Live Review: Caravana Sun, Nocturnal Tapes, Fripps & Fripps

Fripps & Fripps braved the stage with a still-developing brand of Aussie surf-pop, delivering a mix of wavy, cruisy and bouncy tunes the early birds could skank to. This Cronulla-based four-piece in the mould of Sticky Fingers also showed their range by playing The Strokes' Reptilia with plenty of verve and virtuosity.

Nocturnal Tapes ramped up the party atmosphere in Oxford Art Factory with tech-house tunes characterised by infectious rhythm loops, heavy electronic bass lines, angelic vocals and edgy riffs. The North Coast duo of multi-instrumentalists Harry Suttor and Lachlan Mulligan got everyone dancing with tracks like Superficial Light and Pattern. The boys had a musical nous and sound with shades of Darkside, Jagwar Ma and Cut Copy.

Caravana Sun entered the fold, making energetic waves with an undeniable chemistry honed during their 500+ live gigs - including four overseas tours and three albums. This band of brotherly love moved from uptempo grooves to pensive story-centric songs that had the crowd swirling in bouts of bliss. Tracks like Eye Of The Storm and Open Up showed a maturity in songwriting and stagecraft that has emerged from a long and often arduous time spent on the road. The well-travelled band also created gypsy-esque vibrations that spread through the audience with songs like Gaia. Vocalist/lead guitarist Luke Caruana had a smooth voice to match his chill demeanour. Vocalist/bassist Ant Beard provided a vibrant energy and creamy vocals, taking the lead on tracks like Whale Song. Alex Dumbrell carried the beat in his heart and shared his rhythms with the wild and welcoming spectators. Ken Allars was an invigorating added bonus to the flow of the rhythm, laying down flourishes of keys and trumpet. Crowd favourites like The Bottle had an almost Cat Empire vivacity to them with the crowd shaking their money-makers and losing themselves in the Friday night frenzy.