#mindpilot

Back again in 2011 was the free, all ages Sounds Loud Festival, which concluded National Youth Week. This year’s line-up was a departure from the heavier, more “emo” line-up of recent years and saw an influx of indie bands and use of synthesisers. It started as a beautiful sunny and warm day in Melbourne, which helped to draw a lot of the locals to head down to Queens Park to see what all the fuss was about.

Opening band 23 Angles of Attack gave us their brand of rock to start off the day. The first thing I noticed was that lead vocalist/bassist Christopher Lisati has a nice, clean tonality to his voice that went nicely with their songs. Alternating between guitarists Christopher Spall and Michael Wentworth-Bell, the lead guitar parts were very melodic and catchy, an important element of making 23 Angles of Attack’s songs memorable and having them stay stuck in your head. Sounds Loud was the debut gig of the four piece’s new drummer, Danny Lisati, and I must say that he did a great job and meshed really well with the rest of the guys in the band. I was surprised that they weren’t more energetic on stage, especially when you notice how fast paced their songs are, but being a relatively new band, that will definitely be something that will improve as they play more and more gigs together.  23 Angles of Attack closed their set with a very upbeat song which incorporated a great use of keys with a great tonality, and with a shuffling around of instruments, they were able to avoid sacrificing the bass in this song, which I was very impressed by.

Mindpilot opened their set with a cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name”, which they did a great job of covering, but I feel it was a bit misleading of what their own sound was. Regardless, it was a great song to show off vocalist/guitarist Tash Sultana’s strong, raspy voice and guitar playing skills. Their next song was a mellow one and features bassist Emily Daye on lead vocals and keys.  Daye’s voice, in comparison to Sultana’s, is much more delicate and clean but suited the mood of the song well. But despite the difference in their tonality, when both are singing simultaneously, their voices blend well together to create a balanced sound. Mindpilot’s original songs showcased the broad range of talent of the members of the band, and were well received by the crowd, evident in the decent crowd reaction that they received.

Moving over to the other stage of the festival, the Loud Stage, wearefans were treating the crowd to their funky electro music. Singer Maxi Vauzelle is extremely captivating on stage and had a unique twang to her voice which breathed personality into their songs. Vauzelle moved around comfortably on stage, something that hadn’t been seen in any of the bands I’d seen up to that point in the day, and something that she managed to do while still singing without losing any of the strength behind her voice. Keys man, Kris Baha, used a smart mix of both synth sounds and clean key sounds in wearefans’ songs which kept the songs from being overloaded on one sound or the other. Bassist Harris Robotis definitely grabbed my attention with his funky bass lines, which he played with such effortlessness. And following in the playing with ease fashion was drummer Ricka Rick, who was sporting a number 3 Miami Heat jersey, which was fitting considering Wade’s monster game that very morning. I really enjoyed wearefans’ set, despite their sound not being something I listen to regularly. It was disappointing to see that not more of the crowd was getting into it, but those who were seemed to be having an absolute ball.

Returning to the main stage, the Loudest Stage, Radio Star would be the first of an influx of indie rock bands for the day. After some technical difficulties with their keyboard, the rest of Radio Star’s set seemed to run smoothly. Vocalist/guitarist Zack Buchanan sang with a ridiculous accent, which went well with the band’s indie rock sound.  Radio Star had a great mix of things happening in their songs, and the back and forth change of pace between the songs kept their set interesting. There was also an interesting addition of keys by guitarist Will Luby in some songs. Radio Star’s strongest quality were their vocal harmonies, which were shown off beautifully in the acapella ending of “All I Want Is You”, as well as the use of dual vocals in the chorus and “lalalala” sections in the closing song of their set, “A Common Tale”. Radio Star’s set was a chaotic show of organized mess accompanied by upbeat, likable songs. What Radio Star had that the bands who had played earlier in the day didn’t have was the sense of unity amongst themselves, even if it did come in the form of how they were dressed. 

All-girl band Stonefield were up next and the first thing I noticed was that they were placed so far apart from each other on stage, which made their setup slightly awkward looking. But other than that small observation, everything else about this band was great. Lead vocalist/drummer Amy Findlay made it look so easy to play drums and sing at the same time. Her parts were kept relatively simple when she was singing as well, but during sections where she wasn’t singing, her drumming parts were changed up a bit, which added some flare to the songs. Guitarist Hannah Findlay was excellent on guitar, especially her solos within songs which were simple but memorable.  Bassist Holly Findlay was set up in the centre of the stage and made the most of the space she had by moving around a lot.  Keyboardist Sarah Findlay had a permanent grin on her face and it was great to see all these girls enjoying themselves so much. Their songs work well live and these girls are all musicians who know how to play their instruments well. In a scene over crowed with boys, it’s great to see an all-girl group breaking out and shining. Stonefield have great songs up their sleeves, and after winning Triple J’s Unearthed High competition in 2010, things are only looking up for them.

The Melodics offered something different for the day, an electro/rock band with a rapper and synth heavy, 80s feel songs. Their songs were greatly crafted, and despite not having a guitarist and an abundance of rhythm section players, the music didn’t feel like it was lacking anything. Vocalist Jeremedy’s lyrics were supported excellently by synth and keys players Tarko Sibbel and Oceans Baroque, who’s part added melody beneath Jeremedy’s rapping . Bassist and drummer Jamie Barlow and James Tudball held the songs together without overwhelming the other musicians. “Donkey Kong Suicide” showcased a catchy chorus with simple harmonies being used effectively by Jermedy and Oceans Baroque. Synth man Sibbel also played saxophone which added a little edge to their songs. What I also noticed, and really liked, was that despite being a 5 piece, the band was set up fairly close to each other in a semi-circle formation so that they could all see each other and interact with each other whilst performing.

Heading back over to the Loud Stage now, and I was surprised that Gold Fields were playing this stage rather than the Loudest Stage. They drew a pretty decent crowd, a lot of whom seemed to already be well acquainted with the band. On stage there were floor toms and drumsticks everywhere and I anticipated how Gold Fields would use these. And their use of percussion is nothing short of fantastic. Floors toms, conga drums, cow bells and tambourines were used to add a dramatic spark as well as texture and intensity. Their use of guitars, bass and synth is relatively basic, which gives a good balance considering their big use of drums and percussion. Gold Field’s drummer was captivating in his performance and seemed oddly familiar, and turns out to be Ryan D'Sylva of another local band, Stealing O’Neal. D’Sylva is spectacular behind the kit and his role in Gold Fields seems to dominate the band more so than in his other band. Vocalist Mark Fuller is energetic on stage as he moves about while singing. He has a nice clean voice, and although it isn’t shown off much in the songs, it really suits the genre of Gold Fields’ songs. Gold Fields’ songs are catchy and upbeat but still maintain their indie rock feel, and it is no surprise that the crowd really got into it and seemed to enjoy their performance.

Back to the Loudest Stage and The Killgirls combined upbeat dance beats with a heavier instrumentation to create an energetic, blood-pumping sound that got the audience moving. The Killgirls were extremely energetic on stage, had a great stage presence and all members of the band were thrashing around as they played. Guitarist Rusty Huchinson in particular was moving around like crazy as he played his parts, which were dissonant sounding at times, but clashed nicely with the synth. Bass player Nick O’Conner had a really heavy tone to his bass, which helped create their heavy sound, but it was very well balanced by the smoother, fuller synth tones of Hamish Cox with support from drummer Tony Irish, whose snare tone was nice and full. Vocalist Mario Spate moved between singing and screaming with relative ease and interacted nicely with the crowd. Spate was probably the first musician of the day to get down to the barrier and interact directly with the crowd. And this direct interaction sparked quite a reaction from the crowd. All you really need is one overly enthusiastic fan to set everyone else off, and that’s exactly what happened in the crowd for The Killgirls. It was the first time during the day that security had to get involved and “control the crowd”. Despite having security break it up, that didn’t stop the crowd from having fun and being chaotic, and the rest of The Killgirls set egged the crowd on even more. The Killgirls maintained a high level of energy and intensity throughout their whole set, and their songs were definitely well received by the crowd.

6 piece band Hunting Grounds are your typical looking and sounding indie rock band, but they do the genre justice armed with their frantic, energetic songs. Constant swapping of lead vocals between Michael Belsar and Lachlan Morrish help change things up from song to song. Both have a unique tonality to their voice, one with a raspy drawl and the other with a cleaner, smoother tonality. The guitar (Belsar, Morrish and Tim Streeth) and synth parts (Galen Strachan) are dominant in most songs and blend and support each other well. Bassist Johnathon Crawford supports the guitar and synth parts without dominating and making this more chaotic, but adds a nice thick texture to Hunting Grounds songs. Drummer Daniel Marie seems to shine more live than on recordings, where he helps to maintain the frantic feel of their songs through this playing. In typical Melbourne fashion, it started to rain during Hunting Grounds’ set but that didn't stop the crowd from getting rowdy. Hunting Grounds threw a Beastie Boys cover into their set just as the rain starts to get heavy, and this just gets the crowd up even more. Hunting Grounds also attempted to use extra percussion in their songs, which are more noticeable and appreciated when recorded, but when live I thought was unnecessary especially after seeing such a great use of percussion earlier in the day from Gold Fields.

The John Steele Singers had two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, two keyboardists, a brass section and multiple singers... what were we to expect? A funky feel with brass sections and interesting, smart harmonies is what we got. Trumpet and trombone parts from Scott Bromiley and Pete Bernoth gave their songs some flare. The use of brass was relatively simple, with fascinating melodies accompanied by basic consonant harmonies which were effective in creating some spark and energy. Damien Hammond’s bass part was very prominent in all the songs, giving each song a strong solid structure. Vocal melodies weren’t particularly complicated or dominating, but that gave a lot of room to the instrumentation. The John Steele Singers felt more and more like a jam band with a strong focus on instrumentation as their set went on. Paired with the backdrop of a calm and quiet vibe from the rain as the sun went down, it was the perfect setting for The John Steele Singers and their songs.

Last band for the night was Oh Mercy and it was a pleasure once again to see them as the closing band to a day long festival. Armed with their upbeat, yet mellow, indie/rock songs you could feel the calm wash over you as it got progressively darker and the rain fell during Oh Mercy’s set. Simon Okely’s guitar work stands out in the songs despite being relatively simple, both in its melodies as well as its clean tonality. Eliza Lam’s bass work is smooth and mostly consonant, with lines that usually play to support the structure of the song, while still being able to stand out. Okely and Lam’s parts complement each other well and alternate so that if one musician is playing something catchy, the other is playing a support role, there is never an overwhelming feeling of there being too much going on. Drummer Rohan Sforcina doesn’t stand out but if you take the time to listen to the drums in the songs, you’ll notice that they are used smartly to create the vibe of the song. Sforcina will change it up little from song to song and fills up the texture of the song well, especially since everyone else is very minimalistic.  Vocalist Alexander Gow’s nice clean voice is smooth as he sings and the slight husky tone to his voice pairs extremely well with Oh Mercy’s songs. Following the footsteps of every other element of this band, Gow’s vocal melodies are very simple and catchy, his singing sounding so effortless. Gow was also sporting a very fashionable floppy hat with such confidence that it made me smile.

Another successful year for the Sounds Loud team, it was great to see them put together yet another line-up combined with young bands with great potential and some of the Australia’s best upcoming bands that have been receiving a lot of attention lately. The diversity of the line-up guaranteed that there was something for everyone. Their line-up this year was perhaps less heavier than in recent years, and this could probably be credited for a larger family presence this year than in recent years. Hopefully Sounds Loud will be back next year even bigger than before and continue to showcase some of Australia’s most talented local bands, giving younger bands an opportunity to play with some of the latest upcoming bands as well as giving these bigger bands an opportunity to play to a more laid back environment and to fans who wouldn’t normally go to see them.