The Trackside music festival at Canberra’s Thoroughbred Park was just as racy as the name suggests. Several thousand lucky punters gathered on the grounds of the Canberra Racecourse to witness the birth of a new inaugural festival. For the first time ever, it was not about the horses, the ladies or even the fashions on the field; it was all horse-play baby… indulging in the music and the chance to get down and dirty – literally! After twelve hours of madness I was drenched in sweat, my feet were dirty and my makeup looked worse for wear. The three vital signs of a damn good festival!

The sun was shining and the heat was turned up, with the temperature reaching a sizzling 32 degrees on the day. Needless to say, Trackside festival was red hot! Not just because the sun scorched the pale skin of the Canberran punters: but because it was a showcase of Australia’s hottest indie, rock, electro, nu-folk and hip-hop talent. Featuring the legendary Hilltop Hoods as the headlining act, and a jam-packed collection of other home grown heroes including The Butterfly Effect, Gotye, Clare Bowditch, The Cops, Kisschasy, Behind Crimson Eyes, Something With Numbers, Young & Restless, Koolism, Custom Kings, Dardanelles, Horsell Common, Soft Tigers, Damn Arms, The Basics and DJ Danielsan. Not to mention Canberra’s own lineup of local legends including Los Capitanes, Hancock Basement, Mikah Freeman, Jordie Kilby, Milkbar Nick and Roshambo.

Canberra’s Thoroughbred Park was the perfect venue for this kind of event, boasting a grassy outdoor area in the sun, as well as a large indoor stage – ensuring plenty of room for us party people to run riot. And if you wanted to do that, there were several rides like The Claw and Slingshot to go nuts on; as well as a wrestling arena with mucho-macho talent getting thrown at you! Lining the outside areas were market stalls, with all types of food, merchandise, clothing and accessories. So if you needed a break from the music, there were plenty of things to keep you entertained. My only real complaint about the venue was one, the lack of bar facilities, resulting in a very long wait for a drink; two, the limited choice in beverages; and three, lack of shaded area when lining up for a drink. I think that even my feet got sunburnt whilst waiting for over 50 minutes in the line. Having said that, there were some lovely people at the Red Cross tent who had plenty of sunscreen, and water, (and lollipops!), to go round – phew! Perhaps next year water filling stations could be provided as the heat was a bit of a killer!

I arrived around 1:30pm, eager to get on board the Trackside party bus and ride it into the wee hours of the morning. And this is how it rolled…

The first act I saw was Melbourne indie-dance group, Damn Arms. They played a great set to the keen punters who were gathered round, drinking, dancing and basking in the hot sun. My apologies go out to Los Capitanes, Hancock Basement and The Basics, whose sets I missed due to my awfully slow process of getting ready. (Putting a ‘face’ can be a nightmare sometimes.) Following on from Damn Arms were ex-Canberra outfit, Soft Tigers, who offered a mix of warm, fuzzy, rock and dance sounds. The boys were dressed for the occasion, with the lead singer donning kimono like attire, no shoes; and another band member wearing a weird and wild headdress. They played an enjoyable set; finishing it off with a delicious mix up of two of their hits, Karate and Mr Ice Cream. This got the people moving about, leaving them with a sweet and creamy aftertaste.

Next up were Melbourne four piece, Dardanelles, who cranked it up for the crowd. There was something dark and sexy about their set; they balanced pop melodies with disarray and punched rhythms that were designed for the dance floor. Playing their hit track Footsteps, which in turn, attracted a stampede of footsteps towards the stage ready to rock out.

Moving along to folk and hip-hop outfit, Custom Kings. Having not seen them before, I was keen to check out what their live set would be like. I must say, I really enjoyed their performance; it was a tight set and featured quality vocals. The six piece held the crowd, who took pleasure in all that was played. Watching these guys was the perfect way to relax in the afternoon sun; whether you were sitting on the grass, or swaying along to the sounds. All in all, a great set, with of course, the inclusion of the boppy, fun-loving track Up Late. They kept a smile on my face from start to finish.

The afternoon was coming to an end as dark storm clouds came over head and a light shower of rain cooled our sunburnt skin. And with that rain brought something even more wet and exciting… (no, get your mind out of the gutter); it was the sounds of hip-hp duo, Koolism, who scratched it, funked it and made some noi-oise! The boys (that’d be MC Hau and DJ Danielsan) knew how to do kick it to the Canberra crowd, making them go crazy. They opened up the set with a scratched up version one of the most famous orchestral works of all time (whose name escapes me!!). They played to the punters, involving them with shout outs, call and response and by rapping about Canberra and its many wonders… hahaha! Koolism really do live up to their name. I thought they were rad! Well done for getting so many people up and raring to go. And as promised I will mention that Tom, (you know who you are), was dancing to Koolism like a shit hot, hip-hop star.

At around 5:30pm the large indoor stage and another side stage had opened up to get in on the action. Now faced with the choice of who to go and see, I decided I would listen to the sweet sounds of songstress Clare Bowditch and her talented Feeding Set. Despite a few technical difficulties, Clare went on to play a lovely set, as one would expect. Her vocals were so natural and she gave such a relaxed stage presence. One of the punters described her as “such a pretty girl”. I tend to agree.

As it started to get dark I knew what it was time for…no other than the gorgeous Gotye, who was playing at the large indoor stage area. Punters were piling in and the area was totally packed; every lady (and man) was wide eyed and goo-goo ga-ga for this sweet sensation. He no doubt, put on a spectacular performance; even without the aid of his visual show. Opening with The Only Way, I was immediately taken in by his amazing vocals and stage presence. His accompanying band also added to the ambience. Other tunes included the stunning Heart’s A Mess and the big finish was Learnalilgivinanlovin, which rocked the place.

Next on the agenda were Kisschasy, who I heard were fantastic (my friend Shelly was all smiles when asked about them). I, at this particular point in time, was in the mood for something raw and energetic, so I headed back outside to get my fix from Canberran (well now Melbournian) Young & Restless. Having not seen these guys for a while, I had forgotten how absolutely mad, wild and insane this group were. Lead singer, Karina, although small and sleek, used her voice (might I say it was a screaming sensation) to blow the minds of the fans who jumped up and down like maniacs. They were strong, defiant and loud! The group had a powerful stage presence and strong rhythm section. I was totally blaring the lyrics to Police Police! What a tune.

My next choice was a bit of a hard one, do I see The Butterfly Effect or The Cops? Now, I must say I have a soft spot for The Cops; especially after seeing them play earlier this year, so it was not a hard choice for me to practically handcuff myself to the front of the stage, awaiting their show. Yes, I will admit that I was one of those sad, stalker-like fan… I even went up and talked to them after the show (see what happens when you have a few drinks?!) Anyhow, as I anticipated, The Cops put on a racy, energetic show; resulting with masses of sweat dripping off me (pretty!) They interestingly opened up with one of their slower tracks, Get This Girl, then ripped it up, belting out tunes off both albums like Respectagon, Hot Weapon, Call Me Anytime and then closing the show with The Message. Overall, it was an infectious set of indie and dance sounds delivered in uber-fun fashion and I Ioved every second of it. I found out a little bit of news, The Cops are currently working on a new album due for release early next year! Yay.

Meanwhile… Brisbane boys, The Butterfly Effect, were apparently “tight as usual, playing a few tracks from the old album, Always was a crowd favourite.” According to Stu, one of my trusted sources. It’s a shame I didn’t get to see them. Other events included the Podwarz challenge featuring Milkbar Nick and Roshambo. I heard that they pulled out a gob smacking selection of random tracks that had people laughing in stitches – sounded like fun.

At around 10:00pm it was now time for the finale! Put your hands up in the air, for the Hilltop Hoods, oh yeah! The mighty threesome, Pressure MC, Suffa MC and DJ Debris certainly knew how to get the crowd off. Sweat dripped off the punters as they sang along, jumped around and cheered. I will admit, coming from someone who doesn’t often listen to hip-hop music; I was absolutely going off to the Hoods. They pulled out some corker hits like What A Great Night, The Hard Road, Clown Prince and one of my personal pics, Nosebleed Section. The boys from Adelaide played to the crowd with enthusiasm and style; entertaining the punters by working it on the stage using call and response, political cracks and even a take off of Rehab by Amy Winehouse. The accompaniment of a string section and a bright light show added even more class to the performance. These guys totally nailed it for me; playing an impressive set! They had the crowd eating out of their hands – well done.

Well, it had reached the end of what was an awesome day. I was very pleased with the overall organisation and running of the Trackside festival. A big congrats to the team who put in the hard to work to get it off and racing. The crowd were well-behaved, there was plenty of room and lots to see and do. As noted earlier on, the drink line was probably the only negative… But that can be fixed for next time round. By the end I was (still) hot, sweaty, sunburnt, tired and dirty; but it was well worth it. Top work Trackside see you next year!