With the threat of ‘the perfect storm’ hanging over WA’s southwest, 20,000 punters braved the weather for the first of many summer festivals; the third annual Southbound festival in Busselton.

Many headed down on Friday to camp and party the night away transforming the lush surrounds of the Sir Stewart Bovell Park into a city of tents, dust and music lovers a plenty. The Audreys and Matt Costa entertained the early punters, while The John Butler Trio and Michael Franti teamed up as the party got going.

For those under the age of 18 and everyone who wanted a hygenic weekend, the action started on the sunny and hotter then expected Saturday. With wristbands on, mobile phones charged up and programmes studied, it was time to be entertained by a stellar lineup of international and Australian acts.

Triple J Unearthed winners The Preytells started the day on the main stage, (known as This Stage) with a quick 25-minute set. Their early start resulted in many missing their set, due to either nursing a hangover, hanging out in the shade of The Other stage or simply not arriving early enough.

The Flairz hit the second stage (known as That Stage), impressing many with not only their full and rich sound but more so the fact their oldest member is no older than 14. Forgetting their age they are an improving band that in no way looked out of place on a large festival stage. Though their songs are basic rock-by-numbers, there was no doubt of this band’s potential as vocalist-guitarists John Mariani and Dion Mariani and drummer Scarlett Stevens unveiled their new bass guitarist and impressed the crowd with a cover of ACDC’s TNT.

Fresh from an Amplifier gig the night before, Victoria’s The Exploders were next to grace This Stage. Their basic and easy-to-listen-to rock tunes drew an awakening crowd into the day. With guitar-driven melodies, they impressed a somewhat curious audience and stopped the wanderers in their tracks.

As Dallas Frasca played under the big top of The Other Stage, mass of people sitting and enjoying her rootsy tunes was impressive. But due to the positioning of the stage and her acoustic style, The Exploders’ punchy indie-rock interrupted the quieter moments of her set.

Josh Pyke drew the then fully awakened crowd as he flowed through a collection of songs showcasing his folk tunes and heartfelt, uplifting vocals. With the crowd made up of standers and sitters alike, Pyke entertained all. Radio gem Middle of Hill drew many more into his set as they sang along and swayed in the midday sun.

The unmistakeable beauty of The Audreys singer Taasha Coates and her band’s sound drew many into the tent again to hear their lovely and delicious folk songs. Floating across the sitting crowd, their sound echoed around the tent with haunting and beautiful melodies.

As 2pm approached perhaps it was time for the festival to kick it up a gear. This change in pace came through the enthusiasm, rawness and excitement that is The Vasco Era. After a soulful rendition of Elvis Preseley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love from singer and guitarist Sid O’Neil, the trio exploded into a set of fast-paced bluesy tunes that rocketed across a growing crowd. Sounding like a more exciting and forceful version of the more popular blues and roots artists on the bill, The Vasco Era seemed at ease on stage and seemed to enjoy every minute.

Heading over to the tent a ridiculously long rendition of hit single Forever Young drifted across the thriving This Stage crowd as Youth Group had their moment in the spotlight. While the Sydney band’s cover of the Alphaville tune was one of the biggest hits of 2006, Youth Group need to pay themselves more credit: instead of proving that they can, in fact, write some good tunes themselves, they seem resigned to the fact that they’ll probably end up as one-hit wonders and proved it for 10 excruciating minutes.

Elsewhere, Blue King Brown launched into their Afro-reggae roots tunes to an eager and enthusiastic crowd under the big top. Their catchy tunes and equally good vibes filled the brimming tent, as people moved to the beat. Their politically motivated vocals flowed around the crowd in ways that would have impressed Messrs Franti and Butler: if The Vasco Era had woken everyone up, Blue King Brown had began the party.

Modest Mouse, the headline act for many, were next up. Or not. Due to the band’s gear being left in Perth, the band were forced to pull out of their This Stage slot and close That Stage. Disappointment perhaps but also a chance arose to check out some of the lesser-known acts.

With his acoustic summer tunes, Matt Costa drew a healthy crowd with his exquisite voice. His sound is perfect for the setting of a summer festival and he entertained a very curious and appreciative audience. Sunshine floated across the crowd creating a fun-filled mood. After all, it is summer.

Continuing the feelgood summer vibes were The Black Seeds, whose That Stage set exposed their sounds to a thousand-or-so enthusiastic onlookers. Sure, they sound almost identical to fellow Kiwis Salmonella Dub, but few bands on the Soundbound bill managed to make the crowd jump, dance and smile like The Black Seeds did.

Decked out in silk night gown, Jamie Lidell produced a set of exceptional entertainment that seemed to surprise many in the crowd. As Liddel sampled his own vocals, adding beats and loops from all over the place, his hip-hop inspired dance tunes allowed many to shake the afternoon away.

Perth supremos Eskimo Joe, the first of the big guns on this year’s bill, ushered the evening in on This Stage. As their set approached, the crowd had expanded tenfold, with excitement threatening to boil over. Decked out in shirts and ties, Eskimo Joe launched their set with hit single Sarah as the crowd in front of them exploded in unison. Mainly playing tracks from their most recent album, they were as tight as one would expect, but similar to their album fell desperately into the boring and mediocre, their set dragged on and in unnecessarily long-winded fashion.

Saul Williams minus his band took to the Other Stage and from the onset seemed to drive more people away from his set then toward it. His heavy beats and screamo style rhymes did little to endear himself to his small crowd.

Continuing the WA feel on This Stage, The John Butler Trio sustained the excitement on the main stage. With the crowd growing with every act, Butler had them at their peak. Playing a collection of both old and so far unreleased tracks, the Trio are at times derivative and uninspiring but with a shorter set time and a seemingly younger crowd they excelled and entertained throughout.

In what seemed like the Perth block, The Sleepy Jackson followed Little Birdy on That Stage, the siblings Steele taking over Southbound for a couple hours. After her band played a set heavy on hits (Beautiful to Me, Tonight’s the Night, Come On, Come On) Katy was thoroughly outperformed by older brother Luke. The Sleepy Jackson have become one of the most exciting live acts in Australia, their set being one of the highlights of the festival. Opening with an instrumental rendition of Play a Little Bit for Love from the band’s second long-player Personality (One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird), Luke was joined by younger brother Jake and fiancee Snappy Dolphin on samples in front of an adoring home crowd. As well as tracks from Personality, (Devil Was in My Yard, God Knows) the now six-piece act injected a healthy dose of material from 2003 debut Lovers (Come to This, Rain Falls for Wind) and gave debut single Glasshouses a rare airing.

As the sun began its decline behind the horizon, Michael Franti and Spearhead took to the stage. Having played the campsite stage the previous night, Franti held nothing back as he produced a set of fun-loving, upbeat and exciting songs that captivated the massive crowd. The reaction he was able to produce from capacity crowd drew his set to a completely different level. Having Katy Steele join him on stage, as well as Blue King Brown’s percussionist, Franti is the master of starting the party both on and off the stage.

Continuing the party vibes in the big top, The Presets had possibly the most excitable and enthusiastic crowd of the night. The electro-indie maestros performed to an eclectic crowd, transforming the Other Stage crowd into a mass of swinging arms and stamping feet. With massive dancefloor anthems like Are You the One? and Down Down Down, the duo will no doubt have converted a stack of new fans. If the second Presets album is anywhere near as good as debut LP Beams, we’ll see these guys coming back to headline.

Perhaps the only true ‘heavy’ band of the show, Wolfmother were next to hit This Stage. With a heaving crowd that surged toward the front long before the trio opened their set with Dimension, and a soundcheck that seemed to take forever, the excitement was at fever pitch. As the crowd began to become restless bottles flew toward the stage, which did little but delay the current riff gods of Australian music. If 2006 was the year of the wolf, 2007, 2008 and 2009 will probably be no different. The rise and rise of the Sydney band leaves everyone else choking on their dust, and their This Stage set showed why. Woman, White Unicorn, Joker and the Thief... it’s been a good decade since an Australian band has released an album as loaded as Wolfmother’s debut and there’s no sign of them slowing down.

With the riffs of the next decade still ringing around the venue, the sounds of the most formidable Australian act of the past decade graced That Stage. Due to the reshuffled lineup, the iconic You Am I started 20 minutes early and played to a smaller-than-usual crowd due to the monster that is Wolfmother. Though they may have been older than most of the other bands on the bill, You Am I showed why they could still attract a crowd. With every break between songs, the evergreen Cap’n Tim Rogers reminded us that just about every You Am I track is indeed an indie-rock classic. Paying a selection of older tracks (Good Mornin’, Damage) as well as material from 2006’s Convicts, they rocketed through a blistering 50-minute set that included a solo version of Purple Sneakers and an explosive rendition of Berlin Chair. Rogers again taught the younger bands a thing or two about rock ‘n’ roll as he made the stage his bitch. The crowning moment? When he hocked a mouthful of phlegm into the air and caught it in his mouth without showing an ounce of effort. Genius.

And so, finally, Modest Mouse took to the stage, with all their equipment in check. New guitarist Johnny Marr seemed at ease with his new band even if he had to fight with a seemingly unresponsive soundman. Playing a set drawing mainly from 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News and their forthcoming album, their set suffered drastically at the hands of the soundman. Their presence on stage was expansive and inspiring but even that couldn’t balance out the feedback, the inaudible bass and fluctuating vocal levels. To add insult to injury, the final set of their first Australian tour lasted a mere 40 minutes due to the festival’s midnight curfew. As the crowd’s faces told the sad story, the frustration was even more evident on the faces of the band members.

Also turning into pumpkins at midnight were This Stage headliners Basement Jaxx but, unlike Modest Mouse, the UK dance collective played on to the crowd’s delight. As the yaw-yaw-yaw-ya-yaw of Red Alert lit up the faces of several thousand punters, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe proved themselves as worthy bill-toppers. Their set drew to its audio-visual climax as midnight approached, with Romeo, Where’s Your Head At? and Good Luck feeding the frenzy before the ‘Jaxx defied the rangers with a sans-PA version of Bingo Bango.

Final act problems behind, Southbound was a triumph on the very idea of summer festivals. The 20,000-strong crowd eclipsed turnouts for Victoria and Tasmania’s Falls Festival and Byron Bay’s Splendour in the Grass and the lineup was just as strong as any East Coast equivalent.


By Chris Wheeldon and Michael Inglis