Music is one of my biggest vices. If I didn't feel the need to buy CDs - and I do still buy real CDs - I suspect I would have a lot more money in my account. I am a big fan of live music, and try to attend festivals, concerts and gigs as often as I can. Earlier this year, the national youth radio station Triple J hosted their annual One Night Stand, where a bunch of Australian bands head to a remote town and put on a free all-ages concert. This year, it was held in Dubbo, which is only about a five hour drive from where I live. The lineup had Dubbo natives People's Palace along with Flume, The Rubens, Seth Sentry and Ball Park Music, so my friends and I thought it was well worth the trek (plus, there is little chance of it being held near us again for the next few years, so we would have regretted it if we hadn't gone!).
A good bit of cussing goes a long way.
It was a stellar night. Dusty and packed with random people, most of the concert goers had travelled long distances - our trip paled in comparison when we met people from Melbourne and the Gold Coast. The only downside was that we couldn't get accommodation so had to drive all the way back at night, dodging kangaroos. It was definitely worth it, with the four bands being different enough that there was something for everyone. Seth Sentry even found a hoverboard. Flume was in his element. The Rubens' drummer has amazing biceps. My personal highlight was Ball Park Music - I was totally smitten from the moment the lead singer burst out of a mystery box on stage and pulled on an "I Love Dubbo" tshirt.
BPM are a really happy, offbeat band from Queensland (Brisbane? I might be mistaken) who play the best pop music I have heard in a long time. They surfaced through Triple J a few years ago and were named as a New Crop artist (a list of 20 up and coming Australian music acts to keep an eye on) and released their first album in 2011, Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs that included brilliant songs like Sad rude future dude, It's nice to be alive and Rich people are stupid. The album is a compendium of catchy beats and lyrics that beg to be sung aloud during summer road trips with the windows rolled down. Some of my favourites include "Boring as bat shit / You people make me feel so / Curious and I don't know why" and "Everybody wake up / Welcome to the future / There's nothing going on here / Just me and my personal computer." Two of their songs came in at #31 and #38 in the Hottest 100 for that year.
I do love a bare bottom on an album cover.
(At the One Night Stand, when they were playing Sad rude future dude - an awesome song that includes the lyrics "Haven't had a friend in years / Only have sex with myself" a guy walked past me and said "I only have sex with my hand," which made me laugh. He then offered me a high-5 that I almost committed to before deciding that on the basis of what he'd just told me, that was probably not the best decision. That made him laugh, and he patted me on the bum and walked away).
Only a year after Happiness was released, all of a sudden BPM released their second album, Museum. The lead single off the album was the anthem Surrender, which I still think was one of the best songs of 2012. It's a bit more mature, I guess, than their first album, but with all of their energy and catchy attitudes still present. I can't rave about this album enough - anything I say will sell it short. Just please, check them out.
Please do yourself a favour, and watch this video.
Australia has a lot of good music and we are so lucky to have a national radio station like Triple J that is invested in looking for and promoting new bands. The debt that the ARIA charts owe to Triple J can't be underestimated. I think that Ball Park Music are one of the best bands out at the moment, and I hope they're around for a long time to come.
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