Some Thoughts, Feelings & Images From Last Frost Festival

Photos by Kate Busz.

If there was an award for 'city that punches above their weight, has sick music festivals and is the definition of the lucky country' - Wollongong would be winning by a mile. The latest addition to Wollongong's varied musical ensemble was The Last Frost and boy did the last cold come, with winds that saw temperatures drop and make you wonder whether you were in Wollongong or southern Antarctica. But with a stacked lineup and a last-minute swap for The Last Dinosaurs, it was one worth battling through the cold. Here's some thoughts, feelings and images from the fest:

Timmy Trumpet has competition in the form of Mookhi

That was a lie, it's Timmy Trumpet who has nothing on Mookhi. In fact, Mookhi might as well claim the 'Musical Trumpeter of Australia' right now. Playing to a marginal crowd Moohki steered away from the mic and left her beat-driven and sample heavy music take it away. It wasn't quite a stand-out set, and vocalist Billy Rose provided a jarring feel to the mood at times instead of adding to it. But it did mark out Mookhi potential as a producer and with time her live sets will come. Her debut EP Lost & Found is well worth a listen. 

Sloan Peterson could be a new age Australian rock icon

Sloan Peterson really set the tone for the festival; catchy guitar-driven riffs and choruses you could sing along. It's what you want in an act setting up the festival and it's what you want in a band that could sit on the top of festival bills in a few years time.

We've still got a way to go for wholly gender diverse lineups

While The Last Frost definitely had a good mix of female and male orientated acts there's a point about whether diversity is achieved if there's a band with one woman and multiple men. The Last Frost's lineup is definitely another step in the right direction, but it's a point worth making in the continuing struggle towards gender diversity.

There was a dangerous drinking game to be played with the number of Violent Soho clothing items at The Last Frost

Somewhere Violent Soho's marketing team and in turn accountant are high-fiving themselves because the festival, at times, became a walking billboard for the behemoths that Violent Soho have become in the past 3-4 years. And in turn if you sipped a beer every time you spotted a piece of merch it's highly unlikely you would've even made it to their set.

Violent Soho may have brought the crowds but Cloud Control stole the show

Playing for an hour Violent Soho smashed through their hits and thrilled the crowd but it left a little to be desired as they missed the odd chord and bungled verses. In their place shone Cloud Control, who are currently gearing up for the release of their third album Zone. They perfectly teased the crowd with a mix of old songs like Scar and Gold Canary against their title track Zone (This Is How It Feels). Indeed compared to Violent Soho Cloud Control felt refreshed and ready to tour an album whereas Violent Soho seemed slightly caught out of a well-deserved break from touring all over the country last year.