The Middle East, image by Carley Hall

Smudges of grey cloud on the horizon couldn’t dampen the spirits of the 15,000 punters pouring through the gates of Brisbane’s Botanical Gardens on day one of Sunset Sounds 2010. All had arrived styled and primed for a blissfully chilled out evening at the city’s finest outdoor venue for only the second year in this promising festival’s history.

Probably one of the roughest sounding acts of the event kicked off proceedings on the Hibiscus Stage. Brisbane two-piece DZ don’t particularly fit the denim short wearing vibe of this festival; nonetheless, they pull together a tight set drenched in fierce guitar licks that manage to entertain the 20 or so people who made the worthwhile effort to check them out. If this were Soundwave, the crowd would have been in awe.

Over on the Garden stage, one instantly realises why DZ’s set was sadly neglected. One of 2009’s brightest new finds, Townsville natives The Middle East play every note from their stunning self-titled debut EP, however their delicate sound is swallowed up by the rowdy festival atmosphere. These guys are a melting pot of all kinds of genius and the small, intimate venue is where they kill it but they fail to make much impact today.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band, image by Carley Hall

The crowd seems to tighten when The Middle East exit as fresh waves of punters squeeze in to catch New York’s The Phenomenal Handclap Band. As soon as this exciting 6-piece hit the stage, the energy of the crowd lights up and doesn’t dim for a moment. The group fall somewhere between 1963 and 1987, throwing a hint of RnB into their bluesy, psychedelic sound. Their happy, upbeat and engaging tunes including radio favourite “15 to 20” have the crowd bouncing, singing and clapping along for a 40 minute set that seems to slip away far too quickly.

- Carley Hall & Katherine Allan