TGIO - Sidney Myer Music Bowl,Melbourne (14/10/06)

Thu 19th Oct, 2006 in Gig Reviews

TGIO turned out to be a long but enjoyable day, having arrived shortly after Burgworth took the stage, it was disapointing to realise that I would have to resort to concoctions of guarana and caffeine to keep me going. As opposed to the licensed gigs, judging by the lack of any alcoholic beverage in sight, I knew I was in for the long haul.

Of course, this kind of event is never about that, this one was for those young folks who have worked hard all year and deserve some good old rock and roll to get their spirits up before embarking into the big bad world of reality, more study or that laborious world of work.

Gradually working my way down the list, first I noticed The Exploders on the main stage making good use of the smoke machines and particularly noticeable was the impressive fret work on lead guitar. TGIO banners are draped either side of stage, and to the right, our very own FasterLouder banner proudly adorns a wall.

A group of fresh faced tykes three rows deep have assembled to support The Exploders as their frontman comments: “If there’s a fuck up, look the other way ‘cause that’s what I’m gonna do”.

Looking around I notice several Burgworth shirts adorning torsos. There is hammering on drums and an encouraging lean out and clap from this three piece band who introduce “another brand new” song. I observe the comical fact that the lead singer resembles an Aussie version of Jack Black.

It`s two p.m and I drag my legs up the lush green grass over the hill to the MySpace stage for the first of many times this day. Karnivool`s Themata EP plays through the speakers racing my mind with giddy excitement at the prospect of watching those talented guys later as dusk comes.

A band called Girl Pilot are up on stage, young and different and fronted by a female singer, Girl Pilot’s reception is typically lacking, and as for most of the day we barely see fifty people assemble here at one time. The lack of enthusiasm from the ‘crowd ’ if you could call them that, is off-putting. ”I can`t give you what you need”, are my thoughts exactly.

Back at the main stage, six piece big band True Live have things pumping a little, and the atmosphere reminds me of the first year at Pyramid Rock Festival where the case was the same, no lack of talent just lack of excitable patrons to propel the event forward.

True Live are just that, truly good live, ” we might be on TV, we might be on television”. Signs of silliness sees a member jumping around at the chorus of this song dressed in a space suit with a TV shaped helmet head. “Let’s just bounce around” enthuses vocalist Ryan Ritchie. These guys are all funked up and very involving, a representing crowd of four or five rows is up front and beginning to jump around as this song among several end to a big applause. We have lift off.

It`s well into the afternoon as more and more schoolies decide to walk through those gates, but not in their hoards, ever so casually. The main floor almost fills up just prior to the wildly popular emo’s Behind Crimson Eyes entrance to the stage, every song seems to be a crowd favourite. These guys have fans, not just emo fans either, they all look hyped up and happy, for the first time today I thoroughly enjoy a set from start to finish.

Having said that, when you have media access to get close up in front of screaming teenagers, the gig becomes that much more enthralling. After the emo chaos and those heavy punk riffs have died down it was time to head back over the hill once more, between checking out market stalls, downing caffeine and guarana concoctions as well as junk food.

At MySpace, another relatively unknown Sydney band Outlier were pedalling their wares by performing and handing out one hundred copies of their EP.
Visiting the urinal, I notice how much Outlier desired some exposure, their flyer advertises ‘face melting guitar’, this was very true, but other than this, the band failed to charm my likes in any other way. 

My attention is diverted to the gates as uniformed officers swagger through. Back to Outlier, I credit them for their emotive tunes and lyrics with a somewhat Dream Theater influence.Matter Of Time plays as the wind picks up a bit and then it`s time to check out another drawcard at the main stage.
Here, the crowd has suddenly gotten older, a new breed of schoolies has suddenly infiltrated the area as some sit in the seats or laze in the sun.

Hip-hop rhymers TZU have all of the full standing area jumping up and down and all around to persistent drumming and fine tunes.

On MySpace, peninsula band When Destiny Fails are popular lads, gaining a solid local fan base. Here, at TGIO the music speaks for these facts with such songs as On My Own, Tim Heeps and Nathan Jackson alternate on vocals singing emotive lyrics like ”It`s so hard to breathe without you…take this for what it is”. WDF may very well be, upon maturity and progression, those “future stadium rockers” TGIO wrote about. Only time, hard work and dedication will tell because the talent is no doubt there.

The Casanovas play their recent single California on this fittingly sunny day in Melbourne as Tommy Boyce, their energetic frontman shouts “c`mon!” These guys are one of the most fired up bands so far, but according to Tommy they were “just warming up”.This is even as drums smash with the crowd now thrashing around almost violently as older favourite ‘Shake It’ is played for us. This is an acoustic and welcomed version but the sound trails behind me as I go to check out Geelong rockers Burgworth. To my confusion, the MySpace set times are all changed around and so I must wait till later in the night.

Audioslave plays on the speakers before Karnivool unleash their rivetting melodies. These guys are a rare breed of alternative rock. “Get ready to rumble” I quietly say to myself as they rip from track to track off their album Themata, with influences such as Tool and A Perfect Circle why wouldn’t these guys rock?

Andrew Goddard sports knee high zebra striped socks for the occasion as other members wear similarly casual clothes.One of the many rivetting vocals ”have you heard?” bellows throughout the bowl across the set. For me, Karnivool are the highlight of the day, but of course, this may very well have been premature as we had Dallas Crane, Shihad and Grinspoon yet to come on.

Delightfully, Burgworth are worth a listen and this fast, melodic punk band set the scene later as dusk dawned upon us all. Hard and fast, Burgworth hit it up with an onslaught of punked-up mayhem. Playing tracks from their debut three track EP such as Find Your Smile, Borrowed Time and No Thanks To You, Burgworth took over the stage briefly with a growing crowd applauding their energetic punk.

Of all the MySpace bands performing at TGIO, Menace managed to overshadow a lot of them, taking the cake with a brilliant performance. Adding to this set was their charisma and onstage presence. These guys should not be missed if you get a chance to see them live. As young as they are, they’re all sexed up and beginning a steady rise so early on in their lives.

It was well and truly the night when Dallas Crane showed up on stage, and yes, they were as ever present as they always are on the Melbourne live scene. The unmistakable Crane took us through past favourites and included the new single on their set list.

At this point of TGIO, it was apparent that it wasn’t quite as popular as organisers may have hoped but there was mega talent to come. To settle my eager mind, I wandered over to where Victorian band Rook were tearing up the stage with their heavy rock onslaught.Rook’s dreadlocked frontman and band made sure that they were heard well by a larger turnout than usual at this stage by cranking up the distortion and volume. This hard rock vocalist could sure vocalise, not just that but he could sing too. Rook proved to be one of the best MySpace bands alongside Burgworth, Menace and When Destiny Fails.

Most had gathered in anticipation for Shihad by 9pm, a band that never fails to put on an awesome show. Jon Toogood engaged with the audience like none other, electrifying the atmosphere with personal favourites My Mind`s Sedate and Pacifier as well as tracks from Love Is The New Hate. He just loves the attention, and as if running back and forth on stage wasn`t enough, his feet found their way atop several amps, this sight revved up the crowd more so. The stage hands had to give an amp a helping hand back up again as he jumped off. Greatly interactive and encouraging, Jon shouts “you guys rock” which is exactly what this band always do best, rock out. Too good, really, too good.

Crowd surfers were commonplace now, one opportunistic set of legs and flailing arms went up every couple of minutes throughout the following hour or so left to go. Girls were having a crack too and one found her nose bleeding as she slammed over the barrier.

 It was around this time that the MC put out a call for “the person who took down the FasterLouder banner to return it”. Not so sure whether it came back, but I certainly hope it did.

A cold bite was in the air, and as the schoolies moshed they could evade it, I decided to sit back and watch the action with the bliss of the show blocking my neurotransmitters that should have told me I was cold.

A daring young fan took the chance and bypassed security two or three times by running on and stage diving before security finally caught up with him.

Grinspoon, the final act for TGIO emerged casually and confidently, finding their places as we all noticed Phil Jamieson`s new hair color. “It`s not a cut, it`s a colour” he says in response to a stray comment followed by laughter. Many Grinspoon classics were played to this now highly ecstatic bunch of schoolies. From the infectious So you wanna be a Champion bass line and shout to Thrills, Kills and Sunday Pills, wo-oah and beyond, Grinspoon had this crowd well and truly under wraps. All suited up, Phil and band unleashed a large array of hits all the way till ten o’clock, having said that it was fair to say they were the best in show. Casually motioning and introducing his fellow band mates, Phil announced the oft-requested and “one of their own favourites”  Just Ace to a frenzy of surfers and moshers riding this wave all the way to the end.

Check out some pics from the gig here