2011 WAMi Awards and ClosingParty @ The Bakery, Perth(27/05/11)

Mon 30th May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Perhaps the most perfect venue for a night of industry hobnobbing, recognition, and late-night musical joy, The Bakery was well and truly packed by the time WAM CEO Paul Bodlovich took to the mic. Officially getting the WAMi ball rolling, he introduced the first act of the night, Kimberley songman John Bennett.

Accompanied by well-known Perth guitarist Lucky Oceans, Bennett began the night with a solemn and reflective set of songs about his life back home. Bennett’s impressive voice seemed effortless as Oceans’ slide guitar fitted perfectly with the relaxed acoustic chords, one punter remarking that one of Bennett’s songs sounded like “Ben Harper from the Kimberley”. Although a strange way to kick off a party, it proved that there is undeniable talent from even the most remote places in Western Australia.

As Bennett and Oceans humbly left the stage after much applause, Bodlovich was back to introduce the night’s charming and entertaining hosts. After a prolonged pause, Video Hits Presenter Dylan Lewis and Triple J’s Home and Hosed Presenter Dom Alessio casually took over. Lewis promising not to pull his penis out the way previous Video Hits Presenter Axle Whitehead did at the ARIAS, and exclaiming that “Without the WA music industry the music industry would be shit”, it was time to start handing out the 28 WAMingtons.

Tame Impala’s no-show to collect their Best Rock Act WAMicake was inspiration for a night of small stabs aimed at the band, with Hard Rock/Metal WAMi winners Eleventh He Reaches London remarking, “Unlike Tame Impala, we actually collect our awards”. Injured Ninja, Best Hardcore/Punk Act winners, reminded everyone that there are so many hardcore bands in Perth that weren’t represented at the WAMis, and that experimental music and players that don’t get out of the bedroom need to be applauded too.

Keeping the in-jokes alive, Tame Impala finally made an appearance and came on-stage to collect their award after Boom! Bap! Pow!. In true rockstar fashion, they apologised with a stereotypical rockstar excuse: “Sorry, we were smoking durries out the front.” And with that, Lewis and Alessio came back looking amused and agreed that “they were cool speeches, especially the last one”.

In perhaps the biggest industry face-off of the night, X-Press Editor Julian Tompkin and Drum Media Perth Editor Aarom Wilson kept it friendly and cool as they presented the next batch of awards. Unfortunately, Drapht, being in Cambodia, was unavailable to receive his award and Heath Bradbury, the “worst rapper we’ve ever seen” collected Drapht’s award from the hosts agreeing: “Yeah. Word.” Ruby Boots, winner of Best Country Act, couldn’t help but swear her allegiance to country music and swear in general, before the next musical act was to grace the stage.

After a short sound check, industry folk and punters alike wandered back into the main room and revelled in the musical ecstasy that was Grace Woodroofe’s voice. Having a shorter set that John Bennett, she grabbed the attention of everyone quickly and held it for the entire time, much like her striking blue dress. Swinging her head back and forth as if she was possessed, she delighted onlookers with sultry, bluesy-indie tunes and proved why she deserved to be up there. Ending with well-known track Bear, the petite rocker with the big, broody voice smiled sweetly and left quietly, leaving everyone amazed and humming the catchy riff.

The next and final batch of awardsgot into full swing, with memorable moments such as Split Seconds dedicating their Best Indie Pop Act award to their cats and a tie between Tim and Jean and Felicity Groom for Best Commercial Pop Act, which Groom’s dad received on her behalf. Aarom Wilson’s hair was a source of fascination for Alessio who, after presenting the Individual Media Award, asked how long it took to grow his dreadies. It took 12 years replied Wilson.

Finally, the Most Popular Website award was announced and Faster Louder yet again picked up the WAMIngton, with Perth Editor Sharyn Romaro strolling on stage, all smiles, receiving it gratefully.

Tame Impala received yet another award, this time for Most Popular Live Act, and continued their verbal brilliance: “This is awesome because we’re always paranoid about whether we’re good live or not, so thank you for saying we’re good live.” They took out the last musical act award after Birds of Tokyo’s win, and again they swaggered on stage and expressed their thanks with, “This is great for our collective self esteem”.

Taking home the Golden WAMi, which Lewis said was “more expensive than all the other WAMis”, was Management Award-Winner Luke Rinaldi, who was genuinely surprised and sheepishly grinning. The awards had now officially ended and the party had truly begun with liquor flowing freely and chatter, mostly about music, in the air.

Baby-faced indie rockers San Cisco, who, according to Alessio looked too young to drink beer, continued the night’s frivolities with music the punters could drunkenly dance to. By this point, musos around the room cared little for any mistakes and off-key vocals they heard and it became difficult to tell whether the booze allowed people to enjoy it or whether they were genuinely into it. The infectious tunes saw more dancers stumble to the dancefloor to watch the well-dressed foursome, who were previously challenged to a glam-off by fellow indie rockers Sons of Rico. Ending their enjoyable set with Golden Revolver, they left smiling.

Winners of the glam-off, Sons of Rico looked as cool as ever in their corduroy and fur jackets. Their catchy tunes reminded everyone why they’re becoming so popular with Triple J, but the dancefloor remained stationary for the first chunk of their set. Alex MacCrae has a decent and unique set of lungs on him, and the band itself is very well-rehearsed. The dancers started to appear a few songs in and everyone, including the band, was having fun. Sons of Rico played like a well-known, professional band. Ending with single This Madness, the best received song of their set, they put on a good show that had even the biggest critics nodding their heads.

Finally, Split Seconds brought the party to a close with their multi-vocal, plaid-shirt-wearing, tight indie rock. The five-piece knew exactly what they were doing and pranced around on-stage like they owned it, but never arrogantly, and were proud to be in such “distinguished company”. Bed Down, a Triple J favourite, was a highlight with its cuteness and near-perfect delivery. Saying what everyone was thinking, they laughed, stating that “this place is getting sloppy”. Judging by the flailing arms and swaying, they were correct in their observation. The double WAMI-award winners kept the dancers dancing with What a Week, bringing out the Tamborine and smiling at one another, knowing they had had a good night and that their band was getting recognition. The cheers resonated as they left to let the party go on well into the night.

The 2011 WAMi Winners