“IT’S COMING AROUND THE CORNER, IT’S GASPING IN THE TREES. IT’S RIGHT THERE BEHIND YOU, IT’LL BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES.

ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD, WHICH MEANS YOU MUST BE NEXT CLOSE YOUR EYES, TRY NOT TO SCREAM WHEN THE KNIFE COMES THROUGH YOUR CHEST.” – (Alison Wonderland).

.

Alison Wonderland // Photography by Brianna Denmeade

.

On a very sunny, extremely hot (34 degrees) day, nestled between the valleys of Ipswich, more than an hour out of Brisbane, Alison Wonderland returned to her motherland to put on another country-wide music festival line-up hand-picked by Alison herself. The SCAREHOUSE PROJECT 2017 was a one-day fully packed music festival, named appropriately, for its horror house-like theme.

.

.

The day started off scary and HOT, entering the festival I could see the effort put in by Alison Wonderland and her team of people who made it all happen. There were actors in cages dressed as if they were mental patients, and close by were men in masks acting as the keepers making sure the crowd of people didn’t mess with the performers. First thing I take note of inside the festival is the glitter stall named GLITORIS, where punters could pay $25 to get glitter put decoratively anywhere on their body. This meant that most people were walking around covered in the stuff, and made for some interesting photos, even a few people brave enough to be wearing ONLY glitter!

After grabbing a drink and getting cash out before the lines got too crazy I head over to the BROWNIES + LEMONADE stage, that seemed to be where some of the smaller acts were, not to say the energy level was less than over at the SCAREHOUSE main stage. Antony & Cleopatra were the first act I caught of the day at around 4.00pm, I already knew I liked their music from track Future which they collaborated on with MOTEZ earlier in 2017. Seeing them live was a treat, their set felt like a grungy UK underground live gig with the flawless fusing of late ’80s US house and ’70s disco. When they close their set with recent track Dust the crowd goes absolutely ballistic, dancing and dripping sweat, drinks in hand, no concept of time or temperature. It set the tone for the rest of my day and night.

.

Antony & Cleopatra // Wonderland Scarehouse Project

.

There was one other act I was sure to catch while the sun was up, YOUNG FRANCO, a Brisbane DJ who I have seen DJ many times at home in the clubs of Fortitude Valley. Looking just as at home in front of 40, 000 people at a music festival as he did playing Brissie crowds of 100. This was another intense mosh-pit moment during the daylight; playing club classics with his YOUNG FRANCO flare, he had the audience dancing harder than I had seen all day.

.

Young Franco // Photography by Brianna Denmeade

.

I was eager for the night to close in, not just so it cooled down, but I was looking forward to the big acts of the night including music producer LIDO, A$AP Ferg, and miss WONDERLAND herself.

LIDO was the first act playing the main stage when the sun was down, and boy did he make the transition a lot of fun. He was not one of the best performers of the day, his stage presence consisted mainly of being hunched over his decks concentrating heavily on producing quality live music. The lack of interaction with the audience did not seem to bother many of the punters around me, as the night encouraged people to dance harder.

.

Alison Wonderland Scarehouse Project 2017

.

The BROWNIES + LEMONADE stage had no more sets left from around 9.00pm which meant every single punter was around the SCAREHOUSE main stage awaiting A$AP FERG and ALISON WONDERLAND. Standing in the photo pit ready for A$AP Ferg to come on at 10.00pm I have never looked out across a sea of so many people, more than 40,000 to be exact, and it was an incredibly sobering moment to be a part of. To no surprise A$AP Ferg smashed his set, looking like an absolute professional whilst he spat lines from Plain Jane, New Level and the crowd favourite Shabba. I can’t deny during Shabba I was front row, middle of the moshpit getting thrown around like undies in a dryer – and it was brilliant! It is an amazing feeling when an artist can create a moment where thousands of strangers let down all their walls and connect through the music.

.

A$AP Ferg // Alison Wonderland Scarehouse Project

After A$AP Ferg‘s epic set the crowd was well-and-truly ready for the headline of the night, the woman who curated this insanely well-thought-out one-day festival, ALISON WONDERLAND. She graced the mass of punters by closing her palms together to signify gratitude, and then screaming,

“Get fucked up. On a Spiritual Level.” – (Alison Wonderland).

This was the beginning of a psychotic almost one-hour long,trap-infused, outdoor warehouse-like mosh with thousands of people from all over Brisbane and the Gold Coast. She played plenty of crowd pleasers, doing her DJ bit, but she has no shortage of original bangers that she made sure to include like RUN, U DON’T KNOW, closing the night the right way with her most recent track My Happy Place.  An appropriate song for the moment as she has said before,

“As someone who is a music lover for me, shows are a way to escape the real world and I want everyone who comes to leave with the same experience. This is the third time we have worked on the warehouse project idea and it’s, of course, going to be bigger and better every time. It is basically a look into my mind.  This will be the next step,” – Alison Wonderland.

.

.

AMNplify – BD