Number Two: Homebake

Two blogs in one day: my commitment levels are soaring (but how long will it last?).

Now, many people have been asking me about Homebake 07. I must say, when I first saw the line-up, I wasn't totally jumping out of my skin. However, it turned out to be a fabulous day and I'm really glad I went.

First up with Bridgemary Kiss. The lead singer reminded me of that typical year 7 image when you see a midget child walking around the playground with a bag on their back that is bigger than them. Except replace the bag image with a guitar. They sounded very rough, very adolescent, very Arctic Monkeys minus the Brittish accents, very stacatto beats and pop-escent riffs. I'll have to check them out a little more on MySpace.

Then Elise and myself walked around the market stalls, looking at badges and pork pie hats. I picked up a hat which Tanya and my mum hate, but I love it. I'll probably be wearing it when I see you next.

Next was Bridezilla, and instantly, I was in love. For 16 to 18-year-olds (yes, I did my research), these five kids have more charisma and stage presence than bands that have been playing together for more than their lifetimes. Their violinist was electric, racing around the stage while still being able to play approximately a thousand notes per second; their singer sounded like a zombie but looked like an innocent girl out of an Enid Blyton novel; their saxophonist was very talented; their guitarist was rather interesting looking (not in a good way); and their drummer yelled out random things here and there. It was like these five kids had just come up with musical ideas of their own, mashed them together in an emotion-fuelled battle between instruments, and could still, somehow, pull it off. They intrigue me.

Next session saw no bands that I particularly wished to see, but we ended up in the Big Top watching Expatriate. Now, these boys obviously have some fashion issues. The lead singer walks out in a blue tight-fitted vest and skin tight jeans, looking like he was on e, baring his wide eyes at the audience. With his white eyebrows and black dyed hair, he seemed rather egocentric and scared me just a little (OK, a lot). But then the bassist strips off his jacket to reveal an overly loose singlet (I'm talking arm holes that went below his ribs) that looked as though it was made of purple and emerald green satin. Weird. And all their songs sounded the same, so we got out of there pretty fast.

We escaped to Art of Fighting. We only caught two songs, but they were rather soothing. Perhaps good background music. We had to walk past Brittish India to get to The Dome though, and that was traumatising enough. There are not many bands who are less talented than Brittish India.

We met up with a girl from the Operator Please street team and snagged our free t-shirts (because apparently I'm on the street team... Can't remember joining) before rushing to the front of the Main Stage for the band. You know, I'm not a huge fan of Tim. Everyone who I talk to is all like "Oh Tim, he's so cute", even though most would be twice his age. Ashley is OK. I like his hair; not particularly his dress sense. The "Fiddler" (as the shirtless boys behind me were yelling) was centre stage wearing this tiny dress which could almost be seen up from where I was standing (Advice to the blonde Fiddler: wear something a little longer when you're on a highly mounted stage, for my sake). Amandah was super talented as usual, still able to sing even though her fringe was eating her face. But I was able to look past all four members to Sarah. My new "celebrity" crush is for Miss Sarah Gardiner. Not only is she super cute, she is a great dancer too. Plus she got these fans up on stage. How rad is that?! And apparently, she's over 18 (according to the colour band she was wearing on her wrist) so I think I might do some searching for a personal MySpace...

Operator Please played such a wonderful set that I vowed I will try and get to as many of their gigs as possible. As we sat, resting on the lawn, screeching noises came from the Blue King Brown set. I really wanted to see them (mainly because I know all the words to their songs seeing as my father is a huge fan and the album is played almost every weekend in our household), but I couldn't put up with the technical difficulties. We moved on to catch the last of the Soft Tigers' set, another band that I was sad we missed. The lead singer seemed to only be wearing a satin bath robe. Shame we missed that one.

After making a quick dash to the toilet where I caught up with Mr Wilcox (possibly the funniest teacher on the planet), the Brunettes entrapted my attention. The Hopetoun Stage this year was displaying some really stiking talent, and I can see myself becoming a devout fan of this band. The Hopetoun has always been good to me: introducing the Basics last year, Bridezilla and Brunettes this year, and now I am old enough to go to the actual hotel (Maybe Mild Ryan will play there again one day...). "B.A.B.Y." is such a catch song; a band with a clarinet always gets me.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long with the Brunettes, rushing off to catch Bumblebeez. Anyone who jumps on stage with a Daft-Punk-esque visor covering their eyes and a black cape is a rockstar, and the two songs we watched were electric. However, as much as I love the album, there was no experimentation with the music live. They sounded exactly as they did on the album. Not that that's a bad thing, but I just wanted a bit of variation and excitement.

Next was Angus and Julia Stone. They are both gorgeous. If they were lost puppies, anyone who would refuse to gather them up in their arms and take them home to sit in front of the fire has a black heart and deserves to die. No one can possibly be able to avoid their puppy dog eyes. No one! Their music was beautiful and I plan to see an intimate show with them now, as I think they were stiffled by the festival atmostphere. Two thumbs up.

Josh Pyke has always been an artist I've wanted to see, and finally I was able to sing "Private Education" in front of him (compared to in the shower). He was pitch-perfect and played all the classics plus the populars from his album. Even when he wore these goofy sunnies this guy from the crowd had thrown at him, he was still charming and warm to his fans.

As most of you know, I'm in love with Sarah Blasko. But a hungry stomach and Gotye won over this pretty lass. I did get to see two songs of hers, though. She is so mesmerising; I could listen to her voice for hours. Gotye was fabulous, of course. My love for Wally certainly isn't as big as Olivia's, but it's still quite reasonable.

We decided we should go into the Big Top early as to secure a good position for Architecture in Helsinki, arriving as Cut Copy were bouncing around on stage. Last time I saw them, they were supporting Franz Ferdinand and they just had absolutely no crowd reaction. But they were just in another element on this day. There was just a lot more energy in the room, perhaps even a hint of maturity in their music. I enjoyed their set, as did the other thousand shirtless boys around us. Elise and I were rather intrigued at the fact that so many of these half-naked men who were hugging and kissing each other classify themselves as heterosexual.

Muscles had the DJ spot between acts and I was surprised at how good he actually was. I always pictured Muscles to be a fat man who sat behind a computer and technologically enhanced his voice. But no, he sang his little lungs out for minutes on end, and I still don't know where he had the energy to randomly yell out to the crowd. What was disappointing about his set, yet again, was the lack of live experimentation. It seemed to me like he just pressed a button on his keyboard and the instrumental version of his songs would begin playing. However, he was entertaining all the same.

After waiting an additional 25 minutes and feeling as though my legs were about to drop off, Architecture in Helsinki trotted on to the stage, quite tentatively though. You could see the disappointment on all of their faces that half of their equipment wasn't working, however the music they played still lived up to my expectations. Cameron Bird is a crazy man. Ruggers and a wifebeater were a dead giveaway for me, but he is seriously something every lead singer should strive for. He never doubted himself, and the band grew in confidence as the set went on. I'm glad they played "Do The Whirlwind" as it's my favourite song from the second album, but "Heart It Races" was a crowd favourite; a grand song to go out on. Even with the technical difficulties, Architecture in Helsinki was my favourite act of the day by a long mile.

It was 10pm and we sat in the middle of the Domain, hearing the Divinyls out of my right ear and PNAU out of my left ear. PNAU were strangely intriguing to me: they had the classic house bassline which I'm usually not much of a fan of, but they definately caught my attention. However, singing "I Touch Myself" along with 10,000 other people was definately a highlight. I wish I am as energetic in my old age as the Divinyls were. Absolutely amazing.

Overall, a good day was had by all. It didn't matter how overpriced the alcohol was, music shone through as the great connector of people. I hope to see y'all there next year.



Lovemeg