Megafauna @ The Basement,Belconnen (06/11/10)

Wed 10th Nov, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Keeping the flame that the now defunct Metal for the Brain festival once proudly burnt, Megafauna returned in its fourth iteration bigger and hairier than ever. A broad spectrum of bands took to the stage at The Basement with a healthy turn out that was all in the name of a good cause, with all proceeds being donated to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.

Yeti stood out from the early acts, playing among the likes of Chasing Rabbits, Cracked Actor and Leisure Suit Lenny. Playing an erratic and spontaneous blend of high output funk fusion metal, Yeti put up a lively performance, the three members energetic on stage. Inside the Exterior picked it up a notch with their aggressive and stochastic take on melodic metal, delivering empowering and invigorating tunes that mixed well with their crowd.

Canberran five-piece The Red Vest played an interesting pastiche of blues, folk and prog-rock, installing a sense of unease and quiet before the storm before erupting into tempestuous clamours of fervent chaos.

The Vee Bees capitalised on a well-watered population before them, playing an atavistic form of garage rock that some would deem a laugh and good fun, while another would be forgiven for declaring it insulting to the intellect. For the most part, those who had migrated towards the stage seemed to be enjoying the self-proclaimed two chord maestros, with some horns being shown and hair being flung in time with immortal odes to the corner stone of Australian culture; the drive through bottle-o.

The warm and entertained crowd that populated the Basement for 2010’s Megafauna ensured that next year the event will return, all in the name of charity. This year’s instalment was a massive improvement over last year’s, and hopefully future iterations will continue to bring musically diverse bands together and showcase the skill base within Canberra’s heavier side of live music.