Filth Fest @ The Annandale 10/10/09
October 25th 2009 03:57
Filth Fest is the all day festival at The Annandale highlighting some of the new, unsigned talent around Sydney (including a couple of Melbourne bands) headlined by Calling All Cars and After The Fall.
As you know, I’m a huge fan of the Annandale. For me, it epitomizes a true rock venue. It’s a pub, it’s dark, it’s dirty and reeks of sweat and machismo of thousands of rock bands who have performed on the Annandale stage. It’s what rock music is all about.
Indigo Rising had the honors to kick the day off. The vocalist almost missed the gig but thankfully he made it because these guys were really good. They rocked the stage, had great presence and played really tight and were solid for their short set.
Chicks Who Love Guns had a real Death In Vegas sound mixed with more of the Cure’s “happier” songs. Playing the smaller second stage, the band enticed quite a few of the early punters in to see what they were all about.
One Flew East, who are about to release their debut EP ‘Panic Notes’, played a solid set. Playing their brand of funk rock with a touch of electronica and whole heap of soul. Clearly a band who know their craft, expect to see more these guys play around the traps in the coming year.
Alphabet Cities displayed that Aussie pub rock sound that has developed over the last 15 years. Reminding me instantly of You Am I, the three piece have some good rock songs but I feel an addition of a bassist would round out their sound more.
Joystick play what I would describe as a modern new wave. Now I;m not sure if new wave was great the first time around, and still have my doubts now. But I have to give credit to Tom for sharing a nightmare cab ride with us later on in the night. (I swear to god there are no decent cabbies anymore. How hard is it to follow directions, not speed and wear a seatbelt?)
Shaman Son played an enjoyable set to a sadly small crowd on the smaller stage. Sounding somewhere between Soundgarden and old Silverchair, they played a grungy sounding set with some really good songs.
The Ivys had an expansive sound similar to The Music. Flowing guitars and soaring vocals they put on a good set complete with a Cure cover. The band have an EP out soon, worthwhile checking out if you can a chance.
Kids At Rest played fun, lively pop rock on the main stage. I really enjoyed their set. A subtle change to full on rock in the hours before. The guys having played a handful of gigs really have their act together and I look forward to hearing more from them in the coming year.
The Vignettes will clearly garner comparisons to the White Stripes. A two piece with a female drummer who have a large, dirty rock sound. The band are clearly comfortable on stage and really were the best band on the smaller stage in my opinion. Check out their myspace page (along with the rest of these bands) and their EP “Violence Solves Everything’ .
The Salvages played a really good set that had elements of punk, screamo and guitar driven rock. Sounding a little like Taking Back Sunday, the guys filled the room by the end of their set.
After The Fall are starting to become one of my fave live bands. On the back of their new record ‘In[exile]’ the band ripped through classics like ‘Concrete Boots’ and ‘Mirror Mirror’ plus new tracks ‘Born’, ‘Digital Age’ and ‘Break Me’. The boys seem to be loving their work at the moment. Their enjoying the music and being on the road which this time round is a 2 month stint with co headliners Calling All Cars. I urge reader to check them out over the summer.
Calling All Cars displayed great energy and obviously loved being the headliners of this event. They played their hearts out but unfortunately the crowd was spent by this time and they ended up playing to half a room. But the sound was great and they sounded a lot like After The Fall. They did well and ended the day nicely for me.
Obviously I didn’t get to see all 16 bands but I was throughly impressed by the talent on stage. There’s alot great new bands coming through. It feels alot to me like we’re heading into a real golden age of Australian rock music and it’s an exciting time to go out and check new bands and seeing as much live gigs as possible. With Sydney City council closing down some venues, the punters need to go out and support your scene. The bands and the venues.
As you know, I’m a huge fan of the Annandale. For me, it epitomizes a true rock venue. It’s a pub, it’s dark, it’s dirty and reeks of sweat and machismo of thousands of rock bands who have performed on the Annandale stage. It’s what rock music is all about.
Indigo Rising had the honors to kick the day off. The vocalist almost missed the gig but thankfully he made it because these guys were really good. They rocked the stage, had great presence and played really tight and were solid for their short set.
Chicks Who Love Guns had a real Death In Vegas sound mixed with more of the Cure’s “happier” songs. Playing the smaller second stage, the band enticed quite a few of the early punters in to see what they were all about.
One Flew East, who are about to release their debut EP ‘Panic Notes’, played a solid set. Playing their brand of funk rock with a touch of electronica and whole heap of soul. Clearly a band who know their craft, expect to see more these guys play around the traps in the coming year.
Alphabet Cities displayed that Aussie pub rock sound that has developed over the last 15 years. Reminding me instantly of You Am I, the three piece have some good rock songs but I feel an addition of a bassist would round out their sound more.
Joystick play what I would describe as a modern new wave. Now I;m not sure if new wave was great the first time around, and still have my doubts now. But I have to give credit to Tom for sharing a nightmare cab ride with us later on in the night. (I swear to god there are no decent cabbies anymore. How hard is it to follow directions, not speed and wear a seatbelt?)
Shaman Son played an enjoyable set to a sadly small crowd on the smaller stage. Sounding somewhere between Soundgarden and old Silverchair, they played a grungy sounding set with some really good songs.
The Ivys had an expansive sound similar to The Music. Flowing guitars and soaring vocals they put on a good set complete with a Cure cover. The band have an EP out soon, worthwhile checking out if you can a chance.
Kids At Rest played fun, lively pop rock on the main stage. I really enjoyed their set. A subtle change to full on rock in the hours before. The guys having played a handful of gigs really have their act together and I look forward to hearing more from them in the coming year.
The Vignettes will clearly garner comparisons to the White Stripes. A two piece with a female drummer who have a large, dirty rock sound. The band are clearly comfortable on stage and really were the best band on the smaller stage in my opinion. Check out their myspace page (along with the rest of these bands) and their EP “Violence Solves Everything’ .
The Salvages played a really good set that had elements of punk, screamo and guitar driven rock. Sounding a little like Taking Back Sunday, the guys filled the room by the end of their set.
After The Fall are starting to become one of my fave live bands. On the back of their new record ‘In[exile]’ the band ripped through classics like ‘Concrete Boots’ and ‘Mirror Mirror’ plus new tracks ‘Born’, ‘Digital Age’ and ‘Break Me’. The boys seem to be loving their work at the moment. Their enjoying the music and being on the road which this time round is a 2 month stint with co headliners Calling All Cars. I urge reader to check them out over the summer.
Calling All Cars displayed great energy and obviously loved being the headliners of this event. They played their hearts out but unfortunately the crowd was spent by this time and they ended up playing to half a room. But the sound was great and they sounded a lot like After The Fall. They did well and ended the day nicely for me.
Obviously I didn’t get to see all 16 bands but I was throughly impressed by the talent on stage. There’s alot great new bands coming through. It feels alot to me like we’re heading into a real golden age of Australian rock music and it’s an exciting time to go out and check new bands and seeing as much live gigs as possible. With Sydney City council closing down some venues, the punters need to go out and support your scene. The bands and the venues.
After The Fall
| 65 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog