Southbound Fire Fundraiser - Perth, 10th Jan 2016
Words: Todd Lockley
With the right decision made to cancel Southbound this year due to the devastating fires still smouldering in the south west of WA, a handful of bands and DJ's donated their time to a fantastic cause on Sunday evening and filled a sold out HBF stadium with music lovers alike to rock out and offer a little financial relief to those who had lost everything in fires.
Opening proceedings were funk/jazz/hip hop collective Koi Child who were very appreciative of the early birds filling the larger floor space on the basketball court. Opening with 1-5-9 and closing with Japes, their set was tight, short and the perfect way to start the relief, the grooves of Black Panda perking the ears of the curious at heart.
The smaller crowd drew a lot more modest as Gracetown sweethearts San Cisco moseyed out onstage, and the desperate howls of "I love you Scarlett" filled the air as the adorable Ms Stevens propped herself up behind the drum kit. The introduction of third song Awkward aroused the biggest reaction of the early time of day, however the pace was down on the radio ditty but no one seemed to notice and the sing along continued through Magic and Jealousy. Too Much Time Together had the crowd pogo'ing along and finally introduced the barrier staff to some action, before Fred Astaire signalled the end of a fun and pop driven afternoon delight, front man Jordi Davieson giving one more tilt of the akubra before a quick "thanks" as San Cisco pilled off stage.
Between sets it was a slow jock jams galore but the Oh Wonder slot brought more of a sophisticated wobble than that of the all out anthems Death Disco DJ's had holla'ed out before them.
Opening proceedings were funk/jazz/hip hop collective Koi Child who were very appreciative of the early birds filling the larger floor space on the basketball court. Opening with 1-5-9 and closing with Japes, their set was tight, short and the perfect way to start the relief, the grooves of Black Panda perking the ears of the curious at heart.
The smaller crowd drew a lot more modest as Gracetown sweethearts San Cisco moseyed out onstage, and the desperate howls of "I love you Scarlett" filled the air as the adorable Ms Stevens propped herself up behind the drum kit. The introduction of third song Awkward aroused the biggest reaction of the early time of day, however the pace was down on the radio ditty but no one seemed to notice and the sing along continued through Magic and Jealousy. Too Much Time Together had the crowd pogo'ing along and finally introduced the barrier staff to some action, before Fred Astaire signalled the end of a fun and pop driven afternoon delight, front man Jordi Davieson giving one more tilt of the akubra before a quick "thanks" as San Cisco pilled off stage.
Between sets it was a slow jock jams galore but the Oh Wonder slot brought more of a sophisticated wobble than that of the all out anthems Death Disco DJ's had holla'ed out before them.
Between sets it was a slow jock jams galore but the Oh Wonder slot brought more of a sophisticated wobble than that of the all out anthems Death Disco DJ's had holla'ed out before them.
The epic, instantly recognisable blasts of the Star Wars Imperial March filled HBF stadium as indie rockers turned commercial anthem makers Birds Of Tokyo bounded onstage to a visual flood of strobing lights and a sense of electricity you'd expect more so from an over budget Muse show. The crowd, now at full capacity in the GA section, heaved forward as main man Ian Kenny, often resembling a new and improved Peter Garrett, launched into The Weight Of The World. Kenny was in high spirits, "How are you doing my friends? Aye! What's up?" he quizzed the audience, as the rest of the band kicked out the jams, looking ever so pleased to be playing in their home town again.
The mix of old and new was working. Broken Bones was joyous, but the double drop of Silouhettic had the original fans combining an all out swoon with fist pumps to the "there goes my baby!" trinkets. Plans brought down the pace and gave the newer fans something to sway to, however the mid song interlude of Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger nailed home a major highlight of this day/nighter.
Kenny is a mesmerizing figure to watch, sometimes you're lost to what song you are actually hearing due to his movements and commanding jolts and hands raising like he's in his own church of sound, but at times there was nowhere else to look as song's like Circles had the shoe gazers tying their laces. Wild At Heart was a fitting tribute to the "firies and everyone suffering because of the fires". We danced in defiance of such a tragic natural disaster.
Those "you used to call me on my cellphone" commercial charged anthems rounded out their set with a 1,2 punch of Anchor followed by Lanterns. The big screen shone bright with an image of a firefighter in full firefighting gear, which added a nice touch to the end of the Birds set, which reminded us all of why we were there.
An impromptu Django Django DJ set eclipsed the gap to be filled by Bloc Party, their airing of a remix of MIA's Paper Planes minus the
The epic, instantly recognisable blasts of the Star Wars Imperial March filled HBF stadium as indie rockers turned commercial anthem makers Birds Of Tokyo bounded onstage to a visual flood of strobing lights and a sense of electricity you'd expect more so from an over budget Muse show. The crowd, now at full capacity in the GA section, heaved forward as main man Ian Kenny, often resembling a new and improved Peter Garrett, launched into The Weight Of The World. Kenny was in high spirits, "How are you doing my friends? Aye! What's up?" he quizzed the audience, as the rest of the band kicked out the jams, looking ever so pleased to be playing in their home town again.
The mix of old and new was working. Broken Bones was joyous, but the double drop of Silouhettic had the original fans combining an all out swoon with fist pumps to the "there goes my baby!" trinkets. Plans brought down the pace and gave the newer fans something to sway to, however the mid song interlude of Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger nailed home a major highlight of this day/nighter.
Kenny is a mesmerizing figure to watch, sometimes you're lost to what song you are actually hearing due to his movements and commanding jolts and hands raising like he's in his own church of sound, but at times there was nowhere else to look as song's like Circles had the shoe gazers tying their laces. Wild At Heart was a fitting tribute to the "firies and everyone suffering because of the fires". We danced in defiance of such a tragic natural disaster.
Those "you used to call me on my cellphone" commercial charged anthems rounded out their set with a 1,2 punch of Anchor followed by Lanterns. The big screen shone bright with an image of a firefighter in full firefighting gear, which added a nice touch to the end of the Birds set, which reminded us all of why we were there.
An impromptu Django Django DJ set eclipsed the gap to be filled by Bloc Party, their airing of a remix of MIA's Paper Planes minus the
familiar shot gun blasts and cash register blings had a few up for it dances confused and disappointed.
Before too long, Kele and the gang wandered onstage and karate kicked into The Good News, explaining that they were "really happy this gig went ahead, as they hadn't been to Australia in five years and this was the final leg of their tour", making up for lost time they poured on Octopus, Hunting For Witches and Positive Tension.
Bloc Party looked lively; the energy oozed out of them. Kele looked like he was ready to holiday in a festive looking Hawaiian shirt. He mentioned new album Hymns coming later this month to emphatic cheers, however new songs off it like Virtue were seen as a chance for a drinks or toilet break amongst the many on the dance floor.
The pink and blue light flicker through Banquet took full effect of perfection, and perfection was on high demand, as One More Chance was canned mid song due an out of tune guitar - Kele declaring that the people of Perth deserve to hear their music with a "tuned" guitar.
Though he mentioned early on that time was of the essence to fit in all the songs they wanted to play, the front man seemed more chatty than a kid on Ritalin at a blue light disco, "This ones a banger Perth! And I like bangers! Do you like bangers Perth?!" introduced Ratchet, before crowd sing along Flux and closer This Modern Love rounded out a tight, yet fun filled day of live music.
Disclosure finished up proceedings spinning CD's for those still keen to dance on with disregard for Monday, and after raising over $150,000 for the fire relief this Southbound sideshow could only be deemed as a roaring success. Well done Perth and all involved. This was a tidy little shin dig with good music, good vibes and good friends.
Before too long, Kele and the gang wandered onstage and karate kicked into The Good News, explaining that they were "really happy this gig went ahead, as they hadn't been to Australia in five years and this was the final leg of their tour", making up for lost time they poured on Octopus, Hunting For Witches and Positive Tension.
Bloc Party looked lively; the energy oozed out of them. Kele looked like he was ready to holiday in a festive looking Hawaiian shirt. He mentioned new album Hymns coming later this month to emphatic cheers, however new songs off it like Virtue were seen as a chance for a drinks or toilet break amongst the many on the dance floor.
The pink and blue light flicker through Banquet took full effect of perfection, and perfection was on high demand, as One More Chance was canned mid song due an out of tune guitar - Kele declaring that the people of Perth deserve to hear their music with a "tuned" guitar.
Though he mentioned early on that time was of the essence to fit in all the songs they wanted to play, the front man seemed more chatty than a kid on Ritalin at a blue light disco, "This ones a banger Perth! And I like bangers! Do you like bangers Perth?!" introduced Ratchet, before crowd sing along Flux and closer This Modern Love rounded out a tight, yet fun filled day of live music.
Disclosure finished up proceedings spinning CD's for those still keen to dance on with disregard for Monday, and after raising over $150,000 for the fire relief this Southbound sideshow could only be deemed as a roaring success. Well done Perth and all involved. This was a tidy little shin dig with good music, good vibes and good friends.