Live Review: Meatstock

Day One

It seems that Sydney is in the midst of a meat-fuelled frenzy. The food-loving city seems to have migrated to a barber and barbecue tangent, which has produced salivating food venues like Enmore's Bovine & Swine and bearded brothers, Violent Smoko, from Sydney's west.

The inaugural Meatstock, organised by the Australasian Barbecue Alliance, aims to bring together the meat-loving masses to eat, dance, drink and mingle with like-minded carnivores.

Following on from the ill-fated Sydney BBQ Festival was always going to be a risk, but when it comes to organisation, Meatstock was miles ahead. The Sydney Showgrounds were a well-suited venue for the event, but on a stinker of a day, more shaded options would have been preferred.

Crowds arrived early to try and beat the heat and it became evident that food vendors were surprised by the turnout. Fortunately there were enough stalls to choose from, so even though the headlining Rangers Texas BBQ sold out by early afternoon, you could still choose from a wide array of others. If whole turkey legs aren't your thing then try beef brisket, or pulled pork, or deliciously tender pork ribs. Wash it down with locally sourced craft beer from Six String Brewing and you'll be sufficiently satiated as you peruse the multitude of expo stands on offer.

Once we'd checked out the array of barbecues, smokers and sauces, we could take a seat under an umbrella and check out the music. An expertly curated selection of acts provided a meaty soundtrack to the day. The Beards, on their final lap around the country, headlined and impressed with their blokey-based music suiting the predominantly male crowd, while The Snowdroppers dropped tracks off their latest album and were solid and entertaining as always, Johnny Wishbone venturing into the crowd.

..and then there were the wars. The huge range of barbecue tents at the event are there to compete in a Barbecue War which involved dozens of judges all given blind tasting of their wares in different categories. If you felt inclined, you could watch the judges scoring and eating the entrants' food, but this grows tiresome after a while as you madly Google how to become a judge next year.

The Barber Wars were also on display in the main tent, which pitched 15 barbers against each other. Again, watching hair being cut isn't the most exciting event in the world, but the end products were impressive and it was a shady place to drink your beer.

Day Two

A blistering 35+ degree day awaited us at Meatstock day two. The crowd was at once not what we imagined — the lumberjack chic hipsters, bearded rockers and Ron Swanson types we pictured are replaced with mainly a throng of families, all eager to try samples of meat. Oh God, the meat. The smell of charcoal-fired cuts and slow-cooked red and whites were overpoweringly delicious, and just a cursory look around the stalls showed us exactly where they all originate.

People gravitated towards the shade to shield themselves from the unforgiving sun — the countless smokers, pit barrels and kettle barbecues are not really helping the thick hot smoke in the air. Given that people have resigned themselves to sitting under picnic benches, perhaps next year's festival might benefit from a few more shaded areas or even a misting tent. Even so, many of the food trucks offered punters in the long lines umbrellas to pass down as they move in and out of the sun.

The A&E Stockyard provided a cosy, hay bale-filled area to watch kids and adults alike on the mechanical bull. Our mate beat the 46-second record by two seconds (and he's never even been near a pair of cowboy boots!) and then we headed to round two of Butcher Wars. It's not the most interesting 'sport' to watch for the untrained meat-lover, but the finished products were quite a sight — pork ribs arranged like they're clasping hands (it is Valentine's Day, after all), huge legs of ham, steaks, all garnished with lemon and herbs and organised into a beautiful platter.

Music kicked off from 11am and though the line-up was strong, it's apparent the heat and probably the wafting scents of varying meats kept punters from giving the line-up their full attention. This is at least true for country acts like Roy Rose and Melanie Dyer, both of whom played to empty pits, though people watched from the shaded tables. Mandolin and double bass-toting The Punk Rock Hillbilly drew a modest crowd playing covers of The Living End (Second Solution) and Blink-182 (Josie), before Adam Eckersley Band kicked off their country rock shredding.

Chosen for the fact that its line was the shortest, the brisket burger and beef short rib with slaw at Smokin' Grill Barbecue was divine — crusted with peppercorns, it was salted, juicy, tender and gave us a mean case of the meat sweats. That's a real thing, by the way. It's a pity they were so filling because by the end of our plates we couldn't bear to lift another fork to our mouths to sample anyone else's meaty goodness.

All up, Meatstock was a perfect way to get a glimpse into the world of the artisan butcher, all the while shedding some light on the neighbouring fields of barbering, barbecuing, bikes and brewing. A great day out with fellow carnivores.