Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats kick-started our wild weekend with smokin’ lead guitar and a high-energy performance that featured unexpected and deeply satisfying bursts of chaotic guitar action delivered by a shape-throwing axe man sporting expertly slicked hair.
Dan Sultan,who was greeted by a wave of enthusiastic cheers, raised a triumphant fist, introduced his band and proceeded to pump out a set of molten soul rock that whipped the audience into a fever. After delivering a particularly velvet-clad vocal performance, Sultan was rewarded with a large and surprisingly aerodynamic bra which was thrown on stage by an overheated and appreciative punter.
The storytelling skills, comedic delivery and relaxed humour of Charles Jenkins beautifully complemented his hook-laden melodies. With lyrics that covered everything from the Melbourne Eye, and a history of Brisbane, to the dying words of Shelley Winters, Jenkins’ songs were both entertaining and spellbinding.
The honey-voiced Marlon Williams displayed impressive vocal prowess as he enchanted his way through an eclectic acoustic set. There was a haunting and aching beauty to stark numbers such as The State Hospital.
The expansive sound of Dyson Stringer Cloher conjured images of big skies and open-roads. One of the many highlights of their sparkling set was the quietly intense Save Me From What I Want, which featured beautiful three-part vocal harmonies and a liquid guitar solo that positively shimmered.
As always, Stonefield was a thundering force to be reckoned with. It must be deeply frightening to have to follow this life-affirming proto-metal juggernaut. The rhythm section pulverised my internal organs (which has to be a good thing) and the band’s shuddering cover of Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love activated one of those ‘goose-bump moments’ every music lover seeks but rarely finds.
Tijuana Cartel proved to be a tight and rhythmic tour-de-force that got the audience moving with a genre-bustin’ mix of the electronic and the organic that was not only clever but a hell of a lot of fun.
The Bombay Royale’s wild and trippin’ combo of Bollywood soundtrack music and ‘60s and ‘70s-tinged lounge psych was so damn ecstatic and zesty it was impossible to resist. The band kindly taught the audience how to do a spot of Bollywood dancing and even encouraged an outbreak of mass “shimmying” and the very important “shakin’ of booty.” There seemed to be hundreds of masked and costumed vibe masters on stage (but I suspect the band had transported me into a hypnotic and hallucinatory vortex).
Xavier Rudd, who attracted one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, displayed a striking ability to connect with the audience while pumping out some very addictive and funky rhythms. Highlights of his storming set included the buoyant Let Me Be and a smooth reggae reinterpretation of Cindy Lauper’s Time After Time. Rudd’s uplifting and feel-good performance was the ideal way to bring another fabulous Queenscliff Music Festival to a fitting close. Roll on 2015.
BY GRAHAM BLACKLEY
Photo by Tony Proudfoot
Loved: The eclectic mix of artists.
Hated: That the festival had to end.
Drank: Dogbolter Dark Lager and Mussel Stout.
