A gig like this one is an excellent barometer for the state of punk in Pig City, Queensland. As Meanjinites, we shouldn’t be worried about a razor-sharp power punk outfit like CLAMM and their world-tour success, or the prodigal explosion of punk and alternative music pouring out from down south. We should be worried about the health of our own scene. At a glance, there are two criteria: the quality of the band and the turnout of punters on the ground.

“In case you can’t tell, I’ve been on a bit of journey,” stated Jen Cloher, a few songs into her set. Typical of her understated, humble approach and loaded with sarcasm and dry wit, to say that she has been on a journey is equal to saying the world is a big place, or, the moon is far away. In other words, a massive understatement.

Without wasting too much time dwelling on or stating the obvious, it feels necessary to address the elephant in the room. Slowdive, one of Daydream Festival’s major draw cards, were forced to pull out at the eleventh hour, due to an injury sustained by drummer Simon Scott. Understandably, this news came as a major disappointment to their many fans and ticket holders, a large percentage of whom purchased their tickets on the back of Slowdive’s inclusion on the bill.

- Helmet formed in New York in early 1989. Pivotal member and frontman (vox and guitar) Page Hamilton initially came to NYC to study a Masters in jazz, drifted into The Band Of Susans and shortly after took an extreme left turn and started up Helmet. A loooong way from jazz.org :)

Let’s take stock of the facts, whether you’re a fan of Billy Corgan or less impressed by his post-Pumpkins ‘villain-era’, The Pumpkins are a great band. For the rock diehards among us, it’s guaranteed that a few of their tracks have seeped into our musical consciousness and stayed there waiting for 1979 or Bullet With Butterfly Wings to reawaken the feeling of our formative years. In my opinion this is true regardless of what generation you hail from.