Parklife @ Botanic Gardens,Brisbane (1/10/11)

Wed 5th Oct, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Kimbra, in her technicolor dreamdress, earned her stripes with the crowd, performing a selection off her recent album Vows, showcasing the melodic voice that has graced the top spot of the charts for some time. The girl we all know as Gotye’s partner in crime is a pixie songstress, and looks to have carved a spot as a festival and fan favourite. Is she the Antipodean Amy Winehouse? Can we claim her as ‘ours’? Time will tell.

Add Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon to the list of ladies who rocked Parklife. What is it about these Scandinavian-born musos that seems to capture the hearts and minds of us Aussies? Perhaps it is their effortless cool. Maybe even their patchwork of influences, that comes together to make a colourful concoction of synthy breakbeats that drills down to the very core of all the Brisbanites who bore witness to the excellence on a cool Saturday afternoon. The Nordic band, who is obviously a favourite of the hipsters if the audience is anything to go by, brought tunes that will probably be on heavy rotation this summer. Big number Blinking Pigs got the punters moving.

Death From Above 1979 brought their guitars and drums vibes, and proved their style of dance/rock/punk has its place at the festival, even if it at first glance it may have seemed a little out of place. The rock was welcomed by the crowd, with one saying “these guys are f’ing radical.” Indeed. Another said “I don’t know who these guys are, but I am downloading all their shit when I get home”. As long as its legal, young man.

Sebastian Tellier, he of Bernard Black strut, Parisian blood and electric sexuality was worth the ticket price alone. He is definitely the coolest m’f’er on the Parklife bill. An extended version of La Ritournelle caught the crowd by surprise, and gave us all chills. Also, introducing Sexual Sportswear as ‘a song by Mariah Carey’? Classic. The Atoll stage was definitely the place to be.

Headliners Gossip again thrashed the main stage, and punters went wild for Beth Ditto ’s ballsy performance. Dressed in a shiny black sequin dress, the crowd went nuts for the big tune Standing In The Way Of Control, her pipes reaching for the stars and into the souls of the crowd. The rest of the set was a typical of a Gossip gig – skyrocketing voice, positivity, rock’n’roll swagger and devil may care attitude. Interacting with the audience all the time showed “she really cares about us” as one young lass told me, which was pretty nice. Performing a cover of Jolene showed the band knows their musicality, and left us all hoping they come back again next year.