|
 |
Big Day Out Wayville Showgrounds, Friday 2 February  When
the crowd rolls into the showgrounds on that Friday morning, the day
seems so ripe with possibilities. The chance to hop from stage to
stage, discover a band, make new friends while sitting in the sunshine
or dance the night away in the Boiler Room make it an experience to
look forward to every year. The low temperatures were a bonus, making
things considerably more pleasant in the mosh pit and Boiler Room
(with the happy side-effect of reducing the workload for the St. John's
Volunteers). As part of the laughably small hip-hop contingent, Dei Hamo did his best to rock the crowd but at his 11am time slot most people hadn't even made it through the gates. Much vaunted scenesters Wolf & Cub opened on the Green Stage, drawing the curious and the dedicated alike as they pulled out a set to surprise, baffle and amaze. Little Ice Age attracted a fair wedge of the early crowd to the local stage with their sweet indie-pop, but were soon eclipsed by the chaos of My Sister The Cop, who rushed through their already-frenetic set to stay within their time limit; a highlight being when an over-sized seagull danced behind an the drumkit to the delight of the crowd. The Boiler Room was always going to look empty early on, but there seemed to be as many people watching the Local Produce stage as DJ Ajax. All credit to him, then, for putting on a solid set that kept everyone in constant motion. West Australian popsters Faker opened proceedings on the Blue Stage, playing to an enthusiastic crowd that grew as people continued to trickle through the gate. While vocalist Nathan Hudson's energy is undeniably infectious, the band only really hit their stride on hits like Hurricane. Airborne kicked off early, but it's a pity there weren't more heads bobbing to their AC/DC-like pub-rock tunes. Sounding like a cross between early Joy Division crossed and Devo, The Presets rocked the Boiler Room with live drums and synth player. At the Essential Stage, locals Foreshore showcased their older material as well as debuting a song from their upcoming EP, although the mix didn't help the vocals at times. Having been thoroughly impressed with Youth Group at Falls Festival my expectations of the smartly-trousered men were high. Unfortunately they instead delivered a slow set that I gave up on after 30 minutes. Gerling put together a tight set and made sure that nobody nodded off for an early afternoon nap, and garage-rock and '60s revivalists The Greenhornes seem to stick to the similar rhetoric of rough guitars and devil-may-care posturing, with a dash of pop. On the Local stage Wendy Icon pulled out their rock act with finesse and attitude, as well as a smoke flare "incident" to celebrate band member Crowbar's seventeenth birthday. Patience Hodgson of The Grates burst onto the Green Stage with her usual enthusiasm and kept the energy levels ridiculous high throughout their set. A highlight was the new song Science, described by Hodgson as "science-y and clappy": a winning combination in anyone's book. John Ferris played hard dance and the crowd were definitely up for it despite the early hour. It was all about trashy guitars and tattoos as Magic Dirt showed 'em how it's really done: you've got to have some serious playing skills and sing raw-as-guts at the same time (Adelita: not a 'party girl'? - you lie!). There's always a must-see-next-big-thing at the BDO and this year it was England's The Subways, who definitely lived up to their "full of youthful energy" label (swearing, climbing the lighting rig etc), while bassist Mary-Charlotte Cooper thrashed about the stage as any rock-loving 19 year old at an international festival would  "We
are the best band you are going to see today!" announced Matt Banham
as he walked onto the Local Produce stage with indie rockers No Through
Road. Probably slightly too strong a call, but nevertheless NTR's
set was hilarious, heartfelt and entirely danceable: this is one of
our best bands. Sleater-Kinney played to a modest crowd consisting
largely of dedicated fans with few curious onlookers. They played
a solid set but I found it hard to keep my concentration during their
guitar solos. Locals Mindfield certainly benefited from the dearth
of hip-hop this year and attracted a decent-sized crowd as they raced
through their set, though their abrasive style and sub-par mixing
meant that some of the more casual listeners moved on quickly. Mudvayne
may have retired the make-up and ghastly costumes, but they still
deliver their metal goods with passion and undeniable quality. Sarah
Blasko was a must-see under the Greenhouse, not least because this
was our last chance to hear material from her excellent debut, 'The
Overture And The Underscore'. Vitalic was a very welcome surprise, playing some really good tunes in a techno vein. However, End Of Fashion are nowhere near as good as frontman Justin Burford thinks they are; although the huge crowd that watched his band went ballistic over O Yeah. While I enjoyed Wolfmother on the big stage, I appreciated the more intimate feel the smaller stage provided last year. Sumi kept the indie-rock party going on the Local stage with their exciting blend of influences and youthful enthusiasm. From well before the sound of air sirens heralded the arrival of The Hilltop Hoods, it was clear that the decision to move them to a main stage this year was a wise one. Mixing up material from their upcoming album with crowd favourites, they showed why they have become Adelaide legends. The award for 'Band That Looked Least Like Rockstars' had to go to The Magic Numbers today but, beards and bad hair aside, they delivered their feel-good anthems to a wildly appreciative crowd. Opening with an intro-extended version of E-Talking, Soulwax wasted no time in pumping out their strongest material and James Murphy did his best to keep the rock crowd from leaving with some classic tunes, but moved onto harder dance beats before too long in his entertaining set.  Even
though the genre has been thrashed to death, straight-edgers Stolen
Youth sounded surprisingly refreshing: spiky guitars are the order
of the day here, people! The good times kept coming in the form of
The Go! Team, a unique collection of musicians and instruments combined
to meet one end: to make you dance. There was not one person that
walked away after Ladyflash without a smile on their face and a beat
in their step. Things started to heat up on the Blue stage when Kings Of Leon performed a stunning set of swaggering, sassy Southern Rock, and their raucous renditions of California Waiting, Four Kicks, King Of The Rodeo, The Bucket went down a treat. One of the surprise highlights of the day was New Zealand heavy rockers Shihad: the powerful The General Electric was so volatile that the packed Essential stage crowd seemed like they were about to ignite. The most surreal experience of this year's Big Day Out was the Silent Disco. An abandoned dodgem car rink was converted into a dance floor, but instead of speakers playing music, all the dancers were wearing radio headsets. It was fun, but when you took of your headphones and watched everyone dancing in silence, it was just plain hilarious. Back on the main stage The Living End had the crowd in the palm of their hand as they blasted their way through a short set. They weren't as awesome as they should have been, with songs from the new 'State Of Emergency' providing untimely lulls between classics like Prisoner Of Society and West End Riot. A host of unlikely types crowded into the Boiler Room to see M.I.A., but from the moment the crushing bass spewed forth from the speakers to announce her entrance it was clear that a better sound system was needed. Those who stayed enjoyed some of the most danceable music of the day, but were disappointed by it's brevity. Next up came Adelaide's criminally-daggy-but-really-nice blokes Bit By Bats: think the Strokes,  but
a lot more indie. The ever-scary Henry Rollins delivered some words
of wisdom as the heat began to disappear and the rain started to set
in: school is the new black and he really, really loves Adelaide -
really. But the award for most disappointing crowd goes to Cut Copy.
I was completely appalled by the meagre turn out to one of Australia's
best dance-rock bands, so I danced as hard as I could to compensate.
I don't know if it was just a muddy mix, but normally super-tight
emo outfit The Hot Lies sounded a bit off today, especially vocalist
Peter Wood, whose voice sounded strained. However, the Glaswegian
Greats Franz Ferdinand thrilled the crowd gathered at the Blue Stage.
Frontman Alex Kapranos is a true star, working the crowd like true
professionals. The set comprised mainly of songs from 'You Could Have
It So Much Better' and favourites Take Me Out and Michael,
during which Kapranos teased a response out of the hardest to please
punter. The Mars Volta are a strange beast indeed. Sure, they are undeniably spectacular - an eight-piece band combining searing riffs and endless jams with huge percussion, keyboards and horns - but when you see people in Mars Volta t-shirts leaving to see someone else, you know there's a problem. Kid Kenobi's set didn't seem to have the punch that it has in the past but he certainly got the crowd dancing, buoyed by MC Sureshock busting some excellent rhymes. Bondi trio Cog were a hands-down highlight, the crowd turning absolutely rabid when the smoke cleared and drummer Lucius Borich appeared on the stage. There has been something missing in Australian music and these guys have found it, whatever it is. Sonicanimation were a last minute addition to the Big Day Out, and I'm glad I got to see them; the cheeky Mylo sample at the beginning of their set showing they've still got their sense of humor.  Despite
his entreaties that "it's 1969," Iggy Pop wasn't fooling anyone as
he prowled around the stage with a permanent snarl, but it was still
great to see an entire set of Stooges material. In contrast, The White
Stripes are one band that have been hyped out of proportion. It's
sad to say, but Seven Nation Army just may be the best they
can do. 2 Many DJs started off so well, dropping enticing hints of
classic tunes into their set at perfectly timed intervals, but after
they played Song 2 and the drunk crowd went wild, their set
became considerably less interesting (and less fun to dance to) as
they began simply playing songs in their entirety. Things might have been winding down, but Australian rock stalwarts Beasts Of Bourbon were just getting started on the Green Stage. Tex Perkins led them through a set which featured blues-heavy rock, Magic Dirt's Adalita and Tex beating equipment with a walking stick. A fitting way to close the night, especially for those at the front who were in as much throes as Tex himself. And then it was over. The lights came on, the house music rose, some guy climbed the Ferris Wheel: an ordinary end to an ordinary day. Except for all the bands and stuff - and that drunk guy who told me as I was playing air guitar to Franz Ferdinand that I was the most talented person he'd seen all day...  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine