Crowd at this year's BASSINTHEGRASS. Pic courtesy of Harriet Servinis.
An eager crowd of 7000 turned out to this year’s BASSINTHEGRASS, with 6 NT acts in the line up.
Playing alongside Empire of the Sun, Silverchair, Children Collide and Horrorshow, local bands Semishigure, Sweet Amber, Sleeveheads and Leigh Chisholm & Band, and DJ Fish made their presence felt, taking to the stage from 11am at Darwin Amphitheatre, Saturday May 22.
Happy to be performing on home turf, Territory superstar Jessica Mauboy also had her hometown crowd onside, as she sang an early set of favorites, new songs and “covers”.
Featured in an article in the NT News in the lead up to the big gig, punk three-piece Semishigure relished the experience of playing such a big event.
Kylie Smith on the big screen, drumming with Semishigure at BITG. Photo by Alice Stevens.
Drummer Kylie Smith (right) said “playing on a stage that size with lots of expensive equipment was the first time for Semishigure so we were all very excited and it was certainly a very memorable experience. I was so nervous before going on stage but when I looked out into the crowd and didn’t see so many people, I felt more relaxed. I had lots of fun and played like I was at Happy Yess.”
She said the crowd reacted well to their unique brand of Japanese thrash-pop: “I saw lots of smiling faces and bobbing heads so I think they liked us. We even had a couple of young high school girls request our signatures in Japanese which was flattering!” The only woman on stage that day who played an instrument, Kylie also had the opportunity to chat with interstate acts. She says “The guys from Horrorshow and Hilltop Hoods were so nice when I plucked up the courage to talk to them. I don’t think they’d listen to Japanese punk but they kindly accepted a copy of our CD anyway!”
Jessica Mauboy at BITG. Source: Brooke Bannister.
Highlights of her day also included: “When the [Battle of the School Bands winner] Sleeveheads played their set. They blew me away. They are amazing! They were one of the tightest bands on the day, along with Children Collide from Melbourne.” Also when she “found out that one of my friends was sitting in a tree outside the fence listening to our whole set!”
Watching heroes Silverchair from back stage also left an impact on Kylie; “I never thought I’d be able to see [Daniel Johns] play guitar just 3 metres away from my very own eyes, in real life!” Bass player Yusuke Fukuda finished by saying that he was so psyched after playing their set, that all he wanted to do was strap his guitar back on and “play again after the sunset!” Semishigure will follow their big day with the launch of their brand new EP ‘Into The Soil, Hatch And Burrow’ from 8pm, June 5 at Darwin Railway Club, Parap.
Sweet Amber
Local rock grunge-rock band Sweet Amber (left) also had a great day. Singer Dylan Podsiadly reports “We had a blast at BITG. It was a great experience that won’t be forgotten quickly.” Although their set was “good”, Dylan says “we played early so there wasn’t a huge amount of people around but the guys that were there enjoyed it and I’m sure we made a few new fans. We played a pretty good set however we did have some technical difficulties so it wasn’t all smooth sailing. We loved it though and hopefully there is many more festival/big gig experiences coming our way.”
The highlight of his day “was exploring the backstage area and getting to watch the big bands play side stage. The bands we really enjoyed were Silverchair, Hilltop Hoods, Children Collide, Semishigure & Leigh Chisholm. Sleeveheads also blew us away they’ve definitely got new fans in us. Redcoats also put on a really good show. We enjoyed everyone really.” And to sum up playing BITG, Dylan says “Overall it was an awesome experience and one we definitely won’t forget.”
And best-known for his work as a solo artist, local blues guitarist and singer Leigh Chisholm teamed up with bass guitarist Jamaica Richards and drummer Jason Irvine on stage, to perform a great set of local music, clearly a talented young band of NT musicians.
Semishigure's Yogo Kiminami rocks out at BASSINTHEGRASS. Photo by Alice Stevens.
Read more about Sweet Amber’s big day at BITG here.
View Semishigure’s BITG photo gallery.
View Harriet Servnis’s BITG photo album here.
View the NT News BASSINTHEGRASS 2010 photo gallery.
Read more about BASSINTHEGRASS here.
See Brooke Bannister’s ABC Online gallery of Jessica Mauboy at BITG here.
Words: Megan Spencer
