St Kilda Festival- The Basics and San Cisco

Today was Festival Sunday at the St Kilda Festival, and thankfully the weather Gods were kind to us as the temperature wasn't nearly as hot as forecast earlier in the week. This year is the 35th anniversary of the festival, which is the largest of its kind in Australia. As I was walking along Jacka Boulevard I came across the Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra parade as it passed under the pedestrian bridge and people threw down rose petals from above.

I met up with Mary near the front of the main stage for the mid-afternoon set by The Basics. It was an impassioned start with "Time Poor" and "The Lucky Country" as the first two songs. Kris reminded the crowd that Monday's Liberal Party spill wouldn't result in any real change if someone else became Prime Minster. The set was a good mix of older songs, with the Stand Out/Fit In tracks "Have Love, Will Travel," "Hey There!," "Just Hold On," "Three Cool Cats" and "Rattle My Chain" (appropriate for the occasion as the album cover was shot at The Espy). Kris and Tim just returned from a quick trip to Kenya and were dressed in a dashiki and Maasai red plaid cloth. Unfortunately Wally was losing his voice as the set went on, but he made it through "So Hard For You" and "Second Best," which contained an extended drum solo. One funny moment was when he took a sip of Kris' lemonade, realized it contained alcohol, and asked Kris if he'd made a shandy (the answer was yes). By the end of their set the grey skies had turned blue and the sun was out. They closed with a great cover of Neil Young's "Old Man," and as Kris referenced Jimmy Fallon I think my tweet to him about the Two Neil Youngs bit on the Tonight Show last week may have inspired its inclusion in the set.

We managed to find Tash, who was sitting further back on the hill, and stayed there to watch San Cisco's set. Although I own all their releases this was the first time I've seen them live. They played a mix of new songs off their upcoming album Gracetown as well as some old favorites such as "Awkward," "Beach" and "No Friends." The newer single "Run" and just released "Too Much Time Together" got a good reaction, but it was the set closer "Fred Astaire" that had the huge crowd bopping along. I thought it was really brave of them to play so many new songs to a festival crowd, as it would have been easier to focus on their older, more well known tracks.

Oh Mercy- St. Kilda Festival

After spending the morning at the gym I hopped onto a tram and headed down to the annual St. Kilda Festival.  Thankfully the weather was sunny but mild, with a strong breeze coming off the bay.  I grabbed some gozleme from one of the food stalls for lunch before making my way toward the front of the main stage for Oh Mercy's afternoon slot. 

They started with "Stay Please Stay" and then launched into "Drums."  It was great to have Simon back playing guitar with the band again.  The set list consisted of many songs from their latest album Deep Heat, including excellent versions of "Rebel Beats," "Pilgrim's Blues," "My Man" and "Still Making Me Pay."  Alex was full of good advice for the crowd, telling everyone not to get sunburned and also for parents to not let their children touch the water.  They finished their set with a rousing rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Memories."  Luckily I get to see Oh Mercy again in a week's time when they open for Father John Misty.

Mary and I found each other afterwards as she got there a bit late due to a very slow tram.  We had a wander around the festival and then treated ourselves to some Dutch pancakes before heading back home.

The Good China at St. Kilda Festival

Today I headed down to the St. Kilda Festival to catch The Good China playing the Main Stage on the beach. They won the opening slot by being voted best band on the New Music Stage at last year's festival. A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch them play their half hour set. They started with a new song and then played one of my favorites "If Pain Persists." Other songs in the set included "No More Maps," "Turn The Page" and "All Nothing" (complete with hand claps). They finished off the day with a rousing rendition of "We Found Three Whistles" that had the crowd dancing. It was very exciting to see the band playing on the big stage, and I'm sure it would have been a huge thrill for them all. Since it was a fairly warm day and there weren't any other acts I was dying to see I headed back for home.

St. Kilda Festival

Today Tash and I headed down to the St. Kilda Festival. Thankfully today's weather was much cooler than yesterday's horrific 46.4/115 degrees. We spent the majority of the afternoon at the Max Beach Concert stage. The first act we saw was Kate Miller-Heidke, a trained opera singer who has moved into pop music. As expected she has a very powerful voice and is a bit of an eccentric performer. She and her band did a rock opera version of John Farnham's "You're The Voice" and finished with her hit single "Can't Shake It" complete with dance moves.

Next up was Dan Sultan, a phenominally talented indigenous singer/songwriter. I was completely blown away by his voice, charisma on stage, and total mix of music styles- roots, soul, and a bit of country. Dan and his band had the soulful energy and showmanship of James Brown and at times it felt like a revival was taking place.. He's such an amazing talent and will just get bigger and bigger as more people hear and see him perform live.

After a bit of a walk around to check out the various booths and other attractions, we were treated to the 80's glam metal of The Galvatrons. Imagine the synthesizer part from Van Halen's "Jump" used over and over again in songs with metal riffs and you'll have some idea of how their set sounded. I'm sure the kids felt they were cool and relevant, but to me they sounded like they were trying too hard to be an 80's metal band and it was all just cliche and unintentionally laughable.

Our last band for the day was The Good China on the Air New Music stage. They drew a good-sized and enthusiastic crowd for their half-hour set. This was probably their biggest show to date, and both Tash and I were really happy that their following is growing steadily in Melbourne. They played another entertaining set and had the crowd clapping along to their closing song "All Nothing." We even managed to get The Good China badges, which were being handed out to the audience.

St. Kilda Festival

Today was the St. Kilda Festival along the Esplanade and St. Kilda Beach. Belinda and I headed down to the festival in the afternoon and got there just in time for The Longnecks, aka The Living End. The boys are playing a series of shows around Victoria to try out the new songs in front of an audience before recording. They played a rocking 45 minute set of all new stuff and finished with "West End Riot." I'm really looking forward to seeing them again on Saturday night. After a very delicious hot jam donut break, we hit the Max Beach Stage and watched Operator Please, who sounded great. They even did a cover of Devo's "Whip It." We decided to head for home after their set before it got too chaotic in the evening. It was a gorgeous day down by the beach.