Come Together Recharged – Festival Review & Photo Gallery 30th June @ Nightquarter, Gold Coast QLD

Come Together Recharged
Nightquarter, Gold Coast QLD
June 30th, 2018
Featuring: Spiderbait, The Superjesus, Mammal, Osaka Punch and Rackett

Well, wasn’t that just a freaking awesome night? For those of you who didn’t make it to Nightquarter to catch the Come Together Recharged Festival, didn’t you miss out. By 4pm I had arrived at the main gate, to find it already a hive of activity with sideshows, market stalls and seemingly endless rows of decadent food stalls.

Being early, and a reasonably familiar face at Nightquarter, I slipped into The Paddock before the gates open to have a cuppa and a chat. Sitting there, getting my camera and bits and pieces ready listening to the stage crew getting it set up – a drum smash here, a guitar strum there, when a voice pulled me out of my daydream. Straight away I recognised that voice…  The SuperJesus had just started their sound check. Empty venue, sun going down, and there is one of my favourite bands sound checking away. It was like a little private concert for one. Well, the 20 or so of us that were there waiting and watching haha

Sound check done and dusted it was time for the show to start.

Sydney based girls Rackett kicking off the night with their new single ‘Space Cadet’.   These girls know how to get the crowd amped and riled up – Rocking out to ‘Alive‘, ‘Human‘, ‘Kiss it Better‘, with the crowd screaming along to “FUCK YOU”, which, Bec Callander (lead vocals) tells us is actually a love song.  Formed in 2016, these self described loud and experimental punk-pop rockers get better and better each time I seem them. Catch the girls LIVE on their current Space Cadet Single Tour!

Next up were Brisbane boys Osaka Punch. Damn I loved these guys. Previously known as Kidney Thieves, this prodigious collection of talents have been together since about 2009.  Frontman Jack ‘Muzak’ Venables is a true showman, reeling in the crowds and rolling out the wit and humour in amongst an eclectic mix of metal, funk, jazz and rock.  Epic energy and drum smashes, hectic windmills, bass and guitar riffs – we even heard the boys bust out with some rap  – they nailed it!

I just loved Osaka Punch’s wicked and slightly twisted sense of humour. From the crowd it seems the boys are having a ball on stage, drawing the rest of us in to join them. Any band who pushes the boundaries on stereotypes always get an extra vote in my favour.  It is awesome that a typically ‘heavy’ band can jump on stage and take the piss out of themselves is a keeper!

Third on the bill for the night were Melbournites Mammal.

Bursting onto the stage after an almost 10 year hiatus, it was clear the fans were happy to see them. Adorned in a Viking style horned helmet lead came vocal man Ezekiel Ox followed by the rest of the band. Like a smack in the face of sensory input, with lights, crazy hats and helmets, Mammal definitely reminded the crowd why they are so awesome!

Front man Ezekiel Ox got up close and personal with the crowd, bouncing off the stage and onto the barriers, at one point heading out into the crowd and crowd surfing on the shoulders one of happy fan. The man even shared a few stories including why there was no band merchandise for the night… It did not find its way into the car on its way down. Drummer Zane Rosanoski smashed it on the drums, literally losing his cymbals mid-set!  Not losing a beat Zane kept on playing till the cymbals made their way back on to their stand, courtesy of a very fast roadie!

Finally, the penultimate moment I had been waiting for….

I have been a huge fan of SuperJesus since my teenage years (more years ago than I care to admit haha) and then when Sarah McLeod released her solo album Beauty Was a Tiger I was totally hooked. Back in the 90’s there weren’t a lot of female artists or heroes to look up to, but here was this totally rocking chick, with all the right attitude, not giving a fuck and to a kid who didn’t really fit in anywhere it gave some us the idea it actually didn’t matter. Out onto the stage they filed, one by one, instruments ready, getting straight into it with ‘Ashes and’ ‘Secret Agent Man‘.  I love it when bands play their best tracks while I am in the pit shooting. Following on with ‘Gravity‘, ‘Down Again‘ and ‘Saturation‘, SuperJesus are still at the top of their game and frontwoman Sarah McLeod absolutely knows how to rock that stage.

Finishing off the night with a cover song of another famous Australian artist, which the band recorded back in 1997, for whatever reason, it was shelved and forgotten about until recently when the band decided to work it on again and will be featuring on their re-release album. Their cover of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Confide In Me‘ totally fucking hit it.  As a child of the 80/90’s I am a total fan of Kylie, with this song was one of my favs, so to hear to SuperJesus play it, and nail it – What a way to finish.

Finally, the show we had all been waiting for, a roar from the crowd erupted as Spiderbait made their way on stage opening with ‘Straight through the Sun‘. First together way back in 1989, hailing from Finley, a regional town in the NSW Riverina district, they have continued to wow fans through to this day. No stranger to the stage Spiderbait gave us all we wanted playing personal favourites ‘Tonite‘, ‘Fucken Awesome‘, ‘Buy Me A Pony‘ and ‘Calypso‘. About 4 or 5 songs in bass player Janet English put down the bass, jumped on the drums and gave them a good smash.

The crowd went off when the first strums of ‘Black Betty‘, probably one of the most well known Spiderbait songs and a wicked Lead Belly cover. This song has been covered many times over the years but the Bait really did get it right. And just when we thought it was all over, they smashed out one last encore with ‘Shazam‘. What a way to top off the night!!

All of those amazing bands in one place it definitely was a perfect way for them all to “come together” in one perfect night.

Flashback to when The Superjesus‘ Sarah McLeod co-hosted Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall here and Revisit Mammal frontman Ezekiel Ox co-hosting last week’s episode of  right here

Festival Review & Photo Gallery by Bec O’Reilly. Find Bec on Facebook and Instagram.
Please credit Wall of Sound and Bec O’Reilly if you repost.

Rackett

Osaka Punch

Mammal

The SuperJesus

Spiderbait