Photo Diary: ScotDrakula x PANAMA

Reporting back from Tassie's a festival called PANAMA, ScotDrakula frontperson and skilled camera-slinger MATT NEUMANN delivers a band's-eye view of proceedings.

Earlier in the month, my band Scotdrakula went down to Tasmania and play a festival called Panama. We were lucky enough to be invited earlier in the year and had been nervously looking forward to it since.The festival took place about an hour outside of Launceston, amongst some of the most beautiful scenery this side of the equator. On the outset, we had no idea of what to expect, but by the end, each of our faces actually hurt from smiling about all the good things we'd seen, eaten, smelled, but primarily, the good music we listened to. (Also, I fell on my face and bit my tongue pretty fucking hard while chewing gum, drinking and walking quickly through the forest without a flashlight so I guess my face hurt a lot from that as well, but mostly from the smiling).

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

Paul, a volunteer from the festival and all around nice guy picked us up from the airport. On drive down to the festival grounds, I asked him about this wall of smoke we seemed to be driving through. He replied that it was probably house on fire and that "shit always seems to be catching fire around here..."

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] This stage was used throughout the festival. In the day time it feels quite exposed next to a giant field, but at night, it was the sole light source and felt quite cozy.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] I've never seen this many water lilies before. I wish they were in bloom, but I'm not greedy. It was still impressive.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Once we arrived at the festival grounds we were shown to the two tents that would be our shelter for the next two nights. Small yelps of glee sounded first from Evi and Tim's tent next door, then from my tent-mate Dove, then most surprisingly, my own mouth. This is a sprig of rosemary with a hand made "hello" tag. We realised that we have never been treated to sweetly in our lives.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] This is Tim, the organiser of a Festival Called Panama. Throughout the festival I saw him on a mountain bike, cruising urgently around the grounds.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Any sign could be improved by tacking the words "and Snakes" onto the end.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Steph and Darren are just really really good.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] These guys had met us before, about two years ago when we played the confusingly named Brisbane Hotel in Hobart. After a long story involving substandard gluing practices, we realised we owed them a new cd and possibly a car stereo...

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Having nice hot showers at a cool weather festival is a huge deal. I tried to stoke the fire a bit before I got in it responded by making disconcerting popping, hissing and bending noises. Freaked me out. I showered with a sense of mortal urgency.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] This is our friend Sarah Chipman, who got us on the bill. She is a good friend and looked out for us like crazy the entire time we were there. Thanks Sarah, you rule.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] This is Evi's skirt. I don't think that she's a Parrothead, but I also don't know that she isn't. I'll never know, because that isn't the type of thing I would ever feel comfortable asking even my closest friends. Mostly because it's none of my damn business.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] The John Steel Singers having a quick rehersal. They overcame somewhat limiting technical difficulties and went on to play one of the best sets of the festival.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Dove appropriating the animal world's self defence method of 'eye spots' in order to scare away any and all of his natural predators.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Doing sound at any large festival would be difficult, but I can only imagine the difficulty of adding killer snakes and spiders to the standard worries regarding three phase power, generators and patch bays could be just straight up overwhelming.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] These two were part of sizeable Brisbane psych contingent present at Panama.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Members of Harmony discussing how large their current food is in comparison to foods they enjoyed in the past.

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ScotDrakula will be performing at this year's Boogie (April 3-5) as well as three Victorian dates with Babaganouj: April 16 at Bridge Hotel Castlemaine; April 17 at Grace Darling; April 18 at Barwon Club Geelong. Details here.