The lineup for the free Stones Corner Festival looks a bit like an Australian alternative playlist circa 1998; with headliners Custard joined by The Mavis’s, Screamfeeder and Diana Anaid among others.
I have to confess I missed most of the day, but I arrived just in time for The Mavis’s; reformed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their commercial breakthrough album Pink Pills. They were always a bit of an odd proposition – they came from a long time playing in underground music circles to hit the pop charts with a super sugary ballad and then they disappeared. In some ways the reunion tour is a reminder for those of us old enough to remember that a band like them existed.
Visually they were pretty bizarre 20 years ago, though that was in a different way to now - these days they are like some kind of Village People update with one hipster in stripey shirt and skinny jeans, one metalhead with a beard and tatts, singer Beki Thomas sporting the exact same glittery peroxide aesthethic she had back then, though her brother Matt these days looks the middle aged bodybuilder in singlet and footy shorts.
Even most people who remember The Mavis’s would struggle to name more than a handful of their songs, but they sprinkle them through the set – bouncy pop track Lever is near the start, while the massive hit Cry makes surprise appearance in the middle of the set. That’s the cue for a crowd singalong and for all the cameraphones to suddenly manifest; a nostalgic moment for anybody who, like me as a primary school kid, had this song and its technicolour video soundtrack our Saturday morning weetbix. It was going to be hard to top that moment, though Thunder is probably their best song and they finished with the sleazy rock of Naughty Boy. Don’t know if we will be seeing much more of The Mavis’s, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise to get to do so.
A bit of a break then before the headliners, though people are hanging around the front of the stage not wanting to lose prime position. As you may expect it was a bit an older crowd, though there were a number of young kids around getting the double bonus of a rare all ages gig and a Monday off school the next day.
Before too long the wait is over and Custard take the stage. They looked like nerds two decades ago and so it’s unsurprising to see they look like middle aged dads now, with the exception of lead guitarist Matthew Strong, who has the ageing rockstar Keith Richards aesthetic nailed down. They proceed through a set liberally doused with old classics. It’s smiles all round and a few singalongs.
The notable thing about Custard is how comedic the whole thing is – not just the lyrics and between song banter but also the stage moves (especially when Glenn Thompson emerges from behind the kit to lead a few songs), the backing vocals and even those wacky lead guitar lines. One of the interesting things about (sorry guys) nostalgia shows is to think about what’s changed in pop culture, and it is definitely hard to see Custard fitting into the national alternative music landscape these days the same way they did back then. At the time their contemporaries in the upper tier of Australian alt-rock included the nerdy humour of bands like TISM and The Fauves. Internationally groups like They Might Be Giants, Primus and even Blink 182 (for a younger audience) were mining similar materials. Is rock music more serious now? Or is less space in our pop culture landscape given to white men with nothing more than jokes to say?
I’m not sure and to be honest I hadn’t given it much thought before. I didn’t have all that much time for contemplation through the set either mind you, between catchy songs like Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us), The New Matthew and Music Is Crap. They finished with Apartment but returned for an encore that was first slowed down, then sped up to the point of ridiculousness. The street emptied, leaving a lot of plastic cups to be swept up, but also a lot of smiling faces and reflections on another time in pop music.
Andy Paine