Aussie favourite Tripod joins QMF

The best festivals are those not bound by a specific genre or theme according to Simon Hall, one part of Melbourne musical comedy trio Tripod.

Simon – known as “Yon” – said it’s this reason that makes the Queenscliff Music Festival one of the best and his band Scotty “Scod” Edgar and Steven “Gatesy” Gates were looking forward to performing at this year’s extravaganza.

“This is our 22nd year performing together. My favourite part (of performing) is when you get completely lost in it, you lose all kind of self-consciousness,” he said.

“You’ve got that rhythm between you and the crowd, it’s unfolding in a spontaneous way even if you wrote the song 10 years ago.”

While some bands are unable to endure the test of time, Simon said it’s a mutual respect and understanding of one another that has allowed them to perform over multiple decades.

“We just try and be kind to each other, we give ourselves some room to go off and do our own thing, it feels like a three-way marriage – there’s lots of patterns that repeat,” he said.

The band got their first break on Hey Hey It’s Saturday and has appeared on a slew of Australian television shows including Rove and ABC’s Spicks and Specks – as well as their own regular segment on triple j.

“Last time we were at QMF we were singing a bunch of well-known Australian songs with Eddie Perfect. I like how eclectic the festival is, it doesn’t seem to nail itself down to one age group or genre.

“I think when a festival calls themselves a blues or a folk festival, if you’re wondering around for a few days you don’t want to see flavours of the same thing. Personally, I like getting the opposite from tent to tent.”

Simon said he watched Jordie Lane perform on the train once at QMF and loves the dynamic that occurs between the crowd and a performer during a live show.

“I like getting on the train, I had a memorable experience watching Jordie Lane, he was playing in a duo. It was intimate, sometimes things in a different context make them feel completely different,” he said.

“I think there’s a sweet spot between people heckling or doing nothing. It’s a beautiful thing where the audience yells out stuff that’s on topic. It can really elevate the show, that’s what live performance has to offer compared to film – that interactive experience.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do for our show, we decide at the last minute. Sometimes we just look at the crowd and decide then and there. When we’re playing our songs there’s a big loud band and orchestra playing in our heads, so we try and project that amount of energy during our shows.”

For more information about this year’s line-up and QMF, visit qmf.net.au.