Peats Ridge 29/12/12 - Festival Review

Amongst the tranquil surrounds of the Glenworth Valley, through a conglomerate of tents, over a bridge, and past a few security guards, I finally reached the Peats Ridge Festival, the 3 day home of New Years eve music, arts, debauchery and harmless shenanigans.

It was easy to soak up the atmosphere and the hippie mindset during Peats Ridge. It’s amazing to see people caring about their waste, learning how to sort it, and making a stand for environmental causes. You couldn’t walk more than 2 feet without coming across an art instalment or a impromptu drama piece. However, none of the art or sustainability could outdo the music.

Day 1. The Preatures played on the Bellbird stage, to a small, but excitable crowd. Their catchy soul rock was received very well for the start of a festival. I’m a big fan of The Preatures, I first saw them at the Newtown Festival, and I fell in love with their energy and ownership of the stage. Originally the Preachers, Isabella, Gideon, Jack Thomas and Luke, make up this fabulous band. Their smooth, yet playful, rock, is refreshing and their live performance is overwhelming. Sharing the lead vocals, Isabella and Gideon come together to form a unique intertwining of masculine and feminine energies. Even in extreme heat, they pulled off an effortlessly perfect show.http://www.facebook.com/ThePreatures/

Deep Sea Arcade played on the Bellbird to an ever expanding audience, they took to the stage with a confronting confidence, and their dance rock was so much fun.

The Cairos took to the Lyrebird like nutella to my fingers. The Lyrebird was a blue and yellow circus tent, where for 3 days, people were kicking up the dust, listening to quality music and dancing until the sun came up. The Cairos are a Brisbane group with Indie pop flavours and fantastic musicality. Bringing some of their best tunes, including Shame, We Buy All Stars and Lena, to the Lyrebird, The Cairos were a wonderful addition to the Peats Ridge line up.

Brian Campeau took the Chai Temple to a whole new world with just a guitar and a voice. This Canadian, currently based in Australia evoked impressive emotion with his touching lyrics and storytelling.

The Herd had gathered an impressive crowd at the Bellbird. The first large crowd of the Peats Ridge festival, had arrived for a reason, and I knew why, as soon as they started. I’m not normally a fan of hip hop, but boy, was I blown away. Ozi Batla and Urthboy MCs, Jane Tyrrell, Toe-fu, Traksewt, Rok Poshta, Unkle Ho, Sulo and Berzerkatron, make up this supergroup, that could rival any other live hip hop show in the world. Jane Tyrrell is comparable to Kimbra, in her movements, her voice, and even in her looks. Urthboy and Ozi Batla had endless vigor and brought an unbeatable ebullience to the Glenworth Valley.

Day 2. After the over-excitement of the first day, I had a sleep in and decided to take it easy. You have to pace yourself through a camping festival. Most nights you won’t get much sleep, due to lots of factors, crappy air mattresses, noisy neighbours, and the sun that turns your tent into an oven as soon as it climbs over the walls of the valley. For the first few hours of the day most people were hungover zombies, but the musical geniuses, Lime Cordiale, snapped all of them awake.

Lime Cordiale strolled upon the Lyrebird to greet a spacious, but animated crowd. Hailing from the North Shore, this band is made up of brothers Louis and Oliver Leimbach, BC (Brendan Champion), and James Jennings, who have had a stellar year, releasing Faceless Cat, and gaining the support of Aussie Industry icon, Michael Chugg. Oliver has produced and created the music for many short films, including ‘Cockatoo’ which was a winner Flicker Fest 2012. This band are setting off alarms throughout the Australian music scene, and this is blaringly obvious when you see their live show. They are all multi-instrumentalists, involving the regular, guitar, drums, bass keyboard, along with some unconventional instruments such as trumpet, trombone and clarinet. This distinct instrumentation just adds to the individuality of their show. They had great banter inbetween songs, and it was clear how much they were enjoying the show, which made the audience enjoy it even more. Lime Cordiale are a band to look out for, with plenty coming up in 2013.

Clairy Browne and The Bangin’ Rackettes graced the bellbird with an aire of elegance and beauty. Luscious saxophone riffs and sexy harmonies are a great support to Clairy Browne’s magnificent voice. With the vocal timbre of Amy Winehouse, combined with her unique flexibility and breath control, Clairy Browne has an outstandlingly mature, and provocative voice. Topped off with a stunning dress and marvelous dance moves, Clairy Browne and The Bangin’ Rackettes are wickedly entertaining and exceptional.

The Chai temple was packed when The Falls began. Melinda and Simon make up the Sydney, indie folk duo. Their major influence, Simon and Garfunkel, is portrayed not only in their songwriting and lyrics, but in their performance and staging. People lined up outside the Chai Temple to see this amazing performance, and everyone was sprawled out, laying back and thoroughly absorbing the beauty of their music. They sang a haunting rendition of “Heart Of Gold” by another of their major influences, Neil Young, which left the crowd all abuzz and oddly relaxed. The whole place had a haunting, peaceful feeling, as though everyone was connected on the same musical wavelength. Melinda and Simon’s voices weave together perfectly, which stirs this emotive audience reaction. A must-see, and DEFINITELY a must-listen.

Day 3, NEW YEARS!!!! 2012 was coming to a close, and sadly so was Peats Ridge. The creative arts at the festival were a major highlight, but there was also a few hiccups.

Punters complained abou the disarray of the toilets, only cleaned once a day and often left without paper. The amenities at the campsites were way to small for the number of people using them. Some of the artists were unhappy, and rumours were spread that major headliners were close to refusing to go onstage. For the amount of people who were preaching about how important our earth is, there were more cigarette butts and beer cans on the ground than you could ever imagine. The merchandise was good, and all of the bands had something for sale, but Peats Ridge Festival “forgot” to have 2012 shirts made. The market stalls were great, but there wasn’t a big variety of items, the alcohol prices were out of this world, you’d have to be Donald Trump to get drunk. The security guards were laid-back, which is fine for some, but when a dangerous situation occurs, it can be seriously worrying. There wasn’t enough paramedics for the amount of teenagers and adults who had bad reactions to drugs, and there were no volunteers there at night time, to help out those who had passed out. The grounds were easy to navigate, but could’ve been planned out more logically, to cut down on the walking distance between stages. The only thing that can’t be and wasn’t complained about, was the quality of the music. Personally, I wasn’t disappointed with a single band I saw. They were all fabulous in their own way and all of the issues that came up were completely made up for in the music.

Tin Sparrow played the lyrebird pretty early in the day, but their popularity managed to draw a fairly good crowd. This 4-piece, Sydney outfit have been wowing everyone all year. Having toured their single “The Beast”, and supporting Boy and Bear and the Jungle Giants, you could say that 2012 has been a fabulous year for this up and coming band. Their sweet and playful melodies were fun, and everyone had a great time.

Microwave Jenny came onstage at the Lyrebird, and I was slightly worried that their minimal instrumentation wouldn’t have enough power for the size of the stage, but I regretted all of my doubts as soon as they started. During their sound check Brendan played the Harry Potter theme on guitar, unaware that everyone could hear, and at that very moment I fell in love. I’d seen them before, and they’d blown me away previously, but somehow I was blown further. The tightness of their harmonies, and the sweet glances between them, only seem to have gotten richer and cuter. They hail as king and queen of non-awkward-inbetween-song-banter, making adorable jokes about wearing onsies in portaloos, and their lyrics and songs are so loveable. A definite must-see.

Hey Geronimo played on the Bellbird stage, to a sadly small crowd. Hey Geronimo hail from Brisbane, and their amazing indie pop is invigorating, and very promising. Their tunes have been featured in an AFL ad, and tv show, The Inbetweeners (US version). Backed up by a 3 piece brass section, the guys from Hey Geronimo seemed unphased by the size of the crowd. Out in the sun, on a 40 degree day, you can’t really expect a great turn out, but their cheerful melodies called upon the people of Peats Ridge, and eventuated in a fairly okay sized crowd. Carbon Affair, Co-op Bookshop and Dreamboat Jack were fantastic, and I felt like a bit of an idiot because I was the only person standing right up the front, who knew all the words. A great time, and show, but a disappointing turn out.

The John Butler trio brought in the New Year. Soaking up the atmosphere was incredible. Surrounded by drunken couples, and overly happy teenagers, I was happiest I’d been all year. John Butler is known for being one of the best Australian (technically American) performers ever. Every second person has seen his live show, so I don’t need to go on and on about how good he is. Bringing in the New Year with John Butler was a once in a lifetime experience. It was an intensely beautiful and indescribable.

Little Bastard were 15 minutes into their set when I went to see them. Having caught part of their set the night before, and having seen them at the Newtown Festival, I was well aware of what I was getting myself into, and I went prepared. I took my dance shoes, and I kicked up an absolute storm. Their punk-folk music is irresistible and a combination of genres that makes them stand out. This Sydney based 7 piece are a whole lot of fun, and people of all ages enjoy their music. Even the occasional hiccup, still manages to give them character, and the fact that aren’t completely polished, makes them even better. Little Bastard are one to look for in 2013, and I’m sure that they have plenty ahead of them.

Jack Savidge from Friendly Fires DJed from 1 to 3am, and it was amazing. LEGENDARY. Unbeatable, and unforgettable. The set had a wonderful flow, and no one ever stopped dancing. It was like an endless party (until it actually ended) and he finished up on a remix of ‘Love is in the Air’ which is a perfect way to describe the festival. Love is everywhere. A love of music, art, a love of the environment and a lovely time. I had a delightful experience at Peats Ridge music festival, and despite the complaints that others had made, I had fun, and the music was good, and in the end, Love was in the air.

Story and photos by Geneva Walker

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