Southbound 2011

Sun 9th Jan, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Southbound Sunday

A surprise waiting for everyone on Sunday morning was The Brown Horn Orchestra an eclectic eight- piece band filled with every imaginable and unimaginable instrument and more energy than Sonic the hedgehog on a power up. Not only are they an orchestra filled with drums, guitars, trumpets, saxophones, keyboards, bass’, and every variation in between they also throw in a megaphone, a cowbell and it feels like anything they find around them they could hit at with a stick and make some original, amazing sound. They successfully fused folk, ska, reggae, electro, dub and hip-hop styles of music jumping from saxophone solos, to banjo playing, to rap performances from front men Ndorse and Rezide. Crazy and bizarre, but entertaining and fun, this is a band you need to see live to understand their music, who they are and know you’ll walk away with a smile on your face.

Boy & Bear, who have recently returned from their UK tour, received a massive welcome to the stage and their performance did not disappoint fans. They played their folk hits such as Blood to Gold and Rabbit Song. Also as they began their cover of Crowded House’s Fall at your Feet, which has been receiving a fair amount of airtime on triple j, the mood shifted significantly. Mist flowed onto stage and the haunting vocals of all five members came from their silhouettes and the crowd chanted along and erupted in cheer at the end. The band also performed their latest song, yet to be released, featuring a whistle solo from front man, Dave Hosking, who pre-warned he might not make it through the solo and as he broke off midway with his coy smile, the crowd went crazy in support for him. It’s clear that the band has a dedicated fan base and are popular, their music is folky yet still encompasses a rock vibe, Boy & Bear are definitely a band to watch.

An unmistakable favourite of the festival was Megan Washington, the bad- ass singer songwriter from Papua New Guinea who actually puts an original twist on the genre indie pop. Festival go-ers were determined to watch this feisty striking musician perform as they stood out in the searing heat of the day. Her songs had the crowd dancing and becoming lost in her music, and the song of her Will for after she has died was only slightly gothic and more moving as even in forty degree heat it inspired goosebumps. A theme of the festival seemed to be each artist performing a cover song and every guy who was already in love with Washington thought they had died and gone to heaven during her cover of the Divinyls I Touch Myself. Her performance of her album I Believe You Liar was an amazing highlight for the festival and her music will shortly be exploding over the world.

The Middle East provided a great setting in the undercover paper stage, where there was shade, a breeze and the wispy chimes and whistles of the band flowing out of the speakers. Just off their international tour through North America and Europe, the Australian band from Townsville, came home continuing their apparent endless summer, which reflects their music perfectly.

As the sun became hotter, and the shade more scarce, refreshment was found in the Strongbow Cider Ship overlooking the scissor ship which spent the afternoons hosting comedic performances, and The Bedroom Philosopher provided comedic relief during the intense heat. The Bedroom Philosopher is the performance persona of Australian comedian, author, actor and songwriter Justin Heazlewood. Most known for his musical comedy works, he has released several albums, and performed at many arts festivals. He was a fantastic hit at Southbound.

Indie punk rock, Melbourne band Children Collide provided a highly anticipated killer performance. Fans moshed at the front of the stage, dance in the middle of the crowd, and lounged at the back nodding their heads and allowed themselves to be taken away in Children Collide’s Farewell Rocketship where only music was central to life.

The Beautiful Girls were like a cross between Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. They played a folky cover of Phil Collins’ In the air tonight, which was bizarrely beautiful.

Birds of Tokyo provided a professional performance demonstrative of their experience and understanding of music and performing to thousands of people. Their latest hit, Plans, that unless you have been living under a rock you would have heard and had stuck in your head for at least a day, was a massive hit and resonated all over the festival grounds.

Hailing from Ohio and based in Brooklyn, alternative indie band The National are a band you may think you have not heard of until you hear one of their songs and go “oooooh, that’s right!” Lead singer and songwriter Matt Berninger has a distinctive baritone that resonates in the hearts and minds of a crowd. The band have accumulated a dedicated fan base in the decade they’ve been together but can still reach a young audience as their songs speak of experiences and journeys that go beyond any singular generation.

The Living End were the band that stuck out like a punk rock sore thumb in the line up between folky, acoustic and indie alternative bands. However the hippies were busting out their air guitars and moshing to the legendary Australian punks because who doesn’t have at least one memory from the past ten years featuring a song from the Living End? They delivered a great show as they filled the rock stage with their energy. Scott Owen seemed to spend the majority of time standing on top of his massive upright bass whilst playing, and their finale showed off their extreme style and skill as Chris Cheney stood on Owen’s bass while playing his own guitar. They played a mix of old and new, the crowd going wild for the classics, of course, and they played their new track The End is the Beginning which is set to be recorded in February.

Public Enemy were highly anticipated by Perth’s hip-hop fans, however their introduction was drawn out over 20 long minutes as the sound issues that had been plaguing Southbound over the weekend, ran into their playing time. Although long, it hyped up the crowd who went wild as Flavor Flav entered the stage with his soldiers. Public Enemy are renowned for their controversial music as they rap about politics and social activism, their music produced by Bomb Squad creates relentless beats and deep funk. Although too talkative at times, Public Enemy did not disappoint their fans.

An unexpected hilarious delight of Sunday night was Beardyman, who is a genre unto himself, taking beat boxing to the next level. It was amazing to watch him create every sound heard with his mouth, record it live and then layer it with the next sound he made and recorded. It sounded as professional and sharp as any mix created on a computer. He ranged over comedic parodies of pop and reggae, and the majority of his set was drum and bass. Often he would stop to make a crack about someone and was absolutely hilarious to watch and even better to dance to knowing how much effort was going into creating the sound. He thanked the crowd for not going to Public Enemy, and everyone who had wandered over from Public Enemy to Beardyman had no regrets “Yeah boi!” He was enjoyable, entertaining and extremely talented.