Soutbound - Part 2

Geez, what a busy week and a half. I guess its time to write a little bit about the events of Sunday at Southbound.

In terms if music and heat Sunday basically rocked. It was nowhere near as hot as the other days had been, and there were some pretty awesome bands playing. The first act I was desperate to see was Lisa Mitchell. I never really got into her on idol, I actually never watched idol that year either. But whenever I was flicking and I heard her sing I would immediately change the channel. I don't think she was singing songs that were suited to her voice, because I have fallen in love with her latest album. Watching her live was quite a surprise. She didn't just stand still and sing. She jiggled about stage, played guitar, and even talked to the punters. Just before "Coin Laundry" she asked if everyone could kindly hold onto their dollar coins and not throw them at her. To make her point clear she politely stated that "it really fucking hurts". The f word has never sounded so polite before.

After Lisa Mitchell it was radio time. One third of the team had become sick and had to leave early. It really was the worst time of the year to catch the flu. So for the last hour and a half Louise and I drove the radio desk together. We were both desperate for real showers at this stage and eager to see bands later on in the evening so we weren't paying too much attention to our radio duty's.

Once the three hour radio shift was up it was time for Xavier Rudd. I had never seen him live before, but I've always known he was a pretty awesome musician. He played "Message" which is one of the songs on my list of songs to see live, so I felt accomplished after that and decided to leave in time to catch some Paul Dempsey. When I reached Paul Dempsey there was some commotion in the audience. On second look I noticed Lisa Mitchell had turned up to catch a glimpse of one of Aussie's finest artists only to be pounced upon by fans. She took it great though and smiled for pictures while still keeping an eye on Mr Dempsey. The next band I caught were Miami Horror. Their song "Make You Mine" is by now pretty notorious for making me move my feet. It also didn't help that straight after they played "Fa Fa Fa". I got a pretty good workout during that set. If you haven't caught Miami Horror live yet I strongly recommend it, they are pretty awesome. I decided not to watch Hilltop Hoods, I'd seen them at Rollercoaster one year and also at One Movement Festival. Instead I decided to wait around and watch local Mandurah boys Tim and Jean. I caught up with an old school friend at this time as well. That's another thing about Southbound, you are bound to run into someone you either know or used to know. Tim and Jean were pretty impressive. They had the crowd moving and managed to rake in a fair amount of spectators considering Data Rock and Hilltop Hoods were playing at the same time. Their set didn't run till 8:30 either, which meant getting a nice spot for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's was easier.

I rocked up to the Yeah Yeah Yeah's with my old friend Liam. While waiting for the band to come out on stage which wondered about what she would wear. I've come to expect nothing less than amazing from Karen O so I was preparing to be blown away. When she walked out... I was happy but was still expecting a little more. She was wearing a tight black and white shirt with bits of fabric flowing off it along with ripped leggings. I must admit at this stage that although I was aware of Karen O's undeniable awesomeness I was still a little unsure of why everyone was so excited for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. For me I had to see them live, I will no longer be doubting the greatness of this band. The presence their lead singer holds on stage is unbelievable.  She can stand still with the microphone, strike a pose and the crowd will still go wild. It wasn't long into their set that the band disappeared, only to return with Karen O wearing her signature Chief outfit. After that, I was happy. I had to leave their set 25mins early in order to pack up my tent, stupidest idea ever I really should have done it early when I could actually see.

All in all the night ended well, I had a proper shower for the first time in 2 days, did not get sunburned at all, and ended up with the sorest feet I have ever had in my life (apart from the time I used my toes as breaks when I went down a hill on a skateboard lying on my tummy, not the best idea I've ever had). Goodbye Southbound 2010 and I am looking extremely forward to Southbound 2011.

P.S.
Other random things that made the weekend awesome:
- I did laughing yoga. I felt like an idiot for about 10 seconds and then jumped completely into, it actually works I was happy and awake all day.
- The general store was pretty god damn awesome. Red Bull was cheaper here?! Go figure, I used it to my advantage though.
- Walking past the internet cafe' and seeing people on facebook equals the biggest fail of the weekend.
- The groove tent at night went off!
- Base camp rocked. If you didn't camp, you missed out.
- This years art sculptures were way better than last years.
- Southbound radio - you know you liked it.
- All the artists seemed like they wanted to be there - except maybe Whitley...
- I didn't see one bad thing happen.