After a brief interval involving some chicken schnitzel, it was time to head to the Amplifier/Capitol for the Saturday Spectacular closing party: a three stage mini-festival which saw headliners Jebediah return to the stage, Will Stoker and the Embers shine and Tomas Ford spend most of his anticipated set in the crowd, rubbing his sweaty body against unsuspecting members of the crowd… but more on that later.
First up, I caught the end of WAMi winners (Most Promising New Act) Emperors, and could see what all the fuss was about. Rolling Stone even rated them one of the Aussie bands to look out for – and you’d be surprised at how little live shows they’d actually played to gain these praises. They produce catchy, unapologetic pop rock and roll in the vein of The Replacements, with outstanding on stage energy and a cohesive, well considered performance. It was just a pity I only made their last two tracks! I think everyone has a pretty good feeling that this is a band who will go far, however, so I don’t doubt I’ll have a chance to see them back in Sydney sometime soon.
They were soon followed by Goodnight Tiger, a band fronted by Jill Crisp and Perrin Date. The band later admitted they were tired on stage, but you could have fooled me. They filled the venue with an impressive level of confidence, and showed off some lovely tunes. Their local influences – Felicity Groom and Abbe May for starters – shine through, Jill and Perrin’s voices adding a lovely spin to a well heard sound, creating something. Their music, simple and sophisticated, is a true joy to experience.
Noise Rockers Injured Ninja were next, who were recent WAMi winners for “Most Popular Single/EP”, for their split 12” with French Rockets (who would be later close out the evening). The four piece describe their brand of noise rock ‘face melting’, and they definitely showed why tonight. This shit is cranked up to 11, then pulsations from the amps causing your heart to move to a different beat. I was immensely impressed by their set, during which I was thankfully wearing ear plugs. I’m told “IDDQD”, which was the aforementioned single winner, was part of the set, but i’m not sure how you would have known (I’m unfamiliar with the track myself) – a half an hour beast of seemingly improvisational jams, beaming with energy, each track blended into the next, until just as suddenly the experience began, it came to an end.
While I wasn’t quite blown away by the band at the WAMi awards, Will Stoker and the Embers certainly showed what the fuss is all about tonight. The enigmatic leader of the Embers is a standout talent on the stage, dominating the environment, leaving the crowd bowing to his feet, begging for more. They produce rock of the punk variety, but keep their distance from genre specificity by avoiding some of its cliches – in particular, lazy songwriting for the sake of a catchy tune. Here, you can tell each track has been carefully thought out, well written and well rehearsed for its live incarnation. Yet all the same, it remains catchy, and comes across as free flowing and completely natural, thanks to the on stage antics of one William Stoker. These guys were an easy highlight of the night, and if nothing else, should be witnessed for Will’s impressive harmonica and clarinet playing. The man is a machine!!
With Abbe May making a last minute cancellation on her performance, impressive local act Umpire took over her spot, the organisers then leaving extra time between them and Jebediah. Producing tunes of the indie pop rock variety, they, along with Jebediah, produced the more straight forward rock of the evening. “Streamers”, their single, was a standout, and I particularly enjoyed a track which may have been called “Octane 87”. The four piece know how to write a great song, and deliver it live with precision.
I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw Jebediah, but I have a feeling I was still in high school, so it was pretty damn cool to see them in action yet again. They performed some new tracks which surprisingly sounded fantastic, and of course a few of their most loved from their 15+ year career – including personal favourite “Please Leave”. Hopefully these guys don’t leave for so long next time – I almost forgot how rad they are!
I caught the end of The Scotch Of Saint James next, and they brought their own take on this so-called “Rock and Roll”. The four piece were terrifically tight, showing skill, energy and precision throughout the few songs I bore witness to. It would be lazy to fling them into a “stoner rock” category, but they go far and beyond the call of duty in that department. What I mean by that is, they create the sort of stoner rock that the more general palate can appreciate. As such, let’s call it “stoner rock for the scotch drinkers”. I only wish I could have seen more!
Multiple WAMi winner in the Electronic categories, tonight’s performance by Tomas Ford easily became the most talked about act of the festival with his performance tonight. While producing the weakest quality in terms of tunes when compared to the other talent on offer, he made up for this ten fold in a highly energetic performance that saw him crashing through the crowd, jumping around assuming guests, and getting a bit too close for comfort – attaching his sweaty onto theirs. He even made it over to the bar opposite the stage, stood up and sang on it, then was piggy backed back to the stage (almost running me over in the process), and then shortly after went out into the street in the rain – all the while screaming into the mic. Showman? I think so. Great times? Definitely.
Three-piece French Rockets closed out proceedings for the closing party, providing a beautiful ambient mess of electronica, accompanied by an impressive laser and light show. It’s this feature that many fans of the band are keen to rave about. Indeed, it creates a show which sees the stage covered in laser dots, through which you can just make out the band, as the lights hypnotise. While in a similar boat to the likes of Injured Ninja, I would relate the band closer to Sydney’s Fashion Launches Rocket Launches, where rather than in-your-face, the tracks are more atmospheric and psychedelic.
Thanks in part to French Rockets, I left the closing party with quite a buzz. The largest dose of local music I was provided in a single dose, I couldn’t have been more impressed by what I was provided with tonight. If you ever come to town, or you’re a local, don’t hesitate in checking out any of the aforementioned bands. I promise you won’t regret it.
