7 September, 2019
“Brisbane! We need to finish at 10pm so we have exactly 1 hour and 18 minutes to party!”
The Riverstage may be a mature 30-years-old but it still has a curfew, as DJ Tom Loud (aka Hot Dub Time Machine) reminded the crowd when he took to the stage.
What followed was a warp-speed ride through more than 6 decades of music, starting at 1956 and ending in the present day at exactly 10pm.
Hot Dub Time Machine was the energetic culmination of an afternoon and evening of music to mark the venue’s milestone birthday.
Brisbane artists shone on the stage and covered an array of musical genres: from the acoustic singer-songwriter Clea, to indie rockers Last Dinosaurs, to camp disco-pop act Confidence Man, to alt-pop faves Cub Sport.
The eclectic line-up served to showcase not just the diversity of talent in Brisbane but the flexibility of Riverstage as a venue.
The grassed amphitheatre was a top spot to stretch out and listen to the chilled sounds of Clea and Cub Sport – and I cast envious glances at those with the foresight to bring blankets and picnic rugs – while a flat concrete dancefloor in front of the stage was well carved during Confidence Man and Hot Dub Time Machine.
Pesky curfew aside (yes, yes – noise restrictions, I get it) the Riverstage remains a cracking live music venue, capitalising on Brisbane’s enviable climate, particularly for those gigs that slide from warm afternoons into balmy evenings.