Live Review: Fieldings, Teeth & Tongue, Felicity Groom and more BIGSOUND Day One from Jake Sun

The impassioned performance of Jesse Davidson goes a long way in leading his band toward a successful set. The three piece turns four part way through to step up their game, and when they announce the arrival of their standout Ocean, the sound of a hushed but heartfelt “yes!”  among the front rows says it all.

The slow pace of Fieldings set is a welcome counterpoint to the widespread franticness that is in motion across the Big Sound territories. They show restraint throughout, and are rewarded by an attentive crowd that bairly budges an inch during their set.

There’s a lot going for Melbourne’s Teeth & Tongue. They’ve got a solid sound, a front woman with a lot of charisma, and just enough praise and support to give them the momentum needed to move forward. However, during this performance their songs never reach much beyond the point of ok, and tonight that’s just not enough to do the job.

The alluring voice of Felicity Groom carries the greater weight of her four-piece band through much of their set. There is not a great deal of stage presence happening but it still works somehow. The pieces certainly add to more than their parts, and a degree of musical chairs amongst the players only heightens the effect. And if all this wasn’t already enough, there’s an anti-Tony Abbott song to lend a little extra enthusiasm to the proceedings.

Perth’s Usurper of Modern Medicine deliver an inventive take on the three-piece combo of bass, keys, and drums. Their progressive leanings don’t rely solely on the all-too-troden archetypes, but rather venture out for the better. They go as far as mixing in elements of trip-hop, through a joyous layering of vocal samples, and the result is a great success.

By this point Queensland crowds are all too familiar with the youthful brilliance of Thelma Plum, but few are likely ready for such a strong stage presence. Her shortened and anaesthetised version of Father Said delivers all new levels of complexity, however, it’s still not enough to keep the busy Elephant Hotel crowd form their incessant chatter. 

There’s little doubt that they’re the biggest name band of the night, so it’s no surprise that the numbers pack in for Kingswood’s headlining set at Brightside. They’re well oiled and they’ve got all the moves, so easy to see why they’re having so much success. A cover of Queens of the Stone Age’s turn-of-the-century anthem Feel Good Hit of the Summer only adds to their list of tonight’s successes, but at the end of it all they never really deliver anything worthy of a long-term cherished memory