Small World Festival’s second year running saw the event upsized to a much larger venue from the streets of Marrickville to Sydney Park. As the crowd poured onto the freshly turfed amphitheatre, the familiar feeling of an Inner-West day drinking session began to sink in.
Local boys, Big White, brought their woozy brand of psych-tinged rock complimenting the sunshine, while The Lulu Raes followed their Sydney counterparts displaying their blissful pop.
As the afternoon saw a further increase in crowds, the much hyped Green Buzzard took to the stage and delivered a stellar and satisfying performance.
As much as the performances were hyped, the food selection had even bigger promises of delivering. (Notable mentions: Bloody Mary’s pulled pork burger and Cornersmith’s waffle with spiced sugar.)
Early sound issues worried fans, including a complete sound cut off during Summer Flake’s set, however the 3 piece managed to soldier on, bringing their garage-dream pop.
Then came Bon Voyage, Australia’s greatest AC/DC cover band. However if you were expecting some Back in Black and Thunderstruck, you were mistaken. Strictly a Bon Scott era covers band, lead singer and local legend SPOD stated, “No offence Brian [Johnson], but you suck.”
As the sun began to set, folk harmonising queens, All Our Exes Live In Texas, brought down the pace, claiming their band name is somewhat incorrect. “We should change our name to All Our Exes Live In Newtown.”. Sydney rockers, Palms, hit hard and fast as they brought the pace back up.
Jack Ladder and his star studded band, The Dreamlanders set to begin the evening with a bang with his low brooding voice and eclectic style, along with some fabulous stage presence from Donny Benét and Kirin J Callinan.
After a quick costume change by Ladder’s drummer Laurence Pike, he was ready to perform with PVT. Their first show in a few years saw the boys getting back into their dark dance pop stride, as well as performing new material.
DZ Deathrays kept the night pumping with a calamity of hard hitting scuzz-rock, crowd surfing and stage crashing, while The Church rounded off the night with their mesmerising ambient rock.
For the second year of a one stage festival in the heart of Sydney, Small World definitely lived up to the expectations of the punters and in the words of All Our Exes Live In Texas, “Showbiz, cunts.”
