Saturday 23rd July, 2011 – Review by Zero Interest

Perth’s very own slice of Splendour, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, celebrated its second year at the Perth Esplanade on Saturday 23rd July. With an even greater line-up than the previous year this festival had been anxiously awaited for months and appearances from acts as diverse as JAMES BLAKE and THE HIVES merely added to the excitement. Add in Brit heroes, PULP and this particular On The Bright Side would be, as cliché as this may be, one for the ages.

Opening were Mandurah lads TIM & JEAN and their huge, 80s reminiscent synth-riffs. Whilst not the most exciting band of the day – and even if their sound is now somewhat dated – the guys (and their two sidemen) were a bright and suitable opener for the day. The group produced an enthusiastic performance based around their brand new album, ‘Like What’ and their good vibes spread throughout the early attending audience relatively quickly. Tim And Jean fulfilled their role as openers and left the crowd on a high.

Next to appear were American girl rockers, WARPAINT. You get the feeling that these gals must have rather excellent record collections, as the Californians have a sound directly inspired by the moodier post punk bands of the late 1970s. Unfortunately for Warpaint, their songs don’t quite hold up and often end up quite boring. That’s not to say that the girls didn’t make a direct effort to entertain and move the crowd, but their set just never really worked the way it could have.

Fortunately, the first all-out brilliant set of the day was next. JAMES BLAKE – who was making his first Australian appearance – has had fairly high acclaim as of recent and his set proved why. Blake, backed up by two sidemen, spent the majority of his set hunched over his synth. It wasn’t to be a visual experience though because the sounds emanating from the trio blew minds of all gathered under the tent. What often sounded low key on Blake’s album was now bone rattling powerful. The subtleness was now emotionally beautiful. Blake’s set would become the first set to be gushed over by the admiring audience and let me tell you, he deserved every bit of it.

Maybe the audience were still too stunned after Blake’s set, but FOSTER THE PEOPLE were dull at best. With many retorting to idle chit chatter, if they stuck around at all, Foster The People were the low point of the day and in all honesty, are probably best forgotten. Their generic indie rock (mostly from 2011’s ‘Torches’) was a little too samey to keep the attention of the audience and despite their best efforts, Foster The People seemed to bore more than entertain.

The same could not be said for the next band. Patience and her band of merry musicians, aka THE GRATES, brought the much needed excitement to the crowd and On The Bright Side as a whole. With a hit fuelled set and audience approved new material, this would be a set of fun, good times and even better melodies. Patience stole the show – as she always does and her excited performance made sure all eyes were on her throughout. She danced, chatted with the audience, crowd surfed and belted out her trademark vocal chops throughout the entire set. With the slight exception of a particular group of Swedes later on, The Grates delivered the most fun set of the day.

THE KILLS soon followed proceeding to deliver a set of solid arty blues like only they can. It must be said though that at this stage of the festival, solid no longer cut it. Knockout performances were greatly expected from here on in and while The Kills were good, one couldn’t help but feel like their set could have been better. The duo carried forth a rock n’ roll vibe and their playing was to be commended even if The Kills weren’t the highlight of the festival.

Local favourites TAME IMPALA were next on the bill and much like The Kills, performed well but just didn’t quite connect. Morphing tunes from last year’s ‘Innerspeaker’ into lengthy psychedelic jams, fans were pleased whilst others remained wondering what all the fuss was about. In the end it was all about whether each crowd member enjoyed solos or not, and converts loved every second.

Finally it was time for the big three of On The Bright Side, MODEST MOUSE, THE HIVES and PULP. The former were the first to appear in the three hours that made the festival all worthwhile. Despite the set being unfortunately too short, what was seen of MODEST MOUSE was simply brilliant. Preferring to focus on the music instead of the showmanship which was still to come, Modest Mouse’s set varied from the joyous sing-along of ‘Float On’ to the epic set highlights of ‘Cowboy Dan’ and ‘The Whale Song’. There was no need for showmanship as Modest Mouse managed to move the audience simply through the medium of excellent songs. Here’s hoping they return sometime soon, one hour was hardly long enough. But short length aside, Modest Mouse pushed the festival into new heights.

On the exact opposite side of the spectrum dressed in super stylish tuxedos came, THE HIVES. Make no mistake, the only way to see a band like these manic Swedes is to be smack bang in the middle of a hyperactive moshpit. The energy level is infectious as swine flu but luckily for the crowd, way more fun. The Hives egged on the wild crowd by a simple mix of brilliant, simplistic rock n roll songs and the band’s own epic antics. Front-man Pelle Almqvist was the centre of attention though, as the man went ballistic for the entire hour. The set was fast paced, hit-filled and ridiculously entertaining. Simply, The Hives were difficult not to love. From ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’ to ‘Tick Tick Boom’ and even featuring a brand new song, The Hives ruled the Bright Side roost for the most energetic set of the day.

Even after Hives, the tension for what was to come was impenetrable. The time had finally come for PULP – one of the single greatest bands of the 1990s – to play their first Australian shows in over thirteen years. So how was it? Superb! There could have been no greater headliner. I mean, they may have looked a little older but this did not hold them back one iota. Pulp were back, and how. Beginning with laser writing messages on a screen to increase the tension, before opening with ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’ Pulp’s set was primarily singles based, with almost every track from the mid 90’s to 2001 with the notable exception of ‘Sunrise’. No complaints though, this is what was wanted. Jarvis Cocker was his usual suave self and always the centre of attention as the band played like not a day had passed since that very first time. Pulp were everything a reunion show should be – a lot of fun and at times, moving. Whether the crowd were dancing to ‘Disco 2000’ or trying not to shed a tear during ‘Something Changed’, the set was perfect. There could have been no better finale than ‘Common People’ and thankfully, that’s exactly what happened (with some help from Tom Peloso on violin). Fittingly, as the show ended the audience and band felt completely as one.

This was the Bright Side 2011. Let’s do it again next year!