Broken beats, barbequed beef and a brilliant vibe all culminated in making BBQ Breaks the successful and well rounded event of New Year’s Day 2007 for Brisbane.

After a slight mix up with venue I found myself at Brisbane Riverstage early in the day with a group of about seven other lost souls searching for the event. Wandering through the deserted field filled with anticipation proved a very taxing experience. A quick phone call remedied the situation and I was then on my way to the correct venue, Riverside.

Approaching the Riverside complex from the deserted city streets was an exercise in excitement. The only sound to be heard was of the beats and the crowd as it reverberated throughout the buildings. The whole scene was reminiscent of an imagined post-apocalyptic future in which the only survivors were having an absolute blast!

When I reached the venue, the party was in full swing. An eclectic crowd somewhat overpopulated the complex,but managed to spread evenly throughout all four rooms. The afternoon exception was of course Freq Nasty, who had the indoors riverside room absolutely jam packed with revelers from 3:30pm – 5:00pm. The air-conditioning at the back of the room proved to be as popular as Freq himself as all the dancing bodies caused the temperatures to rise. Unfortunately this coincided with that all too familiar smell of sweat and beer.

Efficient and friendly bar staff made my first beer of the year just that bit sweeter. However due to the rather pricey meals available, that beer sat in an empty stomach. On the topic of empty stomachs, my girlfriend lost her fight against some bad prawns she consumed earlier in the day [at another venue] during Freq Nasty’s set. Racing her down to the Gold Coast and then back again, this time solo, to Riverside ate up valuable festival time. Unfortunately this caused me to miss many of the day’s acts which I had anticpated in seeing. Luckily I made it back in time to catch Ugly Duckling’s set in its entirity.

Despite constant sound issues throughout two of the stages, Ugly Duckling’s performance was a stark contrast to their outdoor wind blown appearance at last year’s Parklife. Being a fan from way back, I still found myself impressed with their tight rhymes, often intellectual content and light hearted humorous nature.

The only stand out recommendation for next year’s event would be to increase the venue limits to incorporate the downstairs area outside. The tables and chairs in this area would provide ample room to get some head space as well as allow for a more comfortable dispersion of the crowd.

Overall the vibe of the day was a lot less messy and a lot more up for it than one would expect the day after New Year’s Eve.

With plenty of top quality and diverse beats on offer and a selection of barbequed food, BBQ Breaks proved to be an excellent way to spend an otherwise uneventful day.