In its inaugural year, Welcome To The Valley, an Oktoberfest-inspired spring festival, promised to be a little different to the standard festival fare Perthians have come to expect.
Having the day your way was emphasised, and ticket-holders could choose where to start the day, where to spend the afternoon, and from a huge variety of quality food and drinks.
The afternoon could be spent at either Elmars Brewery, or Oakover Winery, two stunning locations in Perth’s eastern Swan Valley region.
The crowd was a little older than your average festival demographic, with lederhosen and beer maid outfits aplenty, and the now-standard onesies few and far between, but most seemed to be playing to the ‘you’re only as old as you feel’ adage anyway.
The short and pleasant journey into the Swan Valley was met with a small surprise for first customers off the bus at Oakover, who were greeted with a swarm of bees which spun the girls into anxious titters and blokes into nervous bravado, but the swarm was soon off on its merry way, and the gates opened to a smooth start.
The crowd was off and into festivities straight away, wasting no time crowding the cocktail and main bars before picking up their food and settling in for a relaxing afternoon. Included in the ticket price was a variety of German-inspired chow, and bratwurst hotdogs and cheesy pretzels were scarfed in the sun with some traditional Euro-folk accordion providing the background tunes.
It was food, drinks, and sprawling out in the warm spring rays that was the focus of the afternoon, and wasn’t until the late afternoon that punters were finally up and grooving on the dance floor.
Hip-hop and ‘90s classics proved to be the winning numbers, and cheers were frequent as old favourites were recognised.
Early evening, as partiers from both venues gathered together at Belvoir Amphitheatre, the atmosphere was a little less chilled, and little more impatient.
Lines that had been cheery and civilized during the day turned a little aggressive as the sun came down, with people shivering and jostling to keep their spot in the tangle of drinkers at the bars, with more than a few giving up after long stints of cut-ins and swap-outs.
The quality ales and cocktails of the afternoon were gone, replaced with the standard festival classics of cheap beers, UDLs and canned mixers, and the crowds were not so much into casually sipping on their drinks now, as simply inhaling as much as possible, and the steep steps of the amphitheater were nobody’s friend, sending a few sprawling and drinks flying.
As crowds headed in by the busload, classy guys Sosueme DJs got the night’s party started.
The ‘90s numbers were still proving to be the favourites, and the guys played a popular set, establishing a cruisy tone for the rest of the night. Their beats weren’t quite enough to entice the masses away from the bars, but they kept their little audience well and truly entertained, and managed to lure some young’uns down for a dance-off.
Brisbane indie-poppers Ball Park Music took the stage for a fun and upbeat set, bopping through their popular numbers, and grooving through favourites ‘Rich People Are Stupid’, ‘All I Want Is You’ and ‘It’s Nice To Be Alive’, including a funky cover of The Four Seasons’ ‘Oh What A Night’.
The guys were a little too relaxed to really get the crowd moving, even in spite of the sharp chill that had set in, but frontman Sam Cromack kept everyone fairly entertained and jaunty.
By the end of their set they’d managed to at least draw the majority of the partiers onto the dance floor, and though there wasn’t too much dancing to be had at this stage, a few jokers entertained the crowds, balancing two and three high on each others shoulders.
A surprisingly good chunk of the day’s troops had already vacated by around 8:30, either the cold or their blood alcohol sending them away before they could be bothered warming themselves up, but as the crowd thinned, moods and noise levels raised to keep the atmosphere fun and festive.
In spite of losing a decent portion of his audience before even getting out on stage, Sydney-sider Cassian rolled out a slightly heavier groove than his predecessors, and finally managed to get people out of their seats and moving.
The crowd alternately jumped and tipsily swayed to his beats, right up until he was rolled off stage to make way for the next act.
Sampology, a DJ who proudly incorporates visuals into his act with as much significance as his tunes, presented a sexy and suggestive set he called ‘Stimulation’ which left the crowd slack jawed, wide-eyed and staring, and any dancing was momentarily forgotten.
Definitely a clever producer, he was entertaining and his visuals cute, funny, and lewd.
Finally closing up the night was Dj duo The Aston Shuffle, and they definitely seemed to be the act people were waiting for. The dance floor finally seemed to wake up and come alive, and rocked out right until the close of the night, before filing rowdily back onto the busses, and singing drinking songs as they were chauffeured back into the city.
With the day’s focus on good food and drinks, as much as quality music, Welcome To The Valley a festival to watch for in the coming years, especially for older punters who are looking for a more relaxing vibe than a lot of the other fests are putting out these days.
