Organised by Melville’s Youth Advisory Council, The eighth annual YAC it Up festival was an opportunity for young fans to see some live local music in a festival setting. YAC provided free entertainment in the form of amusement rides, and laser tag, as well as the usual food and information stalls.

This year’s event was headlined by Birds of Tokyo, who were clearly the reason for the large crowd, which swelled dramatically toward the end of Bob Evans’ set. Gate security was tight, with anyone over 13 being subject to bag searches, metal detector scans and manhandling if they did not move through the gate at the right speed, in the right direction, or show the correct amount of reverence for the gate attendants. Inexplicably, on more than one occasion, one gate would be suddenly closed, and those who had gone out to, perhaps, visit parents, picnicking elsewhere at Point Walter Reserve, or purchase an ice cream from the kiosk, were required to bush walk around to the opposite side of the enclosure and line up for re-entry and further bag searches etc. Coupled with the large police presence, one might be forgiven for thinking that the youth of Melville are a group of dangerous hoodlums liable to pull a knife on you and steal your erm, free ticket.

Despite unprovoked, and one might say unwarranted, discriminatory treatment at the hands of security staff, once they were inside, festival goers were left to enjoy themselves, and any ill-feeling dissipated. The YAC MCs did their best to entertain the participants during soundchecks, organising games and giveaways in front of the stage, hoping to draw an audience for other bands on the bill. Aside from a smattering of loyal fans however, most of the audience were content to wander around with friends, enjoying the festival atmosphere rather than stand in front of the stage during the sets by Battle of the Bands winners Offbeat Antics,  Loose Unit (soft indie metal), The Bullet Holes (rockabilly/production-line punk) and Gigantic (pop-rock). Despite the underpopulated moshpit, fans were treated to tight sets and personalised performances, and, judging by comments overheard later, were firmly cemented as fans. For those unfamiliar with the local rising stars, the music was pleasant enough, but unlikely to inspire anyone to rush over to have a look.

Fools Rush in took the stage, with entreaties to get up and dance and promises of CD giveaways. One CD spun across the park, closely tailed by a couple of exuberant fans trying to score themselves some free music, and narrowly missed coming to rest in a passerby’s forehead. With their energetic stage presence, and encouraging banter, the band managed to coax a few more punters out of the shade, and away from other entertainment to enjoy the show mosh-side. The MCs returned between sets, trying all the tricks they knew to gather a larger crowd before Bob Evans’ set, beginning by throwing lollies, calling people to the stage to have a few minutes of fame, before growing frustrated and eventually calling the crowd’s efforts at frenzied applause pathetic, insisting on at least five minutes of repeated cheering and yelling before Bob Evans was finally introduced.

Hidden behind a cap and unfeasibly large sunglasses, Bob Evans opened with his most recent favourite, Nowhere Without You and he and his talented backing band, worked their way through songs from the recent album Suburban Songbook and one from his first solo effort which, in his own words, “not many people bought”. It wasn’t that the audience were not entertained, just that the style of music lent itself more to sitting under trees and tapping your foot than dancing in a crowd, and it wasn’t until the last song, a cover of The Beatles’ Ticket to Ride that the audience really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

By the end of Evans’ set, the MCs had the audience numbers they had been hoping for, and the crowd took little encouragement to make some noise for Birds of Tokyo. After warning the crowd that he was unwell, frontman Ian Kenny showed them the gesture he would make if he was going to be sick so that they could move out of the way, and proceeded to give a flawless performance. The Birds played every song from debut album Day One as the front row sang along with every word. The audience danced and jumped and cheered enthusiastically from beginning to end, before filing out of the compound in an orderly manner, smiling and sunburnt, with a sackful of stories to tell their friends, and memories to last at least until the next youth festival.