FIND YOURSELF IN THE FL SOCIAL GALLERY OR CHECK OUT ALL THE BAND ACTION FROM THE BIG O!

Despite the fact that O Week is over, and the people who came to Canberra from Wagga or wherever know their new roommates intimately (yes, like that, I assume that’s what the kids at Uni do), The Big O thought they’d drop by belatedly and bring gifts in the way of Cassette Kids, Yves Klein Blue, Bluejuice, Ben Lee, The Fratellis, and The Music. Lengthy.

Just after six, Sydney upstarts Cassette Kids have drawn a small crowd to the stage, however the band were just as energetic as they would have been if they were playing to thousands. Katrina Noorbergen can wail, and if she played the bass as well, she could rival Tia Carrere’s Cassandra from Wayne’s World. Playing cuts from their debut mini-album We Are, the band sounded tight, and had such a hold on the crowd that when Noorbergen told them to come forward, they all did, right to the front. I haven’t seen an opening act exhibit that much control without offering drugs or nudity.

Yves Klein Blue have either gotten off the Ritalin, or gotten on the uppers because their energy levels were also through the roof, which is a change from the last time I saw them. Keeping the party going with their big hair, thrashing guitar solos (really), and headbanging, Triple J friendly indie rock in Canberra at The Big O has never been so much fun. Lead singer Michael Tomlinson was 100% Happy Bunny all set, interacting with the crowd, and surely converting new fans with his jovial disposition.

Bluejuice.

Seriously, that could be the review right there. They’re predictable, in that they’re unpredictable every time, which is the best kind of predictable. Will Jake get naked? Will Stav make lewd advances towards a crew member over the microphone? WHO KNOWS! You know it’s going to be good. Look up – œbluejuice’ on wikipedia and you’ll get redirected to – œawesome’ or something. Really, do it.

Mixing in some excellent new tracks, and giving their new drummer a decent workout, Bluejuice took the energy levels up to Eureka Tower levels, then threw the crowd off the top and hocked a loogie at them on their way down. Actually, that’s partly true, with Jake spitting on the crowd early on. Not only that, his microphone swinging technique wasn’t adjusted for the low ceiling of ANU with brash pop sounds coming through the PA, and then when it hit the stage it was ripped off the cord and went sailing into the heads of people in the front row. Ouch. Concert injuries rule though, and chicks totally dig them. Ask me about mine. Way better than a band tattoo.

I could write another ten thousand words on these guys, but unfortunately neither you nor I have the attention spans to read it. If you’re not on the bandwagon yet, do yourself a favour and throw yourself under the wheels, because you were probably going to get hurt anyway.

Ben Lee has been one of Australia’s most resilient pop exports for the past ten years. Everyone knows him, most people could recognise a few of his songs, and even your parents have probably heard of him. Hell, they might even like him. So why is he third support for this tour?

After a long wait, Mr Lee turns up on stage, acoustic guitar and backing band in tow and the songs start coming thick and fast. Well, not that fast, but you know what I mean. Love Me Like The World Is Ending, Ciggarettes Will Kill You, and more recent sing-a-long Catch My Disease were all present and moderately received by the crowd, because after such a huge energy fest laid upon the crowd by the past three acts, Ben Lee was a little… dull. Finishing up with his Telstra/Qantas/KFC/Coke/whoever-used-it anthem We’re All in This Together, there were elements of the crowd into it, but ultimately, the set was a little lacklustre, and maybe that’s why he’s third support, and not second.

There was hope in the room that Glaswegians (ooh, how exotic for a Canberra show, right?) The Fratellis could do for the ANU what Obama did for America: Make things a little better, more exciting, and bring about some change after a long time with the dorky incumbent. Did I just compare Ben Lee to Bush? Yes, yes I did.

The popularity of The Fratellis was somewhat surprising to this reviewer, as the crowd went fucking ballistic and gave The Fratellis the best crowd reaction of the night so far, even if the band weren’t too hyped up themselves (except for the drummer, that man was a machine). There seemed to be a bit of a – œtoo cool’ attitude, which granted, they are cooler than I am (which is why I am reviewing them), but unless you’re Duff McKagan playing “Rocket Queen” circa 1990, don’t just stand there and look over the crowds head listlessly.
Did it matter? Fuck no, are you serious? Chelsea Dagger, when brought out towards the end of the set, had a huge reaction. The crowd went wild, and the bar was set for the other exotic band of the night.

Leeds (what a crazy word… “Leeds”… I’d’ve called it “Chazwozza”) natives, The Music, were the final band of the night, and after six hours of The Big O, you could be forgiven for thinking people just might be a little tired. You might have been right. Initially it seemed like the crowd had gone. It took about two songs for the audience to come inside, eventually filling out the venue from what started at half full.

Nevertheless, The Music is an anthem band. Every single song is worthy of fist pumps, moshing, crowd surfing, and miscellaneous nudity, all of which happened, except the nudity, the lack of which was becoming a disappointing trend. Robert Harvey’s voice was spot on the entire night, if a little turned down at some points, but how can you not sing along to songs like The People, Take The Long Road and Walk It and new hit Strength In Numbers when your choir leader is showing you how it’s done? You can’t. Even if you don’t know the words, just sing something else and no one will notice, trust me.
The only problem with their performance was whenever Harvey strapped on his guitar, he couldn’t do his dancing, which was very entertaining, and believe it or not, engaging.

The very healthy moshpit was brought to a close well after midnight, with The Music thanking Canberra repeatedly and leaving with no encore. Did people want more? Absolutely, but encores are as old hat as the saying ‘as old hat’. Did people leave happy? Definitely.

So, in closing, how many puns can be shoved into this paragraph? The Big O came and left us feeling hot and flustered, and a little bit wet, after six hours of sweaty movement. People joined together as one, and even some people took some shots to the face from Bluejuice. Gross. Until next time, Big O. I will abstain for you, or at least not tell you about it if I cheat, and I hope you don’t see the hickeys the other summer festivals give me early next year.