Stories She Wrote: Ball Park Music

Friday, 20 April 2012

Splendour In The Grass Line-Up

Bloc Party

Banquet - Live At Glastonbury

After all the speculation, leaked plans and waiting, the lineup for Splendour In The Grass has finally been announced. Although some of the acts were no surprise, others revelations were quite unexpected. Jack White, Bloc Party, The Shins and Azealia Banks all let slip in some form of other that they would be visiting Australia 'soon,' however other headliners were kept well and truly secret.

Jack White

Love Interruption

No lineup ever satisfies everyone, last year in particular was criticised and even suffered in sales. However with the recently reunited At The Drive In at the helm, I believe Splendour organisers should be proud of what they've produced this year.

At The Drive In

2012 Coachella

Personally I am already excited to see Jack White, Smashing Pumpkins, Miike Snow, Bloc Party, ATTDI and The Shins to name a few, as I imagine is much of Australia (it's been a while since any of them have graced our shores). It's also pleasing to see the promotion of some of Queensland's newest bands to the lineup like Bleeding Knees Club, Ball Park Music, Emma Louise, DZ Deathrays and more. I have actually seen over 20 of the acts on the bill, which is probably an indication I should stop going to so many gigs, but also makes me even more excited to see some of the acts again. The Kooks at Falls Festival on New Years Eve were absolutely brilliant, thanks to them Naive is the first song I heard in 2012 - they are really so much fun.

Emma Louise

Jungle

This festival spends the more money on acts than any other in Australia and as such continually brings a combination of huge international acts and new talent (see Django Django, Zulu Winter etc). Although this then means that punters must pay a fairly steep price to see their beloved rockstars but I can't imagine it is easy to convince acts to visit a small town in Australia in the middle of Winter without some sort of cash incentive!

Get excited Brisbane (and everyone else)!

Django Django

Default

The Kooks

Junk Of The Heart

Monday, 26 March 2012

Ball Park Music @ The Hi Fi

THE 180° TOUR

BALL PARK MUSIC

NANTES + CUB SCOUTS

Ball Park Music are on a roll. Last year they released their debut album, toured the country twice over, had two entries in Triple J's Hottest 100 and collected the J Award for Best Unearthed Artist. They are currently in the middle of their National headline tour before they join the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, City and Colour, Wavves and The Maccabees for Groovin' The Moo Festival. Their show at the Brisbane Hi Fi had sold out weeks ago and the line outside the building stretched well around the block as people arrived early to hear the support bands.

Local indie darlings, Cub Scouts, delighted the crowd's pop sensibilities with their catchy melodies and quirky lyrics. No topic was too obscure for the pen of lead singer Tim Nelson, who belted out tunes about everything from a disturbing girl in his anatomy class, to his pet dog, Evie.

Cub Scouts

Sydney outfit, Nantes have been turning heads recently, earning critical acclaim for their single, Fly. Their synth heavy rock harkens to an early Strokes sound with moodier influences from the likes of Radiohead and Joy Division. Although it would have been nice if the lead singer's microphone was louder, the band had a cohesive vibe well beyond their tender years together.

Nantes

If Ball Park Music began their musical career as an obscure Triple J Unearthed favourite, this could be nothing further from where they are at now. The group were applauded onto the stage in a midst of flashing lights, giant inflatable fish and friendly comic jostling. The crowd were treated to a musical introduction in the form of Pump It by The Black Eyed Peas before the band smashed out Literally Baby, their newest single. The energy in the HiFi was infectious, the venue was completely packed out and lead singer, Sam Cromack, was clearly loving it. Ball Park Music were home, and the locals couldn't be more excited about their home-grown quirky indie rock idols.

The night was dominated with tracks from the band's debut album, Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs, however there were a few new songs that are currently being recorded for their sophomore album. From the early preview, Australia can continue to expect bigger and better things from Ball Park.

Despite their ever-growing reputation as a fast paced and highly energetic live act, the performance mellowed mid-show for a charity announcement; bassist, Jennifer Boyce has been fundraising for the Leukemia Foundation's Worlds Greatest Shave and intends to shave off all of her hair the following morning. She has donation tins strategically placed around the HiFi in the hope of reaching her $5,000 goal. Quite dramatically, at the end of the next song, a crew member takes to the stage with a pair of scissors and cuts off Jen's long ponytail (the first step towards totally shaving). What a woman.

IFly (I F*cking Love You) whips the crowd into a dance frenzy until Cromack suddenly decides to sit down and have a glass of wine before launching into the final chorus. The band are jumping off amplifiers and bouncing around the stage, clearly having the time of their lives.

They finished the set with It's Nice To Be Alive, the lead single from their debut album and recently voted #31 in Triple J's Hottest 100 last year. The finale was met with such enthusiasm that Cromack's vocals were barely audible above the screams of the audience. The group left the stage amidst an explosion of confetti cannons, reverb and screaming although the show was not quite over yet. Returning to the stage for an encore, "This is a cover that we've never practiced before, we just all know it," announces Cromack before belting their way through The Kinks' All Day and All of the Night.

YOU SHOULD DOWNLOAD: It's Nice To Be Alive, All I Want Is You, Sad Rude Future Dude