Written by: Tom Wilson - Sense Music Media | Saturday 3rd June 2023
Photos by: Nino Lo Giudice >> VIEW GALLERY

Bribie Island Parties Like It’s the 90s

The return of SPRING LOADED to Bribie Island is a vastly different beast to the last one in 2021. The spectre of COVID is gone, so there are no line-up changes due to closed borders, no fences, no restrictions. What remains the same, however, is all the good stuff. Sandstone Point is an absolutely stunning venue – the stage set at the base of a sloping grass field covered in lawn chairs, picnic blankets and smiling faces, with the ocean behind it.

The sun is shining as Lindsay takes to the stage and acknowledges the traditional owners of the land, before welcoming the first band of the day, Queensland’s own SCREAMFEEDER, who set the tone perfectly with their signature blend of happy noise. Tim Steward’s rubberman stage moves prove too rock ‘n’ roll for his guitar strap, which busts off during their first song, much to the delight of bassist Kellie Lloyd, who points out that these things normally happen to her. One would think that such a statement is tempting the gods of karma, but she makes it to the end of the set unscathed, which is good, because she’s playing barefoot. Dart is, as always, hypnotically beautiful, and their vocal harmonies intertwine as the crowd swells across the hill. SCREAMFEEDER – lovely music made by lovely people.

Up next are Melbourne’s BODYJAR, who come out swinging with the energy of a band half their age. Lindsay introduced them as a band who, despite downing as many beers as FRENZAL RHOMB over their long career, still sing better than them, and he’s not wrong. Cam’s vocals are massive, leading us in a huge singalong for Not the Same, and Tom Read runs through the full gamut of rock poses, throwing shapes and having the time of his life. Cam tells the crowd that their set is getting trimmed for time, but there’s still enough to pull out rock god Adalita of MAGIC DIRT for Too Drunk to Drive.

Once again put in the odd position of having to introduce his own band, Lindsay takes to the mic and tells us that, despite circumstances beyond their control, FRENZAL RHOMB are on next. Remember what I said before about tempting fate? Halfway through their first track, the storming Where Drug Dealers Take Their Kids, Lindsay’s guitar cuts out completely, and the rest of the band are left standing onstage while Lindsay and a stressed-looking roadie wrestle with cords to try and fix the problem. In the lead up to Spring Loaded, SENSE showed just how mature we are as music writers by asking BODYJAR and FRENZAL who would win in a fight and publishing a reel of their responses, and as the guitar is being fixed, Jay Whalley mentions to the crowd that BODYJAR have been throwing some shade on the internet. At least we look like a band, he retorts, and accuses them of looking like they work at Supercheap Auto. The crowd roars, and, frankly, I feel very pleased with myself. Bird Attack and Mummy Doesn’t Know that You’re a Nazi are berserk jams, and I Miss My Lung is a giant singalong, before Michael Dallinger noodles the thick strings to close the set with Punch in the Face. Ace.

Up next are New Zealand rockers SHIHAD, who bring on the biggest tonal shift of the day when they storm the stage and plunge into Tear Down Those Names off 2021’s stunning Old Gods. The groove is cataclysmically heavy, and SENSE is at risk of a neck injury as they follow it up with Think You’re So Free. Jon Toogood is rock incarnate, a headbanging whirlwind, and the photographers in front of the stage struggle to keep up with him. A beer flies across the stage and bounces off his guitar, and he doesn’t even notice. They pull things back sharply with their infectious cover of SPLIT ENZ’s I Got You, before delivering a punishing selection from The General Electric. As the sun sets, they get the entire festival waving their hands in unison during Home Again, and it’s a picturesque moment that Jon is making damn sure gets documented; “Somebody get a picture of that shit!” Between songs, he addresses the crowd, so incredibly grateful that they are back out on the road able to do what they love after COVID. He shows some love for their bassist Karl, who recently suffered a burst appendix and collapsed lung, and is still able to be onstage. The crowd roars, and they plunge into an utterly volcanic Comfort Me.

Melbourne’s MAGIC DIRT are up next, and the crowd roars as they finally emerge onstage. Having gone slightly too hard on the barrier during SHIHAD, I’m towards the back of the crowd, and I’m slightly surprised that, after a few songs, the pit is chanting that they can’t hear Adalita’s vocals, because the rest of Sandstone Point can hear them perfectly. The band does their best to accommodate, and they carry on. As she sings Pace It, the chorus line “Can’t everything be like before?” feels like it sums up the spirit of Spring Loaded perfectly, as the bands revisit the songs that made their careers decades earlier. The band get the festival clapping in unison to open Plastic Loveless Letter, and they dedicate Dirty Jeans to their original bassist Dean Turner, who passed away in 2009. It’s stirring, emotional stuff.

When I interviewed Adalita in the leadup to this festival, she spoke glowingly about RATCAT, saying that the first time they heard That Ain’t Bad, they taped it to a cassette so that they could hear the same song over and over. That level of reverence is reflected in the crowd, who are going absolutely bananas for the Sydney rock trio, a band that first started treading the boards in 1985, the year I was born. Every band on the bill today seems to owe a debt to these guys, and its evident by the number of them watching the band from side stage. Tonight’s set is a superb display of musicianship, and the crowd roars as SCREAMFEEDER’s Tim Steward straps on a guitar and joins them for the seminal That Ain’t Bad.

The crowd is waiting for Lindsay to introduce the next band, but instead, the Imperial March from Star Wars comes booming over the PA, and ESKIMO JOE emerge. Kavyen Temperley is a sight to behold – clad in a white suit jacket that matches his bass, and an absolutely immaculate rockabilly haircut, which is made all the more remarkable by the fact that most of the other bands on the bill are going grey. As the song reaches its crescendo, he strikes a pose and raises a finger to the sky … and waits … and waits … and holy shit it’s been about twenty seconds since the intro music stopped, are they okay? Then bam, they hit it, and the crowd cheers. Black Fingernails, Red Wine is champagne Aussie rock, and Sweater is still as infectious as ever, not to mention fitting, as the sun has set and it’s bloody cold for anyone who has forgotten to bring one.

Lindsay comes out and introduces the final band of the night, and the crowd is at fever pitch as SPIDERBAIT emerge onstage and plunge into a hypnotic, trance-like jam – drummer, vocalist and rock god Kram leading the audience in a call-and-response that has become a signature of their performance. Their set tonight is a flowing, free-spirited exploration of their catalogue – songs drawing out and shifting into one another. The crowd plays crowd-surfer keep-away with the security during Shazam!, and Kram introduces Old Man Sam as one of the first songs they ever wrote. Janet English is in typically fine form during Outta My Head, and the entire of Sandstone Point lights up with camera-light fireflies for Calypso. One of the most awesome moments of the entire festival comes as Kram leaves the drum kit and introduces set staple Buy Me a Pony by bringing on his teenage son Lonnie, who takes up the drum stool and absolutely nails it – Kram singing and beaming with proud dad energy. There are no prizes for guessing their set closer tonight, and their cover of Black Betty is stretched out into a long, glorious finish – guitarist Damian Whitty’s blues-rock noodling sending the pit into hysterics. They say their goodbyes, and the crowd slowly retreats up the hill.

Spring Loaded 2023 was another outstanding entry to a concert series that, like the bands themselves, feels like it’s getting better with every year that goes by. See you at the next one!

All photos by Nino Lo Giudice
Click below to view the FULL GALLERY