Gloria Brancatisano (Music Editor)
Stella Donnelly
After night one of Bigsound, the only name on people’s lips was Stella Donnelly, and rightly so – she is absolutely incredible. With just an electric guitar, her voice and a stack of impressively written and incredibly honest songs, she had the room in the palm of her hands. Donnelly had the crowd in fits of laughter with songs about awful tinder dates and hospo work – as well as stand-up routine worthy banter – but it was the pin-drop silence during the heartbreaking Boys Will Be Boys that showed how truly captivating she is. The hype was so real punters were left trying to catch a glimpse from the street by pressing themselves against the venue’s windows.
Impressive range, captivating presence and an endearing personality, Stella Donnelly well and truly deserves all the praise she has coming her way.
Press Club
With only one official single, Press Club have spent most of their short time as a band thrashing their way through venues in Melbourne. And it shows. The four-piece are a live powerhouse, and vocalist Natalie Foster is hard to ignore. She took every opportunity to get in the faces of punters in the front row, even throwing down the only crowd surf I saw all Bigsound. Her powerful vocals were backed by the rest of the band who were equally as impressive (though more subdued). It was a sweaty affair but it was well worth it.
Alexander Biggs
This was our first chance to catch Biggsy with his new band, and we were really glad we did. Adding a trio of musicians to his one-man, acoustic show was clearly a good move, but this was still the Alexander Biggs show (it was Biggsound after all) and as his dreamy voice floated around the room, he had the humble crowd giddy and content. We also can’t go past the between-song banter. Maybe it was prepared, maybe it was off the cuff, either way it worked.
Miss Blanks
As confronting as she is commanding, Miss Blanks completely owned the stage. Her lyrics are outrageous yet refreshing, using themes of sex and sexuality to promote diversity and change. Her shout out inviting all the women and non-binary punters to the front ‘because your place isn’t at the back’ was the start of a powerful, in-your-face performance. Blanks really hit her stride when she was joined onstage by a posse of female rappers, highlighting that she might benefit from having some extra energy to feed off. The backing track was a bit overpowering, but once she ditches some of it she’ll really hit her stride.
POW! Negro
Soul. Hip hop. Jazz. Rock. You name it, Pow! Negro have it. The guitarists shred, the sax player is an absolute legend, the drummer has some of the best pipes you’ll hear and that’s all before we even mention frontman Nelson Mondlane, whose bursts of energy and aggression tie it all together. Want to groove, party and mosh? Look no further.
Billy Davis & The Good Lords
It’s hard to describe Billy Davis & The Good Lords to those unfamiliar. Luckily for us, there wont be too many unfamiliar for much longer. The brilliance of this multi-talented group is ridiculous. Led by the incredibly talented Billy Davis, the septet (probably modest in size this time around) made sure not a single person was standing still. It was glorious to watch as each new audience member was sucked into their vortex – it was contagious and unescapable. From the powerhouse trio of vocalists, to Davis’ wonder on the keys, and the funk-grooves laid down by the rest of the band – hips were definitely shaking.
Belle Haven
There were a stack of incredible ‘heavier’ bands on this year’s Bigsound – thus is the promise of our current scene – but I couldn’t go past local boys Belle Haven. With a stellar second album under their belts, it’s their live show that you really need to see. Exploding with energy (holy jumping beans!) and emotion (holy vocal harmonies!), they put on one helluva show. Props for getting to use a double LCD screen!!! Their musicianship was tight, their songs are catchy as hell, and I’d say our heavy scene is in safe hands with bands like this coming through the ranks.
Machine Age
I’m going to state it early – I’ve been a Machine Age fan for quite some time, but finally getting the opportunity to see Adrian Mauro work his musical magic live was more wondrous than even I imagined. Recently adding a drummer to his one-man band setup has allowed Mauro to shine even more – enhancing his sound with something a little extra. While his first single Chivalry is still a fave of mine, at Bigsound we got to hear a lot more of Machine Age’s heavier side. It’s safe to say everyone liked what they heard.
Cub Sport
I feel like the Queensland band have well surpassed the ‘up and comer buzz band’ status Bigsound affords. And by the sounds of the tracks we got to hear (like the breathtaking O Lord and the groovin’ Hawaiian Party) BATS is only going to push Cub Sport into the stratosphere. Absolutely flawless.
Adam Norris (writer)
Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird
A rose by any other name, etc, etc, but there’s no denying the Melbourne locals have a pretty swell name there. Certainly, it was enough to catch the interest of many folk I spoke with across the festival, and their performances didn’t disappoint. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re rocking two keyboards and a keytar, and appropriated a humble tambourine as a fashionable choker. Full of catchy hooks and the suspicion they may have listened to a lot of Boy & Bear in their past, their set is a blast of astral pool party fun even if, taken as a whole, some of their songs are a little indistinguishable from others.
The Teskey Brothers
I admit I’d never heard of this rousing act before, which is inexcusable given just how goddamn impressive they are, yet forgivable given how many people were bewildered they’d never encountered the band before despite ten years of life. The six-piece are a hard blend to classify. It’s like stumbling upon some middle-America roadhouse where Otis Redding and Sam Cooke managed to Cronenberg with The Doors and … I don’t know, I felt like I was getting a taste of Van Morrison at times as well. Frontman Josh Teskey managed to somehow step on my leg while we were both upright, but with a voice like that I didn’t mind at all. Plus, they have the most vibrant trumpeter this side of … Umm … Trumpetown. Yeah, Trumpetown.
