With such a lack of events hitting the southwest of WA, the first annual Southbound festival, held in Busselton, provided a highlight for the thousands of music lovers living in this part of the country. But it wasn’t just locals at this festival – the stream of cars heading south from Perth proved that this event was big enough to attract punters from all over the state.
As over 8000 people converged on Sir Stewart Bovell Park, the midday sun shone over the two stages, with the pleasant sea breeze blowing, providing perfect festival weather. Local battle of the bands winner Cowtown were the first to hit the Offshore Stage, bringing feelgood hip-hop tunes about all the things adolescents get up to in the country. “When I say ‘kanga’, you say ‘roo’’.” Gold.
Phil’s Finest Hour followed, and the arriving crowds witnessed a blend of piano-based alt-rock somewhere between Ben Folds Five and Muse, while Bunbury locals The Fuzz, played their dirty rock ‘n’ roll to a home crowd.
Since being named by Rolling Stone the top band to watch for 2005, The Panda Band have had to come to terms with high expectations, and so far have not faltered. While the majority of the crowd chose to relax on the grass or watch from the bar area, The Panda Band put on one of the best performances of the day, playing a set that included hits Eyelashes and Sleepy Little Death Toll Town. Still largely unknown, playing the main stage just before the heavy-hitters no doubt won them many new fans, and one suspects they will be playing much later in years to come.
While the likes of Red Jezebel and retro-rock trio Wolfmother played the festival’s second stage, the crowd at the Offshore Stage began to thicken as Perth band Little Birdy played the opening chords of current single Tonight’s the Night. With a set that included highlights from debut album BigBigLove, they also played all four tracks from their 2003 self-titled EP, with iconic frontperson Katy Steele dedicating Relapse to the band’s dedicated fans in the front row.
Hailing from Dublin, The Thrills were the first international act to play, and arguably should have headlined the event. Arriving on stage 10 minutes late, the band quickly made up for lost time, opening with Tell Me Something I Don’t Know, followed by hit single Big Sur, from 2003’s So Much for the City album. Drawing equally from the band’s two albums, their set treated the masses to the feelgood summer sounds of Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?, The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing and Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far). The biggest cheer however, came when members of The Sleepy Jackson joined them on stage for an eight-man rendition of One Horse Town – a song frontman Conor Deasy said “made us feel really cool for a few minutes on Top of the Pops”.
Bands like Machine Gun Fellatio are the reason wireless microphones were invented. As a rather intoxicated Pinky Beecroft explored the stage, roadies had their work cut out untangling cables and picking up mic stands and other debris. Quite simply, this band is not really a band at all. It’s a circus. Before the end of the first song, singer/dancer/stripper KK Juggy ’s top ‘falls off’, and Beecroft climbed down from the stage to greet the front row, only to wander around as if he were blind, looking for a way back up. Fortunately, they overcame these ‘mishaps’ and kept playing. Their 50-minute set includes hits Rollercoaster and The Girl of My Dreams (Is Giving Me Nightmares), and as took take us all down to Pussytown, Juggy and another stripper point their behinds in the air and emptied bottles of water over themselves. Wholesome family entertainment at its best.
The other international band to grace the Offshore Stage was Veruca Salt. Opening with Officially Dead, vocalist Louise Post managed to embody both cuteness and anger simultaneously, and as the band rifled through hits Seether and Volcano Girls, even some of the boys in the crowd sang along.
WA heroes Eskimo Joe had a massive 2004 with the release of A Song is a City, and look set to have an even bigger 2005, with Big Day Out main stage appearances ahead of them, as well as inevitable interest overseas. Hit single From the Sea went down a treat, and as the sun passed over the horizon, the band pulled out highlights from their latest album, such as Smoke, Older Than You, and title track A Song is a City. While the local lads’ attitude kept the smiles on the punters’ faces, the set was predictable, and barely explored beyond the bounds of their most recent angle. The older tracks that did get an airing – Planet Earth, Wake Up and Liar were highlights, but a festival set from potential A-listers of Australian rock ended up sounding like just another show on the album tour.
From potential A-listers to veterans of Australian music’s premier league, Regurgitator gave the younger bands a lesson in how to play a festival. With a balanced set comprising all the classics plus a healthy selection from new album Mish Mash, the crowd lapped up what was on offer from Brisbane’s finest – don’t listen to anyone trying to give that crown to Powderfinger or Pete Murray, for that matter. Anyone who hadn’t forgiven them for 2001’s embarassing Eduardo and Rodriguez Wage War On T-Wrecks was about to forget that record ever existed. They pulled out all the stops to put on a great rock show, demonstrating their experience with the summer festival circuit – long before they were the ‘band in a bubble’. Black Bugs, Everyday Formula and ! (The Song Formerly Known as) from 1997’s Unit went down well, as well as I Wanna Be a Nudist and I Will Lick Your Arsehole. Louise Post of Veruca Salt joined the band on stage rather poignantly for Blubber Boy, before The Drop along with My Friend Robot from Mish Mash both received healthy applause. The highlight of the set though, was a blistering rendition of the seasoned classic Kong Foo Sing, in which frontman Quan Yeomans reminded us what made them one of the best Aussie bands of the 1990s.
As the day came towards its climax, the thousands of punters, young and old gathered at the Offshore Stage to soak up the acoustic summer vibes of Pete Murray. As Murray played his hits, including Beautiful and Feeler, Sharif Galal, better known as the Groove Train presenter on Triple J, spun up a storm on the Lago Stage. For many punters though, the day was perfect enough without the headliners, and it was another chance to grab one last drink at the bar before heading off.
