Poison City Weekender, Melbourne’s largest annual punk rock and related three day festival, returned in 2014 as large and successful as ever. The formula of involving most bands on the Poison City Records roster, with two American headliners and a wide selection of other bands not on the label, worked to great success in the face of sold-out crowds and endless beers. Rising above the stigma of only appealing to bearded Hot Water Music fans in their late 20s, The Weekender has evolved to encompass all aspects of a scene worth celebrating.
The weekend began at the Corner with the early ’90s Seattle-sound throwback of Apart From This. Combining elements of Seaweed and even early Silverchair is far from fashionable, yet the daring nature of this throwback style and undeniably infectious songwriting has seen the young quartet become a formidable force on the Melbourne stage. My band Clowns played our set not long after. I don’t know what it sounded like in the crowd, but my guitar only cut out once and we had fun so that’s rad enough for us.
The main-stage performance from The Bennies was truly the sign that the band’s relentless touring and inclusive songwriting has drawn every party-loving, good time having man, woman and underage kid who probably snuck in to the show. For a band that admittedly sounds awful on paper – psychedelic ska pop-punk with synth, hip hop and occasionally a DJ – the band’s set saw countless stage dives, crowd surfers, stage invasions and sing-alongs to their anthems of unashamedly unsubtle and direct testaments to the power of partying. For a band that had been playing venues half the size not even a year ago, the explosion of the band’s popularity was a pleasantly surprising highlight of the evening.
Tasmania’s Luca Brasi are no strangers to the Poison City family or The Weekender, having released their debut album in 2009 on the label and played almost every Weekender since. Hot off the back of their recently released record By A Thread, the five-piece barely fit on the small side stage. With one of the largest and most committed crowds of the night, the band channelled ‘90s emo a la Cap’n Jazz with a modern punk rock solidity and confidence to a passionate and dedicated crowd. Recently reunited ‘90s indie-emo icons Knapsack took the mainstage with a comparatively subdued and introspective set. With lead singer Blair Shehan’s voice almost gone, the loss of vocal power and presence was an unfortunate drawback to an otherwise passionate and long-awaited set.
Saturday afternoon’s festivities were held at a mostly acoustic show at The Old Bar. With a dependable pint of Coopers in hand, I arrived just in time for Jay Whalley’s acoustic set. Better known as the frontman of Australian punk rock institution Frenzal Rhomb, Whalley’s solo set featured new original songs, reworkings of Frenzal anthems, and an unexpected cover of Limp Bizkit’s 1999 hit single Nookie, in protest of the realities of misguided ‘90s nostalgia. Always able to successfully balance accurate social commentary with humour, Whalley’s set was the perfect warm-up to a crowd ready for another day and night.
Channelling angular post-punk stalwarts Wipers and Joy Division, Infinite Void’s layered and noise-laden sound encompassed all of the rapidly filling spacious John Curtin band room. Word of mouth has caught up with Melbourne’s High Tension, with the band’s set marked as a must-see on almost all attendees’ itineraries. The combination of frontwoman Karina Utomo’s high pitched black metal screams with the band’s high energy noise rock is surprisingly accessible, with the band’s hype and sound ultimately working as engaging rock ‘n roll. Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, headliners Pity Sex rapidly filled the room after spending most of the evening asleep on the couch, understandable after a 20-hour flight. Shaking off jet-lag and fatigue, the band’s combination of nostalgic emo rock with Dinosaur Jr style fuzz and shoegaze espoused all kinds of cool. Already a major force in the American alternative/punk circuit, the band’s debut on Australian soil saw their chemistry and aesthetic feel right at home at The Weekender.
With the two-day hangover rapidly coming into effect, Sunday’s show at The Reverence Hotel featured an understandably more laidback lineup, without letting up on any of the energy or musical quality of the previous two nights. Sydney’s Ted Danson With Wolves already receive top points for their name, yet still managed to deliver an unusual performance of saxophone fronted alternative rock. Byron Bay’s Toy Boats stood out as a refreshingly different sound to the musical similarity between a lot of bands on the lineup, with the band’s minimalist synth-laden indie rock, almost verging on pop at times, keeping the momentum and musical variety of the weekend alive, with sonic nods to Talking Heads and Television.
Celebrating 10 years as a band, Newcastle’s Fear Like Us brought the traditional folk-punk Poison City sound to the stage, with the band’s familiarity and longevity reaffirming its place as the soundtrack to countless drunken sing-alongs and bro-hugs. Although less active these days, Canberra’s Hoodlum Shouts are undeniably influenced by the political nature of their hometown, with a fierce performance of anthemic and hard-hitting alternative rock with an unusual but perfectly executed reminiscence of the sound and attitude of early Midnight Oil. Still musically challenging and somewhat polarising to many, Harmony’s performance stood out as the most markedly original and unpredictable of the weekend. Shaking off any hype and cred they may have utilised by featuring McLusky’s John Chapple on bass, the band’s blend of the atmosphere of Ennio Morricone and the creeping delicacy of Angelo Badalamenti played without any clear influence or point of reference. With a heavy rhythmic backing duo, fronted by both shouted male vocals and a three part harmonising all girl ensemble, the band’s inclusion on the day was somewhat discordant to the flow, yet was the perfect way to keep a long weekend musically challenging and engaging.
Usually found fronting folk-rockers The Smith Street Band, Melbourne’s Wil Wagner has become something of a flagship for the Poison City Records label. Teasing the crowd with tracks from the still unreleased new Smith Street Band album, Wagner played songs new and old, captivating the crowd who hung on to every word and every chord of his high energy set. The enormity of The Smith Street Band may have exceeded the scope of The Weekender, yet the inclusion of a scaled back version reassured fans that there will always be a place for Wagner on the festival. With another year of The Weekender wrapped up, the scope and scale of Poison City Records is as large and inclusive as ever. The celebration of Australia’s alternative and punk rock scene, with the welcome addition of international headliners, is a symbol of the strength, pride, teamwork and musical quality of Australian independent music. In an era of low album sales and the ever-increasing dominance of commercial musical avenues, it’s always reassuring to know that an event like this can happen every year. Extra special thanks go out to Andy and Aaron from Poison City Records; without you none of this could have happened.
BY JOE HANSEN
Photos by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: Community.
Hated: Monday morning.
Drank: All the beers.
