“I love big, ambiguous Perth events that not very many people go to,” remarked my companion dryly as we gazed around the lackluster event masquerading as a beer festival on Saturday, January 20. Having become interested after the inclusion of Seth Sentry in the live lineup (faithful Perthquake readers will know that your humble reviewer is rather infatuated with Mr Rubbery Bacon), it seemed reasonable to hope that the day would bring a few laughs and some good music.
Not so much.
What exactly was so wrong about the Perth Beer Festival? Was it the disturbing sight of quasi-drunk parents chasing after their bored, rowdy offspring because, for reasons unknown, an event dedicated solely to the appreciated of alcohol was aimed at families? Was it the fact that all the reasonably priced beers were so pedestrian you could be at any festival, or even a not-so-flash pub? Was it the fact that with the exception of Seth Sentry, the live lineup seemed to consist entirely of weird cover bands (and yes, a reggae version of JT’s Cry Me A River is just as messed up as you think it is)? Was it the fact that there was no documentation explaining the order of the live schedule, and none of the festival staff were any assistance in the matter?
In the end, after three hours sitting in the freezing wind, drinking overpriced James Squire beers (turns out there is something more of a rip-off than the Generous Squire afer all), and unable to discover if we had in fact missed Seth Sentry’s set, we called it a day and went to Arts Martial’s EP launch instead. It was awesome.
The lesson here is, the Perth International Beer Festival is a waste of time and money. Go and see good local music instead. The end.
