – there were fluro headbands dotted through-out the crowd, emo black uniforms, tandoori-tans and short-shorts coupled with ray-bans and collective group T-shirts from the on-campus kids which showed a diverse range of tastes were present both on and off stage. Also kudos to the organisers for limiting the delay between acts on the main stage, all acts took to the stage on time and even a few a little early, plus there was always something worth seeing across any given stage.

Butterfingers didn’t need to sing Get Up Out of the Dirt to get the crowd to their feet. The attitudinal, humorous songs including Yo Mama, I Love Work , and Everytime were brought to life onstage and had the crowd bopping instantly while shouting “I got beef! Chicken’s not a vegetable!” Wrapping up the set was Fig Jam which was well received by the now very energetic crowd. Meanwhile the Greenroom played host to Casual Projects who yet again impressed with their hip-hop jazz blend, it was amazing they could fit all eight of them, their instruments and their explosive sound onto that one little stage.

Of course the night truly came alive when Australia’s singing/song-writing legend Paul Kelly took to the stage, launching his set with From Little things Big things Grow Before Too Long and Deeper Water . A simple but elegant curtain-like light effect provided a magical back-drop as fairy-lights replicated the stars now appearing above the crowd. A pleasant breeze blew as the crowd swayed along to Kelly’s distinctive sound. New tracks from latest release Stolen Apples Stolen Apples included God Told Me To but the highlight was surely To Her Door .

Wrapping up Stonefest 2007 was none other and The Waifs , who although have played plenty of Canberra stages over their 15 year career, had the opportunity to play their first outdoor event in the Nation’s Capital. As always, they truly impressed with their brilliant live sound and obvious passion for bringing their folk tunes to life. Set highlights included Highway One , Lighthouse Fisherman’s Daughter and an old-time folk song Laura which Vicky dedicated to an enthusiastic – œyoung man’ in the crowd. Clearly the crowd adored it, as underwear flew through the air and up onto the stage, much to the delight of the Simpson sisters who giggled and joked in between Bridal Train and Crazy Train . Deciding to eschew the tradition of the encore, they instead spared the crowd the charade of calling them back onstage by playing a few extra numbers from their latest album, before winding up the set with a beautiful version of London Still.