Following a spectacular Festival First Night over the weekend, things are now well and truly rolling at camp Sydney Festival. My first event – no doubt first of many – of the month long festival took place at the newly named Keystone Festival Bar (formerly sponsored by Beck’s), at the Hyde Park Barracks.
Every year, the Sydney Festival Bar is home to a wide range of talented bands and artists from around the world, plus a selection of DJs to keep the party going (for free) until the wee hours of the morning. Tonight it was legendary group Deerhoof taking the honours, performing an early set in advance of DJ Yamantaka Eye from Boredoms. It seemed that few received the memo about the set times, however, as the dance floor felt a bit sparse as the band hit the stage – though it filled up nicely as the set progressed.
Here to perform songs off their most recent effort, Deerhoof vs Evil, alongside a taste of their back catalogue – such as “Perfect Me” off 2007’s Friend Opportunity and “Milk Man” off 2004’s Milk Man – which they recently performed in full for ATP in London, alongside Dinosaur Jr’s Bug and The Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin – what a bill!
Saying little to the crowd, the band cut right to the chase, cramming as much as they could into the hour set. Those who know Deerhoof would know what to expect in a Deerhoof show, but with my knowledge and experience of the band sparce at best, this was the perfect way to find out first hand what all the fuss is about. Firstly, it should go without saying that they’re the sort of band in which you should expect nothing of the “usual”. Random stops, unpredictable drum beats, walls of sound and feedback… this is indeed a unique aural experience.
The songs reach an intensity that was never possible on record, led primarily by the energetic delivery of vocals from Satomi Matsuzaki and a drummer that makes children weep – the legendary Greg Saunier. Needless to say, I want whatever that he’s on. What a powerhouse! After an hour long blitz of music that went by in a flash, the band ended with “Super Duper Rescue Heads!”, which exploded in a wall of noise and reverb, and “Basket Ball get Your Groove Back”, a crowd favourite and the only cause for audience interaction in the set.
As they left the stage, the crowd chanted for more, but the festival wouldn’t let them back on. God forbid the DJ played one less song! Ah, but he was a DJ worth waiting for, proving he’s as impressive behind the decks as he is behind the microphone. But alas, I decided to take the early set as a call to have an early night. There is a lot of music still to enjoy this week!
As I write this DJ Yamantaka Eye fame is still playing and there’s free entertainment tonight and every night from 11.45pm onwards. Much like this night itself, the festival is just getting started..
