Groovin' the Moo - Bunbury, 13th April 2017
Words: Steph Payton

Reminiscing back on the 16 hour day spent sprinting across highways and grassy fields for the last leg of Groovin the Moo is full of short sonic bursts screaming out "Death to the Lads!" in the middle of the afternoon, blending into the kaleidoscopic sass of PNAU's live set, the tumultuous cry of "Adore" and the dying twang of Violent Soho's finale inducing show.
Rocking up for gates open, road-trip fresh, it was a miracle to feel the sun again after the cold we'd left behind in Perth, and while a few clouds threatened to stick around, Bunbury shone through in
the end.
Catching the openers from afar it was surprising how many of the sold out crowd had chosen to also be punctual, hip hop act Ziggy clearly putting in the yards to please the early birds as he threw around what's-in-your-pocket inspired freestyles and funk infused beats to gathering success.
Celebrating the release of her latest single, singer songwriter Teischa wooed the crowd with a cover of James Blake's Retrograde before finishing with new tune Midnight Hour, the backing vocalists giving off a de ja vu harmonic vibes of Meg Mac's performance a few years earlier.
I'd almost forgotten how much I love true fans until I saw a girl actually scream and clutch her boyfriend's arms when L-Fresh the Lion hit the stage with his usual humble majesty, striding right up to the edge to connect with every punter in the crowd as he lay down his fast paced verse, swinging across the stage against ultimate hype MC Mirrah in unison as they eyed off each person demanding energy. While it wasn't their most explosive set I've seen, it still held surprises including inviting Ziggy and Morgan Bain up for a spit and the moment they had the crowd repeating the 1 in 1,000,000 mantra; a poignant moment speaking about how important it is to stand up as that one.
The crowd only grew in the Moolin Rouge tent as Amy Shark followed, declaring she was going back to Sydney to pack up her shit and move to Bunbury. Running through her Night Thinker EP you'd be mistaken for thinking the Number Two song in last years Hottest 100 was the only tune to gain traction, especially with Shark's cover of Eminem's Superman reinvigorating everyone's inner 90's rapper.
The mainstage was soaking in the raw gritty bass of US singer K-Flay as she tore up the stage to track Blood in the Cut while Northeast Party House could be heard electrifying the now packed tent of Moolin Rouge, shoulder stackers out in full force before it was time to switch back for a glance at Against Me!.
Rocking up for gates open, road-trip fresh, it was a miracle to feel the sun again after the cold we'd left behind in Perth, and while a few clouds threatened to stick around, Bunbury shone through in
the end.
Catching the openers from afar it was surprising how many of the sold out crowd had chosen to also be punctual, hip hop act Ziggy clearly putting in the yards to please the early birds as he threw around what's-in-your-pocket inspired freestyles and funk infused beats to gathering success.
Celebrating the release of her latest single, singer songwriter Teischa wooed the crowd with a cover of James Blake's Retrograde before finishing with new tune Midnight Hour, the backing vocalists giving off a de ja vu harmonic vibes of Meg Mac's performance a few years earlier.
I'd almost forgotten how much I love true fans until I saw a girl actually scream and clutch her boyfriend's arms when L-Fresh the Lion hit the stage with his usual humble majesty, striding right up to the edge to connect with every punter in the crowd as he lay down his fast paced verse, swinging across the stage against ultimate hype MC Mirrah in unison as they eyed off each person demanding energy. While it wasn't their most explosive set I've seen, it still held surprises including inviting Ziggy and Morgan Bain up for a spit and the moment they had the crowd repeating the 1 in 1,000,000 mantra; a poignant moment speaking about how important it is to stand up as that one.
The crowd only grew in the Moolin Rouge tent as Amy Shark followed, declaring she was going back to Sydney to pack up her shit and move to Bunbury. Running through her Night Thinker EP you'd be mistaken for thinking the Number Two song in last years Hottest 100 was the only tune to gain traction, especially with Shark's cover of Eminem's Superman reinvigorating everyone's inner 90's rapper.
The mainstage was soaking in the raw gritty bass of US singer K-Flay as she tore up the stage to track Blood in the Cut while Northeast Party House could be heard electrifying the now packed tent of Moolin Rouge, shoulder stackers out in full force before it was time to switch back for a glance at Against Me!.

Montaigne continued to pull all the stops for her characteristically theatrical performance as her body cavorted as fluidly as her vocals, “Please Like Me” painted across her face. Smith Street Band gave out an equally emotive performance, frontman Wil Wagner evidently stoked to be on tour again as he declared they wanted to stay on stage and keep playing and thanking all the artists they'd shared the tour with. The treasured experience of yelling punching lyrics into each others faces was only magnified in the festival sized crowd.
Catching the melody of You've Got Something over Hyde Park it was a quick maze run through the crowd with a hot curry in hand to get to The Jungle Giants at the mainstage in the cooling evening. Playing new material from their upcoming album before we shared a dance to Kooky Eyes with a giant banana and equally sized tomato, Jungle Giants proved their indie pop sound has maintained its popularity.
Thundamentals commanded the tent as the festival collectively held up a fist before flicking out the peace sign, catchy tracks like Noodle Soup sparking through the crowd despite technical malfunctions on the lighting and visuals side, the party continuing on oblivious. Sharing latest hit Sally with Montaigne and the L-Fresh crew closing out their set with smiles all round.
PNAU and Snakehips were a back to back dance off. The unmistakeable flaunt of vocalist Shakira Marshall as she all but stole the stage from frontman Nick Littlemore after they opened with instant energiser Wild Strawberries, strutting her way through to the ultimate summer favourite Chameleon. It was hard to pay attention to what was happening on the rest of the stage with her killer presence leading the charge but it was a great lead in to night heavyweights. Snakehips were the usual teasing electronic duo, delivering some of their best remixes and tracks including All My Friends.
The Wombats were an obvious crowd pleaser for the final acts, celebrating ten years since their debut there had been no aging to the infectious pop rock bursting out across the festival. A hurdle effort to catch Something About You from Hayden James powering through the tent before bouncing back for Violent Soho as they fully committed to taking Groovin the Moo around its final lap.
Wading through no mans land to check out Dillion Francis with a giant and a carrot man, the opening chords of Muscle Junkie stopped us just to yell out along to the chorus obscenities echoing from the mainstage. The Aussie loving US DJ had the Moolin Rouge stage bustling on all sides as people crammed in for that Horses singalong, but it was watching Violent Soho destroy their gear in their final song that really pinned it as the final highlight, the silhouette of flailing guitar strings and drums kicked out to the crowd a beautiful sight.
Catching the melody of You've Got Something over Hyde Park it was a quick maze run through the crowd with a hot curry in hand to get to The Jungle Giants at the mainstage in the cooling evening. Playing new material from their upcoming album before we shared a dance to Kooky Eyes with a giant banana and equally sized tomato, Jungle Giants proved their indie pop sound has maintained its popularity.
Thundamentals commanded the tent as the festival collectively held up a fist before flicking out the peace sign, catchy tracks like Noodle Soup sparking through the crowd despite technical malfunctions on the lighting and visuals side, the party continuing on oblivious. Sharing latest hit Sally with Montaigne and the L-Fresh crew closing out their set with smiles all round.
PNAU and Snakehips were a back to back dance off. The unmistakeable flaunt of vocalist Shakira Marshall as she all but stole the stage from frontman Nick Littlemore after they opened with instant energiser Wild Strawberries, strutting her way through to the ultimate summer favourite Chameleon. It was hard to pay attention to what was happening on the rest of the stage with her killer presence leading the charge but it was a great lead in to night heavyweights. Snakehips were the usual teasing electronic duo, delivering some of their best remixes and tracks including All My Friends.
The Wombats were an obvious crowd pleaser for the final acts, celebrating ten years since their debut there had been no aging to the infectious pop rock bursting out across the festival. A hurdle effort to catch Something About You from Hayden James powering through the tent before bouncing back for Violent Soho as they fully committed to taking Groovin the Moo around its final lap.
Wading through no mans land to check out Dillion Francis with a giant and a carrot man, the opening chords of Muscle Junkie stopped us just to yell out along to the chorus obscenities echoing from the mainstage. The Aussie loving US DJ had the Moolin Rouge stage bustling on all sides as people crammed in for that Horses singalong, but it was watching Violent Soho destroy their gear in their final song that really pinned it as the final highlight, the silhouette of flailing guitar strings and drums kicked out to the crowd a beautiful sight.