Live Review: BIGSOUND Live: Daily Meds, The Harpoons... Sam Fell Wraps Up Night Two

So much music, Sam Fell flies through the valley to see as much as he can on night 2 of BIGSOUND.

Daily Meds @ The Rev
Bigsound Thursday kicks off with a bang, Sydney hip hop collective Daily Meds turning The Rev, which looks like the set of a b-grade horror porno, into a grimy Detroit carpark, lyrics whipping back and forth, the beat primal and simple, hard and heavy. Vocals start and stop, staccato and free flowing, this is bounce and repeat which goes down well, and despite the odd false-start, or off-key kick, this is not bad, something real in Australian hip hop, and not a moment too soon. Samuel J. Fell

The Harpoons @ Brightside
I remember seeing The Harpoons support The Basics at The Evelyn in Melbourne, which would have been years ago. Like, maybe seven years ago. They were terrible. Young guys, nervous, it showed, they didn’t impress. Today, time and experience has played its part and The Harpoons are a tight little unit, confident in their ability, they display an ease which makes their music seem just more believable. A definite ‘70s soul vibe in there, slow and steady too, like stoner pop. They look like they’re having a good time and they own the little stage, their first time at Bigsound, they make plenty of friends. Samuel J. Fell

HITS @ New Globe Theatre
Esteemed journo Andrew Stafford has been on at me for at least a year to see these guys, and it’s worth the trip down Brunswick Street, easily the most real band I’ve seen this weekend, not a hint of pretension, of pose, of fake or false. They play rock ‘n’ roll, they play it loud, they play it hard and fast, they eyeball you and dare you not to move like a fuckin’ unhinged puppet, the puppeteer long since gone on a syrupy mixture of cough medicine and cheap speed. It’s not rocket science, but it doesn’t have to be… it’s hard and fast Brisbane rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s done damn well. As Stafford said to me afterward, “If you weren’t moving in there, you’re made of wood.” Agreed. Samuel J. Fell

The Murlocs @ New Globe Theatre
The New Globe Theatre is the perfect room for The Murlocs – a dark, dank, underground bunker, ghoulish figures gliding through black, flashes of red and green piercing the gloom as a goddamn freight train fuzzes over and washes offstage covering everyone in a heady mixture of fucked up blues rock, done in a ‘70s fashion where groove is the watchword and no one is afraid to head off down some dark path, throbbing with LSD, knocking things over in the dark, wondering where you are but not wanting to come back. Which is essentially what The Murlocs sound like, and it’s a fuckin’ pleasure. Debut album Loopholes, was no fluke. Samuel J. Fell

Marlon Williams @ The Press Club
Marlon Williams comes across as an unassuming young chap, has the ‘hip country’ thang down pat, smokes a cigarette outside, he’s from Christchurch and he plays country music. This is all well and good, but what’s the score here? Sit and listen – it’s obvious, from very early on, that this man knows country music, he knows how it works, and more importantly, he’s realised how to interpret it for now, without dulling any of its power or potency. Armed with a killer voice, his guitar chops are solid and the dirt, grime, sweat, blood and stale whisky drip from his guitar, his being, his own self. He’s the real deal – look past the hip, and you’ll find what country music is actually supposed to be. Samuel J. Fell