w/ Deep Sea Arcade, Gold Fields, Harmony James, Jeremy Neale, Safie, Tkay Maidza, Eves, Dozzi, The Phoncurves
Night Two of BIGSOUND Live for me was a little more unplanned than Night One, allowing me to come across some unexpected talent along the way. As with any day at a festival like this, however, with all the amazing highs there were also, unfortunately, some lows. But we may have the fun police to blame for that... read on!
Opening Night Two were The Phoncurves. These two lovely ladies together with the lads in their band were a rather chilled way to begin the evening. Their individual voices are beautiful, but together in harmony is something else. Their song “Heartstrings” was a beautiful tune. I love the way that they have samples of their voices on the pads as further layering of vocal harmonies. It is a clever way to have a more dense quality of sound. In their songs there were some unexpected tempo changes between the verses and choruses. But for them, it actually works really well.
Next on my list was Tully on Tully, but unfortunately they were having some technical glitches and the hard decision was made to move on. Dozzi won the bid to fill the big gap left by Tully on Tully. While I am not usually the biggest fan of Country music, their county inflections were just so darn beautiful! Their mash up of Lady Gaga’s “You and I” and The Beatles “Hey Jude” was absolutely incredible. The three sisters each have their own unique performing style and are all a little badass. Their latest single “Weakness” was really rad, and I absolutely loved it!
Next up was Eves. Eves is an artist that I have heard so much about and I’ve always wanted to see live, but have missed her every single time! I think I should have made more of an effort, as she is one powerhouse performer! She is so tiny, yet has the charisma to hold a huge stage. Her dancing is eccentric and infectious you can’t help but get into the music. Her production was really unique. There were many unexpected harmonic changes that were quite out of the ordinary and a welcome break the dance music stereotype.
I think someone was on sound police duties, as where Eves had body shaking bass sounds, Tkay Maidza’s bass sounds were flimsy and weak in comparison. For such a large outdoor venue it was really disappointing. This pocket rocket is so darn talented and struts the stage effortlessly bringing her own unique presence to the venue.
Safia was up next at an almost capacity Woolly Mammoth. Holy shit this band is awesome! They have an amazing groove with their electronica goodness. The trio have been so successful with their song “Listen to Soul, Listen to Blues” and it was great to see that they closed their set with this song. They said that this was the song that started it all, but they have evolved so much since this song was released. They have become more sophisticated, more polished band with intelligent production and stellar falsetto vocals.
Coming off the back of Safia was Jeremy Neale at Alhambra Lounge. His blues inspired repertoire was rather rad and really got the crowd moving and grooving. He has a certain stage manner about him when he performs that makes it impossible to resist the urge to dance. It is quite special.
Harmony James was next on the agenda, making her the second country artist of the night. She has a beautiful spirit about her. Although I didn’t manage to catch all of her set, in what I did hear there was a true and strong story telling ability that not many artist can fully capture. Couple this with her melody writing talent, and you have a true songstress. It’ any wonder she a current Q Music award winner!
Gold Fields were another true highlight of the night. After their hiatus, they are back with a vengeance boasting new songs and rad production to boot. It was nice to see the sound police had been kicked out since Tkay Maidza’s set previously in the night. With such gritty production, it was such a beautiful contrast to have such smooth vocals layered over the top. Their song “Treehouse” was the absolute highlight of the set. I hope they are not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. I can’t wait to hear a full set from them in the very near future.
To round out the night - and the official part of the festival - was Deep Sea Arcade (pictured). This band just keep getting better and better. Since I last saw them play live they have added a whole bunch of new songs to their set list and have got even looser. The frontman’s vocals are unique in this industry and always continue to intrigue me. It was great to hear some newer songs including “Girls” but also some older songs including my personal favourite “Lonely in Your Arms”.
The true standout of Night Two of BIGSOUND was by far and away Safia. They utterly blew my mind. I mean, it’s gone. So with 21 bands over two nights, that brings BIGSOUND Live to a close for 2014. Well played BIGSOUND, well played. I’m spent!
No comments:
Post a Comment