Apr
03
12.11pm

BAD FRIDAY // Festive Vibes


It was an unusually gorgeous sunny day this Easter Good Friday in Sydney and if you were a fan attending this year’s BAD Friday Festival you surely were up for a great outing at one of the cities biggest street parties.

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Amongst the factories and warehouses of Marrickville and just below from the Sydenham train station the whole commuter parking lot gave up its usual purpose to host live music and entertainment alongside food stalls, beverages and merch desks. The festival line up of Australian bands from right across the country was all about acknowledging our homegrown talent and the amount of work that goes into supporting an all-inclusive roster.

In addition to the ticket price, there was also the incentive of giving back to the community with a small $20 donation to a local charity. In the middle of the scorching afternoon sun, attendees made a very long cue just to enter inside the sold out festival. Some of the highlights of the afternoon were late additions to the festival Pist Idiots with their drunken antics and the avant-garde duo Party Dozen, a saxophonist and drummer with strange sound effects who were slightly left field from all the other acts on the bill.

Pist Idiots // By Ashley Mar

Party Dozen // By Ashley Mar

Adelaide’s West Thebarton was the first to bring their garage rock and sonic force to a crowd that was beginning to grow in numbers. The most anticipated act before sun set was Melbourne’s charismatic Ecca Vandal who really turned the place into a true rock show and inspired an insane mosh pit especially during her songs Price of Living and Closing Ceremony.

West Thebarton // By Ashley Mar

Ecca Vandal // By Ashley Mar

As the sun finally went down the festival got close to being completely full and the atmosphere made for a night of celebration and partying. Brisbane outfit The Belligerents came on stage and delivered their psych pop show, everyone danced, clapped and jumped to their Tame Impala influenced compositions. On the other side of the parking lot were Straight Arrows who transported a modern hipster audience to a 60’s British invasion style gig. Boo Seeka’s blending of genres added something else to the already sonically varied 14-band line up and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets trippy music brought yet another interesting dimension to BAD Friday with a top-notch performance that left the crowd electrified and euphoric.

The Belligerents // By Ashley Mar

Straight Arrows // By Ashley Mar

Boo Seeka // By Ashley Mar

It was now the time of the night when the not so secret headline act Sticky Fingers came up on stage in front of a parking lot entirely filled with bodies where it was extremely difficult to move anywhere. Sticky Fingers infectious reggae rock jams and accessible choruses encouraged everyone to sing along to every word and they seemed to fulfill their onus as the festival headline act. Their set did clash with Mezko’s time slot on the other side making it the only significant conflict of the whole day forcing fans of both bands to choose between them.

Sticky Fingers // By Ashley Mar

The 9th annual BAD Friday Festival was truly the biggest event in their close to a decade of existence with a high turnout and strong public interest. There were a few desperate souls who tried to jump over the walls to get in without paying but were immediately caught by the security guards. Overall the festival was very well organised and the mainly young audience seemed to have found their Easter long weekend getaway a memorable experience.



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