Walking down Melbourne’s iconic AC/DC Lane for the 2014 edition of CherryRock festival, ‘Get well Malcolm’ posters are plastered across the walls, a tribute to the ailing guitarist and founder of the lane’s namesake. As the last rocking tones of Melbourne locals Powerline Sneakers emanate from inside Cherry Bar, venue owner and festival curator James Young takes to the outdoor stage to reaffirm some unfortunate news; that the 2014 CherryRock festival will be the last event of its kind.
In a sad year for rock venues in Melbourne, we have already seen residential developments close the doors of our beloved Palace Theatre. Now, Cherry Bar is the latest to suffer with a new residential complex at the end of AC/DC Lane making it unviable to run an outdoor stage at future events.
Young welcomes Bitter Sweet Kicks to the stage, and the band launch into a high-energy set of gripping garage rock. The manic, agitated presence of frontman Jack Davies demands attention, and there’s something strangely beautiful about watch him descend into the crowd to lie down on the gritty concrete and play a harmonica solo.
Midway through the set, bass-player Johnny Hicks decides the burden of wearing clothes is too great, and opts to play out the remainder of the show fully nude; his undies finding their way into the crowd to make a nice take-home souvenir for a lucky punter. Local stoner rock favourites Don Fernando are up next on the Cherry Bar stage, and they deliver a half-hour set of carefully coordinated riff-centric grooves.
Back outside, acclaimed Kiwi sludge-metallers Beastwars deliver the first taste of international class to the festival; crossing the narrow gap to Aussie shores for exclusive shows in Melbourne and Sydney. Musically, these guys could be mentioned in the same breath as Neurosis or Baroness, and their live performance is absolutely formidable. Raspy vocalist Matt Hyde has the audience completely entranced throughout a sonically captivating forty-minute journey.
Unfortunately for punters hoping to see High Tension, vocalist Karina Utumo had lost her voice, meaning the band can’t perform their scheduled indoor set. However, one half of the band still make it to the stage, performing under the guise of renowned Melbourne-via-Tasmania trio The Nation Blue. Their live show is brimming with edgy punk-rock intensity as guitarist Tom Lyngcoln violently swings his guitar around throughout the set.
Redcoats are the next band to bat for the Melbourne contingent, and by this stage the venue is well and truly nearing capacity. There’s not a great deal of breathing space outside, but the downward sloping nature of the lane means that any vantage point is a good one. This is a highlight that’s relatively exclusive to CherryRock, and one that will be sorely missed in the future when a laneway stage is no longer possible.
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When a band play with the level of conviction that Redcoats do, there really isn’t much more that you can ask. These guys radiate passion for their work, and deliver an uncannily tight set. The nimble fingers of bassist Rhys Kelly produce some gloriously beefy tones, which helps create a sonic wall that only the ethereal high-register of Emilo Mercuri’s vocal cords could pierce. Popular track “Dreamshaker” sees out the set and garners the enthusiastic reaction that the band deserves.
Nextup, a rowdy pub-rock throwback from Drunk Mums has the audience battling for floorspace in the now packed-out Cherry Bar. The charismatic collective seem to really capture the rock n’ roll spirit of the festival and seem well and truly at home on the stage.
James Young introduces King Of The North as a ‘two-piece that sounds like a schoolbus’, which isn’t too far off the mark. Those already riding the bus know all about the killer live experience that the duo feed their audience. Guitarist/vocalist Andrew Higgs delivers a kick in the teeth to bass-players everywhere by throwing the vitality of the position into doubt, playing through three amps and using multiple modulations to condense the full rhythm/lead/bass experience into a singular role. As a result, there’s zero room for mistakes, and none are made as Higgs combines with whirlwind drummer Danny Leo to deliver a punchy set of killer rock gems.
Higgs proclaims “Ride” as a fuck-you to all things anti-rock n’ roll, which entices a big reaction from the crowd. “Into Your Eyes” sees out the set with some frantic moshpit action and smiles all round. King Of The North are a brilliant band with a big future, and in hindsight they were the unquestionable highlight of CherryRock 2014. That said, Child definitely put in their own claim for that same title with some bass-heavy psychedelic groove and otherworldly guitar solos. The trio did play a little overtime however, and there was some serious sound bleed from U.S. stoner rock legend Brant Bjork.
Bjork, the Kyuss Vista Chino drummer ditches the sticks for a frontman role in his revered solo project, and together with his band he supplies a collection of enthralling, extensive desert-rock jams. Bjork seems completely comfortable in his role, and is probably actually a better showman than his Kyuss- fronting contemporary John Garcia, who headlined the 2013 CherryRock with Unida. Closing the Cherry Bar stage, Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk prove why they’re considered one of Australia’s best blues acts. Chris’ self-described brand of ‘Chrississipian’ blues is seriously cool, and even with it’s relative isolation on a hard-rock lineup, the audience are more than happy to party.
Pivotal punk rockers Meat Puppets were given the honour of closing the AC/DC lane stage for the last time ever; with what was their first set on mainland Australian soil in 20 years (they played Tassie the night before.) While the festival was in a large part a showcase of Melbourne’s finest rock acts, few international acts could have captured the spirit AC/DC lane in the way the Meat Puppets did. Pure psychedelic, no frills rock n’ roll saw out the night as up-front brothers Cris and Curt Kirkwood maintained the energy that had been fabricated throughout the day.
The CherryRock experience is not one comparable to other festivals in Australia, or likely anywhere else in the world. If the 2014 edition of the event was truly its last, it’s safe to stay that it will be missed by all that were lucky enough to attend. Regardless of what happens in the future, the Melbourne rock scene is in safe hands at Cherry Bar.
Tickets for CherryRock Sydney this Saturday May 31st are still available at www.factorytheatre.com.au.
