Dance Music Review, by Nardo



By anyone’s standards Livid is an institution in the Queensland festival scene. So when the opportunity arose to review Livid for inthemix and to attend the festival for the first time, it was an opportunity I jumped at.



Arriving at about 2pm, I wandered through the crowd up to the Annex, which was suitably darkened and filling with more people seemingly by the minute. On stage were people I gathered to be the Hazard Brothers and they were pumping out some funky, chunky, tribal sorta stuff that was keeping the growing crowd more than satisfied.



Of note at this stage was the old cricket footage appearing on the screen below the decks (strange!) and a large sign that prominently displayed a warning against crowd surfing and moshing. It was quite a unusual thing to read in a pavilion that was apparently dedicated to music of the mostly electronic/dance genre.



With ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ being mixed in at this stage the warning seemed a little more relevant (as I had seen this at BDO when the same track was played), but of course it just added to the excitement growing within the crowd.

As 2:30 arrived (‘Where’s Your Head At?’ appearing once again) and the Hazard Brothers left the stage, the crowd was absolutely pumped. If everyone else was feeling like I was, the rest of the day and night was something to really look forward to.



My mood however seemed to worsen with every minute that the next act, Pony Loaf were on stage. At first it was the flurry of head banging that nagged at my enjoyment, but then their droaning electronica annoyed me even more. When one of the yobbish group made wanking gestures at the crowd, it was a statement that was echoed through their music. Their name, their lumbering sound, their stage hi-jinx and their weird logo thing that was on the stage screens, had me believing these guys must have been taking the piss (think a modern version of Spinal Tap). Rather than wait and hope for improvement, I and many others decided to explore other options.



Getting to the main stage I caught the end of Motor Ace and soaked up the relaxed Livid vibe. After a few beers and some regrouping, I moved back to the Annex to catch some of 2 Dogs. This time around the room was filled with fat, funky beats and the occasional bit of scratching, which intensified as their set came to a close. Slipping in some drum and bass at the end was a nice touch and from what I heard, their reputation as a Brisbane favourite was well deserved.



After a brief silence Gerling took to the stage, with a sound reminiscent of 80s stadium rock. The crowd swelled as Gerling played, but I decided another trip to the bar was in order – and I hoped that some of Gerling’s electronica would greet me on my return. Perhaps I got back too late, but Gerling appeared to be in full rock mode when I resurfaced. My hopes were raised before the very last track, when the lead singer gave the crowd the option “rock and roll, or house?”. He judged the winner though the crowd reaction to each option, but house music was not the victor, despite a good representation by the dance music massive….bugger.



Katalyst followed up with some more beats that got the crowd back into dancing mode. They added another dose of scratching that the Brisbane crowd lapped up (Brisbane punters just lurrrve scratching), but not wanting to spend too much time in the one room, I went to see some other things.



One thing I saw of note was Wil Anderson, dressed in the obligatory superstar thongs. Not afraid to chat with a few gurners outside the Annex, he handled subtle jibing from some of my cohorts with grace. Respect! Over the next hour or so I sat about, relaxed and half-listened to Anderson’s stand-up comedy in an area nearby. Although friends who had seen him live before explained that most of the jokes were all too familiar, the combination of chilled drinks and chilled people made it a great part of the day.



When I returned to the Annex once again, I was greeted by some old school funk emanating from the decks controlled by Dynamo Productions. However they really mixed it up as they seamlessly went though such varied tracks as that late 60s/early 70s song ‘Dance to the Music’, Cypress Hill’s ‘Insane in the Brain’ and then Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Crosstown Traffic’. It was an unusual combination that worked surprisingly well.



Heading back to the main stage I settled in for Oasis’s Brisbane redemption appearance. Redemption was indeed achieved as Oasis delivered hit after hit in true rock star fashion. One of my personal favourites, ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ was a highlight of the day for me and I, like many others were impressed by their performance.



As I headed back to the Annex I caught the very end of Nightmares on Wax and after quite a lengthy handover, the start of U.n.k.l.e. The crowd at this stage was pretty modest in size and the music continued into a mix of breaks and house. The gaps between some of the tracks slowed the momentum down a bit and many in the crowd seemed to find it hard to get into a groove. However I paid little attention and used the time to relax in the relative warmth indoors.



With much anticipation I waited for The Streets to take their turn and hoped for an impressive closing, to what had otherwise been a rather patchy day as far as music was concerned. By the time The Streets started at 10:20pm the crowd had swelled and I was hoping for a performance at least close to equal that of Mike Skinner’s album, Original Pirate Material. The wrap I had heard about thier performance at the UK’s Reading festival probably heightened my expectations.



Covering most of the album, familiar tracks like ‘Has It Come to This?’ got a solid reaction, but the persistently poor sound in the room became quite annoying. The echo that had been present all day now highlighted the difference in quality as far as The Streets album goes, compared to the live performance. As ‘Weak Become Heroes’ sounded out at the end, I was left pretty disappointed. The track as it appears on the album may display lyrical genius and will remain a favourite of mine, but in that particular room it was nothing spectacular.



From a musical perspective it was a pretty ordinary close, but with Livid it probably wasn’t the music that was most important. My day was spent in good company, with cold drinks and some real quality tunes at times, so I left feeling pretty satisfied. As a person who listens mainly to dance music I may have been hard to please, but Livid offers a good day out for just about anyone, no matter what their tastes – you just needed to sample a bit of everything on offer.



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Band Review, By Jay P



First band off the rank after we commenced our 2002 Livid adventure were Brisbane boys Speedstar in the Big Top. These guys have been getting a bit of airplay on Triple J of late and seem to be slowly gaining a strong reputation. Their brand of soundscape-ish melody driven rock reminded me of a cross between Coldplay and The Doves (both of which are bands I love) so I found their set thoroughly enjoyable. Big thumbs up for another great Brisbane band set for bigger and better things!



Next up in the Big Top was Seafood, the boys from the UK who have recently signed to a Brisbane based management group (the same group who look after Powderfinger). These guys (and girl) have had a lot of hype about them of late and have had a big push from the J’s in particular. I must say I was a little disappointed with their set, not quite living up to the expectation that had been thrown upon them. However, many in the big crowd who had come to see them seemed to be lapping it up. Big props though to the gorgeous

female drummer belting away at the skins, certainly something you don’t see in many bands these days.



Over to the main stage for our first foray into the masses, and the masses were certainly what confronted us as we walked down the pathway to the main stadium which was a sea of people, but fortunately not uncomfortable. MotorAce had just kicked into their set and what a fine set it was. Plenty of familiar tunes here from their latest album ‘Shoot This’ which had the crowd singing and swaggering along to their rock-pop style, which has a very Oasis’ish sound to many of their tracks. Great set from a great band who are definitely on top at the moment.



Machine Gun Fellatio are a band I just can’t get enough. This was the fourth time I had seen them in the past 12 months and they are just as entertaining on each revisit of their tight sets and wild antics on stage. The variety in their sounds ensure you never get bored aurally, playing everything from dance infused stuff right through to crankin glam rock, through to swing inspired numbers like ‘Mother Fucker on A Motorcycle’ which is delivered like you’re at some cabaret show with all the class of a dodgy strip club.



Their stage presence is insane, all dressed up to the hilt in everything from a twisted version of Frank’n’Furter, to Jesus, to cabaret girls, to other outfits that I just couldn’t describe in words. One of the girls even came out dressed in a bikini style number which must have had plate steel for the crutch as she proceeded to slam an angle grinder between her legs and throw sparks completely across the stage. This is one seriously f*cked up band, but in the best possibly fashion. If you haven’t seen these guys live before make sure you get to one of their shows somewhere soon – it’s a rollercoaster ride of fun that can’t be denied. So when are they coming back again to Brisbane?



After settling ourselves down from MGF, we journeyed back across to the main stage for the Grinspoon onslaught. The ex-Lismore boys who are now very much world players with their trademark heavy bass driven rock are a polished act, and lead man Phil Jamieson is every bit the rock’n’roll star that you need heading a band with attitude. A lively energetic set that finished with a brilliant rendition of INXS’s ‘Don’t Change’. Nice touch boys.



Being a massive Oasis fan, we positioned ourselves front and centre of the Oasis stage (where Grinspoon had just finished), and sat on the grass listening to the sublime sounds of Mercury Rev on the adjoining main stage as the sun went down and the night engulfed us. We couldn’t have planned it any better, with the backdrop sounds of Mercury Rev the perfect soundscape for the sunset and the growing anticipation of the Gallagher boys hitting the stage soon after. Big thumbs up for Mercury Rev, who are a must for the CD collection now after a polished performance of some beautiful music. Its no wonder Mercury Rev tracks keep popping up on ‘Back to Mine’ CD’s and various other chill out compilations.



The Oasis boys swaggered onto stage to their fine instrumental track ‘Fucking in the Bushes’. Liam arrived at the mic with his trademark ‘hands behind the back, knees bent, head pointed at the microphone’ stance. Noel stood to one side, more towards the back of the stage, guitar in hand, cranking the chords. Ripping into ‘Whats the Story Morning Glory’ the crowd was chanting along with all the gusto you’d expect from tens of thousands watching one of the biggest bands in the world belt out one of their much loved tunes.



Their set was polished, delivering that ‘wall of sound’ guitar rumble they have with the strong presence of Noel’s chords and melody and great use of the keyboard/piano on many tracks. The set consisted of around half older classics, and half tracks from the new album. They definitely exceeded my expectations, and Liam (luckily) delivered the goods, his voice never faltering and his attitude on stage as brattish as you would expect.



When he wasn’t singing he would simply walk to the front of the stage and stand there and stare out at the crowd, not moving an inch. When Liam had no role to play (ie. For Noel’s songs) he’d simply leave the stage, returning when he was needed again. There was no crowd interaction from Liam, not a word spoken between tracks, and only the occasional short sentence from Noel. But it didn’t matter, they came, they delivered, and most of all they ROCKED, which is what Oasis are all about.



Gathering myself together after the Oasis experience, I headed to the Annex to catch UNKLE and The Streets, which have been covered earlier by Nardo. Most of my group stayed for Powderfinger’s closing set on the main stage, which they could not speak highly enough about. All of these guys have seen Powderfinger many times before and proclaimed they were as good, if not better than ever after their long break, and even through a few new tracks in which went down well.



All in all Livid 2002 was fantastic – it was the return of the band for me this year, with most of my time spent away from The Annex but none the less enjoyable for it. Long live diversity in music! If you are heading to the Melbourne or Sydney Livids, be sure to explore a little and expose yourselves to some other experiences outside of dance music, you may be pleasantly surprised!