The Triffid, Brisbane
Tuesday September 6, 2016 :
Brisbane’s Big Sound Festival kicked off with a bang with an epic pre-party thrown by Secret Sounds at The Triffid. It’s usually a bit of a challenge to pull a crowd on a Tuesday night, but the Triffid was pumping with delegates and party goers keen to get a jump start on the week’s festivities.
The night kicked off with a high energy set from Melbourne’s Ecca Vandal. Bounding around the stage in yellow tartan and converse, her signature sound of punk/rap/rock had the crowd up and moving early. Her vocals take me back to a ’90s Gwen Stefani with a mix of M.I.A and some Santigold thrown in for good measure, yet they are somehow still uniquely hers and definitely full of attitude. I was drawn in straight off the bat. ‘White Flag’ was an absolute standout, as was ‘Battle Royale’, ‘End of Time’ and ‘Father Hu$$la’. If this was a taste of what was going to come, it was going to be a very good night.
Planned as if the crowd may need to compose themselves after such a huge start to the night, the sweet sounds of Oh Pep! were next to fill the Triffid band room. Olivia and Pepita had the complete attention of the now-filled room and showcased some of their gorgeous indie/folk/pop tunes to the awaiting crowd. Songs such as ‘Tea, Milk and Honey’ and ‘Doctor Doctor’ were gorgeous, with Pepita showing off her impressive skills on both the mandolin and violin throughout songs such as ‘Crazy Feels’.
Next up was Melbourne’s multifaceted musician, Darren Hart, aka Harts. I have loved Hart’s music for the past couple of years but hadn’t actually had the opportunity to see him perform live before tonight. From the moment he walked on stage I was completely taken aback by how phenomenal a performer this guy was. We all know the story of Harts being invited to Paisley Park to jam with Prince a few years back and I can definitely see why he got the call up. I have not seen anyone rip on the guitar as well as this since, well, the last time I saw Prince play live, to be honest. He is one of those rare musicians that when you watch them perform you can tell that the truly feel the music, as if it is pulsing through their veins. The way he moves on stage is a sight to behold, losing himself in the music and the moment.
The 30 minute allocated set was no where near long enough, but Harts managed to fill that time with one amazing jam after the next. ‘Breakthrough’ was a highlight, as was ‘Red And Blue’. New song ‘Power’ has me very excited for his new album, Smoke Fire Hope Desire, out this week, as does the knowledge that he is about to add a bass player when he heads out on the road for a headline tour later this month. The set wrapped up with ‘Tide’ and Harts asking if we mind if he played his guitar for a minute, to which he broke into the most epic of guitar solos, culminating in him lifting the guitar up and playing with it behind his head. Amazing.
The night wrapped up with a feisty performance by Adelaide rapper Tkay Maidza. With her long hair being whipped around and her wild dance moves through some fantastic lighting, the crowd was definitely lapping up the performance. Tkay is another artist who you can tell just loves to be onstage, the smile on her face throughout the entire set certainly gave that away. Tracks such as ‘Change Lanes’ and ‘Ghosts’ were definite highlights, as well as new tracks ‘Carry On’ and ‘Do It Right’, showcasing her fantastic singing voice, as well as her impressive rapping skills. The only thing that let her set down was the sound mixing unfortunately, there was a very pronounced echo in her vocals, which did not sound right and you could see that it was causing problems on stage also, with Tkay having issues with her ear piece throughout the entire set. That said though, looking around at all of the very happy punters in the crowd, I don’t think they even noticed, or if they did, they didn’t care, as a great time was most certainly being had by all.
It’s not often that we get the chance to see this diverse a lineup of highly talented musicians play on the same bill but Secret Sounds certainly bought that this week, leaving me wishing that all Tuesday nights were as great as this one.
Reviewer and Photographer : Chrissy Kavalieros
[nggallery id = 590]