The Best Things From BIGSOUND's First Night

Judging by the hangovers on Wednesday morning you probably wouldn't have guessed that it was the opening day of the 2014 BIGSOUND — but this is BIGSOUND after all.

While Tuesday's pre-parties were good, nothing compares to the pace, scope and enjoyment of the official showcase nights. 70 bands across 14 venues makes for great shows and great times. From our crew, here's the top five selection from each of their Day One...

Steve Bell

1. Bad//Dreems' cover of Bastards Of Young by The Replacements. Worked on every level. (Pictured)
2. Blank Realm's triumphant finale at New Globe Theatre
3. Getting to lock horns with Mr Finn again for post-Keynote video yarn for themusic.com.au
4. Catching up with so many awesome friends from down south who I only seem to catch up with every BIGSOUND
5. The awesome freedom of having so many bands at your disposal to watch at once in such close proximity - if only it wasn't once a year...

Scott Fitzsimons

1. It’s Just The Vibe Of The Thing
There’s a palpable excitement and anticipation around this year’s BIGSOUND – and that extends to one of the most welcoming environments on the calendar. Everyone seems to be having positive meetings and putting real plans in place.

2 L-FRESH The LION
When this bloke speaks, people listen. One of the best performances in Oh Hello! in years. (Pictured)

3. Trying To Stop Country Music Opinions
Well, not stop them – just wrangle them in within the constraints of a one hour panel. I’m sure there were people who really cared about the triple j panel that was on at the same time, the passion, the excitement and even the frustration and the (sometime) reluctance inside the room of the country music discussion was exactly what a conversation about the industry should be.

4. The Economics Of Music
Listening to David Carter from Music Tasmania and Hugh Nichols from City Of Sydney talk about live music in Australia on a completely different level out the back at Ric’s. Conversations with people like this change the way you think about what live music in this country does and what it can do.

5. Whisky
So far I have seen the full range of GlenDronach standard distillery bottlings (that is, the 12-year-old, 15-year-old and the 18-year-old) it at least two venues. It is things like this that make you believe in humanity.

Dan Cribb

1. Accidentally ordering enough to feed six people and becoming everyone's favourite person at the bar.

2. Falling asleep two nights in a row to the sound of a drunken maniac yelling at the man in the FlavorStone infomercial. (Pictured)

3. The busker on Brunswick Street working his magic until the early hours of the morning, giving every act on the bill a run for their money.

4. Bumping into more people from back home in Perth than I ever would in when I’m there.

5. Purchasing a FlavorStone.

Leigh Treweek

1. All The Music In The World
But sharing baby photos with Colin Daniels is still up there.

2. Ric’s
A place to call home. When you’re feeling down, feeling up – everyone knows your name.

3. Balls Out
Great to see some balls-out pub rock thanks to Bad//Dreems. People still love fucking guitars.

4. Relationships
Having drinks with Jesse Barbera and his fourth-best-friend Ben Turnbull.

5. Accordion
Who would have thought that I would have fallen in love with a band with four females, a mandolin and an accordion (All Our Exes Live In Texas).

Mitch Knox

1. BIGSOUND Or Just The Valley?
Thanks to the milieu of drunken, colourful people strewn throughout the precinct, it can be difficult to tell if you're seeing a delegate partaking a little too hard in the spirit of revelry or merely one of the Valley's usual suspects - but it's a whole bunch of fun trying to guess amongst yourselves.
 
2. Seekae
Goddamn. A simply triumphant BIGSOUND debut from the veteran electro wizards. Beautiful, booming sounds and bone-piercing etherealism combined for a midnight chill party that proved the perfect note on which to close the day. Although…
 
3. Smoke machine operators
Every single gig I have gone to that has utilised an artificial smoke machine has felt like walking into a haunted house at a carnival. This makes the list because the occasional sight of a burst of smoke hitting a musician in the face is a bit too wonderful from a schadenfreude standpoint to pass up.
 
4. Three-second catch-ups
The number of people at whom I shouted greetings and adoration in the midst of crossing the street last night would blow your mind. Everything happens with a sense of transience at BIGSOUND - everyone's moving from one place to the next, all with their own agendas and plans and ideas, and so while there are plenty of long-form hangouts to be had, there's a wonderful sense of community in yelling at friends and acquaintances in the street.
 
5. Eavesdropping
Not, like, in a creepy, invasive way. I don't mean walking around standing near groups of people and deliberately turning your ears towards conversations that aren't yours to listen to; but if someone is going to make a louder-than-average, inadvertently hilarious or odd comment - something like "Who needs a schooner? I need a schooner, hey. I've just been sitting the hotel room … crying and watching The Full Monty" - in a public setting teeming with people, and you have the presence of mind to be listening out for that sort of thing… hey, it'll make your night just that much more colourful, that's all.