THERE had only been two Scene & Heard festivals, but it already felt like an important fixture on Newcastle's gig calendar.
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So naturally its absence since November 2019 has been strongly felt. Most notably as it's a rare occasion for its target audience of 35 to 50 to unwind from the daily rigours of work and raising families and to party like its Homebake 1999, again.
The difference between Scene & Heard and its rowdier and bigger sister festival, This That, is immense. The majority of the crowd at Scene & Heard actually watch the bands, rather than simply using the festival as an opportunity to party and generate social media content.
Cheeky punks Frenzal Rhomb delivered an endearingly scrappy mid-afternoon set. It was a special moment for Novocastrian bassist Michael Dallinger, who performed in a Newcastle Jets jersey.
As normal, the banter was first rate. "C'mon you remember when Screaming Jets went country? That went down alright," Lindsay McDougall joked when introducing a song. There also would have been a few bruised middle-aged bodies come Monday after a circle pit formed for Frenzal's final track, Never Had So Much Fun. Social distancing was over.
Sydney indie three-piece Ratcat were one of the oldest acts on the bill, given they enjoyed their heyday with 1991's No.1 album Blind Love. Frontman Simon Day's youthful rock star looks may have long been replaced by a grey beard, but he still has the charisma, and most importantly, the tunes to ignite a crowd. Don't Go Now and That Ain't Bad were the obvious highlights.
If it was the ladies mostly interested in Ratcat, then it was the dudes who packed in to watch progressive rock band Cog. The three-piece played the sunset slot and brought a level of musicianship and drama to the festivities.
Spiderbait played the first Scene & Heard in 2018, but there was a different mood in this set. Drummer and frontman Kram was decidedly melancholy as he revealed his house had flooded in Byron Bay preventing the band from rehearsing. The war in Ukraine was also playing on his mind.
"Can we make some noise for freedom and love?" Kram yelled.
There were no surprises from Spiderbait. They ran through the hits like Shazam, F--king Awesome, Old Man Sam with their cliche call and response, Footy, Buy Me A Pony, Calypso and Black Betty.
Grinspoon decidedly lifted the vibe. The Living End (2018) and Wolfmother (2019) both delivered impressive headline sets, but this was the best Scene & Heard has seen.
Phil Jamieson, even at 44, is arguably still Australia's coolest rock star. Dressed in black and red-striped pants and black jacket, he danced around and posed on stage, delivering the Grinners tracks DCx3, Lost Control and Just Ace with pure attitude.
Whoever headlines the fourth Scene & Heard in November has a hard act to follow.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
