On The Bright Side @ PerthEslpanade (23/07/11)

Tue 26th Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Yesterday saw the second annual mud-caked earth and vintage clothing festival, more formally known as On The Bright Side, return to the Perth Esplanade. Following its critically-acclaimed commencement last year, headlined by The Strokes, this year saw indie kids brave the cold weather and muddy earth once again to enjoy a host of bands, including Tame Impala, Modest Mouse, The Hives, and recently reunited Pulp as headliners.

After an opening act by Mandurah-based, upbeat synth pop duo Tim and Jean vivified the bleary-eyed early birds, all-girl outfit Warpaint took to the stage. The LA quintet performed a somewhat lacklustre set of nonetheless pleasingly eerie dream pop songs.

Continuing on from Warpaint was plaintive synth star James Blake and his band, playing mournful melodies augmented by Blake’s crafty use of pitch modulation. Despite a shaky start, the trio eventually found their footing and managed to play a passable, though not exceptional, set that concluded with their hit The Wilhelm Song.

Kicking in with a thunderous floor tom introduction, Foster the People’s energetic set juxtaposed the more sombre tastes of James Blake. The LA indie pop band played an admirable set. However, slotted between James Blake’s more proficient electronic layering and The Grates’ outrageous set, those aspects that distinguished the band from its counterparts were diminished.

Following Foster the People, The Grates shifted the festival in to second gear with their set of catchy, feel-good songs. The duo, now reinforced with new drummer Ben Marshall and keyboardist Miranda Duetsch performed a high-octane set. Frontwoman Patience Hodgson entertained the audience with her trademark vivacious party-girl attitude while rocking out to some of her hits including 19-20-20 and Rock Boys before Like You Could Have it All. For those who were not fans of The Grates, an impromptu mud wrestle could be found just outside the Supertop followed by a Mexican wave.

The Kills were next to take to the stage. The dynamic duo churned out angst-ridden blues rock songs to the crowd, juxtaposing The Grates’ lighter, more jovial set. Radiating a dark energy, singer Alison Mosshart howled through songs such as the dirty, raw No Wow, the catchy Tape Song and My Heart is A Beating Drum ironically performed with a drum machine. Meanwhile, her British counterpart Jamie Hince belted out distortion-laden guitar riffs with a reckless, in-your-face attitude making for an exceptional set.

Local boys, Tame Impala took to the stage as the afternoon progressed. The ever-popular psychonauts kicked off the festivities with their most recent single Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind to an ecstatic crowd before following it up with Solitude is Bliss. The band’s euphoric, psychedelic melodies washed over the crowd as the hazy-eyed, 60s revivalists jammed out a thoroughly enjoyable set. Finishing the set with Half Full Glass of Wine the band laid down their instruments to make way for Modest Mouse.

Kicking off the set with the appropriately named Fire It Up, the eagerly-awaited Modest Mouse began their set. The crowd eagerly lapped up the indie sextet’s catchy song writing and emotional performance. Continuing with their radio-hit Float On, the band opted for the Tame Impala’s approach to less on stage tomfoolery and more churning out quality tunes. Finishing their set with dance song The View, the band exited the stage to make way for preparations for The Hives set.

With a mad puppeteer serving as the backdrop for The Hives’ set, the crowd had some expectations of the madness that was to follow. The internationally acclaimed showmen came on stage wearing formal tuxedos and top hats, ready to entertain. Kicking off with Main Offender, lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist wasted no time with formalities and leapt into the crowd. Experts at coaxing the audience, the band’s set consisted of ever-more daring and outrageous stage antics, from throwing microphones to climbing the support columns on stage, the band performed with a reckless self abandonment feeding from and providing energy to the crowd in a relentless circle of daring. Hate To Say I Told You So marked the median of the set, before Almqvist laughed to the audience, “Are you excited? Don’t worry, that’s completely normal.” Closing with Tick Tick Boom, the Swedes had the crowd baying for more.

A curtain was lowered and the lights were dimmed in preparation for Pulp’s grand entrance. Laser lights spelled words on the curtain, goading the crowd while the equipment was set up. A giant neon sign heralded the entrance of Pulp. The Britpop veterans, led by the king of awkward sexuality Jarvis Cocker kicked off with Do You Remember The First Time?. Recanting some of his anecdotes of Perth, Cocker proceeded to comment on the separation of the all ages and 18+ sections, saying: “Is this some kind of weird apartheid?” The band then kicked in to Disco 2000 before playing another few songs and a short a cappela tribute to Jarvis Cocker’s Rock On. The on stage antics continued for another few songs before Modest Mouse’s Tom Peloso joined Pulp on stage to close with Common People, marking an end to a highly satisfying night and another successful On The Bright Side festival.