FESTIVAL: LOOKOUT FESTIVAL 2024
ARTISTS: INCUBUS / +LIVE+ / BIRDS OF TOKYO / ESKIMO JOE
DATES: APRIL 6TH AND 7TH 2024
VENUES: SANDSTONE POINT, BRIBIE ISLAND AND BROADWATER PARKLANDS, GOLD COAST
REVIEWER: HAYLEY TREADWELL (IG: @realwoman_realreview)
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL (FB @atphotosau)
What a way to kick off the inaugural Lookout Festival brought to us from the amazing folks at Face to Face Touring! This lineup is sensational. We spent an amazing 2 days from Bribie Island to the Gold Coast and we had the best time!
I love music festivals and when this brand new festival was announced, the high calibre, punchy 5 band line up really drew me in! Australian rock royalty in The Superjesus and Eskimo Joe, and newer but certainly on their way to rock royalty, Birds of Tokyo were the perfect accompaniment to our international headliners Live and Incubus. Match this with 2 of the best outdoor venues in Queensland and you have the makings of one hell of a good time!
The Superjesus always come out with a bang, and I think even more so when they start their set with ‘Down Again’, and this is how we kicked off Lookout! Those deep base notes hitting the hill at Sandstone Point were wicked! Sarah McLeod is one of Australia’s greatest front women and her energy on stage is contagious! The crowd were dancing and singing along, lapping up every song, old and new! Super way to kick off the festival, a bunch of fun and high energy from beginning to end! I have been hoping to see more of The Superjesus in this type of setting, and think they were the perfect opening band for this epic festival.
Eskimo Joe up next where as flawless as Kav Temperleys hair! I swear this man has the best hair in Rock and Roll! But it’s nothing compared to the music Eskimo Joe delivers live. I can still hear ‘Sarah’ playing in my head. It’s easy to see why this band is still as popular today as when they first hit the scene! The band is tight, Kav is amazing and the setlist included ‘Sweater’! My trip down teenage memory lane was complete!
Birds of Tokyo! What do I say? I have seen these guys 3 times now and they are just phenomenal! On Saturday they played a show in the Hunter Valley, jumped on a plane and performed hours later at Sandstone Point! You would never have guessed! The energy they bring to the stage is intoxicating, there is no doubt they love what they do. Happiness and fun are 2 words that instantly come to mind when I reflect on this performance! Hit after hit poured from the stage and we loved every second! Birds of Tokyo, I fall in love more every time I see you! Please give us a Headline tour soon!
With our Aussie favs done for the day we are eagerly awaiting the International co-headliners to grace the stage! When you are looking at headlines for an alternative rock festival, you could never have gone wrong with Live and Incubus! What a treat for us Aussies!
Devout Live and Incubus fans were everywhere adorned with their tour merch, old and new. I love seeing folks in the merch from tours gone by and there were plenty of fans buying up more at the Merch truck!
On Saturday Live closed out the show at Sandstone Point in the most perfect fashion. Everyone was pumped to see Ed Kowalczyk and band deliver the songs of our youth and we were not disappointed!
As the band took the stage the most thumping base rang out from the speakers and vibrated throughout the venue.
The 12,000 something strong crowd at Sandstone Point were on their feet and sang along to every song. I saw people dancing, crying, absolutely elated to be seeing this band, hearing their favourite songs!
‘Lakini’s Juice’ absolutely went off! The crowd bouncing in unison on the Goldie was a beautiful sight! The harmonic sing along to ‘Lightning Crashes’ on both nights created such special moments for those in attendance! I loved the addition of ‘Shit Towne’ and ‘The Distance’ to their set at Bribie Island and I thought hands down the best performance both nights was ‘Dolphin’s Cry’, maybe because I like it soooo much! Live are so exciting to see, well live, and delivered solid exciting sets 2 nights running, showing us exactly why they are one of the greatest bands of our time!
For me, I genuinely love all the bands at Lookout Festival, but I could not contain my excitement at seeing Incubus. Their sound is unmistakable. And their vibe on stage is transcendent, their live performance is like a music meditation for your soul. At Sandstone Point as Incubus were the first of our co-headliners to take the stage and the crowd went wild, frontman Brandon Boyd immediately had this massive crowd in the palm of his hand. The visuals on the screen accompanying the amazing sounds coming from the stage were electric as Incubus played an incredible set of songs, mixing the old with the new and even a few covers!
On Sunday at the Gold Coast, Incubus closed out Lookout Festival in Queensland and left us hankering for the next Lookout announcement! And for Incubus to return to us soon!
‘Megalomaniac’ was a welcomed addition to Sunday’s set and we went dance crazy! I saw people jumping, spinning, and just tearing up their little piece of ground to this one! And so many of Incubus’ incredible songs!
I love the little snippets of covers thrown into the middle of a few songs! Riders on the Storm appearing in ‘Are you in?’ and my favorite Portishead song, ‘Glory Box’ mixed in with ‘Vitamin’! What a great mash up! Incubus poured their passion onto the stage both nights and reminded me exactly why I love them like I do! Fans were visibly moved to see performances of ‘The Warmth’ and ‘Stellar’, and new song ‘Circles’ got a huge response. I was personally ecstatic that my favorite Incubus song ‘Pardon Me’ was in the set both nights!! Woohoo! I loved the groove of ‘Karma, Come Back’ and the way we all sang along to Incubus doing David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ was so much fun!
Closing out the set with ‘Drive’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’, the crowd savoured every last moment of Incubus’ amazing performance.
Whether you came along to Lookout to see Live or Incubus or support our amazing Aussie talent, I think it’s safe to say this is the biggest Festival we have seen this year and I hope it keeps getting bigger and bigger! Although, how you top this incredible line up, I can’t wait to see!
Before I head off I have some thoughts to share on the folks that really make these gigs go ahead, the ones that keep them coming back again and again, the punters. I have a dream, a hope in my music loving hippie little soul, that we attend these things with more love in our hearts.
Prior to this festival I saw a lot of chatter on social media and the likes about the changes to seating and parking allocations being full etc – some of the comments I saw directed at the venues, the promoters and even to the bands just made me sad. Doing what I do I get to see a little of what goes on in the background and how much it takes to put on a festival. There are so many moving parts that when changes like this come about it is generally due to a multitude of circumstances, not just the venue or the promoter or one individual or organisation. These changes are made for your safety first and foremost. And if you cannot appreciate that, perhaps remember a time you organised an event or a party and recall if everything went to plan or you needed to make changes on the fly…. I’m pretty sure you get where I am heading.
So just a little advice from a genuine live music lover, punter and everyday woman – be kind and go with love! Love of the music, love of all the people that spend countless hours bringing these shows to us, love of the bands and love of those standing next to us sharing the music. In the words of Brandon Boyd Sunday night (and the night before), by way of The Beatles, ‘Come Together’ and lets enjoy these moments.
Our gratitude as always to the lovely folks at Face to Face Touring and to all the bands for having us along. We had an absolute blast at the first Lookout Festival, and look forward to doing it all again at the next one.
Until the next gig
Hayley
