For the music freak, Homebake at Sydney’s Domain is often about the logistics of being in two or three places at once, and this year that requirement was exemplified by the amazing quality of the line up on each stage. The program had forty acts on four stages in 12 hours, and some very big names.
Of course some go just to get wasted, strange, I know, since they could do that in their lounge room at much lower cost, but they appear to be happily stuck in a moment they can’t get out of and live by the rule; Homebake = Get Wasted.
The first in the queues were ready to rock before 10AM but the gates didn’t open until after 11 so the first bands up at 11.20 were a little short of spectators.
Bridgewater Kiss, opened up on the Hopetoun Stage and played to around a hundred with their youthful staccato style of pop rock. Meanwhile on the main stage Mammal were producing a thumping wave of heavy rock whilst their energetic front man sporting a pink
mohawk had a roving mike and mixed it with the crowd on the floor in front of the stage.
Over in the Big Top, Foreign Heights played to a small but enthusiastic audience and delivered a deliciously varied hippy hoppy smorgasbord with some surprising flavas from instrumentalists playing upright harp and guitar.
By noon crowds had developed everywhere and the new darlings of the Sydney indie music scene, Bridezilla played to a packed Hopetoun. They have a special sound and do a great set, and the whirling dervish style of violinist Daisy Tully is something to behold in itself.
The day just got better as the weather made it clear rain wasn’t on the agenda and quality performances cycled across the various stages. Whilst the theme for this years Homebake emphasized female singers and bands with girls, the acts selected still covered a wide musical spectrum so everyone was kept happy. Operator Please, who only earlier this year played the tiny Tin Shed at The Great Escape, drew a huge crowd to the main stage, and it’s easy to see why. I’m just wondering if there will be an arena big enough to contain these guys if they carry on attracting fans this way. In a subversive move, large yellow crowd-pleasing aerial ping pong balls were introduced to the crowd during the OP set, only thing was they had ‘Old Man River’ written on them, who later played a great party on the Hopetoun stage. Cool !
In the warm afternoon sun, The Beautiful Girls (OK, in name only) gave a rare Sydney performance and showed why they have such a great live reputation. Anyone who didn’t feel like moving to those reggae infused rock tunes should be seeking medical advice, but I guess if dance was really your thing you might have found yourself listening to Bumblebeez in the Big Top instead. Boy ! Did these guys put on a show. A crowd moving in unison is always a buzz, but the finale of the Bumblebeez act involved about ten drummers on stage and about 2000 people in the air at any given time. Fabulous stuff.
Homebake is always a compromise about who you see and who you don’t, but after missing Sarah Blasko a hundred times during the last couple of years, now was my time. This style icon with the husky golden voice deserves everything she gets, arias, emmys, golden globes, FA cups, anything. Great set, we are blessed to have her.
Missy Higgins started her set singing only, and looking pretty demure in black with tied-back hair, but as usual played guitar and piano throughout the set. All of the songs that are now anthems got a workout, and the crowd was very appreciative.
For many the big gun of the night was always going to be The Divinyls. I spoke to many who had never been to Homebake before and had made it just because Chrissy was going to be strutting her stuff, so the organizers will be happy with that I’m sure.
And Chrissy can still strut her stuff, albeit with a little less manic frenzy. Many of the teen and early twenty somethings knew the words to the songs, no doubt from parents collections. The set started with a prelude from a girls choir singing an arrangement of I Touch Myself, which was …erm… interesting. From the first two songs proper, Science Fiction and Pleasure and Pain hitting the speaker stacks, the audience was in Chrissy’s hands and she produced the goods, great voice, great music from the boys, great light show and back drop. The Divinyls provided a fitting finale on the main stage.
As I walked out of the gate I looked over my shoulder and saw the crowd, arms outstretched, rising and falling to some serious beats in the Big Top, Pnau doing their thing, but for me a very memorable Homebake was over for another year.
Check out all the pics from the gig HERE
