Well last night, after almost a 12 months hiatus, we were able to enjoy live music again. The last time I got to see bands perform was at Womad last year, but thanks to the Summer Sounds Festival, we got to see End of Fashion, Bodyjar, Jebediah and Spiderbait do their thing and is was ‘fucking awesome!’

If our new normal for music festivals is to enjoy them in pods then bring it on. It’s a sensational concept and a great way to enjoy live music while still keeping our distances. I was really impressed by how the event was organised and Bonython Park is a great venue. The parklands of Adelaide are a great asset and should be protected from further encroachment of development to keep them that way.

End of Fashion started proceedings, I haven’t ever listened to them before and only know one song of theirs, ‘O Yeah’. But it was great to have someone perform on stage and their set provided the soundtrack for Amy, Jay, Fiona and I to catch up as we hadn’t seen each other for quite some time.

Next up was Bodyjar, another band I haven’t listened to a lot but for Jay it was the squillienth time he’s seen them perform so he was pretty psyched. Jay took some footage of the gig which was fun to watch this morning, mainly due his singing in the background.

Jebediah were next and they didn’t disappoint. Ive only got one album of theirs, ‘Slightly Odway’ and it’s a cracker and I haven’t really got into much of their more recent music but their set was great and had us dancing and singing along and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

And then there was Spiderbait… Ive been fortunate to see them perform many times, they are one of my favourite bands and Kram is one of my all-time favourite performers. Amy is a big fan of Janet and she is awesome too, but Kram captures my attention with his stage presence. They had David Lane filling in for them last night, David is the guitarist from You Am I. I reckon I picked up a few times early in the set when the band may have zigged when they should have zagged which is understandable as they hadn’t been on stage for 12 months and had David filling in, but without doubt the energy and sense of gratefulness that permeated the night made this show by Spiderbait the one I have enjoyed the most.

We danced and sang along with them and were equally grateful to be able to do so as the band were to perform for us. Jay made the call early that he was keen to hear Black Betty and the band didn’t disappoint, finishing their set with this awesome song.

As mentioned previously, the pod concept is great and it added to the experience of people watching which is one of my all-time favourite pastimes. Some of the pods around us were getting pretty loose which is always fun to watch and we also spied a fellow ‘skullet’ who was obviously enjoying the gig and roaming between pods not far from us. Jay was able to get a photo with his kindred spirit at the end of gig and the moment these two skullets embraced will always be etched into my memory, everyone around us also enjoyed that moment.

At music festivals and gigs one of things I always look out for is what band t-shirts people are wearing. I was stoked to be complemented by two people for my pepper sauce Herd t-shirt but the t-shirt highlights for me was a Descendants t-shirt, a Regurgitator t-shirt I hadn’t seen before and a Rage Against the Machine t-shirt that looking similar to the Jack Daniels label.

Band t-shirts are my thing and I grappled for some time whether to purchase one as I’m trying not to buy stuff I don’t need and I already have heaps of band t-shirts, in fact I recently donated a bunch of them to the local op shop. I checked out the merch desk twice before finally deciding to add another Spiderbait t-shirt to my collection, Jay bought a Bodyjar t-shirt. At the end of the day buying merch is a great way to ensure the band gets some income and I love a band t-shirt. Today while tapping this blog out I am happily wearing my new purchase and smiling at the memories of a great night out.

So the pod thing is a winner and I’d be happy to enjoy more gigs in the future in this format. Our night was made all the better by enjoying it with Jay and Fiona and we are all so grateful to have been able to attend the Summer Sounds Festival last night. Live music is back and we are all the better for it.

Amy and I are now back in Loxton, the temperature is closing in on our predicted top of 40 and it will be 45 tomorrow and 43 on Monday. So its inside with the a/c on for the next few days as we listen to the Hottest 100 today, the 200-101 of the Hottest 100 tomorrow and the Hottest 100 of 2000 on Monday. So the music will just keep flowing for the next few days, Giddy Up!