Live Review: Young Henry's Small World Festival

Every Tumbleweed lyric took on new meaning as their usual laconic surfer vibe gave way to some serious eternal questioning after the passing of bassist and brother Jay Curley. Sweet Little Runaway was the first track to bring out the quivers in Richie Lewis’ voice, as he crooned “Sweet little runaway/where’s your daddy gone”.

It was only when pausing before playing Curley’s song, Acid Rain that Lewis spoke about how bizarre the last three weeks had been. It was hard to watch as he croaked, then broke down during the track. The lyrics “We will think about tomorrow/because all we’ve got is now”, have never meant so much.

They quickly kicked into Shakedown with abandon, as if to celebrate Curley with every chord. Unusually for a festival, they were allowed back on for an encore, treating the emotional crowd to Nothing To Do With The Weather. Even as the lights were killed and The Music was walking out the gates, the loyal diehards were still at the front chanting “Tumbleweed, Tumbleweed.”

It was an amazing finish to an amazing day that started with Royal Tennyson providing gear porn and a great version of Paul Kelly’s Right Outta My Head. Their blues-country ramble rang pleasantly out into the sunny afternoon. Money On The Table is a great sample of their ocker-blues vibe.

The Upskirts were next, with their bottom-heavy surfer sludge bringing us closer to psychedelia, but still in the alt-blues universe. They have a bit of Children Collide about them, with drummer Tom Kell’s voice a great change-up that should be exploited more.

Bloods bring together Ramones pop punk and Shangri-Las pep without blending into tribute territory. The equipment went to shit but a drum solo kept the crowd entertained before they pulled it all together for a grand finale.

Closer to Manchester than Marrakech, Richard In Your Mind took us deeper into psychedelia with the philosophical observation “You receive a high five/ when you give a high five.”

Pat Capocci showcased their timeless rockabilly sound with Texas shuffles and swinging downbeats getting a few on their feet. In the vein of Billy Thorpe, Steve Smyth’s gravel tones and sweet soprano allows him to shift from Jeff Buckley-style ballads to an a cappella Sam Cooke cover with ease.

Surely sick of the Mumford & Sons comparisons, Little Bastard’s train-chugging folk sparked fond echoes of the Travelling Wilburys, with the lilt between songs ranging from Dylan to Harrison.

The Delta Riggs cut through their set with little banter. Firecracker drums, rock god pomp and subtle keys translated their recorded wandering explorations to a straight-up rock live set.

The Snowdropppers guitarist wished they hadn’t gone with the bathrobes gimmick as he called for some nipple tape. So Much Better hints at another amazing release dropping soon, as they delivered their usual stellar stage shtick which had the crowd panting.

True Vibenation were the odd balls of the night. All decks, pads and horns, their coordinated outfits, synced dancing and positive-vibe hip hop made for a bit of a Chris Lilley’s Kool Kris feel. They managed to win over the crowd with the participatory Ape Shit and a medley of horn parts from some classic rap tracks.