Saskwatch @ Oxford Art Factory

It was the perfect evening for a gig: the weather was great, there wasn’t much traffic across the street, and even the security guards at Oxford Art Factory seemed in high spirits, and such was the rest of the night.

Robert Muinos opened an intimate affair with a spiritual blend of psychedelic post-rock and what can only be described as a Neil Young-ian folk twang. Towards the end of his set, as the crowd’s enthusiasm may have started waning, he invited an old friend onstage to rock some quick picking for a few songs; it was a great nod to his mate, who seemed to genuinely enjoy getting up onstage, but it was a little strange to see Muinos relegated to the shadows only to play some basic rhythm chords and silently leave stage three minutes later.

Next up were Dorsal Fins, who are due to appear at the next Junkyard Festival and have been making waves on the scene lately. This seven-piece (possibly eight-piece; they rotated on and off stage quite a bit) soul-funk group could only be described as The Avalanches of indie rock. Their style is loaded with fun and their set was full of energy and excitement. On the surface, it seemed like an approach that could alienate tonight’s onlookers because of the constant change between irregular time signatures, the shift from the female lead’s power crooning to the spoken-word rock-rap of the main man, and the wild genre-hopping from song to song, but the crowd was absolutely going off on these dudes. As an interesting aside, Robert Muinos was playing guitar in this band too.

After a short pause, the indie-soul/rock Melbourne natives, Saskwatch, took the stage as the crowd really thickened out and the buzz in the room peaked. Another band that constantly rotates an incredible nine members throughout their set, Saskwatch have all the bravado that comes with being one of the best doing it out of Victoria.

The greatest commendation of the night definitely goes to lead singer Nkechi Anele, exhibiting spaced-out dance moves while she effortlessly transitioned between a throaty baritone and a startlingly powerful soprano. The crowd ebbed and flowed with the set but you couldn’t help but think that the similarities between all three acts had made the night feel like one four-hour-long set. It was soon apparent why that was: Muinos was also the guitarist in Saskwatch. This guy sure gets around.