One young male was disobeying a female security guard’s instruction to get off his mate’s shoulders. Barter also urged the reveler to “obey the rules.” The young lad eventually fell to the ground with a solid bump. Lesson learned.

However, the biggest thing learnt from Saturday night’s mini-festival is what a fantastic and under-utilised venue the University of Newcastle’s Bar On The Hill really is.

A decade ago the Bar On The Hill pumped with live music most Thursday nights from leading Australian rocks bands like Something For Kate, You Am I and Spiderbait. However, in recent years  the program has been sporadic at best. Shannon Noll played there last Thursday night, but the less said about that the better.

A cool and starry night provided the perfect backdrop for an evening of indie tunes on the Bar On The Hill’s grassed area. Punters lazed about on the lawn under pretty fairy lights while the University’s band competition winner, the Central Coast’s Nelipot, and Newcastle bands Split Feed and The Treehouse Children warmed up the medium-sized crowd for the headline acts, Gretta Ray, Ali Barter and Japanese Wallpaper.

The Treehouse Children are almost certainly the best live act on the Newcastle indie scene. Tight and energetic they continue to improve rapidly. Tracks like You Wouldn’t Know and Woo are delicious serves of summery pop.

Rising teenage indie star Gretta Ray has a marvelous voice. However, I think music fans are probably three to four years away from seeing Ray become a truly engaging performer and songwriter. Many of her alt-country flavoured numbers lacked energy on Saturday and it wasn’t until she closed the set with her most well-known song Drive that the audience came alive.

Newcastle was the final stop in Ali Barter and her band’s national tour to support her debut album A Suitable Girl. There’s always something exciting about watching an artist who has just broken out. There’s that youthful exuberance, mixed with the polish of experience gained during the hard slog to success.

Barter opened with her latest single Please Stay and kept the crowd engaged as she ripped through her set of ‘90s inspired pop punk. Barter displayed a cool nonchalance throughout the performance in torn black jeans and with her face framed by long hair.

However, vocally she jumped around. At times she sweetly delivered her lyrics before skipping into a short shriek.

Cigarette was far more fierce and spiteful than the recorded version and had the crowd moving, but the closing Girlie Bits understandably delivered the set’s biggest singalong.

Japanese Wallpaper seemed like an odd selection for a night of predominantly indie rock, but the Melbourne producer’s set of atmospheric electronica provided a sweet nightcap for an enjoyable Live On The Lawn debut.