The Come Together Festival has always been an interesting idea that suffers from somewhat of an identity crisis. It's tried to appease everyone from punks to dance-loving kids on wizz, and despite consistent ticket sales it has never solidified a reputation as a remarkable festival.
The 2010 line-up sought to fit into an eclectic groove that would bring more punters along, but divided their 95% local selection into two different styles. The first of the two saw the heavier bands take predominance, as a series of hard rock, punk and hardcore bands took to one half of the Luna Park stage to peddle their wares (the divided stage saw one band play while another set-up). It's an interesting idea, and though the line-up could have used a bit more of a wow factor, there were certainly plenty of enjoyable performances on hand underneath the Big Top.
Up first came Hira Hira, one of the most exci ting acts getting attention in Sydney's underground scene of bands that incorporate the hardcore sound into their music without being either tough guys or MySpace kids with straighteners. Their abrasive style of indie-oriented post-hardcore certainly left a few heads in need of scratching, but once they got over their nerves of playing such a big stage and the crowd got over their pretensions, things were a lot smoother. The band's brief set was chaotic, loose and a great start to the day.
Up next were Betty Airs, a relatively unknown three-piece playing unhinged, dirty rock & roll. Though they got plenty of heads nodding and even a few girls dancing, a lot of their set was spent wondering where we'd seen the dude hunched over his guitar before. Sure enough, it was Daniel Cross, also of Gerling and The E.L.F. - in typical style, playing music that's completely different to his previous project. Betty Airs is a new name for the audience, but probably one we'll be hearing a lot more of very soon. The energy, simmering up until this point, boiled over when Chaingang took to their instruments and immediately whipped up attention from everyone - from the folded-arm cynic to the underage blonde-pigtails girl to his right. Hayley Foster - a theoretical lovechild of Joan Jett and The Simpsons' Boobarella - swaggered about her area; howling, cooing and screeching through tracks like Holiday and the ferocious set closer Get Off My Stage. Like be your own PET if they scavaged through a classic rock bargain bin, Chaingang set the bar significantly high in terms of getting everyone around them as into the music as they were themselves.
Melbourne's Twelve Foot Ninja were next up, making the most of the time they were given and impressing the audience with their passion and vitality. Although influences of their sound were obvious (early Tool and Mudvayne sprung to mind), they were still able to a few tricks from up their sleeve to keep things interesting. The same certainly cannot be said for Sydney band Circle Pit. The skeletal paste-white hipsters plugged in and did little else but bitch and moan with a filthy sneer on their faces. There was a bit of tambourine in the background amidst the jangly, annoying guitar drone, but not much more could really be picked up as the six-piece bleakly let their feedback do the talking. It was a simple relationship between band and audience this time - we didn't want them there, and they didn't want to be either. What a relief that Jericco proved to be the exact opposite - they showed more interest in what they do within the first thirty seconds than CP did in their entire twenty-five minutes. The Melbourne five-piece are a band that adore every moment they're on stage. Everything else - including people heartily singing along or dancing to their bombastic take on heavy rock - was just a bonus. We need more acts like these guys doing the rounds - their enthusiasm is simply infectious.
Fresh out of Chicago, Illinois, Heroes For Hire served up their nasal, New Found Glory worshipping pop-punk for those that...hang on a minute, they're Australian? From Sydney? Oh, for God's sake. This NEEDS to stop. If you're not from America, don't sing in an American accent. It's that simple. Otherwise, you'll end up like these guys - mimicing their idols to the point where Jordan Pundik et al. could probably successfully file a lawsuit. Cute fun for the underage kids, but for anyone who has deleted their MySpace profile and don't fit in their Starting Line t-shirt anymore, Heroes for Hire were a bit embarrassing.
Deez Nuts followed this, the new band for former I Killed The Prom Queen drummer J.J. Peters. There was a lot of jumping, a lot of shouting and a lot of big, crunching riffs. With that said, however, it was difficult to tell if it was "for real" or not - half of the set sounded like covers of hip-hop standards done in a punk/hardcore style, hearing lyrics like "Don't call it a comeback" and "you can't make a ho a housewife" thrown about. Maybe it's an in-joke, but Deez Nuts were difficult to get into. Toe To Toe, thankfully, had no such problems. Relentlessly tearing through an array of no-bullshit, traditional hardcore punk, the band were remarkable in the fact they were twice the age of most of the acts on the bill and yet were twice more energetic and passionate. When they screamed the chant of "Hold fast/stay true," you can rest assured they fucking well meant it. Top stuff.
The Loved Ones were the first of the festival's two international acts. Though crowd numbers had dwindled a little, the band churned out their workman-like pop-punk/rock with relatively little fuss. It was their no-frills approach to their music that charmed the crowd, making the Philidelphia natives instantly likable, regardless of whether you had heard of them previously or not. Another great aspect was the quickly-learned hooks, ensuring singalongs within minutes - especially the brilliant "Louisiana" with its "They're pounding nails in Louisiana!" hook scrawled into the skulls of anyone listening. The Loved Ones proved to be a revelation, and one of the best bands to perform all day. Following this came an hour of almost instantly forgettable music, in direct contrast to what we had just seen.
MM9 (formerly Many Machines on Nine) were up first, who have a solid reputation amongst fans and critics as a supposed must-see live band. For what it's worth, however, this repuation was not validated by their appearance here. Their songs are too primitive and gimmicky to come across as anything short of uninspired, and not even the formidable drumming skills of Ben Ellingworth can breath life into songs from their incredibly weak debut album, The Air Between, that were played. At this stage, the best idea was to head out and see what the DJs were up to. Bonkers? Warp 1.9? Your Love is My Drug? Yeah, why not. Better than MM9.
Upon return, House Vs. Hurricane were in the midst of their heavily-choreographed synthcore for the kids that came to mosh. Though the music itself was as drab and unappetising as always, perhaps the most insulting thing about the set was the band referring to themselves as "the only hardcore band on the bill apart from Deez Nuts." Wow. Way to completely overlook Toe To Toe, morons - y'know, that band who don't have to rely on gimmicky synths and weak breakdowns? Detestable and arrogant, HvH are consistently awful and kept up their track record here tonight.
Okay, here we go. The final four. Let's have some fun. Strung Out roared onto stage and seemed to enjoy themselves from the get-go. We'd have enjoyed it a lot, too; if only we could hear what was going on. The mix was the worst out of any band that performed on the Saturday, and not even Jason Cruz' constant movement and painful-looking screams could ease this frustration. On the rare occasion they could indeed be heard, they were great fun and a pleasure to watch. Having said that, the set was one of the night's biggest disappointments.
Fellow punk stalwarts Frenzal Rhomb took to the stage next. You will quickly learn two things about the band when you see them live. The first is that they're an incredibly tight, enjoyable live act that revels in the fact they're veterans with nothing to prove. The second is that a good ninety-six percent of their fans are degenerate scum whose favourite pastimes is eradicating any remaining braincells left inside their thick heads by slamming into one another in large pits and pushing one another around like the knuckle-dragging dickheads that they are. The contrast couldn't have been greater - there was Jay and the Doctor, ripping through favourites like Russell Crowe's Band and Never Had So Much Fun; and there were the loud, self-centred drunken louts who probably shouldn't have left their Australian flag bedsheets that morning. Great band, shit crowd.
Things thankfully calmed down for The Butterfly Effect, who seemed considerably refreshed following a well-deserved break from touring. The Brisbane band were relaxed and smiling through their hit-filled set, ranging from tracks across all three of their studio albums; with highlights including rare live favourite Crave and the expansive seven-minute finale of Worlds On Fire. It's good to know the band are in a good state of mind leading up to their massive regional Australian tour with Sunday's Calling All Cars. If this set was anything to go by, they'll definitely be worth watching.
At long last, Gyroscope made their way on-stage and straight into Cohesion highlight I Still Taste Blood. The crowd was mosh-ready, fairly drunk and considerably unruly - and so was frontman Daniel Sanders, who was slurring his words and shouting half of his parts, occasionally leaving someone else to pick up his vocal slack so he could jum into the front row or writhe about somewhere else on the now entirely expanded stage. Okay, so the band were a little looser than usual. Doesn't mean we didn't get to have a bit of fun with it - old school tracks like Safe Forever and Doctor Doctor got a huge response, whilst latest single Baby, I'm Getting Better even saw the folded-arms security guard singing word for word. Sure, not their finest hour by a long stretch. With that said, however, the band are rarely ones to put on a disappointing or even sub-standard performance.
Phew. Spent? Same here. Time to get some rest before we do it all again tomorrow.