Photo courtesy: Sydney Morning Herald
As annual traditions go, the trip to tropfest in Sydney’s Domain is always an enjoyable one. Come rain, hail or shine me and stu attempt to make it to view some of Australia’s top short films. Always an entertaining evening, a great benefit of these free events in the Domain is the fact that BYO is not only endorsed but actively encouraged in order to make a memorable evening slightly forgetable. This year didn’t disappoint.
Stu turned up duly at 1130 at my place to give me a ride into the city to his place at Redfern. Following a BBQ lunch we were dropped off at Martin Place in the city to meet up with one of stu’s mates from uni - Matt aka Glowworm. Despite the forecast of enclement weather, a fair few people had already turned up and the best spots were taken. We settled for a patch of grass on the hill on the CBD side of the Domain and put the large tarp down. The tarp ended up being one of the best pieces of equipment we had brought with us. We cracked open our first beers and pulled out some corn chips, salsa and various cheeses with crackers and settled in to enjoy the evening.
The crowd was entertained first by roving cameras combined with a witty person behind the desk of a computer adding some lovely comments to the images on screen. By the time Chris + Craig (of fame through the Chaser and TripleJ’s drive program Today Today) came on there were more than enough drunk guys and girls to keep everyone amused - including one odd late 20’s woman who thought she was a dog.
Music that kept the crowd entertained were the Australian band Regurgitator. These guys were absolutely awesome, and having my camera with me, I managed to get a few good shots off (see above and links to flickr). The beauty of having a decent camera with you is that you are assumed to be a photojournalist and as such security (and police too for that matter) are much kinder to you than to the “general crowd”.
Following Regurgitator Chris + Craig said goodbye and last years host, ex-TripleJ morning breakfast co-host and the new breakfast presenter for 702ABC Adam Spencer came on stage. By this stage of the night we’d already experienced the odd shower so when a little bit of rain started falling no one really minded too much - unless of course you happened to be sitting behind the idiots with the tartan-green or white umbrellas, in which case a shouting match ensued to get them to lower them from their 6′ high position.
First half had some great flicks , including Carmichael + Shane - a story taking the concepts of economics (backing the stronger horse over the weaker) to twins in a single parent family. Other highlights included:
- Applause;
- Goggles; and
- Glitch
As we came back to the second half of the evenings films, it was evident someone had pissed of the guy upstairs and the storms rolled in to take over the showers bringing with it an awe inspiring light show. By the start of the second film after the break, much of the crowd had got to their feet and started (slowly) moving off - along with calls for them to sit down or move off more quickly. Pretty soon the rain had turned torrential and the evening had to be called off due to the risk of a lightning strike to the video tower. By this stage only half a dozen of us were left under the tarp. This soon went down to me, stu and matt, and we packed up in the rain. Thank goodness my bag kept my camera dry otherwise the free evening of entertainment may have suddenly cost a whole lot more than I expected. By the time I got to the bus stop at Wynyard I was utterly drenched and spent the next hour getting home in we clothes and soggy shoes.
Despite the weather, we’ll be there next year - rain, hail or shine…
Update:Carmichael + Shane have won the tropfest competition for 2006
