There are few things lovelier than being riverside in Brisbane at that moment on a hot summer day when the sun retreats behind the hills and a gentle breeze kicks in. So it was that Ms Podicle and I found ourselves on Saturday evening in the lovely city botanical gardens waiting to see Spoon and War on Drugs on the river stage. I would have happily paid the entry for either of these bands, so to have them both on the same ticket was a treat. The venue is a grassy amphitheater nestled between the river and the gardens, and it would be hard to find a more relaxed and pastoral setting in the middle of a major city.

First up was Indigo Spark, which I think was the name of the singer of the directionless trio on stage. Lots of two-chord drones with indie-chick vocals and paroxysmal changes in intensity. You know the type. Indigo told us a couple of times that she had just returned from several years in the States, and she seems to have brought some rhotic Rs back with her and left her actual songs behind. We spent the entire act trying to figure out » Continue Reading.