Top Fives From BIGSOUND Live Day One

ANDREW MAST

Bad//Dreems
Continuing to divide audiences with their power garage rock and choice of covers (My Pal), we are firmly in the pro-camp.

Citizen Kay
Bucking the trend of local hip hop and infusing it with an exuberance that just screams “SIGN ME”.

Bloods
Fun rock'n'roll. Like, really fun.

New Brutalists
Claire Price's voice is of another age – and her partner Sean Francis has, without a doubt, a few Lee Hazelwood records in his collection.

Ride Into The Sun

Adelaide again. This time with a heavy psychgaze accent.

STEVE BELL

Billy Bragg
Played a couple of new songs and then ran through his 1983 debut Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy in its entirety, finishing off with A New England. Incredible.

Little Bastard
High-octane banjo-driven country that was high on hootin' and hollerin' and perfect for the dancers amongst the ranks of the strong crowd. Great live band.

The Peep Tempel
Incredibly frenetic and energetic three-piece rock'n'roll, with great songs to boot. Sound great on record but need to be seen onstage for it all to make perfect sense.

Cory Branan
Nashville-based, Mississippi-bred singer-songwriter playing authentic southern rock armed with guitar, gravelly voice and a hatful of cool songs. Not actually part of BIGSOUND but just up the street so too good an opportunity to surpass.

Regurgitator
Brisbane veterans had Electric Playground at capacity and when everyone was jumping the floor felt like a trampoline. Great costumes, great set, a whole bunch of fun!

JAZMINE O'SULLIVAN

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Two drum kits and five guitars create a bombarding wall of sound that you can't help but surrender your body and soul to.

Bad//Dreems
Old school stage antics go over a treat with these guys – the guitarist and vocalist belt it out into the same mic, before the guitarist then proceeds to scream into the vocalists neck. Rock on!

Little Bastard
These guys sure know how to throw down, but it's the slower sounds of Desert Roller that really get your juices flowing tonight. Oh, that mouth-harp!

Bloods
Is there anything finer than feminine punk sass? Love the little head shakes that find their way into the performance, and of course, those sweet and sour harmonies.

Spit Syndicate
Loads of energy brought to this set, a nice cleansing of the palette and a great audience response.

DAN CONDON

Citizen Kay
This guy is going to be huge. If he's doesn't blow up then I will quit everything to do with music forever, including listening to it. You don't want that, do you?

The Peep Tempel
Older blokes slamming out brutal, furious post-punk and having a pretty good time doing it. A class act with a criminally tiny crowd.

Billy Bragg
When he said he was going to punch through as much of his brilliant Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy as he could for the set's closing, I actually thought I was dreaming. I need to sleep more.

Little Bastard
I think I'll really, really like this band when I see them in different circumstances. Country played with punk rock spirit sounds like it'd be awful – it's not.

Hangover
I wasn't happy that I couldn't get in to Alhambra for Jessica Barbera's 48th birthday party in the wee hours, but I walked to the bus this morning with a spring in my step that only comes from drinking fewer than 100 beers and absolutely no tequila.

BEN DOYLE

Bloods
Garage rrriots – bludgeoning chords with the cutest of smiles. Bloke ruled, too.

The Starry Field
Took you to the best North Queensland house party on your mates block of land.

She Rex
Rage Against The Machine died. They've return as young babes. Brace yourself.

Adalita
The formidable she riff was mesmerising; her voice still carries so much weight.

Eagle & The Worm
Rock'n'roll of circus proportions – brass fix for the night.

Catch up on all of the reviews here. And check out what we've been overhearing at the event too.