I’m back in Sydney and jumping back into the live music scene with the Essential Festival that was held on ANZAC Day at the Gaelic Club this weekend.
Embarrassingly I’m not a huge fan of Aussie homegrown music, with most of my obsessions targeted towards international acts. I was only keen to cover this gig because of Ratatat, who are an amazing band from New York, but was pleasantly surprised and blown away by the quality of the Aussie bands preceding them.
Despite not having many punters around due to their early set time, the Paper Scissors were full of energy and fun catchy pop songs.
Grafton Primary were also great danceable fun but Bluejuice absolutely stole the show with raw energy and amazing onstage presence. Bluejuice, you have a new fan – I LOVE YOU GUYS.
Ratatat were also great, but to my annoyance their lighting show consisted of killing the stage lights and playing some random projector display in the background. I didn’t have a flash on me so after a few minutes of trying to get a decent shot, I realised there was no point and closed my eyes and enjoyed the music instead.
The headliners were Regurgitator but I didn’t stick around long for them – they’ve got some ace songs up their sleeves but I’ve never been a fan of their onstage act and the surprisingly rough crowd they attract.
All in all, Essential Festival was a good night of great Aussie acts. And if you haven’t checked out Bluejuice live yet, do yourself a favour and buy yourself a ticket. They’re incredible!
To check out more photos from the Essential Festival click here.
kml photography 