Festival Review
Grapevine Gathering 2019
Grapevine Gathering returned for its third year, this time moving from the Yarra Valley’s Rochford Estate to new venue Grapevine Estate in Mickleham. With an awesome music lineup perfectly paired with an equally impressive food and drink lineup, Grapevine offers plenty of reasons to jump into one of Melbourne’s up and coming boutique festivals.
At midday on a perfect 23 degree day, the gates open, and there’s a rush to get in and check out what the festival has to offer. Sunscreen on and a drink in hand, MEL Live headed straight to the stage to check out the killer lineup.
Opening the stage was local five piece band Big Words, playing tracks from their R&B-infused EP Hollywood, a Beautiful Coincidence. With their breezy, summer vibes, their set was the perfect start to the day. The charismatic Kira Puru is on next; and immediately starts riling up the crowd. Her feel good music has the early crowds swaying and singing along, and hit single Molotov only has the audience even more excited for the day to come. Kira’s stage presence is undeniable throughout her performance, and it was great to see such an artist live.
Next up is a DJ set in the form of Lovebirds. Hailing from Berlin, Lovebirds is the solo project of Sebastian Döring, who brought his retro synth-driven to the masses. The DJ set is one of many of the day, and draws in a massive, bopping crowd who don’t stop dancing until the very end. Keeping the dance party going with 80s synth vibes is Touch Sensitive, who arrives onstage with a bass guitar. Laying down thundering basslines to his hits, such as Lay Down and Pizza Guy, Touch Sensitive (AKA Michael Di Francesco) seemed to be having an absolute blast onstage, and the audience loved it.
After a short break, Jack River takes to the stage; looking very reminiscent of Stevie Nicks. Belting out newer tracks Confess and Ballroom from her album Sugar Mountain, Jack River has quickly cemented her place in the Australian electropop scene. Her mix of syrupy sweet lyrics and 90s grunge guitar work is a match made in heaven, and the perfect addition to any summer festival. The audience laps up Jack River’s every word, and goes especially crazy when the opening notes of her collaboration with Peking Duk, Sugar, start playing. The single translates well on stage; bass ringing out across the winery. With a voice and personality as unique as her’s, there’s no way anyone will be forgetting Jack River soon.
While everyone’s on a high following Jack River’s set, Late Nite Tuff Guy takes to the stage in another DJ set. As the stage name of Cam Bianchetti, in another life he was known as DJ HMC, and was huge in the underground dance scene. Needless to say, his reputation as such was more than evident, as track after track had the audience going crazy.
Fan favourite Mallrat, AKA Grace Shaw, follows up the already strong lineup, with a powerful set that has everyone chanting and jumping along. Playing instant-hits Groceries and UFO were undoubtedly crowd pleasers, and had every single person in the audience screaming for more. Bringing it down a notch, Mallrat breaks into a cover of Florence + the Machine’s Girl With One Eye – offering a much needed break from all the jumping around in her set. The crowd is then treated to the Simlish version of latest single Charlie – which was only recorded very recently. Of course this is followed up with the English version we know and love, before finishing up the set with her anti-party anthem Uninvited. A somewhat ironic close to the set, but nevertheless, it absolutely went off.
Dark-indie trio Crooked Colours shook the stage up with their take on the electro pop genre, offering the audience a more chilled approach to the day. Their set was almost a cool down period for the crowds, leading into what would be a heavy night ahead. Decked out in old-school and modern pilot gear, Flight Facilities smashed through their killer track list. Bringing out special guest Owl Eyes for a good part of their set, the duo played favourites Crave You, Arty Boy and Need You. Set antics were aplenty, and at this point in the night, the audience was a mass of flailing bodies waving along to the music.
Headlining the day’s lineup was Irish powerhouse Two Door Cinema Club, who seamlessly worked their way through hit after hit. Opening with Talk and classic tracks Undercover Martyn and I Can Talk, the band cycled through their impressive back catalogue as well as new album False Alarm. Frontman Alex Trimble worked the crowd, showing off his incredible stage presence, and getting the crowd jumping and dancing along. Classic What You Know and closing track Sun gets a massive rise out of the audience, who clearly don’t want the band to stop playing. Throughout the set, it was evident that the band sure knew how to work the stage – contrasting suits, lighting and backgrounds aside. Putting on a mammoth of a show, it was fair to say that Two Door Cinema Club were easily the highlight of the day for MEL Live.
After a long day of countless banger after banger, the festival sadly came to an end. For some, it was a trek back to their cars or buses, and for some, it was a chance to kick on elsewhere. Either way, it was an incredible day, where it was evident that everyone there had an amazing time. We can’t wait to see what Grapevine has in store for 2020, and hope to be a part of it!