Live Review: Good Island

It's a steaming hot Saturday afternoon and we hear a punter yelling, "Seriously, mate, literally all I am thinking about right now is a cold beer!" while bounding up the Bella Union steps (presumably to the bar). We enter into the empty bandroom to find soul songstress Nai Palm and a few others quietly setting up for her upcoming set, so we take off across the road to The Curtin to check out the action. It's a super-relaxed vibe in here and most are settling down in the sun with an ice cold one and a burger before the music kicks off.

The crowd slowly strolls into Bella Union's bandroom where Nai Palm is now at the mic and ready to go, her super-cool metallic guitar and matching boots blindingly bright. Punters' eyes are glued to the stage as they quietly perch on armchairs, sit cross-legged on the ground or even lie down with eyes closed. She treats fans to a few new songs as well as some well-loved oldies and a lush Jimi Hendrix cover. Everyone maintains a hush and, after a quick word to the audience about this not going up on the internet, we're rewarded with a song Palm says she only wrote a couple of hours ago. We all respectfully keep our phones in pockets this time. As soon as the blinds are thrown open everyone makes a beeline for the bar and then it's straight to the balcony for a quick chat and gin and tonic in the shade.

The dreamy sounds of Noah Slee bleed through the walls of Bella Union Ballroom and pull a few passersby in. We step into the dark room in the middle of a beautiful harmony duet with some super-simple but wonderfully mellow keys.

Next up in the bandroom is Swooping Duck who melt our faces off with some of the most impressive improv you'll ever experience. Punters are kept absolutely mesmerised for the entire 45 minutes. There's no doubt about it, these guys are some of the most talented musicians in this hemisphere and make every single key change and solo look so insanely relaxed and easy. They're truly beyond comparison and deserve a mountain-load more attention in the scene than they're currently getting.

We return to Bella Union Ballroom and, with projections of green plants lighting up two large walls, it feel like we've stepped into the matrix. The visuals totally add to the whole ambience of Groeni's set. As the track changes, the projections shift to images of bubbling, red-hot lava. Echoing vocals drown out any chatter coming from outside the room as punters take a moment to escape the sun, blissing out in this cool room.

Lossless are tearing it up at The Curtin, turning the downstairs area into party central. It's so roasting hot down here; it's as close you could get to a sauna. However, the humidity doesn't affect the energy in the room one bit. Oscar Key Sung and Grant Gronewold (aka HTML Flowers) make a real dynamic duo, keeping punters on their toes with a high energy set of some nice, melodic R&B jams, lyrically hard-hitting at times and always funky.

Wandering upstairs, we find Martin King doing his thing with one of the frontmen of Melbourne hip hop group, RaRa. Hues of pink and blue blur into the walls of this dark room, the light from the bar remaining the one illuminated beacon. Soon after, King is briefly joined by a gorgeous singer with a voice like honey who really carries the set for a while. Unfortunately there's not a large crowd gathered upstairs at the moment, but it's definitely a hard task to drag punters away from the chaos of Lossless downstairs. 

It's too bad it's around dinner time right now, because most are taking this time to smash a burger rather than the dancefloor. DJ Luen provides some electronic-funk jams downstairs at The Curtin as the sun starts to set.

Crossing the street again, we walk into Marcus Whale's performance when he's in the middle of Inland Sea. His loud, resonant vocals pour out of the speakers, permeating every inch of the room. Two drummers accompany him on stage, both stony faced and in deep concentration. The drums are clobbered to a climax before lowering again quickly. It's a beautiful constant contrast of volume and Whale's stage presence is enticing.

Standing in the middle of the room with a projection of floating flowers ascending gently up to the ceiling, Clever Austin's glitchy, electronic jams create a wonderfully carefree vibe. Punters take this time to pile onto the steps in front of the stage, sit back and unwind. There are a lot of eyes closed here and, for once today, the Snapchat checking and updating is kept to a minimum.

Things are starting to heat up by this stage of the evening. It's dark, most punters are a fair few beers in and pretty much willing and ready to dance to anything. Vulture St Tape Gang seem to be the perfect antidote for this, because, as soon as they kick off, the crowd forms one happy, sweaty mass, all slowly swaying to the beat. MKO's Hannah Macklin steals the show for a while; her effortlessly alluring vocals insist that all eyes are on her. The drumming is funky and relaxed enough not to sound too uptight. At times there's a little too much AutoTune but, hey! You've got to give them credit for playing a solid set that keeps every single person in the room on their feet, which is certainly a hard task.

Planete DJ's set keeps things simmering while punters take a quick break outside for some much-needed fresh air, cooling off before jumping back in for another round.

Not wasting a second, Billy Davis get straight into it with an ear-blisteringly smooth instrumental intro. The brass section, lush keys, ever-so-soulful vocals and some of the finest drumming of the night all pull together to create a beautiful, jazzy jumble of sound. There are some deliciously good solos and everyone's given their designated time to bask in the spotlight and applause. Not only are they musically in sync but, because there's so many people up there on stage, they're also a visual treat. Each band member grooves hard and totally lives for the crowd-lovin' that they're getting right now (and rightfully so).

Opening with Salt Shaker, Jaala instantly grab our attention. Musically, they're as tight as it gets - as good (or even better) than on their recordings. A special mention goes to Cosima Jaala's captivating vocals, which are refreshingly unique and strong. Together, Jaala are able to pair heavier guitar embellishments with unconventional grooves that are exclusive to their sound.

Fresh from his second Lossless set, Oscar Key Sung kicks off the beginning of the end of the night with some old and new R&B hits, featuring the likes of Aaliyah, Migos and Jhene Aiko. The room full of stragglers who are keen to keep boogying 'til the wee hours of the morning sing along to song after song before getting even looser to some electro jams.

The first event of its kind in Melbourne, Good Island is a complete winner. With 100% of the profits going to Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), constant killer performances stretching from 3pm to 3am over four stages and a stellar line-up of fantastic Aussie acts each performing not once but twice during the day, there's really not much else you could hope for.