BDS_1200x675_acf_cropped

Six Acts You Must See At The Blurst Of Times 2016

Words by Emma Jones and James Tait

After leaving us cold and lonely in 2015 while they had a year off, one of Brisbane’s absolute rip-roaring-est rock and roll festivals; The Blurst Of Times is making its dramatic return this Saturday (April 16th) night. Spread across three of Fortitude Valley’s best venues for live music going in The Brightside, The Zoo and The Foundry.

With a rather enormous, scarcely-containable 24 of Australia’s best up and coming young acts set to shred the stages, we thought it might be a sensible idea to put forward our hottest of tips for which bands you should see at any and all costs. (All of them being the obvious, if moderately impractical answer).

If you haven’t mastered the art of teleportation to be able to catch every act on the bill and you’re torn between a few or even if you’re just turning up with no idea what or where you’re going, may we recommend to you:

Hound

Local lads Hound are an act you have probably absolutely seen at least once playing a show in Brisbane, such is their productivity and frequency in the city’s live music scene. They play the kind of rock you grew up with: fun and infectious and not at all skimping on the riffs. Their guitarist Lucas Colin is an absolute shredder who might just have your jaw thudding to the floor (spoiler: he definitely will).

There’ll be an EP’s worth of their new material to enjoy in the live format too, with the boys having just released one in MiniVolume at the start of the month. If you like your rock and roll loud, fun and of a fine vintage you’ll do very well to catch Hound this weekend.

Polish Club

If you haven’t bought a one-way ticket and jumped on the Polish Club bandwagon yet then their forthcoming set at Blurst will definitely convince you. Drums, a guitar turned up to 11 and a voice that not only shakes the very foundations of most venues but is one of the best in Australian rock and roll right now is all this Sydney noisemaking duo need in putting on one heck of a live show.

Their brand of rock and roll is no bullshit, just huge riffs and old soul you’ll feel right in your bones. If you’d like to be deafened and sweaty but also exhilarated and excited about rock and roll that looks back in moving forward, get on don to see Polish Club, and check our review of their self titled EP here.

Bad//Dreems

It doesn’t get much bigger than this. Bad//Dreems cemented their status as one of Australia’s best bands in 2015 with the release of their debut LP Dogs At Bay. A record packed with raw emotion, fist-to-the-sky rock anthems, a snapshot of today’s Australia taken from a perspective we don’t often consider. They’re the love child of Paul Kelly And The Coloured Girls, Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel. They’re everything that’s good about pub rock and they’re doing their damnedest to make sure the music this country’s industry was built on will survive into the 21st century.

Their live show is an absolute goosebump-inducer, the boys leaving everything onstage in delivering each song straight from the heart. It will be something you eternally regret missing should you happen to.

Dune Rats

Old mates Dune Rats cause a ruckus wherever they go, and have locked in some serious touring under their belt since their last show in Brisbane last year. Live shows are second nature to them, and considering the damn near incite a riot when they take to the stage, these guys have to be on your list of acts you cannot miss this weekend. Full of surprises, the fellas just shot a video in Byron Bay on the weekend that resulted in the drummer, BC Michaels, now needing crutches. Not sure how that will go this weekend but if there is one thing we know for the sure, whether it’s broken bones or killer hangovers, the Dunies always pull through and will be a stand out act this Saturday!

The Murlocs

With their penchant for psychedelia and nostalgia, The Murlocs always bring the goods. Having caught them at Gizzfest last year, and BIGSOUND the year before that, the guys get better each and every time and this Saturday is shaping up to be no exception. Featuring members of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, these boys know their way around the studio and the stage, with the band having just released their sophomore album last month. They’re in the early part of a national tour in support of that album, titled Young Blindness, and are sounding better than ever before. Their latest single of the same night is a raucous, 60s sunshine jam that would provide the perfect soundtrack for an arm-in-arm sway in the crowd, as many of their tracks do. Don’t miss these guys, because it will definitely be one of the last times you will be able to see them in an intimate setting such as this. The sky is the limit for The Murlocs!

WAAX

Known for frontwoman Maz De Vita’s relentess energy and frenzied stage presence, WAAX are sure to whip the crowd into an all out pit early on in the day. Having just wrapped up a tour supporting Ecca Vandal, WAAX could have easily made that tour their own thanks to their in-your-face rock’n’roll with just enough punk to really give it some ‘tude. Considering WAAX is also one of the very few acts with a woman in it on the day, why not do a solid for your sisters in rock, and brace yourself for the physical and aural assault (in the best ways) that is a live WAAX show! For a kind of hint as to what you can expect from these guys, just 10 seconds into any one of their songs should be a good giveaway. Bring. It. On!

The Blurst Of Times kicks off from 4pm this Saturday, April 16. More info and tickets here.

Image: Mushroom