Live Review: Icehouse, The Church, Koral & The Goodbye Horses, Glass Skies

It's evident in Glass Skies' opening performance what a major stage does to the sound of a band who has mainly been dominating the pub and club circuit — it super-sizes it. Primarily performing songs from their debut EP Lemonade, along with a single from its follow up Fly On, Children, the performance screamed of archival festival footage, with vocalist and lead guitarist Josh Van Looy embodying a cross between Jimi Hendrix and Robert Plant. For a crowd that initially seemed slightly bewildered by the band's radical sound, by the time Glass Skies ripped into closing number Highway, they were sold.

Koral & The Goodbye Horses were an immediate change of pace. As the second local support of the night their sound floats between atmospheric contemporary rock and spaghetti western sounds. Koral Chandler's voice is enveloping and engaging, leading the charge over twangy guitar licks, twinkling keys and trundling bass lines. A simple blues beat keeps time for most songs on the drums. An act to look out for!

The Church followed with a feelgood performance. Their lauded psychedelic sound, which nowadays translates more as old-timey rock'n'roll, still holds up and reflects their legacy. Whereas the compositions haven't retained as much of their psych edge, fortunately Steve Kilbey's voice has bettered with age, with his deep delivery and coarse tone soaring over the top of righteous rock'n'roll guitar riffs. Add into the mix those cherry-on-top harmonica jams and you've got yourself a good time, evident in the crowd's engagement with the music being performed.

A rock band doused in pop sentiment, Icehouse have become a little more irrelevant in their age, yet the Clipsal 500 is the perfect stage for them to woo their 'slightly older' demographic. For younger audiences their '80s sound may be just cliché enough to be cringe-worthy, but that didn't stop the crowd of nostalgia ridden motorsport fans from having a damn good time. Hits Electric Blue and Great Southern Land set the audience into avid singalongs. It was a fun yet slightly cheesy way to end the night. Let's hope that in future years music becomes an even bigger part of the Clipsal 500.