Chill Island Review + Photos

30 January 2007 by Leigh Plover

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In a week or so The Cat Empire will play their song "Sly" to a television audience of millions on Late Night with David Letterman in New York.

Today as the sun sets, they take the stage and soon have the seemingly intimate crowd of happy festival goers dancing along to
their contagious tunes. It's a perfect end to the inaugural Chill
Island Festival.

The festival was held at Churchill Island, a small island just off Phillip Island in Victoria. The weather was chilly at times with occasional drops of rain and cool winds, but the sun was soon out again and the crowd were still enjoying themselves, almost oblivious to the constantly changing climate. The relaxed atmosphere was very warming to the many young families who made the journey to the small island with their children.

The Custom Kings have some catchy songs that grab the attention of those who may not have heard them before. Everyone from the little children dancing around to people just relaxing on the grass with a beer or wine seem to really enjoy their set.

Seasoned festival band Blue King Brown had pretty much all the crowd on their feet. Singer Natalie encouraging crowd participation with lots of hand pumping and sing alongs. The majority of the crowd happy to join in and have a good time.

The Beautiful Girls took the stage as a big rainbow appeared over the ocean behind them. The setting enhances a great set of crowd favorite songs. The band have a new record due out in a few months which will see a change in their musical direction but decide to treat the eager audience today to the old favorites. Songs such as La Mar, Periscopes and Music get some of the biggest crowd reactions and sing alongs of the day.

This event seems about more than just the music. It feels so much more friendly and intimate than the majority of festivals these days. The family friendly environment encourages everyone to have a good time. You can't help but smile when in the middle of the crowd you see a 6 year old boy on dads shoulders clapping along to the music, or the two little sisters on the grass dancing and singing along to The Beautiful Girls.

Behind the scenes it's a similar vibe. A glance around sees Harry from The Cat Empire sitting alone in the corner of the backstage tent casually blowing on his trumpet. Fellow band mate Felix is nearby sharing a laugh with Mat McHugh from The Beautiful Girls. Outside the tent Ash Grunwald is playing around on his guitar while a 4 year old boy eagerly watches and then casually walks up and starts strumming the guitar. Bruce from The Beautiful Girls is called over to the fence by some excited young kids to sign autographs while Natalie from Blue King Brown has a video camera pointed at her doing an interview.

Vicka and Linda Bull are there to make sure the artists are well looked after and they do their job well. Everyone is happy.

Overall the festival is a great success with everyone from the artists to the punters thoroughly enjoying themselves. There are strong rumors of another Chill Island festival in the upcoming months. I'm sure there will be many returning punters.

If Xavier Rudd was there he would certainly be feeling the "energy".