Seeing some of the great local and international talent on our doorstep has got to be one of the best Saturdays I’ve had in a long while.

Sitting in a prime location on the hill overlooking the stage, I felt on top of the world.

Sliding into the weekend with Clea, getting up for a boogie with The Last Dinosaurs, relaxing with Cub Sport and Confidence Man led the way to a gigantic singalong with Hot Dub Time Machine.

Listening to many of the songs that I grew up with, belted out with fellow Brisbanites certainly set the standard for the rest of the weekend.

I look forward to supporting the local talent when they play solo shows in the coming year!

Happy Birthday, Riverstage!

A perfect day for a birthday bash, it was a lovely sunshine-y day, smiling faces everywhere as I entered the Riverstage venue.

Lovely green grassy slopes leading to the stage area and I was happy and excited for it all to start.

It was a case of grabbing some drinks and food and finding a green grass spot to settle down for the event.

The music line up was fantastic and each act seemed to have its own vibe and fan base.

Confidence Man had everyone dancing with their high energy music and Cub Sport fans just enjoyed the vocal perfection of the performance.

But for me, the absolute highlight of the day was DJ Tom Loud’s “dance through the decades’ audio-visual party.

From the moment the “Hot Dub Time Machine” started, all the crowd were motivated to just get up, join in the party and dance.

Considering the first year of music was from 1956, it pretty much ensured that every age group was catered for.

DJ Tom was so much fun, had so much energy that it was impossible to ignore his call for us all to “PARTY”.

There was a brass band of three guys who provided extra “oomph”.

When his act started, I was so cold that I was wrapped in a blanket but then I was powerless to resist his call to “get up and party”.

I was there with my husband and teenage daughter and the three of us danced all night to the very end.

To be able to dance in the open air with so many happy faces was just so much fun.

Next year for sure I will be there.

I really really enjoyed the Riverstage Birthday Bash.

Confidence Man was a weird and fun act and it really warmed me up to the festival.

Cub Sport was calming and ethereal.

The highlight for me was Hot Dub Time Machine, which was a massive party through the music of various ages.

All in all, the event was so much fun and I’m very glad I went.

What a great day/night!

While I didn’t know any of the bands I still enjoyed the music.

The venue was also great as you could see the stage easily.

Hot Dub Time machine was the best part and worth the wait.

Shame there were no passouts to leave and come back as it was a long event.

“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.

Thirty, flirty and thriving alright! Riverstage, you outdid yourself.

You know it’s been a good night when you lose your voice from singing and your feet hurt the next day from dancing too hard.

Due to prior commitments I only attended the final act of Birthday Bash, Hot Dub Time Machine.

I had no clue what I was in for, but all expectations were exceeded.

A countdown through the decades of the most iconic songs from each era, with a splash of confetti and live brass trio.

You only heard a small snippet of each song, which in some cases was good (if you were the only person in the crowd that missed the memo on this seemingly iconic song) and other cases bad (if it was your favourite song of all time).

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, they had to be out at 10pm so you could still crawl into bed at a reasonable hour.

Winning!

WE LOVED IT!

The atmosphere at Riverstage was amazing and everyone was so happy and carefree.

We left on a high from the workout that was dancing and singing for hours.

My three favourite acts were Confidence Man, Cub Sport and Hot Dub Time Machine. Confidence Man was weird… and SO WONDERFUL.

Their act was packed full of odd dance moves, costume changes, a light-up flashing cone bra and have-to-dance-to music.

Their constant energy and phenomenal ability to engage with the crowd and get everyone dancing along was amazing to be a part of. Very Eurovision-esque!

Cub Sport also put on a really great show and their more mellow songs were a great change between two really energetic acts.

Lead singer, Tim Nelson is mesmerising to watch on stage and performed their songs with so much passion and connection with the crowd.

Hot Dub Time Machine was so unique and probably the most fun I have ever had in a mosh.

The DJ, Tom Loud, along with a digital ‘air hostess’ shown in the videos took the crowd through several decades of music starting in the 50s all the way up to 2019.

We knew every song and were constantly excited when another of our favourites was played.

The videos accompanying each song, live trumpet, saxophone and trombone as well as pop-out live singers added to the excitement of the performance.

I think that Hot Dub Time Machine is super daggy but in the best possible way!

It was obvious from the crowd how much people enjoyed belting out their favourite songs without judgement.

Anyone who loves a dance, a sing/yell and an open mind for something different would LOVE this event.