BIGSOUND Best Of The Fest: The Big 5s

TheMusic editors and contributors pick their BIGSOUND Live highlights.

ANDREW MAST

1. Transistors: For the second year in a row NZ's Arch Hill Recordings supply the BIGSOUND best. Hopefully it won't take the world as long to recognise Arch Hill as it did fellow NZ label Flying Nun.

2. Mia Dyson: Any worry that Dyson's long absence signalled she might be losing her way was dashed here. The new material has Dyson finding her voice as our toughest and truest voiced country rocker.

3. Garage galore: Could it be that the 'indie' Aus live scene is finally on the way out of its twee folk and ironic pop period? With Drunk Mums, Straight Arrows and The Gooch Palms all pulling big crowds, we dare to hope.

4. Violent Soho: A few years ago there was much murmuring about these guys being the leaders of the new grunge wave. Wrong. They are just leaders. Their gig on the QMusic stage was triumphant.

5. Flume: This guy knows exactly what he's doing. He mixes just the right amount of underground house and chill wave grooves with a bit of Oz rap and a dash of dubstep to appeal across the board. He had a full house at Magic City eating out of the palm of his hand and it seemed pretty likely they'd eat any other body part he offered up as well. Punters were left panting for more.

Flume

DAN CONDON

1. Straight Arrows: Or, more accurately, the crowd who flocked to see them. We've had the band in Brisbane a number of times over the past few years, but we've never seen them draw the kind of crowd they did at Electric Playground last night. They smashed out a loud, infectious set as good as they always do, but this time there were plenty present to bathe in their awesomeness. A new record would be a treat, but we're still pretty content with the songs from the first one.

2. Transistors: An incredibly pleasing new discovery for me at this year's BIGSOUND, these indie-garage guys are fun, loud and full of life. Really looking forward to seeing them do more over here, you'd like to think there'd be an audience for them.

3. Jeremy Neale: A lot has and will be said about Velociraptor, but that band's frontman Jeremy Neale really proves his pop smarts with his "solo" project. Ripped straight from '50s and '60s American pop radio, his hooks are incredibly infectious, his band perfectly loose but capable and his voice getting better each and every show.

4. Mia Dyson: Wow. It's been a long time since we've had the pleasure of witnessing Mia live in action and now we don't want her to leave! A good mix of material fleshed out by a shit-hot band contributed to the set's greatness, but it's Dyson herself that remains the showstopper – a great, gutsy voice, effortless guitar chops that'll make you weep and the kind of relaxed, friendly demeanour that you can't just help but like all making us remember why we loved her to begin with.

5. The quality: Picking five acts is just impossible. Sets from acts like Loon Lake, Violent Soho, Bearhug, The Gooch Palms, The DC3 and Clairy Browne & The Bangin Rackettes oughtn't be ignored, and I know there are scores of acts I didn't see that we're probably at least close to as good. Out of 120 bands, you're bound to land a few winners no matter what, but the wealth of talent on BIGSOUND 2012 was just astonishing.

Straight Arrows

SCOTT FITZSIMONS

1. Closure In Moscow: Good welcome back from the boys who we really didn't know what to expect from. New material is tight and flourishing as ever – punk meets intricate. All of a sudden I was back at the Bull N' Bush in Western Sydney years ago, front and centre with about ten other people watching.

2. Catherine Britt: I keep banging on about this Sally Bones track and whoever was there at the Mustang Bar when she delivered the haunting centrepiece track everyone realised what I've been going on about. Stopped everyone in their tracks.

3. The crowd at Snitch: Didn't think I'd be hitting up a Thursday night punk club this week, but UNFD's showcase was a good old fashion hardcore night. Kids letting loose, me nailing the hardcore hand release – full of good memories. Also, it was almost certainly the best attended showcase of BIGSOUND. Almost as packed as our after party.

4. Steve Earle: Fascinating keynote from the guy who got me into Townes Van Zandt. Super approachable, he even acted appreciative when I told him his Townes record got me into Townes Van Zandt – as if I was the only person who did that.

5. Ric's: You're never lost in a town that has a place like Ric's to fall back on. Who needs networking when everyone's at Ric's?

Catherine Britt

STEVE BELL

1. Steve Earle: It goes without saying that sitting two feet away from the great man and looking him in the eye while he gave his incredible and touching keynote was more than just a highlight of BIGSOUND, more of a lifetime highlight. Straight to the pool room…

2. Bands, Bands, Bands: For music geeks it's absolute nirvana (the conceptual paradise, not the three-piece) having 120-odd bands playing over two nights in the confines of Fortitude Valley. Plus, being mid-week, there weren't all of the “people” that you'd normally encounter on a weekend in the confines of Fortitude Valley… Highlights include Velociraptor, Loon Lake, Straight Arrows, The DC3, Violent Soho, Transistors, Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes, Step-Panther plus tons more, and obviously missed a crapload of great bands as well…

3. Friendly Faces: Catching up with all of your mates from around Australia when they flock into Brisbane en masse, it's becoming a bit of a ritual…

4. Panel Beating: It's just a pleasure hearing so many interesting people speak in depth about their areas of expertise and passion, which at BIGSOUND (usually) all boils down to being in love with the music…

5. Sleep: This weekend is going to be amazing…

Loon Lake

SHANE O'DONOHUE

1. Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes: The Melbourne big band put in a storming set at the outdoor Bakery Lane stage then, with everyone still raving about the performance, turned up on the same stage the next night and did it again. With news arriving the band's album had hit number 60 on the US iTunes chart the timing could not have been better.

2. Transistors: This Kiwi three-piece were another band that delivered a knock-out Bakery Lane set, which they followed with a sweaty show in the tiny Ric's last night. We want a co-headline Oz tour with their good mates and compatriots Street Chant stat!

3. The Gooch Palms: The appeal of Gooch Palms was lost on us the first time we saw them play, at this year's Boogie Festival. But they proved they're an (arse) crack unit last night, the strength of the songs shining through the gimmicks.

4. Straight Arrows: So, so good playing to a big crowd in a big venue (Electric Playground). Can't wait for that new stuff.

5. Super Wild Horses: We could say almost the exact same thing about Super Wild Horses as we did for Straight Arrows, the only difference being the Melbourne duo filled the smaller Ric's Bar.

Transistors

ELEANOR HOUGHTON

1. Saskwatch: I may be just a little bit in love with what these guys are doing, especially because there aren't a whole lot of people out there doing it. They are super dynamic live, and put on a show rather than just playing music. And horns! I love horns!

2. Teeth &Tongue: I didn't really know what to expect when I went into this gig, but I came out with a new record on my 'To Buy' list. The songwriting is fantastic, and something I can see myself listening to a whole lot.

3. Cailtin Park: These three girls were just really fun to watch (a beat-boxing drummer! That's so much percussion from one human!). It was a bonus that the music was also really cool (also on my To Buy list - my poor bank account...). The music had so many layers to it, so seeing it come together live was fascinating.

4. Hey Geronimo: So much crazy, good old fashioned fun. It felt like you knew every song, and the crowd was more into it here than at any other gig I saw at BIGSOUND. And when the guy off the Blame Ringo 'Danaj shirt' jumped on stage everyone lost their shit and started rubbing his head like Buddha's belly. It was hilarious.

5. The Winter People: Their sound is great and seemed a lot more developed than when I've seen them in the past. It was actually like a soundtrack to a western movie, were it set in Brisneyland, and awesome. And, any band with a pencil-moustached lead singer is probably a bit of alright.

Teeth & Tongue

BEN DOYLE

1. Strangers: These boys are destined for big stages and bigger things. Although the vocals of Ben Britton and Mark Barnes' body hair were the stars on the surface, it was actually the drumming of Timmy J Hansen that really made this set a heart starter.

2. Emperors: Crap turnout up at Oh Hello! but those that made the journey to the top corner were rewarded with barrelling alt rock that recalled the glory of the '90s while owing nothing to it at all.

3. The Hello Morning: Could have actually been the performance of the conference. The set just got better and better – Steven Clifford delivered every line with so much conviction and the guys didn't miss a note, even though it seemed incredibly cramped on the Black Bear stage.

4. King Cannons: Incited the fire in the crowd. Every drop of sweat that poured off the band was earned and Luke Yeoward couldn't stop grinning like a wild hyena. Fist-pumping anthems of the highest order.

5. The Beards: Novelty rock can go either way. At the QMusic Stage, the only way it went was up. Although funny as fuck, even for a cleanly shaved bald man, the guys showed a level of technical proficiency that put plenty of other acts to shame.

King Cannons

BRENDAN TELFORD
(This top 5 doesn't include Straight Arrows, because otherwise they'd take up all five slots)

1. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: I could have picked any of the hyped garage rock bands over the two days, but it's the Melbourne seven-piece that took the cake. They anchor the hedonistic shambolism with warmth and frivolity, and every instrument can actually be heard and makes a point, which is always nice. The boys clearly loved the loose and drunken atmosphere, something that Melbourne just doesn't provide, and the denim jacket wearing crowd surfer who insisted on continuing his search for the big wave even after the band were done put the cherry on top.

2. Bearhug: So good to finally have these J Mascis/Jim James-fearing chaps up on these shores. A rollicking set that is just my cup of tea, made all the more enjoyable because it was the only time during a show that the stars aligned and I enjoyed drinks with all my fellow BIGSOUND-attending mates.

3. Violent Soho:  It's been a long while since anything GRUNGE came out of Mansfield, yet with a new GRUNGE single in their GRUNGE pocket these GRUNGEhound GRUNGE acolytes tore a GRUNGE hole in the sky. The thing about these GRUNGE guys is that they are unabashed in their GRUNGE, and it's GRUNGE. GRUNGE. Pass the vaporiser.

4. The Gooch Palms: Cock and balls at 8pm? You got it. The Newcastle duo straddled addled camp and blood-flecked debauchery with the biggest curveball of BIGSOUND Live - amazing soul. These guys might still drink out of a brown paper bag in the gutter of Hunter Street Mall, but this set made me want to join them - that's saying something.

5. Go Violets: Can these girls become the rulers of the world already? The one show I saw where I wanted to cram so many people into the joint it became a risk to public health and safety. More people need to partake in their guitar pop delicacies, and if I had to risk fire, stampede or suffocation to do it, cest la vie.

Violent Soho