Gig Review: Lookout Festival, Mornington Racecourse, Saturday 13 April, 2024
With a huge lineup on today’s bill including heavy weights and dual headliners, Live and Incubus, it was hard not to get your feet dancing and a voice strained by the end of the huge day. Set in Melbourne’s coastal town of Mornington Peninsula, today’s huge line up was certainly well received with an enormous crowd in attendance.
First on the bill were party starters The Super Jesus. Led by the vivacious and energetic Sarah McLeod, saw this band get the day going. Early arrived punters were treated to all their hits including, ‘Gravity’, ‘Secret Agent Man‘ and even ending off with their version of ‘Dancing With Myself‘. McLeod certainly knows how to entertain even it meant precariously dancing on some wobbly front speakers.
Eskimo Joe were next on stage. This band are just getting better with age. With Kav Temperley at the helm, this band is still solid and still sound tight especially with Temperley’s soothing vocals. Starting off with ‘Sarah‘ and ‘New York‘, they even indulged with crowd with one of their first mashes of ‘Sweater‘. Ending their awesome set with the loved ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine‘, this band are brilliant live and so well received whenever they play, and today was no exception. Definitely a hard act to follow.
Birds of Tokyo sauntered on stage to a rowdy applause from the ever growing crowd. Starting with Smith Street, Plans and I’d Go with You Anywhere, the band were in fine form. Lead singer Ian Kenny commanded the crowd and entertained them for their full hour set. As the sun started to set and the coolness of the night set in, the heat was rising on the stage with Kenny at the wheel. Finishing the set with Good Lord, This Fire and Lanterns, saw the band as one of the favourites for this festival.
Words cannot explain just how good Ed Kowalczck from Live sounded. His voice is still in phenomenal condition and sounds just as good if not better than when Live were at their peak in the 90’s/00’s. Whilst Kowalczck is the last remaining original member, the band performed extraordinarily. It’s bands like this that even with change in their line-ups but still play exceptionally, that make the distance. Their hour and a half set included hits such as ‘Hold Me Up’, ‘Freaks’, ‘Run to the Water’ and even a new edition – ‘Leave the Radio On‘ made the cut. Ending their thoroughly entertaining set with their massive hit, ‘Lightning Crashes‘, just reiterated just how good this band is live. And so well named.
Incubus were the last headliners on today’s bill and well worth the wait. Brandon Boyd‘s voice is still in superb condition and the sound quality of this set was immaculate. Incubus’s back catalogue is huge, and whilst they are a band that no longer need to do covers, hearing them incorporate a heavy version of Portishead’s “Glory Box” into their own was the icing on the cake for me. Playing hits such as ‘Nice to Know You’, ‘Drive’, ‘Circles’, ‘Pardon Me‘ and even throwing in The Doors ‘Riders in the Storm‘ into ‘Are you In‘ seamlessly, just goes to to show that this band has all the goods. Ending their thoroughly entertaining set with ‘Drive‘ and ‘Wish You Were Here‘, saw the band close the day out.
With the days proceedings coming to an end, I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable festivals I have been to in a long time. The sound quality, lighting, to even the set up of toilets to bars and food outlets, was of a high standard. I walked away with a full heart and memories that relived my 20’s. If music is an enabler of happiness, then the Lookout festival is certainly welcome to come back anytime.
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