The Pleasure Garden – review and photos
The Pleasure Garden was back this weekend in St Kilda, and this boutique festival certainly lived up to its name. Billed as a “place where imagination and magic coalesce into sensory wonder”, Catani Park was a sensory treat, buzzing with a quirky army of entertainers, jugglers, stilt walkers, hula-hoopers and more.
Combined with the impressively eclectic line-up of musicians, the Pleasure Garden proved to be a delicious slice of fantasy wonderland in the Melbourne summer.
Now in its third year, this incarnation featured 5 stages: The Conservatory, The Aurora, Bass Station, House Party and Beach Club. Wandering between them is an adventure in itself with so many activities and hang-out spots to discover. There are lawn games to partake in, lavish lounges to flop on, entertainers to engage with, carnival rides to experience.
The organisers have done really well to pack this place so densely with quality and interactive distractions whilst maintaining the theme of a fantasy mad-hatters acid trip. The facilities are top notch too. The ever-dreaded festival food is replaced with all manner of funky food trucks, the bar is well stocked with cold and affordable beer, and the portaloos are thankfully numerous. It’s also worth noting Pleasure Gardens admirable approach to waste reduction here as reusable water bottles are encouraged, water bubblers are many and beer cups are sold and to be reused.
First up was for the small crowd of early birds is afro jazz outfit The Senegambian Jazz Band. These guys have us moving from the start with their joyful fusion of traditional African musicianship and solid pop and funk beats. After this it’s time to head over to the Aurora stage and catch Sampa the Great. Treating us to her captivating blend of hip-hop, soul and jazz she is a strong and charismatic performer, fully utilising her large and enthusiastic crowd to join in and share the love.
Next, turning up the volume and bringing us into full festival mode is electro-pop party tunesters Haiku Hands. They get the crowd bouncing with an energetic and very, very loud performance.
Back at the Conservatory stage and it was time for more electro party bangers from Brisbane group Confidence Man. Janet Planet and Sugar Bones have the crowd in the palm of their hands as they move and sing and dance like crazy whilst Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie smash out the feel-good tunes.
With night beginning to fall it’s time for perennial festival staple Xavier Rudd to take to the stage. I’m expecting the vibe to mellow a bit, but Xavier’s performance is energetic and rousing, demanding I sway through his rhythmic haze of didgeridoo. Wrapping up the night is indie pop-rockers The Temper Trap. Their iconic anthem ‘Sweet Disposition’ seems a fitting way to end an awesome day.
The Pleasure Garden has been a welcome addition to the boutique festival scene these past few years, and 2018 surely cements its place in the festival calendar. Enjoying this spacious and well facilitated garden of pleasure it’s easy to see why music lovers across the country are abandoning the traditional ‘mega festivals’ in favour of a more intimate experience.
If their 2018 offering is anything to by, this festival is set to move from strength to strength and I can’t wait to see what they are going to be offering next year.
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Words by Eugene Price, photos by Sophie Metcalfe. See all of Sophie’s photos from the event at our Facebook page.
