:: Homebake Festival - Sydney Domain - December 2005

By: Katie Stevenson

It’s always so hard going to an event like Homebake. So many good bands. How do you choose which ones to see? With four stages at this year's event, the choice was bound to be even harder. So as I was dramatically torn between these four stages.

What I can say, without question, is that Australian music was on display and it didn’t disappoint. A little disappointing was the sound of some of the acts. They could have been a little louder. Some stages had to compete for sound, with some heavy beats from other stages taking over some of the acoustic moments from others. But this was only a tiny shadow on an otherwise brilliant day.

With the sun shining brightly, crowds lined up to enter the Domain. Many made the effort to look as Aussie as possible, with lots of flags, green and gold zinc, and many a corkscrew hat to be seen amongst the throng of music fans. Another “must have accessory” seemed to be a “Wolfmother t-shirt", with an estimated 45% of the crowd sporting one.

Fresh from their J Award win, Wolfmother impressed those with and without one of their t-shirts. Lead singer Andrew Stockdale looked “glam rock meets Saturday Night Fever” in his white waistcoat and flares, teamed with a black lapel shirt. The Mess Hall showed why they could well be the Next Big Thing, and it’s hard to believe that just two guys could make so much noise. On the Dome stage newcomers Expatriate was poetically moody, and the lovely Sarah Blasko was singing at her usual beautiful best.

Ben Lee proved to be a little ray of sunshine as his magnificently melodic songs gave everyone “pop music to believe in again”. Ben sprinkled rose petals from his pockets over his band mates, tossed flowers to the crowd, and didn’t take the smile from his face. Ben was joined briefly by “The Grates” lead singer Grates Patience, after proclaiming that the year 2006 “will belong to a band called The Grates". Patience was like a little dancing doll, and their combined talent proved that music has got happy again. Many made sure they checked out their show on The Hopetown Stage later that afternoon.

The Herd played to a zealous Big Top crowd, who warmly welcomed their new band mate Jane Tyrell. Despite some initial softness in sound, the boys (and girl) whipped the crowd into a hip hopping frenzy with “We Can’t Hear You”, “77%” and new single “Under Pressure” just to name a few. The Living End was tight as always, playing at dusk, and earning the biggest mosh pit of the day, with everyone singing, or yelling, along to “Prisoner of Society”, to name just one track.

The Cat Empire proved too big for the smaller Dome stage, with fans eager to groove spilling into other areas. Felix’s enthusiasm, as always, was infectious - the trumpets loud, and beats just made for dancing. However it was The Finn Brothers, with their singalong classics both old and new, who proved to be the perfect ending for a glorious day of Homebaked Australian Music.