Live Review: Beaufort Street Festival

En route past the family friendly castle-building at Cardboard City – one of the many awesome installations at this year's Beaufort Street Festival, Bastian's Happy Flight greeted the early afternoon crowd with an early workmanlike performance that ignored the sun in the eyes to kick itself into disco gear. Successfully drawing punters to the dancefloor by the first song, one of many that make people want to boogie, irrespective of the time of day or the angle of the rays. Leaving audience members clambering for copies of your debut EP is always a tick of approval. A vast array of people stuck around for The Voltaire Twins who kicked-off with what must be said was a pretty underwhelming start. Not the type of band that is ever going to ooze charisma, the four-piece gave it a good crack, although it did appear some members were a little under-the-weather and perhaps holding back in preparation for their Ball Park Music support later that night. With their disco drums carrying the band, the group was unfortunately exposed by a lack of dynamic, as their synths were lost in the Mt Lawley air.

Moving on to attempt to catch The Seals, this scribe was faced with another intimidating line (a regular occurrence, but sign of the success of the event). Listening in from outside the gate, the bluegrass shenanigans of the band sounded in fine form, as were Junkadelic who worked among the crowd with their high-energy makeshift funk. Passing barbie dolls and lemons hung eerily off the street-side trees as a keen punter tore through some numbers on a public piano, the journey to the most northern stage proved a winner. The ever-evolving Cow Parade Cow's afro art-pop was as enjoyable and sloppy as ever, treating the 'all-ages' stage to a percussion feast that had everyone from families of four to hipsters and more grooving on the street. Walking back down the Beau' to catch psych riff-masters Sonpsilo Circus was a regrettable decision thanks to the inebriate of a frontman and his futile, slurred attempts at 'performing'. Not indicative of the rest of the band who were in fine form, they really could of used a fourth band member that goes by the name sobriety.

Fortunately, The Chemist had arrived to close out the festival with aplomb. The quartet has that special something about them –with masterful songwriting and exquisite performances, the group a class above many acts receiving regular national rotation. With a stompy blues pulse beating throughout the act, frontman Ben Witt's tales and tones rose above the swirling organ and beating grooves of a stunning closing set and a fitting end to a cracking Beaufort Street Festival. This review only tackles a tiny percentage of the almost immeasurable amount of quality music, arts, culture, fashion, food and more that was on display – we'd probably need the entire magazine to really do justice to the biggest Beaufort Street Festival yet. But it's fair to say the event proved an almost unqualified success.