Live Review: FBi Turns 15

For 15 years, youth community station, FBi Radio, has been consistently delivering the best Sydney music to the ears of the public. Their strong support for local and national acts has resulted in many success stories and their 15th birthday bash was a celebration and coming together of artists young and old with an audience to match.

Opening a festival stage is never easy and the handful of early punters in Manning Bar got the chance to experience Bored Shorts and their quirky brand of music. It varied from rock to punk to dodgy jokes (Core-munity radio. Really?) from drummer and singer, Will Blackburn. Temporary bassist (and drummer from Body Type) Cecil Coleman was playing her last gig for the group but drove the low-end expertly. They were a bit rough around the edges but there's easily enough to like to keep an eye on their future.

Who is Spike Fuck? After watching her set on the courtyard stage, we were no closer to really knowing. Sometimes using a laptop, sometimes on guitar, the music moved from eclectic pop to sad country with a cover of Bette Davis Eyes thrown in for good measure. The Melburnian kept us guessing with her unique and exciting delivery on stage and maybe the fact that we don’t know what’s coming next is what makes it so special.

The layout of Manning House means that you have to traverse two sets of stairs to move between the two main stages. Let’s just say that we worked off our Young Henrys by doing this route about 20-odd times throughout the day.

Over a smattering of afro and tropical beats, CLYPSO's voice sparkled. Since featuring on a track from Paces earlier in the year and supporting PNAU she is now delivering solo music that really pops. Unfortunately, she didn't have the crowd she deserved, although there were some sick moves from the ones that arrived. It was poppy with an indie edge to it, playing bass heavy and occasionally dark beats at times before sun shone through on others. Her solo career is still in its early days, but she's a talent worth watching.

The crowd was starting to grow, but you never felt crammed in. The ethos was strong and the appreciation of music obvious from the wide assortment of fans. Back in the courtyard, we were introduced to Dispossessed. "Sovereignty was never ceded and never will be," announced vocalist Harry Bonifacio Baughn. The group, strong in their support for social causes, powered through their tracks, with the singer donning a balaclava to start, staring out and screaming their songs of power and anger with physical ferocity. It's at times confronting, but so very important to acknowledge and learn.

With our ears still ringing, the sanctuary of the other courtyard filled with a joyous air of pop and love as Stereogamous got the party started early in the beautifully warm day. With sweat trickling down our back, we headed back upstairs for a beer and some hip hop.

From Western Sydney, we were introduced to an artist that FBi Radio has been behind since the start. Hip hop act Slim Set dropped a tight bunch of tracks, showcasing songs from their latest EP,  Feed. Upbeat (reminiscent to a dancey Dizzee Rascal), with killer raps and unexpectedly impressive dancing, the pair did the hard yards, drawing people from the hot balcony inside to appreciate, not just the aircon, but also an entertaining set that brought more than the fair share of, "Fuck, they were great," comments afterwards.

The people of Sydney should be proud that Party Dozen are one of them. The duo of Kirsty Tickle and Jonathan Boulet need to be experienced more than once to be really appreciated. Their show was powerful, loud and cathartic. Tickle's sax playing blares as Boulet smashes the drums harder than almost anyone we've seen. The connection between the two is obvious - even with a small grin or a nod they are able to combine improvisation continuously into their music. Whether it's the first time or you're a PD veteran, their set reinforced just how damn good they are.

The crowd in Manning Bar grew and grew as Miss Blanks possessed the room. Her presence was all-encompassing, and despite some early technical problems the music pumped and made the room bounce. Her mood was positive and fun, encouraging the crowd to get involved and shake their rump in Clap Clap and get all sorts of dirty in Freq U. A future single, with beats from Alice Ivy, was a treat - along with recent release This Bitch, which included education on the many connotations of the word. A boomer of a set.

The doom-influenced sound of Divide & Dissolve punctuated the importance of their message - resistance, protest and power to people of colour and Indigenous communities. Sax (for the second time in the day), guitar and a powerful beat made people stop and take notice.

By now, the day was starting to cool down, but the music was only getting hotter. Another act from Western Sydney that has been taking the country by storm is hip hopper Kwame. At just 21, he's supported some huge artists and found himself with a packed Manning Bar. Humble, charismatic and talented, his raps exemplified this and his stage presence fired the crowd right up. He was joined by Phil Fresh for a couple of songs followed by taking “pussy power to the ceiling” with recent collaborator, Kymie. He has the chops, the beats are tight and there's a long, long way to go for Kwame, all of it up.

The tone was more subdued at the courtyard stage when Jaala performed her beautifully constructed songs in a cooler environment to earlier. Her songs meander gracefully through areas of light and dark, always brought back into line with her unique vocal. She cracked jokes as banter and appeared to be battling a cough, but delivered a lustful and personal set.

The Sydney four-piece may have had a false start, but it only added to their charm when Body Type sang Happy Birthday to FBi Radio. They're definitely a crowd favourite with their shoegazey indie-rock. The vocals are strong from all three front-women accompanied by multi-talented "polymath" and drummer, Cecil Coleman. The group held the crowd in the palm of their hand, playing radio favourites Ludlow and Silver.

Locals DEN released their strong debut LP Deep Cell this year and their live performance showed off their deep, dark but illuminating rhythms. The four-piece were all business on stage, and it showed, with precise musicianship and a foreboding atmosphere evident in their delivery. Driving beats, striking keys and power vocals punctuate the air as they take you into another plane of consciousness. In one word? Epic.

Manning Bar was the fullest it had been all day even before the presence of Sampa The Great's voice. Sampa Tembo arrived on stage with a regal energy that we all felt and introduced the strong vibes straight away. The backing vocalists added a depth of sound to the neo-soul and hip hop feel that supported Tembo's epic poetry, along with a little bit of Kendrick Lamar's Alright thrown in. The crowd couldn’t stop moving and feeling the warmth of sound that Tembo and her band create. It's fitting that her sister shared the stage as she sang Black Girl Magik, dedicated to her. It seems that saxes are in vogue as the third one of the day was produced for a killer solo in F E M A L E, attributed to all the Queens in the crowd. A cover of Lauryn Hill's Doo Wop (That Thing) was a perfect accompaniment to the set, highlighting that we should forever be appreciative of watching such a talented artist in her element.

From the brilliant musical brains of The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin, Tropical Fuck Storm created a sound and aura that filled the courtyard and settled into every crevice of the historic Sydney University. Visceral and loud, the band performed songs from their huge debut album, including an epic version of You Let My Tyres Down. The individuals in the band combined to create symbiotic chaos from individual brilliance; Erica Dunn’s guitar playing has to be seen (and heard) to be believed. They're the sort of band that you want to fucking cut loose to, but your brain is too busy working them out. A perfect choice to close out the courtyard stage.

Unfortunately, watching all of TFS means missing half of Cloud Control, but we made it on time for a cosmic rendition of Panopticon. Dream Cave brought some serious swaying and love to the room, making it feel almost like a school disco, but it was the dancier Meditation Song #2 (Why, Oh Why) that the crowd reacted to most.

A cool fact was revealed; the first ever demos that the band gave FBi Radio were recorded on the very same stage they were occupying. It made a nice full circle to have them headlining a festival to celebrate the station. There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight came with some huge singalongs from the crowd before the best cover of The Cranberries Dreams you'd ever hear.

Finishing off with crowd favourites Scar and Gold Canary, Cloud Control showcased exactly what a great platform community radio can give talented artists. “Let’s hope FBi keep going for 15,000 years!” effused singer Alister Wright.

The birthday festival was a raging success, and it prompts the question; why isn’t this an annual event? The organisation, the venue, the curation and the positivity of the crowd were all excellent and a bright light in the ever-evolving Australian festival calendar. Long live independent Australian music and long live FBi Radio.