Live Review: Yonder Festival

Returning for its second instalment is the mystical and sensory beauty of Yonder, the collaborative multi-arts festival curated by some of Brisbane's best art organisations, The Brisbane Collective and Brisbane Street Arts Festival.

Before we even arrive, we can hear voices echoing through the streets as we walk toward The Tivoli, with the sweet sounds of guitar leading us like children in a suburban labyrinth searching for treasure. We were not disappointed: upon our arrival, we're greeted with all the wonders of the world, it seems, with art hanging from the rafters and the musical delights of King Colossus performing in the main room. He's enigmatic and powerful, all delayed guitar and powerful poetry. There's more happening outside though, and we rush out to the car park to find the source of the voices we heard outside in the streets.

If there was an act more perfectly suited to this event, it'd have to be the gorgeous art-rockers Average Art Club. They perform one beautifully crafted song after the next, their faces splashed with colourful paint that perfectly represent their band. All the while, we're treated to the live art stylings of local artist Sofles painting something extraordinary on the car park wall. As his creation comes to life before our eyes, we get to experience the last few songs Average Art Club have brought to the stage, their three female guitarists/vocalists setting an astronomical standard for everyone to follow.

In between acts, we find ourselves wandering through the building, discovering everything that has been set up for us, and that's how we find the Love, Sex & Gaming room. It's a small little alcove just off the side of the main room, and the thing that strikes us first is the television set up with images of people's nipples. It's a game — you need to censor the female nipples and not the male ones, and it's challenging. At a guess, we got through 12 before reaching our third strike of 'moob discrimination' and the game restarted. Next to it is another game, and while we don't get a chance to play it, it's described to us as an 'orgasm challenge'. But by far the most interesting game is fronted by a line of eight different upright dildos, affectionally dubbed 'cocktrollers', used to play the game projected onto a wall. However, before you could play (which involves controlling one of eight cartoon penises that chase each other around the screen), the game specifically asks you to consent. Revolutionary.

After a few games of 'Genital Jousting', we are drawn away again to the front room where we are treated to another poem from King Colossus, as the sound of his guitar reverberates through the room and his powerfully emotive voice rings through everyone. His poem increases in speed as he repeats line after line with fervour, and then guitar cuts out, his voice slows, and he repeats his words again, slower, more laboured, more dedicated. He strums his guitar again and the delay can be heard echoing for a few minutes as he stands, staring aimlessly, and softly we hear a low chant start up from another part of the room. It's eerie, the two contrasting noises, the aggressive reverberation of the guitar still lingering, and the sweet female voice whispering chants. It's at this point that King Colossus leaves his guitar behind and wanders away, and we realise that the next act has started, the haunting melodies of HHAARRPP. It's hard to describe the wonders of this act, as it's unlike anything we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It's mesmerising and hypnotic, and almost as if they've been summoned by the music resonating around the room, a collection of odd beings slowly, falteringly move through. They look ethereal, and move in an unearthly way. Their bodies are painted white and they are dressed in white plastic and clouds, the lights shining through the room casting them in all colours of the rainbow. Fog appears from all corners of the room and suddenly we're transported away inside a living, breathing summer storm, the echoes and crashes of HHAARRPP's musical stylings partnering perfectly with the living art installation that is the Theatre Of Thunder.

Hazards Of Swimming Naked are up next, and their entire set is empowering and full of longing and desire. While they don't sing any words, you can feel a story being told during each and every song in a cascade of emotions, simmering and bubbling over, crashing into the audience like a wave. Their fans are so passionate, with screams echoing through the old building, and they remain waiting long after the band has left the stage. Pocketlove follow, and they're a sharp contrast from Hazards, a groovy jazz collective with an upbeat tempo that gets the soul stirring and the hips swinging. The three-piece horn section proudly sticks out in songs as the ferocious vocals fill the room and engage the audience.

Back outside, we bear witness to the reinvented The Con & The Liar as they welcome not only a new keys player, but one of their guitarists back from Europe. Taking on some jazz influences, the band still retains their old rock roots, and their presence on stage is overwhelming. They're drawn a considerable crowd following the setting of the sun and, although the air is still warm, it's hard to stop people from dancing. The same could be said for the next band to grace the outdoor stage, Wolver. While a little more intense, the collective doesn't fail to bring as many people together. The soft melodies of their songs contrast perfectly with the harsh and sometimes guttural vocals, and the brutal energy of their music is devastating at times.

The night is growing ever later as we stumble inside, and there could be nothing better awaiting us than the psychedelic hypnotism of Twin Haus in all their glory. They're suspenseful and beautiful and tragic all at once, and we can feel the music in our very being, shaking in our bones. The room is filled with the collective of souls that have attended this event; the old, the young, the strange, the ordinary; and all of them are here, moving and spinning and dancing to one of our finest local acts.

A little livelier are the funky The Mouldy Lovers, whose delicate fusion of hip hop and rock'n'roll leaves the whole crowd whooping and dancing with joy, as strangers became friends and friends became family in a matter of seconds. The whole 40 minutes is a non-stop party as horns, guitars, and drums all leave us gasping for breath and begging for more.

This has been a place that many know, a place few have seen before, and a place that many wish to discover and explore — a place where magic and mayhem coalesce to create a wonder that many say only exists in dreams. Certainly, we'll be dreaming of this night for many nights to come.