ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

The Strokes / Mumford & Sons / Angus & Julia Stone / Band Of Horses / Hot Chip / Art v Science / The Middle East

Perth Esplenade
Saturday, July 24, 2010

Going to a new festival is like re-living your first day at primary school – you’re filled with nervous excitement and trepidation as you walk through the gates, unsure of who and what awaits you. In the case of On The Bright Side, a massive big-top and a slew of fantastic bands was what awaited those who ventured through the gates past the school bullies (or bouncers as we now call them).

Kicking off fairly soon after midday, the early playing time meant we missed Queensland six-piece The Middle East, but word has it that their multi-member, multi-instrument jam was epic to witness; their rock/folk style winning over more than a few new fans.

Clad in futuristic sunglasses and hiding behind a veritable wall of equipment, UK electronica act Hot Chip launched their set with early hit Boy From School, albeit a slightly jacked up version. Their live act is a lot more oddball and less pristine than their studio work, but has a likeable amount of character; evidenced in the kooky incorporation of steel pans into crowd favourite One Life Stand. Lead vocalist Alexis Taylor seemed to swap instruments just about every song, flying from keys to guitar for Over & Over, before hitting the drums for the cruisy, almost funk-i-fied finale of Ready For The Floor.

Those who made the mistake of leaving the over 18s area to grab a beer would have trouble trying to re-enter for Art vs Science; for about 20 metres back it was bumper to bumper. Perhaps it’s time for triple j to take a long, hard look at their programming choices, because their unashamed patronage of these guys is worrying. Hearing the words ‘magic’ and ‘fountain’ yelled at us on repeat for three minutes over the top of rampant keyboard distortion isn’t our idea of a good time. Magic Fountain was chased with a song that consisted of the exact same chords except this time they were yelling something about ‘going to the zooooo’. Mass sing-alongs erupted for Parlez Vous Francais? as one of the guys left the stage to play his guitar down the crowd’s central corridor. By the time they finished with Flippers, you had to at least commend the A vs S boys for being able to dupe so many people into thinking they had talent.

Moving into the under 18s side of the crowd for Band Of Horses was a wise choice: those 16 year olds were so much more well behaved and respectful! They put the raucous over 18s to shame. Also putting the acts so far to shame were Band Of Horses, whose atmospheric, opening rendition of The Great Salt Lake prompted one punter to our right to remark ‘Finally! Real music!’. The clarity of vocals in the boys’ harmonies really shone in Is There A Ghost; the three guitars on stage were layered impeccably. A purple wash bathed the tent and the crowd cheered upon hearing the opening bars of No One’s Going To Love You, all were still and you could see every fleck of dust floating across the light beams. A clear festival highlight. 

As a beautiful sunset enveloped the Perth skyline, Angus & Julia Stone strolled onstage attracting a huge roar of approval from the crowd – a rather incredible feat when you consider this is the same group who went nuts for party starters Art vs Science earlier in the afternoon.

Festival goers didn’t seem too phased by the change of pace when the siblings took centre stage, showing their support by quieting down so that their lovely brand of whimsical folk could be heard above the dull roar of the licensed area. Radio favourites Private Lawns, And The Boys and Big Jet Plane all earned a particularly rapturous response as Angus And Julia’s beautiful, ghostly vocals washed over the mass of bodies who stood in rapture of the bohemian duo.

The arrival of roadies sporting a mandolin, double bass and a piano accordion signaled that the Mumford & Sons lads were ready for their set and when the foursome eventually bounded on stage, they were greeted like long lost friends.

Delivering their signature brand of country folk with sensational four part harmonies, the lads worked their way through tracks from the debut release, Sigh No More, performing triple j favourites such as Little Lion Man, The Cave and Roll Away Your Stone.

For the first half of their set, the only percussion was the rhythmic strumming of banjos, guitars and mandolins, but Mr Mumford mixed things up a bit by getting behind the drum kit for a couple of new songs later in the set, rounding out the band’s sound and upping the pace. New track Lover Of The Night demonstrated a slightly different direction for the band, with less twang and more bang, as Mumford pummeled the drum kit to within an inch of its life.

After what seemed like an agonisingly long wait, New York garage rock icons The Strokes swaggered on stage, launching straight into NYC Cops without any fanfare. Sporting a studded leather jacket, Julian Casablancas prowled the stage in his signature ‘too cool for school’ style, eventually cooing “long time no see. What up Perth?”.

A long absence from the live circuit had Strokes fans frothing at the mouth for their On The Bright Side set, and the boys didn’t disappoint, playing all of the big singles from their three album discography, including Hard To Explain, You Only Live Once, Last Nite, Juicebox and Under Control. Their set was full of fuzz, soaring guitars and muffled vocals; exactly what everyone has come to expect from these uber-cool garage rockers.

Though fans know all too well that The Strokes aren’t ones for on-stage banter, the band seemed somewhat detached from their audience, opting to talk to each other in between songs rather than the crowd, which stood out like a sore thumb after Mumford & Sons’ highly interactive set. In the end nobody seemed to really mind though, happy just to be hearing The Strokes play live once more.

There was something for everyone at On The Bright Side, although perhaps more cohesive programming choices would result in a more ‘alternative’ or ‘boutique’ crowd ala St Jerome’s, instead of the more mainstream turnout. With rumbling tummies (due to long food lines) and ID check grumbles aside (we were checked both on entry and on the way into the bar, despite having over 18 wristbands), OTBS has proved itself a worthy addition to Perth’s festival line up.


_EMMA BERGMEIER & DANIELLE MARSLAND