16/10/2019
Lovin’ these snaps by Foldback Magazine! We just want to send out a huge thankyou to all our amazing NOOKie crew and to you all for supporting another Top End live music extravaganza hosted by NOOK 👍
It takes a mountain of awesome folks to build a venue like this but I want to cheers Darwin Surf Life Saving Club (Creeky, staff & all volunteers) for trusting us with their incredible space. E3 Productions (Fish & his Crew) for everything technical, the breeze, De la Plage (Claire & Sev x), Abbie, Dad, Garth, Danny, Andy & Josh.
But, without Regurgitator, , Emma Rowe Music, phoebewearr & DJ Mangohig we’d be watching the Saturday night movie so get out and support live music!
Until next time.
Saturday saw Nook Events transform Darwin Surf Club into a music venue with an unparalleled view. Hazy golden light bathed the scene I walked into, the small grassy area two steps away from the sand, flanked by the shimmering ocean.
The gorgeous vocals of Phoebe Wear and the pure rock sensibilities of Emma Rowe were a wonderful warm up as the crowd watched the bright red sun sink down through the smoky sky into the ocean.
DJ Mangohig kept the crowd moving between sets all night with a perfect mix of nostalgic 90’s beats.
90’s rockers The Fauves are from Melbourne and have been playing together for 40 years. As such, they are at home on a stage and highly entertaining with their sarcastic and witty banter. They rounded off their set with their infamous Dogs Are the Best People. Arguably, a truer song has never been written.
The stage lit up with a huge screen and hilarious pre-recorded video. These video skits were dispersed throughout the set and featured cameos from Tim Rogers and Dylan Lewis among others. In their words, “A fully blown visually rehabilitated retrospective of a show straddling a holographic hyperbole of antiquated technology, trawling the analogue back through the digital”. They served as a story line of sorts and a chance for the band to jump off stage and make a costume change. Yes, they made 4 incredible costume changes throughout their set. In
Quan Yeomans charisma shines from the second he gets on stage. His huge smile and infectious laugh a feature throughout the set. He and Ben Ely alternate between vocal duties and switch instruments a few times. The energy and camaraderie of the three mates is awesome. Their intros to their very tongue-in-cheek songs are brilliant. Like before Fat Cop, “We wrote this song a long time ago. We’re sure that cops are very nice now. This is not a song about any cops that might be here. Here’s a song about 90’s cops”. Also, I scored Ely a perfect 10 for his incredible stag leap across the stage in his final costume, a pink tutu.
The ‘Gurge have always been ridiculously entertaining. And after 25 years, 11 albums and 7 EPs they don’t really show any signs of slowing down. The huge set was definitely a Greatest Hits retrospective and it did not disappoint - the crowd shouting back the lyrics to ‘Kung Foo Sing’, ‘Polyester Girl’, ‘!!! (The Song Formerly Known As)’ and ‘I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff’, just to name a few.
Their ability to write lyrics that take the p**s while fusing together everything from rap to rock to electronica to funk in catchy-as-hell songs is one of the reasons they have had such a long career. With songs like ‘I Will Lick Your Arsehole’ and ‘ I Sucked A Lot Of C**k To Get Where I Am’, it’s obvious that they are not really afraid of going anywhere. The fact that they’re just so funny and likeable is another.
The crowd was mostly over 30 and I think due to this there was not the usual sea of phones desperately trying to record every second for god-knows-what reason. It was a nice change to see a crowd actually immersed in being there.
Mangohig kept the crowd dancing in the moonlight long after The ‘Gurge left the stage. A few technical difficulties were the only tiny hiccup to what was one of the best gigs I’ve been to for ages in Darwin, so here’s hoping for more gigs like that at this incredible venue.
Oh and did I mention how good Quan’s smile is?
