It’s a beautiful, albeit scorching, day, as the crowds begin to filter in to the Botanic Gardens for Harvest, the country’s latest music festival. Reports of problems at the Melbourne event have left us all a little concerned, but it’s obvious from the outset that the Brisbane event is running as smoothly as you could possibly hope. Lines are brief, the venue is well laid out, with no sound interference, ample spaces to relax and interesting art exhibits and stalls scattered all around. The festival has been marketed as ‘a feeling’ and while that may be painful marketing speech, the organisers have actually done a great job at creating a community vibe at the site, a small township for music lovers.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, over on the Riverstage are my first band for the day and they’re a surprise early highlight. Big band with latin influences, this is jazz with a serious party vibe, and the crowd (at least those in the shade) are dancing along happily to the up-tempo tracks. Judging from the number of people walking away with cds at the end of the set, the Ensemble have gained a lot of new fans today, and deservedly so.

Over at the Windmill stage, the midday sun and open air stage that faced the fair skinned Englishmen of This Town Needs Guns could have provided an obstacle for a band so unconditioned to the weather at Harvest. Yet right from the word go they refuse to miss a beat. The recent lineup change introduced Henry Tremain to the fold on vocals, but the band aren’t afraid to dip into their back-catalogue, as well as showing off some impressive new tracks that see Tremain lend his hand to second guitar. Bassist Jamie Cooper plays with the crowd, but he doesn’t miss a note as the band winds their way around intricate songs such as Baboon and Lemur. Chris Collis provides the perfect backdrop on drums, while his brother Tim, runs up and down his guitar with immeasurable efficiency as the band ebbs and flows through their beautifully complex and energetic music.

Meanwhile, at the Tractor stage, Sydneysiders The Holidays are playing to a nice early crowd. It takes a moment to figure that out, as the front of stage is deserted, but every patch of shade is filled and The Holidays reward their audience with a great set of fun Indie-Pop, played with genuine enthusiasm. Later in the day they would have had the crowd dancing, but for now everyone is content to sit back and chill to the summery sounds.

The Walkmen pull the first massive crowd of the day, particularly impressive given the area around the Windmill stage provides no shelter from the unrelenting sun. Vocalist, Hamilton Leithauser, makes an effort, but the rest of the band look bored, and it reminds me a lot of Interpol’s set at Sunset Sounds earlier in the year. Good songs, but played without enthusiasm and close enough to the album versions that I almost wonder why I shouldn’t just throw the cd on.

The Family Stone, on the other hand, are sparkling live, bringing considerable personality to their extensive back catalogue and proving why they’re been such a highly regarded band for so long. Despite your reviewer’s personal dislike for funk, their playing is brilliant and enthusiasm infectious and classic tracks like Everyday People and Family Affair win me over completely. The between track banter stretches on a little long at times, but the songs more than make up for it and the music seems strangely suited for the mid-afternoon heat.

Kicking off the set with Snowflake in a Hot World, Mercury Rev come out onto the Windmill Stage in a haze of smoke machines, Jonathan Donahue walking through the smoke like an albatross in clouds. It’s a surprise to hear Holes show up quite early in the set, but the crowd is appreciative and their version of Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill is another highlight. It’s odd seeing them in the middle of the day, a fact Donahue acknowledges, commenting that “We have lots more songs about snow and midnight to come, at 3pm, on the hottest day on earth”, but the setting doesn’t detract from what a great live act Mercury Rev are.

TV On The Radio kick off their set with Halfway Home to a rapturous reception. Indeed it seems like most of the festival has come down to the Riverstage to catch their show. Jaleel Bunton has picked up bass & keys duties since the sudden departure of Gerard Smith and is doing a fine job of keeping the pace up through The Wrong Way. The songs from their new album Nine Types Of Light really shine on the live stage, proving better than the recorded versions, with Will Do in particular filling out the venue quite comfortably.

They may be competing with TV on the Radio, but when PVT take to the Big Red Tractor stage they don’t take long to entice a large crowd into paying close attention to their upbeat and dynamic style. Their brand of guitar driven post rock meets electronica has many punters transfixed as Richard Pike vocals swirl above the beats. As their set progresses they power through tracks from Church With No Magic and O Soundtrack My Heart with ease and it is clear that their recent bout of overseas touring has cemented PVT as one of Australia’s most polished acts. The double hit of Window and O Soundtrack finishes things off on a high and leaves many in the crowd wanting more.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are a somewhat awkward live band, and were always going to struggle to follow Mercury Rev at the Windmill stage, but they turn in a good show. Satan Said Dance is an early highlight and their jangly, post-punk songs are definitely well played, but it seems a more intimate venue would be preferable if you really want to see the band at their best.

Many punters were quite curious as to what Death In Vegas were going to pull out in their set, and most are left very impressed by the pounding bass coming out of the 4 piece live band. Hands Around My Throat is an easy highlight, and Dirge turns the whole place into a huge dance pit.

Bright Eyes open with Lover I Don’t Have To Love, but it’s a much rockier and more muscular version of the song than some in the audience might be expecting. This theme continues throughout the set; while the band digs into their earlier albums, the tracks are all filtered through their current sound. It’s an interesting effect, working better on some tracks than others, but it certainly puts a fresh spin on the music and seems suited to the massive stage in a way that more delicate instrumentation might not. Conor Oberst is a great front-man these days, thrashing around to the songs and bantering happily with the crowd, and his charisma adds to an already enjoyable performance.

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s no other band that can pull off extreme dynamics like Mogwai can, as they demonstrate when they play Mogwai Fear Satan to a sunset-laden crowd. Rano Pano & Batcat bring heavy overdriven guitars to the set, whilst 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong sends shivers down the spines of all in attendance.

The National perform a set similar to that from Sunset Sounds earlier in the year, and once again they’re one of the highlights of the day. Pulling principally from their last two albums, High Violet and Boxer, tonight shows just how impressive those albums are. Every track feels like a single, inspiring cheers from the crowd. The band is brilliant and Matt Berninger’s baritone is even more impressive live, matching the album and adding even more emotion as he screams impassionedly during Mr November and Squalor Victoria. There’s some sound problems throughout, with the bass dropping out during several tracks, but it’s still impossible not to be impressed by the quality of The National tonight.

The Flaming Lips start with a warning from Wayne Coyne that the show features strobes and that you should look away if it makes you ill, and avoid crushing your fellow music-lovers. After that it’s all showmanship. The band emerges from a projected womb. Wayne Coyne rolls out into the crowd in a giant beach ball. There’s giant balloons everywhere and confetti shot into the crowd. There’s dancing girls and crazy costumes, smoke and strobes; it’s the best possible kind of madness, and at times it’s hard to remember that there’s actually a band playing because everything else is so much fun. The music doesn’t disappoint though, and tracks like She Don’t Use Jelly and The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song see massive sing-alongs.

And then there was one. Portishead are the big drawcard at the festival and there’s a huge crowd assembled to catch a band that many here didn’t think we’d ever have a chance to see live. Portishead are a very different live band to Flaming Lips, precise and still, and it takes a couple of songs to adjust to the change, but once I do, dear gods are they amazing. Beth Gibbons’ voice is simply revelatory; dropping to an impassioned whisper and then rising to operatic heights, she holds the songs, and the audience, in the palm of her hand. The set mixes songs from all three albums and I’m surprised and impressed at how well the tracks from Third sit against the older songs; a stripped down version of Machine Gun proving particularly effective. The whole set is a highlight, but Glory Box and encore track Roads are personal favourites, with the delicacy and emotion of Gibbons’ performance pushed even further on these songs. There’s a hypnotic intensity to everything they play tonight that wraps the listener inside the music and washes away thoughts of tiredness, leaving instead a floating happiness that sustains itself as we filter slowly back out into the real world.

Reflecting back on the day as we leave, it’s hard not to be impressed. The sound was near perfect, the bands were amazing and the vibe was upbeat throughout. It’s been an auspicious debut for a festival that will hopefully be making many returns to our fair city.

- Words by Branko Cosic, Sky Kirkham and Sarah Mullins. Photos by Sky Kirkham.