Reviewed on Sunday January 10 (photo by Katrina Clarke)
FBi Radio is more than just the second word in its name. It’s an institution. A community. An idea to be expressed. A celebration. Taking over the entirety of Eveleigh’s Carriageworks, the station threw a block party to raise funds for further developments within its immediate confines, as well as to both recognise and revere the music coming out of the greater Sydney area right now.
We’re talking music that’s as diverse as it is engaging, and that much was apparent as soon as one walked inside. The Preatures’ Gideon Bensen strutted his solo stuff with some slick new pop numbers, the party-starting Coda Conduct dropped rhymes over the theme from Round The Twist (seriously) and Holy Balm led the devoted few in a shoe-shuffling hipster disco. All within the course of 20 minutes – and we haven’t even mentioned the guest DJ sets from Labor MP Anthony ‘DJ Albo’ Albanese. What other station could pull that off?
Across the day, things heated up from both a literal and figurative standpoint. As each stage slowly but surely evolved into total sweatboxes, the acts performing upon them really started cooking with gas. Honorary Sydneysiders The Walking Who and Shining Bird showed the city slickers how it’s done down in the ’Gong, while newcomer Sampa The Great stole the show with one of the tightest and most impressive sets of the entire festival, oozing soul and pure charisma backed up by a sizzling live band.
Not to be outdone, Fishing made a triumphant – albeit quite risky – return to the live setting, playing entirely new material from their forthcoming second album. It looked as though Doug Wright and Russell Fitzgibbon were marching directly toward the rave cave on their new songs, sending the audience into a spiralling trance and turning up the joy fantastic with a cameo from Doug’s older brother, Cloud Control frontman Al. Betting everything on black, Fishing emerged as the true victors of the day.
Later on, Thundamentals’ Tuka teamed up with another great Sydney act, Left., to add further dimension to some of his already excellent solo cuts. The second stage, simultaneously, was brought to a close from two generations of garage rock par excellence, Hockey Dad and Palms.
The FBi SMACS were an entirely exhausting and incredibly rewarding experience for performer and punter alike. Both the station and Sydney Festival should wear the day’s triumph with the greatest of city-centred pride. Glorious Sydney.
