Review: Spilt Milk House Party at Kings Park and Botanic Garden

Spilt Milk House Party at Kings Park and Botanic Garden
w/ Troye Sivan, Glass Animals, G Flip, Artemas, Sycco
Sunday, November 17, 2024

Notwithstanding the year of anxieties surrounding such events, festival season soldiered on last Sunday with the weekend’s second instalment of Spilt Milk House Party. While last year’s Spilt Milk festival at Claremont Showgrounds was a more large-scale affair with the likes of Post Malone and Dom Dolla, this year’s more modestly sized one-stager event still proved to be popular, with a second show added on the Saturday due to overwhelming demand.

Sunday seshers and kick-oners from Saturday started the day congregating around shady blocks at the amphitheatre’s hilltop and towards the barricade below. Early arrivals that braved the scorching walk down the hill were rewarded with a fun set from Sycco, who bopped about the stage to soulful sounds in an equally soulful pair of blue tracksuit pants. Songs from 2024’s Zorb had pockets of the crowd in emphatic lyric chants, a sign of her growing popularity. Pockets of cool breeze began to creep in, soothing the crowd that was already bunching tighter on the barge covering the pond below the stage.

Artemas brought excitement to his dedicated fans, particularly on standout tracks like how could you love somebody like me? One woman in the crowd perched atop a pair of shoulders had a loving hand gestured communication with the English singer. Despite the love, he didn’t quite catch the attention of attendees less familiar with his music, some even managing to hold conversations during the set—a little more power from the PA could have been helpful. The finale, i like the way you kiss me, eventually grasped the undivided attention of the audience.

The thud of phones and even the slight sensation of shaking on the barge during more energetic moments should have been a hint of things to come; by dusk, access to front and centre had been closed off, leaving only the most committed of festival goers afloat. However, the grass hill to stage right would not disappoint.

A crowd in full force was by now assembled in the amphitheatre for G Flip, and they responded with a force to match. Bombastically warming up the drum kit before taking the mic to spring across the stage to a ferocious version of GET ME OUTTA HERE, G Flip delivered a burst of hard-hitting numbers, including GAY 4 ME, which rang through those congregated on the hill. 

Even during the only brief slow moment, in the form of Good Enough, the energy was maintained in an almost spiritual form. Emphatic singalongs echoed back for songs like Rough, the fitting-of-the-moment Drink Too Much, and the emotional unloading of Worst Person Alive. Waving hands and clapping from the slightest beckoning showcased G Flip’s powerful fan connection, a combination of their energy and sincere audience interactions, including a recount of a drive to Freo earlier in the day.

As the pleasant cool of night came into effect, Glass Animals took the stage for a fitting soundtrack. Backed by a line of Star Trek-inspired computer monitors, the four-piece kicked off with a dance-friendly tempo version of Your Love (Déjà vu). With drummer Joe Seaward and keyboardists Drew MacFarlane and Edmund Irwin-Singer arranged in Kraftwerk style on separate risers, frontman Dave Bayley slickly shifted his singlet-clad body across the stage, becoming more tender on songs like A Tear in Space (Airlock). While the crowd might’ve been still reeling from the previous act, the English group managed to entice the crowd into a deep boogie for the now-risen moon to smile down on. Heat Wave closed the set, lamenting the season to come.

With it well and truly apparent that no one else was getting on the precarious barge, all in attendance settled in for the final act. A pumping beat fuelled a troupe of pumped-bodied dancers before the contrastingly lithe physique of Troye Sivan burst out in front to create an instant frenzy for Got Me Started. This continued throughout, with the Perth-raised singer interjecting his appreciation during My My My!, as the concert bowl became a sea of bobbing phone lights.

A riser draped in purple satin bedding centred the previously empty stage for In My Room, providing the perfect setting for the eroticism of the performers as the muscular dancers handled the singer dominantly but delicately. Sivan apologised with insincerity to his assembled friends and family for such shenanigans, and a shoutout to Connections only confirmed this.

After riding the Sweat wave, Troye let it crash down on Kings Park with Charli XCX collabs 1999 and Talk talk. Pounding beats swirled through heads, and shook hips in time like a kick pedal thumping bass drum, pulsing up the hill. With hearts now truly racing, it was time for the final Rush. Charging joyously into the night, all in attendance were sure to humming the hit single the next day.

While hardly the sprawling festival once more common, Spilt Milk House Party still managed to pack all one would desire of one. A quality over quantity approach to the line-up seemed to pull through the tough climate of the music industry, showing Perth punters won’t shy away from a good time.

AJ MAHAR

Photos by Nicola Robb