WERE YOU AT COASTER? CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE DAY HERE.

The inaugural Coaster Festival kicked off with a yellow and purple leotard-garbed superhero, cordially known as Mr. Coaster, prancing around the Showgrounds, much to the amusement (and later annoyance) of punters. All signs pointed to a successful debut for the Central Coast Festival, having secured a stellar Australian-focused line up. Tickets sold out completely, and the elements also threw in their support, with the sun banishing any chance of bad weather.

Battling through the massive queue to enter the premises, The Steel were winding up their performance on the Headspace stage. This “second” stage of the festival rather resembled a little corner stage at the local café, as opposed to one that would later host the likes of Children Collide and The ELF.

Out on the main stage, Bluejuice added a little more heat to the proceedings with their blend of party-orientated rock/hip hop. Despite the sound issues on stage, where the vocals were either drowned out by the crowd or completely non-existent due to microphone problems (which plagued the main stage all day long), Bluejuice rocked out an energising set, sprinkled with hits from their debut album Problems, including the still-current favourite Vitriol.

Local boys The Inheritors graced the Headspace stage next, gathering a decent-sized crowd who were there to show their support. Their fresh, fun rock slowly but steadily got the punters moving, despite the increasing heat.

Back on the main stage, the first major gathering of the day was beginning to form in anticipation of seeing Oakland rockers The Matches take the stage by storm. They were perhaps the best-dressed band of the festival, courtesy of their penchant for vests and flamboyant coloured garments. Full credit goes to front man Shawn Harris for sweating it out in super-tight zebra stripped short shorts. Performance-wise, they are every bit as exciting as their outfits, and more then live up to the hype that surrounds them. With a set list comprising of well known favourites including Papercut Skin, What Katie Said, Yankee in a Chip Shop and Salty Eyes, The Matches left the crowd begging for more, and set the standard for following performances.

Next up, The Potbelleez turned the main stage into a massive dance party. Gathering one of the largest crowds of the day, The Potbelleez pumped out hit after hit, including Are You With Me and the massive Don’t Hold Back. They left the stage after 40 minutes, but down the back of the crowd, the party was still going strong.

The first political turn of the day came as Blue King Brown brought their sounds and beliefs to Gosford. Energetic and exciting as always, their high-powered show continued the trend of strong performances on the main stage, sending out their message in a distinct mix of reggae and roots. New single Moment of Truth capped off a massive set which ran overtime, as patrons began calculating their chances of catching all the performances to follow, as well as the last train back home.

In the set-up interval, local band We Are Grace brought their progressive rock sound to the Headspace stage. With the feminine song titles such as Megan, Scarlett and Charlize, it was a little unexpected to be taken on a musical journey of ambient instrumentation and soaring vocals. There were moments of heavier rock as well, resulting in an interesting set and marking them out as a band to watch out for in the future.

The one local act to perform on the main stage at Coaster was Something With Numbers. Frontman Jake Grigg was almost unrecognisable, sporting a new haircut that was substantially smaller then his previous explosive locks. Lack of hair, however, did nothing to diminish the energetic and enjoyable show that the Central Coasters put on. Winding through an impressive selection of new and old hits including Stay with Me Bright Eyes, Calf Love and Apple of the Eye (Lay Me Down), they made the most of their time on stage and impressed their home crowd.

Bondi rockers Cog were due next, but unfortunately fell victim to the sound issues that continued to plague the main stage. When they eventually made their appearance, the microphones continued to fade in and out, which was rather disappointing. On the bright side, the intensity of their performance did not waver. With a compact version of the set list from the ‘Sharing Space’ tour – including Are You Interested?, Anarchy OK, Resonate, Say Your Last Goodbye and No Other Way, the crowd were more then happy to help out with the vocals.

Melbourne four-piece Kisschasy entered to a massive roar of appreciation – not surprising considering the following they have attracted. By this time of the evening, the crowd had begun to wilt, perhaps from a combination of sun and a long day, but Kisschasy were able to rouse them for one last major effort – particularly with crowd favourites Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm at Night and Spray on Pants.

Headline act The Living End appeared not long after, having set up their kit in close to record time. Despite being one of the most anticipated bands in the line-up, their later starting time resulted in losing about a quarter of the punters, who most likely had run off to catch the last train back to Sydney. For those that were left, they were treated to a classic Living End performance – mega riffs, flamboyant instrumentation and entertaining banter, as well as a great line up of tracks including Make the Call, Prisoner of Society, White Noise and a special encore of Second Solution.

The inaugural Coaster Festival was a success in many ways – the much talked about line-up lived up to (and in many cases surpassed) expectations, and punters walked out of the Showgrounds with huge grins and amazing memories. On the other hand, the venue could have been set out a little better. The entrance to the main stage was via two small gates, which more often then not were backed up with traffic. Many scaled the low fence to get between stages on time, and as the day went on landing properly on two feet became less important.

The success of the festival this year paves the way for Coaster to become a yearly tradition. Despite the hiccups with the beginning, it will undoubtedly evolve into an important fixture on the spring festival circuit.

Words by Barbara Penn and Michelle Hyndman