Official Sugar Mountain promo material labeled the event a “Summit of Music and Art.” Although this pun carries a touch of ostentation, the question was whether Sugar Mountain would provide something a little different to what we’re used to from loud, boozy days in the sun. To begin with, for a medium-scale festival (old habits, eh), the lineup was mighty diverse. Granted, it catered to folks who’re hip to the curve, but any worries about the prevalence of pomp were dispelled once the live music kicked off.
Early on, we got the reliably tantalising psych of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, foppish Scandinavian irony-core from Iceage and a set of lived-in pop from local favourites, Twerps. US experi-R&B guy How To Dress Well has expanded his live setup since his previous Australian visit; today working with a full-band to realise the fleshy vulnerability of last year’s stunning LP What Is This Heart?
As the beating sun became a little easier to handle, Melbourne’s No Zu showed up with more grooves than a hostel bed and enough perky brass interplay to give you tennis elbow. Gaining added power from vocalist Sal P (of New York post-disco legends, Liquid Liquid), there’s no doubt No Zu left the stage with stacks of new fans.
As well as the multi-faceted lineup, the VCA proved to be a unique event site. Other than the intimate theatre stage and a trio of gallery rooms, most of the action went down outdoors. At the end of a street, wedged between multi-story brick buildings, the main stage area had the feel of a block party, which even gained the approval of Nas late in the evening. What’s more, the summit’s art-side wasn’t just an underwhelming peripheral feature, as is often the case. The galleries offered respite from the heat and, once inside, the fluorescent colour splashes by Australia’s Leif Podhajsky and absurdist collages by Japan’s Hisham Bharoocha engaged punters of their own accord.
When 6.00pm rolled around, Ariel Pink arrived to induct us into his realm of weird. Pink is recognised as a curt oddball and outsider-art poster boy, but most significantly, he’s a genius songwriter. This evening he leant heavily on his latest release pom pom, which led to manifold highlights, such as freaky twee-pop number, Plastic Raincoats In The Pig Parade and glam-rock mini-opera, Black Ballerina.
Speaking of outsider-art heroes, Swans basically sit at the top of that mountain. Largely ignoring their latest LP To Be Kind,there’s no telling how many (if any) songs the gang of grey-haired eccentrics played.Nevertheless, Swans gave us a dark and challenging exploration of emotion that occasionally surged to the highest possible volume. And, believe it or not, it was devoid of wank.
Next up was Sydney’s Kirin J Callinan,who’s almost peerless in the area of onstage theatrics. Exclusively developed for Sugar Mountain, tonight’s ‘Terrible Love’ show meant we got a set full of love songs, with help from some juicy guest vocalists. Callinan’s on-stage persona tends to push the boundaries of awkwardness, and tonight he took this the extreme. The first two invited guests, Ariel Pink then Bo Ningen, simply didn’t show up. From here, Callinan looked to his computer screen – projected onto the stage wall – which led to Skype-facilitated duets with Jack Ladder, Seekae’s Alex Cameron, Dev Hynes/Blood Orange and a cover of Don’t Dream It’s Over featuring Neil Finn himself. Awkward silences and connection troubles ensued in what was one of the most ecstatically silly things you’re ever likely to see.
Headliner Nas was here to perform his 1994 masterpiece Illmatic in full. The record’s more than 20 years old, but Nas’ execution was flawless. During Halftime, Nas intoned “Of rap I’m a professional/ And that’s no question, yo.” It didn’t even sound like boasting – rather, it was a simple statement of fact. Following the Illmatic retrospective came a slew of the New Yorker’s subsequent hits, which made it so no one here could possible disagree with the MC’s self-impression.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Photo by Rebecca Houlden
Loved: The live Triple R broadcast, including an interview with Dan Deacon.
Hated: Time clashes.
Drank: Craft beer, then beer beer.
