FESTIVAL REVIEW: Big Day Out, Homebush, Sydney (23/1/10)

How Many Bands Can You Fit In One Day?
Saturday 23rd January 2010
Sydney Showgrounds, Homebush
　

It was a milestone for the Big Day Out today as they celebrated their 100th show, and what a ride it’s been! I’ve been attending Big Day Out’s from the tender age of 12 and they have never disappointed, offering up a plentiful and diverse range of acts that make it very hard to choose from. Sticking to the Main Stage this year my first act of the day was Sydney’s very own Bluejuice.

This is one hard working band who’ve been treading the musical boards for years so it was good to see them make it to Main Stage status. They drew a large and very young crowd ready to shake their thang to Stav and Jake’s catchy vocals. They’re a fun band with a good sense of humour – donning yellow jump suits with black racing stripes, not so wise a choice for the almost 40 degree heat – and the music is just as entertaining. Bouncing beats, rocking rhythms and a huge inflatable lizard side of stage made the perfect opening act for my day.

Karnivool and Mastodon followed, both with slightly smaller crowds than Bluejuice, and both hammering out the harder rock style. Unfortunately both failed to impress. Karnivool replicated the same epic dramatic sound they have always had which is kinda cool, but I don’t see any great advances on their behalf as far as their new stuff goes. And Mastodon looked and sounded the part with their heavy metal musings but nothing stand out – metal music by numbers comes to mind.

Kasabian were next to the plate and the huge crowd gathered showed how far this band has come. I’ve recently returned from London and they have definitely trumped Oasis in the Brit-rock stakes, producing a mighty fine piece of work in their latest slab West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. The world has gone literally crazy for their ever-growing sound and the set they delivered was nothing short of perfect. Fire, Shoot The Runner, The Underdog and various others were played with talent and fervour and were met with ecstatic sing-a-long’s and dancing. I have no doubt if Kasabian ever return to the Big Day Out circus they will be placed much higher on the line-up ladder.

Biggest Main Stage crowd of the day is a tall title to hold, but the next 2 acts won it hands down. Hilltop Hoods drew an amazing surge of people all ready to throw their hands in the air and witness the MC stylings of the boys from Adelaide. I am not a huge fan of Australian hip-hop but these guys sure know how to get down and work a crowd. Old favourites Hard Road, Nosebleed Section and Clown Prince rang like Australia Day anthems throughout the stadium with the crowd knowing every word. Newer releases Chase That Feeling and Still Standing were greeted with the same enthusiasm, and the MC talents of the boys were highlighted by one of the longest freestyle runs I have ever seen.

Dizzee Rascal represented the hip-hop/grime genre from across the pond and drew even more people into the bowl. Everyone loves a rascal and Dizzee certainly lives up to his name, holding the crowd in the palm of his hand with old and new material including Fix Up Look Sharp, Sound Of The Police, the horribly main stream Holiday, and of course Bonkers. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen a stadium full of people going bonkers but I can tell you it’s a sight to behold. A great set from the boy from London and an awesome afternoon crowd pleaser.

Sticking to the London theme Lily Allen shuffled on next and provided some light and girlie relief to the afternoon. I like Lily – she’s so cute and fun and entertaining in her personality, however her music leaves a little to be desired. Her lyrics are sweet and personal to the point of prying, but she lacks substance and ability. Her voice is great and the set was fun, but I can’t help feeling she’s a bit of a show pony, wooing the crowd with her beauty and girl power without producing anything that credible. Fun to watch regardless.

Award for best band to clear a stadium goes to The Mars Volta as almost two thirds of the crowd evacuated once their screaming chords kicked in. The dedicated few that stayed to watch were oblivious and went bezerk as the band ploughed through their long and winding list of hits. A friend of mine once described them as being guilty of ‘musical masturbation’ and I tend to agree to a point, but there’s no denying these guys have a wealth of talent that should be admired and their set today showcased those talents well. Their dramatic lyrics, crescendos and time changes make for a rock’n’roll ride like no other and their sound boomed about the stadium nicely.

Australian headliner for the day was Powderfinger and I think we all agree that you can’t get much more Aussie than The Finger (except for maybe The Spoon). Of course everyone came to see them and of course everyone knew all the words and of course we all waited for stalwart favourites My Happiness, (Baby I’ve Got You) On My Mind, These Days and Love Your Way. However I can’t help feeling The Finger have become a little run-of-the-mill as far as festival acts go. They were good, and it was nice to see them, but their sets don’t seem to be as exciting as they used to be. Their new material was so-so and the rest were just the same as usual.

Then it was time for the big guns, the boys from Devon, Muse. I am ashamed to say that up until a few years ago I didn’t give this band the time of day, finding Matt Belamy’s shrill vocals grating. However a close friend has since converted me and I am appalled that it took me so long to catch on. They exploded on stage in an aura of lights, LED screens and audiovisuals perfectly complementing their huge sound and driving rock beats. Muse are a force to be reckoned with and deserve all the accolades they receive. Matt Belamy’s guitar prowess is beyond compare, Chris Wolstenholmes deep basslines keep it all grounded and you could set your watch by Dominic Howard’s heavy beats. Plug In Baby, Knights Of Sydonia and Starlight were among an array of hits that packed the arena, and an encore cover of Back In Black with Jet’s Nick Cester on vocals left us all gagging for more. Far and away the best band of the day and one of the best festival performances I’ve ever seen.

So once again Ken West and Vivien Lees provided us with a stellar day out and showed just how much musical talent is flying around these days. I can only imagine the amazing performances witnessed on the other various stages and wish I could have seen them all. Too much music, too little time.

FESTIVAL REVIEW: Global Gathering: Long Marston Air Field, Stratford Upon Avon, UK (24/7/09)

It’s All About The Relish
Friday 24th July 2009
Long Marston Air Field, Stratford-upon-Avon

As luck would have it I returned from Benicassim Festival to find I’d won 2 tickets to Global Gathering festival through TNT magazine. I mindlessly enter competitions all the time so had no idea what the prize entailed, but a short click of my mouse informed me I had won the following:

• 2 VIP tickets to the 2 day festival featuring Prodigy, Scratch Perverts, Pendulum, Digitalism, Stanton Warriors, DJ Yoda and more
• 2 return train tickets to the event
• 1 tent
• 2 sleeping bags
• 2 sleeping mats

‘Not a bad haul!’ I thought and immediately called my dancing buddy Kel to sort out a plan of attack. After much too-ing and fro-ing we decided to go only on the Friday night, as I had just returned from Benicassim, Spain and my body and wallet were feeling the effects.

Friday finally arrived, as did the 3-carriage peak hour train to Stratford-upon- Avon, so we crammed ourselves on with 5000 others and set about our adventure. A packed train and one empty double decker shuttle bus later and we were at Long Marston Air Field, collected our VIP tickets, tent and sleeping bags (no mats, disappointing – and an early warning of what was to come…) and head to the VIP entrance.

To this day I have no idea what VIP meant in relation to these tickets. On paper they touted a VIP camping area, clean showers and toilets, plus a bar, food and Jacuzzi area. However these VIP tickets were also available to the public for an extra 100GBP, meaning the majority of festivalgoers were ‘VIP’. Entry was speedy and hassle free – most of the folk arriving through the normal gates were being searched in a manner akin to someone with a bomb strapped to them going through LAX. The whole procedure looked highly unpleasant and I was glad we coasted through… Coasted through to a VIP Camping Area that had more people squeezed into it than the train we rode in on.

VIP entailed being crammed into an overcrowded unorganised mess of tents with one stable-like communal shower tent and a few white cubical loo’s that became as bad as a port-a-loo after a few uses. The chill out bar and food area were OK and did feature a Jacuzzi however all were situated outside and soon became uninviting as the freezing night air drifted in.

We arrived late due to work commitments and had the foresight to borrow a friends pop up tent to avoid erecting a new and unknown tent in the dark. Once camp was set up we ventured into a festival site consisting of a small and terrible sounding main stage, a selection of club arena tents (God’s Kitchen and the like) and a brightly fluorescent, incredibly scary set of carnival rides in the middle. Throw in some loos, a sad excuse for a chill out area and a chew-and-spew food alley and that was it. No theme, no vibe and a fun park so evil I was waiting for Tim Curry a la clown-from-It to jump out at any moment.

Upon exploration we found most of the tents empty bar God’s Kitchen which had a great set up and light show but techno trance just ain’t my thang. The acts I wanted to catch (Prodigy, Pendulum, Stanton Warriors, DJ Yoda to name a few) were in massive tents that were half full, devoid of any atmosphere and – possibly due to the aforementioned – played mediocre to terrible sets. Determined to have a good time Kel and I circled the site numerous times, checked VIP for signs of life – of which there were none – then circled and circled again. Retiring to our tent at 2am, the curfew time for the Friday night, the verdict was all too grim.

With a sight too large and tents way too big for the amount of punters Global Gathering was an empty shell of hopeless vibeless dance music trying to recapture the heady club days of the early 90’s and failing miserably. Maybe the Saturday was better as it was more Drum and Bass oriented – I hope so. Congratulations to God’s Kitchen for having the only constantly pumping tent during the Friday night, a great testament to their staying power. The sad fact remains, and Kelly and I agree, the best thing about Global Gathering was the relish on our midnight snack hamburger.