Curated by the one and only Hoodoo Gurus, Sydney’s Dig It Up! festival – which took over four venues in Enmore – proved that if you create a one off experience with an inspired lineup, the people will come in their droves. And with lines around the corner on arrival (the only line I’d see all day), it was clear that the people had indeed come out to see some of the best music in the world.
Though Australian bands took the focus, a few internationals came along for the ride, and New York based The Fleshtones were putting on one hell of a show when I arrived, getting the early arriving punters on their feet. A task made pretty easy by frontman Peter Zaremba’s visits into the crowd, in particular during the set closer “I Wish You Would”.
Heading up to The Sly Fox next, local duo The Gooch Palms had kicked things off, citing the experience as a “dream come true”. Performing garage rock in the vein of the predecessors like The Ramones (who they covered in the set) and local contemporaries like fellow “Diggers” Royal Headaches and Straight Arrows, the two piece gave the crowd an energetic show, featuring drums, guitar, theremin and a good taste of what the underground Sydney scene has been doing incredibly well for the last few years.
Added a little less than a month before the festival, Sydney had the exclusive appearance from Kids in Dust, admittedly one of the acts at the festival I’d never heard of (the reason of which I’d soon discover). But plenty others seemed to know the veteran rockers well, packing out the Enmore in anticipation for an assemblage of well known talents, to whom the festival was “sworn to secrecy”. With an aura that reminded me of the “post-punk” stylings of Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth, the group was reportedly a joint effort between The Sunnyboys and Died Pretty, and they only performed once under this name in the early 80s. Together they were performing Sunnyboys tracks for the first time since a one off gig in 1998.
With the festival giving The Sunnyboys a new lease on life, the music sounded new (in that old sort of way), fresh and exciting, proving that good music never dies – even if it has been two decades between drinks for many of the tracks played tonight (“Do you remember these songs? We’re trying to remember them too!”). They seemed to be loving every minute of it, too. “Happy Man” was one of the early tracks to get a great crowd reception, and was followed by “Let You Go”, “My Only Friend”, “What You Need” (my personal favourite, with the set only getting better as they got more and more into it) and “Liar”.
A true, rare treat, with thanks to the Hoodoo Gurus. Here’s hoping the positive reception gets them back out there. I’m all for this reunion.
Venturing over from one packed venue to the next, Belles Will Ring were ripping things up at Notes, performing today as a five piece. They were seemingly playing a few new tracks alongside tracks off their acclaimed record Crystal Theatre, among other favourites. They had their usual mix of instrumentation, with keyboardist Lauren Crew whipping out the flute and the trumpet also getting the appropriate attention.
Back at the Enmore, Tek & Younger (Deniz Tek and Rob Younger) were bringing a taste of the seminal group Radio Birdman to the festival, performing what the program guide called “an all-killer no-filler set of the classics”. They certainly delivered, supported by three musicians, hitting through tracks like “Breaks My Heart”, “New Race” and their well known cover of The Remains’ “Don’t Look Back”, with a great response from the crowd.
Back at Notes, Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate was performing in Australia for the first time since 1986, appearing as a duo with wife/drummer Linda Pitmon. Unfamiliar with his work, I was impressed by the set. Royal Headache followed, with enough running side to side to impress Mick Jagger and just about any Hip Hop artist. In short, they killed it (as always). The 5.6.7.8s, made famous by the Kill Bill films, packed out Notes in the venue’s closing performance. They had some pedal problems, and were not as upbeat as usual as such… but they tried their best, keeping the crowds enthused with their always entertaining music.
Ending things up at the Enmore were USA veterans The Sonics, finally hitting our shores after a four decade long career (having reformed in 2007), and of course headliners and curators Hoodoo Gurus. The former saw the venue fill to capacity as the other venues closed their doors. With a great amount of energy, a sexy slab of sax, and favourites such as “Have Work, Will Travel”, they commanded the crowd and made up for their long absence. Their 60’s rock and roll had rarely sounded better, and was a welcome addition to the day – long overdue as it might be! Hoodoos, meanwhile, pumped out a massive set, pleasing all their fans and no doubt making a few new ones along the way. The set list went a little something like this:
(Let’s All) Turn On
I Want You Back
Arthur
Death Ship
Dig It Up
My Girl
Zanzibar
Leilani
Tojo
In The Echo Chamber
Kamikaze Pilot
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Bittersweet
Crackin’ Up
1000 Miles Away
Like, Wow – Wipeout!
With four stages spun out across Enmore Road, it certainly wasn’t possible to catch everything, but from what I experienced, Dig It Up! was an impressively well run festival that gave crowds a rare chance to see some of their favourite acts perform, while in some cases, opening the doors for the bands themselves. You can bet The Sunnyboys wouldn’t have performed anytime soon had it not been for Faulkner’s offer. And in this age where music comes and goes, all music fans relish the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the music of their past, while others embrace the opportunity to discover something new. It’s all relative, and at Dig It Up! it was all on display. An inspired collection of artists, a great day of music. Something tells me we’ll be seeing this again in the future…
