The SYN Free Kick competition was held at Melbourne’s rock n’ roll ground zero The Tote last night, as bands battled it out to win the opportunity to open up musical proceedings at Melbourne’s iconic rock n’ roll grudge match, Community Cup on 26th June.
Finalists Rain Party, Royal Chant, I, A Man and Red Rockets of Borneo went head to head on stage, playing a set of originals as well as a compulsory cover of a Nick Cave song to tie in with the musical theme of this year’s Community Cup ‘Do You Love Me?” – a tribute to Cave’s back catalogue. A healthy crowd witnessed all bands perform, before in a surprise move, a special act filled in at the last moment for finalists The Living Eyes who had to pull out as a member was underage.
There was no doubting the ability of Community Cup founder Jason ‘Evo’ Evans to pull rank and call in a favour as the punters were treated to a performance by none other than Australian superstar Dan Sultan, who agreed to do a set at the last moment. In a controversial decision, Red Rockets of Borneo won the prize, and are now set to play first at the Community Cup on the 26th of June, which draws a crowd of up to 10,000 people.
