Two years in the making, two years spent waiting finally it was that time when Megafauna came to save us from anticipation. However most of that anticipation originates from the impressive line-up this year both locally and interstate including Hancock Basement, Super Best Friends, Casual Projects, The Nation Blue from Melbourne and Cuthert and the Night Walkers from Sydney.

Starting at 2pm to commence trading via Megafauna currency were local DJ act Pink and Diabolik who pleasantly set the tone for the festival with their hip hop, reggae pop tunes.

In a flash The Chuffs graced the stage soon after with their easy listening metal/punk rock. A quick way of describing The Chuffs is by comparing them to Tool and You Am I with a hint of Def Leopard.

In a blink of an eye The Cherry Marines began their set on the adjacent stage with a nice, soothing instrumental song to blow out the metal draft left behind from The Chuffs. It became quickly evident that these guys had spent a great deal of time refining their sound to what it is today as their music travels across a range of genres from alternative to punk to progressive rock. Their hard work has easily paid off as they attracted an ever-growing crowd to witness their energetic charisma and cleverly constructed songs.

The metal draft had blown back inside by this point as local metal outfit Tres Terros Cuntos suddenly began their heavy guitar riffs and belting drum beats to great praise from a densely populated venue. By the second song a majority of the Megafaunians had ventured over to check out this band as they probably realised that the Megafauna organisers were in it and were greatly impressed by their talent.

They were the perfect segue into Inside the Exterior who carried on the strong gail force of metal with their heavy, energetic loud performance which rang out through to the eating area down the other side of the bar!

Those metal heads didn’t need to move far as local metal icons Penguin soon began their metal charisma on the opposite stage. They’re 12 years of playing together was apparent immediately as they all backed each other up musically and lyrically on stage.

After a hatrick of metal acts a new dance, pop and groovy vibe had entered the room in the form of Cool Weapon. It is difficult to pin their sound but acts such as Prince, MC Hammer and Michael Jackson came to mind.

The band name could not be more apparent on stage as they were the coolest weapon I have witnessed in a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are invited to a few hens’ parties in the not too distant future.

To change the scene completely a circus side show swept in to educate everyone on the art of juggling, spinning hula-hoops on your waist and walking across class with your bare feet. Don’t know how many punters passed the lesson, but were a worthwhile experience none the less.

To bring the metal draft of wind back into the room were Boonhorse (Ex Log) who became an instant favourite to the wider population (not just the metal heads)

Next up were local favourites Hancock Basement who graced the stage in a flash with their upbeat party music with clearly visible versatility as they all share singing duties and somehow the drummer manages to play while singing, not easy to do. They are a band that has worked hard on building a support base in Canberra in order to venture off to the wider musical community. Their plans have been deemed successful with the dance-floor rapidly filling up with their die hard fans.

In what seemed a blink of the eye it was goodbye Hancock and hello Hytest who had brought their metal angst down from Wollongong to haunt the nation’s capital (in a good way).

In record time local hip hop favourites Casual Projects soon became one of the festival highlights with punters flocking over to try out their renown recipe of rock, rap and R and B. Like Hancock Basement one of Casual Projects projects has been establishing a base in Canberra which is still standing strong and will look like it will for a while.

On cue to begin directly adjacent to the Projects stage were Sydney outfit Cuthert and the Night Walkers who were the most delightful mix of jazz, folk rock. By their second song Megafaunians were pleasantly undertaking the relaxing and soothing spiritual journey that Cuthert had inserted in their music. Once we were at the end it was a struggle at first to come out of the sleepy haze of our epiphanies and move across to the other stage where Melbourne’s The Nation Blue where waiting to further manipulate our mental being (in a good way) They sure had reason to as they had come all the way up from Melbourne to do so.

As one of the headline acts they were sure not to disappoint as their stage presence was second to none. If you spoke to a majority of the metal heads, they would have told you that they were blown away by their set.

To keep that fire alive were local metal outfit Pod People who can be described in the same light as The Nation Blue.

To bring Megafauna 2008 to a close were local rock n roll icons Super Best Friends Lead man John Barrington wasted no time in rocking out to the enchanting roar of die hard fans who had supported them over the last 3 years. Despite some technical difficulties at the start, they soon redeemed themselves by acting out the charisma that has won over the fans both locally and nationally.