It’s that time of year again, everybody! That crazy time of year when the local music industry and representatives from abroad swarm the bustling streets of Brisbane’s hallowed and storied Fortitude Valley for Australia’s premier music industry conference, BIGSOUND.
This year’s BIGSOUND conference is absolutely jam-packed with internationally renowned speakers, buzzed-about up-and-coming local bands and musicians, and even a few bonafide music legends, as well as countless industry stakeholders, who are all here to talk music and maybe even find the next big thing.
Keeping with tradition, we at Tone Deaf decided to pack our bags once again and head up north to see what all the fuss is about. We’re here for the sights, the tastes, the smells, and most of all, the sounds, because at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about?
Arrival
The Tone Deaf crew arrived safely at Brisbane airport just as the sun was beginning to set on the Queensland capital. It didn’t take long for it to feel like we had arrived at BIGSOUND, as we bumped into the friendly folks behind The Hills Are Alive and New Year’s Eve on the Hill festivals as we made our way through the terminal.
After we got done chatting and sharing tips on who to see and where to see them, we wasted no time in hightailing it to the hotel room, which we had ensured was walking distance from the Fortitude Valley, where all the action goes down.
For those readers unfamiliar with the area, the Fortitude Valley is one of the primary hubs of Brisbane’s nightlife, renowned for its live music venues, nightclubs, and bars. If you’ve heard of venerated institutions like Crowbar, Brightside, and the Woolly Mammoth, they’re all here and within walking distance of each other.
It Begins
After making our way into the great Valley, it was time to pick up our media passes. Naturally, we ended up bumping into our share of friends on the way, including promoters, publicists, musicians, and fellow media folk – they’re all here and absolutely everyone can feel the buzz in the air.
After picking up our passes, we made our way over to the Valley’s famous Harajuku Gyoza for some dumplings, ramen, and even a little sake Diet Sprite. We were seated at the centre table, which gave us a good vantage point to check out all the industry notables in the room.
Here’s a free piece of advice: don’t ever prank festival promoters with a free sake ceremony, because they will get you back tenfold. It’s a lesson we learnt the fun hard way after we sent over some sake to our pals at Beyond The Valley – they got us back by doing the same thing and ensuring the always bubbly Harajuku Gyoza staff made us the centre of attention for the entire restaurant.
It’s All About The Music Man
It wasn’t easy making our way out of the restaurant. On our way to the door we managed to bump into Peking Duk’s manager, Pitchfork editor Jessica Hopper, and one publicist who shared the tale of a label head, who will remain nameless, who lost his hotel key and wandered the streets asking passers-by if they were BIGSOUND delegates and if they wouldn’t mind letting him keep his things in their room.
Eventually we were outside and hauling ass to the Mushroom Records party at The Flying Cock to enjoy some banter with everyone there, the free drinks, and a performance from the talented girls in Stonefield, who absolutely rocked the house with a batch of brand new tunes.
It was then time to hit up The Brightside. The folks at Title Track had so much fun launching the whole thing at Brightside last year that they decided to throw another pre-BIGSOUND party to kick the week off in style. We arrived just as the boys from Rolls Bayce were finishing off their set and had scores of punters in the crowd dancing.
This was followed by a performance from Tired Lion. If you haven’t jumped on the Tired Lion bandwagon yet, mark our words: you will. Having cocked ears with their incredible Like A Version earlier this year, this Perth band are one of the names on everybody’s lips at BIGSOUND and with good reason – they absolutely rock.
Speaking of rock, after some fun at The Brightside, it was time to head on over to Crowbar, where Deathproof were putting on one massively heavy lineup, which featured a performance from none other than the Australian punk and farming legends themselves – the Cosmic Psychos. With extra muscle from High Tension, Born Lion, and Super Best Friends, our ears will be ringing for some time.
See You In The Morning
All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to kick off our time at BIGSOUND and we’re looking forward to what the next few days have in store. Wednesday is set to launch with an opening keynote speech from former Midnight Oil frontman and MP Peter Garett and we’re hoping to catch performances from Methyl Ethel, Ella Thompson, Harts, and Ngaiire.
