Arts

REVIEW: The Anticipated Return Of Spin Off Festival Had Us Spinning Out Of Control

Spin Off Festival 2018 took place in the Jubilee Pavilion at the Adelaide Showgrounds on Friday July 20th and featured an absolutely amazing programme consisting of the best of this year’s Splendour in the Grass acts in an exclusive one day only mini festival and it was truly a banger.

Spin Off Festival 2018 took place in the Jubilee Pavilion at the Adelaide Showgrounds on Friday July 20th and featured an absolutely amazing programme consisting of the best of this year’s Splendour in the Grass acts in an exclusive one day only mini festival and it was truly a banger. A sold out event with crowds of avid supporters who might not have made it to its umbrella event but got to experience Splendour in a smaller dose and all from the comfort of their home city. It was a pleasure to see so many avid music supporters having a good time and losing themselves in the sea of faces (and quality local brews) while audibly swimming amongst all of the frequencies.

Photo by Lisa Vincent

First up for the day was local act MANE who got the party started with a powerful set of her original heartfelt compositions. This lady is a true performer who really gets the hips swinging of listeners, and an occasional click of the fingers too. Slow, haunting songs with smooth guitar licks filling in the empty spaces in sound and groovy percussion tying it all together well. Followed by the angelic alternative / indie artist Eves Karydas who played some of her original tracks such as Couch and There For You. It was a soulful experience in every way possible.

A break between sets means rushing for the food carts and pop-up bars on the grounds which had a huge range of options available. Nonetheless, the infamous sriracha nuggets (which we were told were super spicy) left a little to be desired int the flavour and heat department. Nonetheless they went down a treat alongside the chips and aioli dipping sauce. Pirate Life was the beverage of choice for the day for an acceptable price of only nine dollars per can.

Next on the stage was G flip, and the songs “Killing my Time” and “About You” seemed to be fan favourites. The crowd were buzzing with energy and bopping along in time, most people were starting to feel the effects of alcohol at this point, as early as it was.

Then, next up was the multi-talented young woman / soccer player / musician / scientist that is Alex the Astronaut, it was indeed an interesting act. And an inspiring one at that, it’s crazy to think about how far just a girl and her guitar can go. An odd looking band, she performs alongside (what looks like they could be) her girlfriend, and Mum? What an odd group, what a banging sound they deliver though. It was a raw and real show, with Alex openly talking about writing songs on the bus, in true blue Aussie style.

Yungblud wowed the crowd with a set of his original compositions. The crowd was completely immersed in his sound which seemed to be a solid combination of rock, surf, and hip hop that comes out as something original and bloody banging! Definitely suitably categorised as “Alternative Rock”, Yungblud is definitely an alternative act to say the least. He performed some of his new songs such as “Psychotic Kids”, “California” and “Polygraph Eyes”. Plus some brand new tracks which were being performed for the first time, the crowd really went off for those. All the songs were performed with precision and passion and he really interacted with the crowd well.

SKEGSS made an appearance next to show us some tracks from their new album ‘My Own Mess’, as well as some older, well-loved hits. The crowd absorbed their surfy garage rock, like hipster sponges.

Following was Methyl Ethyl, another awesome addition to the line-up. A trippy ride with the band playing hits like“Twilight Driving” and “Ubu” flawlessly. The floor was slowly becoming less visible as it was littered with bottles and cans.

Photo by Lisa Vincent

The four piece – The Jungle Giants were next up on the line up dishing out a warm slice of rock and played songs such as “Feel the Way I Do”, “Used to be in Love” and more smash hits. The crowd had a well-deserved and highly anticipated mosh, and were able to get out some of their energy.

The lovely lady and wondrous singer known as Meg Mac was up next to take to the stage in style, she blew everyone away with her well natured songs. She radiated good vibes, and you could tell the crowd was soaking them in.

Photo by Lisa Vincent

Kudos to Spin Off festival / the organisers for the free bottles of water on offer encouraging all to stay hydrated in between acts. There’s nothing worse than having to leave a music festival due to dehydration.

The Smith Street band made their way over from their home town to perform here for us some of their fresh Aussie rock hits “Passiona”, “Death to the Lads” and “Birthdays”. Yet again, the crowd felt they were able to have a proper good mosh (as The Wombats would say in their native tongue).

The biggest call card, the highly anticipated set from the The Wombats was undeniably fantastic. With the crowd not missing a beat and singing along to the songs they have grown to love over the years. Those charming British boys had all of the girls swooning and drunkenly singing along with a passionate fire burning inside them.

We got the pics from the festival in proof of just how good the outing was!

Overall, Spin Off festival was a blast and a welcome return to the musical sphere. Their last outing was a huge hit and so was this one, we just hope that they don’t take another hiatus!

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