Reviewed on Saturday September 19
For its second year, the boutique celebration of Small World Festival took its newest incarnation to the leafy green surrounds of Sydney Park. Inviting festivalgoers to follow the music through the gardens to find the amphitheatre, the delicate sounds of the Visions DJ set rolled over the hills as spectators approached the natural parkland setting for a day of music, food and good-time vibes from Sydney and surrounds.
Kicking off the day’s musical lineup was the jubilant indie rock of Big White, whose underlay of new wave topped with a bright Sydney sheen provided a summery beginning to an otherwise overcast day. As Small World gradually filled with picnic rugs, rolled-up carpets and blissed-out revellers, Summer Flake powered through technical difficulties where they lined thoughtful slow-burners with the haunting dual harmonies of Stephanie Crase and Sarah Chadwick.
Adding to the mish-mash lineup that encompassed several genres while remaining inclusive and fun was Australia’s best AC/DC (Bon Scott era only) cover band. Led by local legend Spod, Bon Voyage were the first band on the day to lure a significant crowd of punters away from the blanket-lined hills to rock out to a blistering, beer and confetti-drenched set. Tipping the scales further on the already uneven lineup was the next act, local ladies All Our Exes Live In Texas. Despite their tender love songs and ‘my man did me wrong’ ballads being a questionable successor to Bon Voyage, their folksy melodies and soulful crooning made for a striking performance under the now soft blue sky, as ibises flew overhead.
Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders cut fine figures against the smoke and strobes of their neon-adorned stage, signifying that night had well and truly fallen. Crafting a curling, pulsating magnetism out of sheer stage presence and slick instrumentation, Ladder and co. entranced the crowd throughout a set crammed with highlights. Their grooving crowd had nothing on DZ Deathrays’ adoring fans however, as the band was met with a glorious mosh from the get-go. Joined by a third member on extra guitar, DZ’s sound proved much fuller, with a startling maturity in the razor-edged racket. That said, the crowd still moshed with fervour throughout the high-energy set, setting the audience ablaze in a fury of head-banging and crowd-surfing.
A couple of Mary’s burgers and half an hour of soundcheck later, The Church emerged to stake their place as the headline act. Opening with the menacing yet ultimately tender ‘Block’ before charging through their shortened seven-song set, they were a force to be reckoned with. A couple of hits made respective appearances, with ‘Metropolis’ causing a nostalgic, glassy-eyed stir and ‘Under The Milky Way’ performed exactly as it should be: beneath the cold night sky to an audience arm in arm. As Small World drew to a close around the writhing audience, the cresting epic ‘Miami’ resounded through the amphitheatre and the festival concluded in a generous wash of reverb.
