Live Review: I Love Life Festival

Following a successful debut in 2015, mini-festival I Love Life has returned for its second year, this time gracing the stages of Manning Bar in Sydney and The Triffid here in Brisbane.

Joining the Brisbane leg of the festival in place of Sydney-exclusive drawcards Creative Adult and Hostile Objects are punk-rock Brisbane locals Lifeboat. They have a melodic, nostalgic feel imbued in their music, while also taking strong influences from The Smith Street Band and PUP. There's a small cult following of fans all bopping around as the four-piece smash out a stellar set, frontman Adam Richardson's vocals soaring high up into the venue's ceiling. 

There's a short break between bands and people swarm from the bandroom out into The Triffid's beer garden to order more drinks or some food from the caravan kitchen, milling about socialising until the next act, Philadelphia indie-rock trio Cayetana. The crowd has doubled and, as they flawlessly round out their first song, it's not hard to see why. The three girls carry themselves with such confidence and composure, with boisterous lyrics and high-kicking guitar riffs, and while their tagline may be "bad jokes and good hair", they seem almost standoffish onstage. Nonetheless, they're having a good time, as drummer Kelly Olsen joins guitarist/vocalist Augusta Koch in a bit of a singalong as they perform their last few songs perfectly.

Next up are The Hard Aches, an Adelaide two-piece made up of Ben David on guitar and vocals, and Alex Upton on percussion. From the minute they walk on stage, they are a powerhouse of energy and emotions, with David shouting into the mic then suddenly jumping halfway across the stage, kicking his legs and throwing his guitar about, only to return to the mic only seconds later, ready to belt out the next verse of one of their many emotionally fuelled songs. The crowd is packed full of die-hard fans, singing along word for word, security keeping a close eye on the mass of bodies pressed tightly against the barricade as the first punchy notes of latest single Glad That You're Gone sound throughout the room. At this point, it's hard to even hear David across the sea of screams (fans know the words all too well). The two are dripping with sweat after half an hour and, thanking the audience, they part with one request: "Look after each other, and listen to [local party-punks] YELLOWCATREDCAT" — aka The Hard Aches' self-proclaimed biggest fans.

After another short break the bandroom is nearly full, and it's a mission to squeeze between the maze of bodies to get anywhere near the front for action-packed Rozwell Kid. These American boys have come to Australia to support The Bennies on their much-anticipated tour, and leave nobody wanting as vocalist Jordan Hudkins starts off their set with a massive announcement: "I. LOVE. LIFE." Hudkins is great at engaging his audience as he encourages people to repeat after him, or even finish his sentences, in one scenario asking, "When I say, '420', you say, 'PUFF PUFF PUFF!'" only to remark afterwards, in a nervous voice, "Shhhh, don't tell the police!" After all their joking around, Rozwell Kid fall straight into their knockout set. They're all full of what looks almost like a childlike energy and enthusiasm, their indie-rock sound resonating with every person in the room. The band evoke a Blink-182-esque vibe as they play, and they top it all off with a bang as The Bennies' bassist, Craig Selak, comes out to sing one of their final songs with them. These boys are a four-piece party machine if there ever was one.

Bringing the party vibes down just a notch, Camp Cope are here to bless us with their empowering feelgood music. They start out with fan favourites Done and Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams, and you can feel the power of vocalist Georgia Maq's lyrics as fans dance around. You can hear a few people in the audience shouting out, "Girls to the front! Girls to the front!" in between songs, in tribute to the girl-friendly attitude Camp Cope are all about when it comes to gigs and live shows. As a live band, Camp Cope aren't as energetic as Rozwell Kid or The Hard Aches, but nonetheless exude a sense of comfort and confidence onstage, even during technical difficulties with Maq's guitar, when Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich (bass) and Sarah Thomson (drums) continue the song without difficulty until Maq's guitar becomes functional again. 

Michigan band Pity Sex bring a slower, more shoegaze feel into the mix. After surprising some fans with the departure of vocalist Britty Drake, the now-three-piece spends most of their time onstage in the same place, performing song after song with ease. While it's a nice break from the high-action, non-stop energy from most of the previous bands and they perform many songs off their White Hot Moon album but, without Drake's vocals, it's almost like there's something missing. There's a certain charm to it, though; there could be great things in the works for Pity Sex.

High Tension hit the stage in a wild, animalistic fury, vocalist Karina Utomo exuding power, confidence and badassery. Their set is something else, a whole 40 minutes of savage riffs, solos and spooky talent. The crowd is mental at this stage, with a full-on moshpit starting to form. There's people throwing punches and elbows, but in true punk-rock community fashion, everyone's also looking out for one another — as soon as someone goes down, there are two people to pull them back up and another three to stop anyone else falling on them. Utomo stands above us all the whole time, jumping down into the photography pit to get right in photographers' cameras, and climbing onto the barricade to reach out to fans and scream right into their faces. She even throws herself into the crowd of outstretched hands and surfs across the room, die-hard fans feeding her mic cord the whole time. 

After High Tension leave the stage, there's a full half-hour before The Bennies are due to grace the stage, but the crowd doesn't disperse, and there's more and more people filing into the room. As the lights dim and the music starts, there's an overwhelming roar and then out dances the band. They play around and engage the audience, with frontman Anty Horgan jumping about like a mad man and messing around with his synthesiser. Horgan is full of energy, and likes to have a bit of a chat with his audience. "Oh man, I love being here in Brisbane," he announces. "I love Brisbane, but Brisbane seems to always bring out the worst in me… Who's ready for a good time? I'm ready to get weirder than I've ever been before."

They start their performance with Heavy Reggae, the first track of their latest album, Wisdom Machine, and go on to perform a few fan favourites. They then announce Let's Go Get Stoned as their next song and, in true The Bennies fashion, guitarist Jules Rozenbergs appears from off stage with a joint, and they all pass it around as they start performing once again. Simultaneously, certain members of the crowd all start to light up joints of their own, and security certainly have their work cut out for them. It's a high-energy set and The Bennies play many favourites such as My Bike, Party Till I Die (Or Die Trying) and, finally, latest single Party Machine. The crowd cries out in despair as they leave the stage. A deafening chorus for an encore fills the entire venue, and then, if even possible, a louder chorus of cheers follows as The Bennies once again emerge to play Legalise (But Don't Tax) and, surprisingly, gift us with a second encore: a ten-minute epic saga O Brother, Where Art Thou.

The collective leave the stage once again, Horgan parting with one last gift for us all: "Who's coming to get weird at the Crowbar later?" If tonight's vibe continues, Crowbar is certainly going to be a good time.