Live Review: Yours & Owls North Wollongong

The day kicked off with a whole lot of killer female artists across the two main stages. Sisters Lily and Grace Richardson of Clews combined their vocals to create a beautiful melancholic rock show that was a delight to sit back on the grass and take in. Things then picked up with the elated Alice Ivy. Her infectious energy was caffeine personified as she jumped about in her loud Nike tracksuit playing dreamy electronic tunes.

Mallrat aka Grace Shaw is an emerging talent but already nailing it on the main stage with infectiously catchy pop tunes. She added in an acoustic cover of OutKast’s Hey Ya! for good measure but was already getting plenty of intrigue off her own material. Also getting a lot of intrigue was Maddy Jane. An artist oozing with bubbly charisma, she had complete command on stage and got a big response for her track Thank You & Sorry.

Mallrat

Maddy Jane

Dear Seattle used the small confines of the And The Restless stage to their advantage. Tucked away inside a tent, the volume hit hard and fast as punters responded emphatically to their hard rock tunes.

Equally as emphatic in their performance were Middle Kids. Their hit tune Edge Of Town was always going to go down a treat but, with such a huge crowd in front of them, it went even further to producing the first big feel-good moment of the festival. It was brilliantly euphoric and executed perfectly.

Middle Kids

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets were crazy good and crazy fast. Their tremolo guitar picking had my head spinning to comprehend how a band could all remain in such perfect unison while seemingly running a 100-metre sprint with their hands. Brilliant stuff!

It felt personally heart-warming to quietly have watched Tiny Little Houses progress from their early days in small venues to playing a festival where they amassed a huge, loud, devoted fan base, all screaming Caleb Karvountzis’ witty, vulnerable lyrics. They had an excellent showing indeed, with the biggest singalong being reserved for their final track Garbage Bin.

Ocean Alley were every bit as poised and relaxed as their music would have you believe. Yellow Mellow was a people pleasing classic, but it was their rendition of Confidence that showed how far the band have come as songwriters and how well this has translated into live audience reactions.

Back at the Rad tent, Moaning Lisa were all about bringing women to the front of the stage and they achieved just that. This was followed by Press Club who served up some aggressively tough Aussie pub rock.

Peking Duk did an unreal job of making their headline slot feel every bit as entertaining and participative as they could have. Fireworks were erupting all around them while they played their steady line of bangers to a packed-out audience. Vocalists Michaela Baranov and Chris Sebastian lent a helping hand in working everyone into a frenzy that left them screaming for more once it was all said and done.

Peking Duk

Moving on to day two and the grass looked as beaten and worn as some attendees felt as they sipped up the hair of the dog and downed all the greasy food available while powering through the opening slots.

Judging by her bouncy energy, Central Coast singer E^ST clearly wasn’t dealing with any of these issues. Her immaculate voice radiated off the main stage as a treat to the early comers. Her cover of Post Malone’s Congratulations and her own track Life Goes On had people shaking the cob webs and gearing up for what the second day had to offer.

Straight off a morning flight from Auckland, Didirri arrived just in time to keep us serenaded with his whimsical vocals. The guy was openly honest about the very personal backstories to his songs and showed that it’s okay to be unapologetically sentimental and straightforward with topics such as love and forgiveness. He wore his heart on his sleeve and earned so much respect for it.

Didirri

Holly Rankin aka Jack River gave a main stage performance that made it clear she won’t have to wait much longer before she’s playing further up the slot. Fans were massively receptive to Fool’s Gold and a cover of Tal Bachman’s She's So High. This was probably the best performed cover of the weekend, which is saying a lot because - going into the second day - it felt like just about every artist had a popular cover song in their setlist.

Witty and wise beyond her years, Alex The Astronaut wove together owl jokes, personal stories and brilliant music that shaped her to be the Paul Kelly of the next generation and much, much more. She put in her bid for the performance of the weekend with just a guitar, irreverent banter, and a poetic voice.

Alex The Astronaut

Back in the semi-packed Rad tent, Big White cranked the chorus flanger to 12 and went all out with their retro indie pop rock. It was a mesmerizing show that went by in a flash. Even more frenetic and pumped up were Baby Machine, who put on the most out and out rock show of the weekend.

Local heroes Hockey Dad approached the main stage with the same minimal setup and workhorse mentality that we’re accustomed to seeing them take in the past. Their ever-growing fanbase acted accordingly and the inner centre of the mosh pit was running rampant.

Jess Locke treated some lucky listeners to her yet-to-be released song My Body Is An Ecosystem, which continued along Locke’s line of thoughtful, carefully crafted songs. Cub Sport’s unconventional microphone effects had everyone’s attention. The sporadic, high-pitched noises teetered between artistically captivating and unintentionally comical.

Methyl Ethel made great use of their backdrop to extend their otherworldly, psychedelic aura onto the screens surrounding them. The genre shift to pop-rock was instant the moment Ubu started playing and everyone belted out the words while nodding along to the bass line.

Methyl Ethel

Tumbleweed and Pist Idiots simultaneously put on killer hard-rock shows. While Pist Idiots evoked outright madness in the mosh pit from the beginning, Tumbleweeds’ audience were initially more casual, with punters respectfully watching the well-seasoned band hone their craft. This changed when Pist Idiots finished their set and their crowd migrated over to Tumbleweeds’. Heavy Guitar riffs reigned supreme as tensions remained between a mixed crowd of young aggressors and older, casual attendees.

Someone who had no issue bringing everyone together was headliner Alison Wonderland. If Saturday night’s closer was all about the entertainment, then Sunday’s was all about the music. Wonderland’s meticulously crafted songs blended together with a perfect, fluid motion. She turned Stuart Park into one giant dance floor. Her monstrous basslines would throb for ages before going away, only to creep back up and return at an unexpected interval to kick everyone back into motion. With everyone’s energy absorbed and expectations surpassed, it was Alison Wonderland’s night for the taking.

Alison Wonderland