Golden Plains X: Day One

2016 and my first Golden Plains is the 10th anniversary of the festival. Normally on the March long weekend I head back to Adelaide for Womad, but this year I decided I wanted to go to Golden Plains because Eddy Current Suppression Ring were headlining. ECSR are a Melbourne punk band who played at the first Golden Plains 10 years ago, and haven't played for over six years.
First of all, I had to get tickets. Golden Plains only offers a certain amount of tickets per year in a ballot and I missed out. Fortunately, my old flatmate Brad got them, and unfortunately he couldn't go.
As usual I asked anyone on Facebook if they wanted tickets, and as usual no one responded in time. So, as usual, I went by myself. Thanks to The Equipment Library, I hired a swag and sleeping bag, got a cooler bag filled with cheeses, olives, stickmeat and Pirate Life and Jack Hammer pales, and caught the Supernatural Express to the Nolan Farm in Meredith, Victoria.

Map of the venue. I was camped in "Elwood".

From the moment I got there, I knew this festival was something special. As I was strolling along people came up to me and offered to look after or help carry my gear. One British guy actually insisted on helping, and walked me about the camp, explaining this at that feature. When I discovered there was a street called Highway To Hell, I knew I found my camping spot.

So I go camp on my own, leave on my own, go home and want to die... due to lack of sleep

It was the British guy (whose name I have forgotten) who suggested I go to the opening ceremony. He said it was very special. And it is.You see, the Nolans, who own the farm, have a son Chris. In 1997 he suffered multiple organ collapse. He is fully cognisant of all around him but now is confined to a wheelchair and can only communicate in blinks, vocalisations and facial gestures. Along with the traditional acknowledgement of Aboriginal ownership of the land, "The Long Blink" signifies that Chris is happy to have people on the farm, and kicks off the festival.

I wanted to get closer, but you can see, the Opening Ceremony is very popular.

Kicking off the music was Melbourne band Gold Class. Most people who know me know that I love the Smiths but hate Morressey; however don't get the wrong idea when I say this - singer Adam Curley sounds like the Morressey (or possibly Ian Curtis), and it sounds great! The rest of the band is great too. I strongly recommend all of my friends go listen to them right now!

Gold Class: In this case, I'm not using Morressy pejoratively.

Wandering back to camp to get a beer, I realised I had chosen the perfect spot. It was 10 minutes away from the stage, so during the band change over I could wander back, fuel up, and then hit the stage again. However, this would turn out to be a problem, as I'll explain later... Getting back to the stage I got to see the incredible Emma Donovan and the Putbacks. I saw this funk / soul outfit led by the Queen of Australian soul music at Womad and they were spectacular once again. 

Emma Donovan and the Putbacks: Because sometimes you need a little soul.

Even though I only ever heard of them just the night before, the U.S. Girls were now a major draw card for GP and were as amazing as the night before. Meg Remy is the creative force behind this music, one of these "DIY" pop maestros with an extraordinary stage presence along the lines of St Vincent. Her colleague whose name I don't know was also a dynamo! So much sass on stage, a punkish "fuck you" attitude backed up with solid talent. 

US Girls: Who's that girl? No, seriously, can anybody help me out?

After US Girls I decided to go back and loiter around camp for a while, eat some food, and do some exploring. In the background Natalie Prass played some nice pop/country/blues stuff. Not my thing really, but I did discover she's done a tune with Matthew E White, who I am a fan of. And that's what is really good about the one stage set up at Golden Plains - you discover music you might not normally listen to. 

One act such as this was John Grant. I'd never heard of him before, but I endeavour to listen to more now. Like the aforementioned Matthew E White, John Grant doesn't look like he should sound like he does. When he started, my friend asked if they were playing Bowie, and when we realised it was John Grant, we were just drawn to the stage. My word, he was phenomenal! Singing live, he's reminiscent of Bowie or perhaps David Byrne, and hits the deep, long notes in his songs seamlessly. 

John Grant: A case study in not judging a book by it's cover

Until this point, I was of the opinion that Golden Plains might be pretty tame, along the lines of Womad. I thought the whole "no dickheads" thing prevent people from doing what others might refer to as dickish things, like mosh and crowd surf. For the record, I don't think moshing or crowd surfing is dickheaded at all - I've partaken in the past, and it's a lot of fun and on the whole people people are nice in the pit. But the Buzzcocks put that theory to bed with a boisterous display of perfect British punk. The band were having it, the crowd were having it, it was frenetic and fabulous for a band who are fourty!

The Buzzcocks: Old but still fucking rocking!

I've wanted to see Royal Headache for a while now, since they released their first album in 2012 in fact. However, for whatever reason, I've missed all of their shows until now. But funnily enough, I've now seen them every month of this year! And they're as great as I expected. Shogun, the lead singer, has an intense energy on stage, prowling back and forth like a caged animal, just waiting to get out of the cage and rip your throat out. 

Royal Headache: Like a tiger. Reow!

After going to see the Jesus and Mary Chain on Monday night, and Sleater Kinney on Friday night, as well as being up early to pack and travel, it was at about this time I started to feel a little tired. I wanted to push on through though, as CW Stoneking's swampy throwback sound is always an interesting and fun set to listen to. I think this was probably the first time I was disappointed in the sound as his voice when talking wasn't all that loud, and he loves to talk on stage, but it was fine when he was singing. 

CW Stoneking: How does a suit stay so white in a swamp so dank?

Unfortunately I hit the wall hard during his set, and wandered back to camp. I wanted to stay awake, but also wanted to see how comfortable my swag would be. I laid down and was up for a bit listening to the beautiful sounds of offtap people talking shit and they "pwssshfar" of nitrous canisters and laughter. I drifted on and off for about an hour or so, waking up to what I think was No Zu's cover of Hunters and Collectors Talking to a Stranger. It could have just been the interstitial DJ, but it was very loud.

However, with music sounding like Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy met in a (black) cab on the way to see Kraftwerk, it was another Melbourne band I had not heard before, Black Cab, which got me out of the sack and down to the Sup dancing again. And boy am I glad I did - these guys were incredible and I hope I get to see them again soon.

Black Cab: Catch an Uber to their next set!

I wandered back to camp where I laid down and discovered one negative thing about my spot at about 4am - the bass of the main stage where the DJs play late night sets is still as ridiculously loud as it is during the day, and carried directly up the hill. And it will wake even someone who has spent the week at gigs and even fallen asleep at a rave before... Which means tomorrow I will be even more tired... or will I?!

To be continued!

Bands I've seen (complete list)

Here's the almost complete list... I'm sure I'm missing some ;)

I've also included DJ "live shows" like Shadow & Cut Chemist, Kid Koala, Daft Punk and so on... shows good enough to transcend the simple mixing of records to be a full show.

The ones in bold are the one's I saw in the last year or so.

1200 Techniques
AC/DC
Acyalone
Afro Celt Sound System
Afrobeat Public Opinion Orchestra
Alien Ant Farm
Amp Fiddler
Aphex Twin
Ash
Atari Teenage Riot
Basement Jaxx
Beastie Boys
Beasts of Bourbon
Beth Orton
Billy Bragg
Bjork
Black Eyed Peas
Blackalicious
Blink-182
Bliss
Bloc Party
Blue King Brown
Body Count
Breakestra
Butterfingers
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
Cat Power
Coldcut
Cooking on 3 Burners
Corduroy
Cosmic Psychos
Cypress Hill
Daft Punk
Def FX
Depeche Mode
Devo
Dilated Peoples
Dizzee Rascal
DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist
Downsyde
Easy Star All Stars
Elbow
Faith No More
Fat Freddy's Drop
Fear Factory
Femi Kuti
Foo Fighters
Franz Ferdinand
Freestylers
Fund-a-mental
Funkoars
Garbage
Gerling
Gnarls Barkley
Good Buddha
Gorilla's Sound System
Gotan Project
Gotye
Grinspoon
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Happy Mondays
Headless Chickens
Helmet
Hexstatic
Hilltop Hoods
Hilltop Hoods & Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Hole
Hoodoo Gurus
Human League
Hunters and Collectors
Ice T
Iggy Pop
Infusion
Inspiral Carpets
Itch-E & Scratch-E
James Brown
Jamie T & the Pacemakers
Jamiroquai
Jarvis Cocker
Jebediah
Jet
John Butler Trio
Jungle Brothers
Jurassic 5
Kid Koala
Kaiser Chiefs
Katalyst
Kosheen
KoЯn
L7
Leningrad Cowboys
Live
Lou Reed
Luke Slater’s Freek Funk
Lyrics Born
Machine Gun Fellatio
Madness
Magic Dirt
Mark Ronson's Version
Massive Attack
Metallica
Midnight Juggernauts
Midnight Oil
Ministry
Mudhoney
Muph & Plutonic
Muse
My Chemical Romance
Mylo
Neon Indian
New Order
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nightmares On Wax
Nine Inch Nails
Paul McCartney
Pavement
Peaches
Pendulum Live
Pennywise
Pet Shop Boys
Peter Gabriel
Pharcyde
Phoenix
Pivot
Pixies
Placebo
Pop Will Eat Itself
Porno for Pyros
Powderfinger
Primal Scream
Primus
Prodigy
Public Enemy
Q-Tip
Queens of the Stone Age
Rage Against The Machine
Rammstein
Rancid
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Regurgitator
Resin Dogs
Roni Size’s Raprezent
Roots Manuva
Roy Ayres
Salmonella Dub
Sarah Jones & the Dap Kings
Scissor Sisters
Shihad
Silverchair
Skunkhour
Slipknot
Snoop Dog
Snow Patrol
Sonic Animation
Sonic Youth
Soulwax
Soundgarden
Spank Rock
Spiderbait
St. Germain
Stereo MCs
Stevie Wonder
Stone Roses
Supergroove
Superjesus
The Avalanches
The Bamboos
The Breeders
The Cat Empire
The Chemical Brothers
The Clouds
The Cruel Sea
The Crystal Method
The Cult
The Cure
The Dandy Warhols
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
The Donnas
The Flaming Lips
The Hard Ons
The Herd
The Killers
The Living End
The Offspring
The Presets
The Rapture
The Red Eyes
The Roots
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Specials
The Stranglers
The Streets
The Strokes
The Swiss
The Tea Party
The White Stripes
TISM
Tool
Tricky
U2
Ugly Duckling
UNKLE
Urge Overkill
Violent Femmes
Ween
Wolfmother
Wutang
You Am I

AC [lightning bolt] DC

So I've finally seen AC/DC.

It comes as a shock to many people that I'm an AC/DC fan.

But AC/DC remind me of my youth. I remember sitting up all night listening to AC/DC with Philly D as we played computer games.

So why deny my bogan heritage any longer? Sure, during the 90s I essentially shunned AC/DC, and I fucking hated growing up in Elizabeth, but then I just lost the hate. The people I grew up, many of whom I'm still proud to call friends, shaped me into the person I am today, and the music we listened to was a massive part of that.

And Back in Black is one of the world's greatest albums, especially considering the time it was made, and It's A Long Way To The Top is one on the world's greatest songs.

So, when they announced the tour, I wasn't going to miss out. I camped by the internet and hit refresh until I snagged a ticket to the Melbourne Saturday night concert. Sure, it's not as exciting and romantic as camping out for days under blankets sharing the camaraderie that line waiting brings, but it's a fuckload easier.

After losing my job last November, I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to make it. Job offers from interstate and overseas never eventuated, so the worry was misplaced.

Getting to Etihad Stadium was easy - the train stops just outside, although I had to find a internet cafe to print my ticket out. Thank the universe for the internet!

I got in just as Calling All Cars finished. I downed a few scotches and then found a nice spot mid centre of the stadium. It was pretty packed even at 7:30pm, and although I could have pushed my way further to the front, I knew there would be cameras and screens, so I just didn't feel the need to.

Wolfmother opened for them, and were really good. They kicked off with Dimension, then played a couple of new songs, then got the crowd singing with Woman. During the slow bit of White Unicorn, you know, the bit that sounds like Riders on the Storm, they actually started playing Riders of the Storm. Stockdale's voice is perfect for a Doors cover, and I'm surprised they don't do more of them. They closed with Joker & Thief.

I thought they were a brilliant selection for AC/DC's opening band. They're liked well enough by a wide range of people that people would be singing along, rocky enough to fit in with the overall vibe of the gig, yet not good enough to overpower AC/DC (if that was indeed possible).

After a short wait, the screens lit up and showed a short video of the band on a train. Full of childish innuendo and sexually suggestive images, the "train" then smashed onto the stage as the band played Rock and Roll train. Right from this very first moment I knew we were in for a rocking show!

They played another off their new album, something I'm not overly familiar with, and then got into the older tunes. Dirty Deeds, Shot down in Flames, and Thunderstruck. All the while the whole audience is singing and screaming and having a great old time.

But things really got wild when Brian started singing She's Got The Jack. The screen started showing all the girls on the guys shoulders, and up came the shirts. Brian even said "get your eyes off those titties" at one point, and then Angus started his strip. Much like Devo, these old rockers still know how to entertain.

The classics came thick and fast. The bell lowered for Hells Bells, with Brian swinging from the bottom of it. Shoot to thrill and War machine - a track I do know off Black Ice - had cool visuals with the live action on stage, but nothing was as cool as High Voltage, done as a tribute to Bon Scott with his grinning face looking down at the thousands singing along with his lyrics.

More classics - You Shook Me All Night Long, TNT and Whole Lotta Rosie, which featured a massive fat lady riding the train. Let there be Rock was where Angus got loose, and showed that even at 60 he can still play that guitar well. The encore of Highway to Hell and For those about to Rock was absolutely brilliant.

I would have liked to hear more of my favourite songs - If You Want Blood and Who Made Who would have been nice, but overall I couldn't have been happier with the set. This was what a rock concert should be like! Entertaining and fun, no matter what was played.

I felt the same after AC/DC as I did after Madness, Devo, Primal Scream and The Specials last year. Sometimes I admit I caught up in too much negativity and cynicism, and it takes old farts like these to remind me life is all about having fun. If they can do it at 60, then I should be doing it now, and keep doing it until I'm 60, too.

V Festival review

At first I wasn't really interested in this years V Festival. Snow Patrol and Kaiser Chiefs are ok, but not enough to spend $150 to go see.

But then Madness and Human League were added to the line up, and I bought tickets immediately! I even talked Ritters into coming over to it from Adelaide! There was no way I could miss one of the most fondly remembered bands of my youth!

We rocked up to the showgrounds around 3:30 and moved into the Virgin Mobile (Green) Stage to see Temper Trap, and try and get a spot for special guest Vanilla Ice. Yes, he's always been kind of crap, but the nostalgic appeal of seeing him was too much.

But the crush was too much, as it seemed everyone had the same idea, so we moved outside to get a drink. I saw a bit of the band Elbow and they were alright, then headed back to Vanilla Ice. I found a great spot outside near a window with a view straight onto the stage, and when Vanilla Ice jumped on stage the crowd went mental. It's obvious that he was just as wrapped being on stage as we were to see him.

We wandered over to see M83, but I only saw one tune and it's faded from memory because ran over to see Madness...

Oh My Gosh!

Beginning with One Step Beyond, the crowd went mental and they are just as crazy and silly as I remember from the videoclips. They played pretty much all their hits; Our House, My Girl, House of Fun, and concluded with Must Be Love. They also did a cover of Max Romeo's I Chased The Devil (the tune Prodigy sampled for Outa Space). Their onstage antics were fantastic; the lead singer calling for security because he saw a hippy in the crowd; the guitarist trying to climb the scaffolding and being chased by the security, and smoking and drinking on stage.

After Must Be Love the crowd thinned out with most of the kids heading off to see Kaiser Chiefs, but as I went to grab a beer, the lead singer comes back on stage and those of us remaining were treated to an encore of (the song) Madness and Slow Boat To Cairo. Most of those remaining were the older people, and things got really silly here, with people skanking arm in arm and even a konga line snaking through the crowd!

All it all it was seriously one of the best performances I've witnessed.

Ritters and I became separated at this point, she went to see all of Kaiser Chiefs and I went to get more beer... I saw most of Kaiser Chiefs and liked them a lot, but have to admit the songs I knew well were all from videogames. I snuck off to see a bit of Snow Patrol, who were a little boring to be honest.

We reunited after Kaiser Chiefs and headed to see Human League. We got in just in time for Don't You Want Me. Their set was pretty cool and very 80s - I'm surprised how much of their lyrics I remember actually - and their encore was Electric Dreams, which was, needless to say, awesome.

Then we decided to see the Killers. Then decided that was a bad idea because they actually suck, and headed off home before the crowd.

V Festival is starting to become one of my favourite Australian festivals. It has a line up that appeals to a wide range of punters. I've seen 4 bands I thought I'd never see live - Madness, Pixies, Human League and Vanilla Ice, plus some cool acts like Temper Trap, Kaiser Chiefs, Gnarls Barkley, Jarvis Cocker and The Rapture. It's not nearly as packed as Big Day Out, and the crowd seems much nicer and less fucked up than other festivals.

More bands I've seen

I thought I better add to the list bands I've seen as my memory ain't what it used to be ;)

These are all from the last two or so years...

Bloc Party
Billy Bragg
Bjork
Cypress Hill
Devo
Dizzee Rascal
Funkoars
Good Buddha
Gorilla's Sound System
Headless Chickens
Jungle Brothers
Mark Ronson's Version
Midnight Juggernauts
Nine Inch Nails
Pendulum Live
Pharcyde
Public Enemy
Q-Tip
Rage Against The Machine
Regurgitator
Roy Ayres
Sarah Jones & the Dap Kings
Stevie Wonder
The Bamboos
The Presets
The Stranglers
UNKLE

Pure Bliss

I just found a great webpage all about one of my favourite Adelaide bands...



Written by the extraordinarily talented and incredibly friendly Dave McCain (aka DAMC / Techione), it details the rise and unfortunate fall of this incredible band.

On top of that, Dave's got their two eps available for download!

Melbourne Big Day Out 08

This was the second Big Day Out I've attended in Melbourne; the first was back in 2001.

This time it was a Flemmington Racecourse, and I must admit I prefer the old Showgrounds (and moreover, Adelaide Showgrounds) because there's hardly any shade and no where nice to sit. The stages are miles apart, and you have to walk pretty far between them.

There were a few things different - they had a single entry to the 'D' - basically the area right at the front of the stage, and prevented people entering when it was full. This meant I didn't get anywhere close to the stage at any time. They had drink tickets, but this time they sold them in lots of 10 for $30, and drinks were 1 ticket for water, 2 for beer, and 3 for spirits, which works out really well when you think about it.

But I had a really fun time.


Got there for Muph & Plutonic and they were heaps good... ;)

Midnight Jugernauts were meh, and didn't excite me in the slightest, so I wandered around and heard a local Melbourne group called Mammal, who weren't too bad.

Dizzee Rascal got me bouncing, and performed lots of stuff from English & Mathematics. He closed with Stand Up Tall, which I love.

Hilltop hoods started with a couple of covers - "Just To Get By" and "It's All Good", then dropped into their usual set. They had a singer and the string quartet with them as well, but I was a bit disappointed they didn't do any of the songs they wrote about Adelaide - "City of Light", for example.


Grinspoon annoyed me because they didn't even say hello to the audience - not that I heard anyway, so I grabbed a beer and did a wander. Managed to catch a little of Billy Bragg and I'm such a little commie that I was singing along to it, knowing all the words.

After him I popped over to the Lillypad and caught some of Dexter's Gorilla Step, which is a lot of fun. Dexter DJs whilst drummers drum on logs, and dancers dance around like gorillas, but in hiphop / break dance battle style. It's really cool.


Tom Morello is a funny guy. His banter between songs really humanised him. He did an acoustic cover of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", changing the lyrics to be all about the evil that is George Bush. He then said "Not bad for a guy who's been digitised for Guitar Hero III" and proceeded to tell the crowd how crap he is at the game. He was quite folky, and I'm sure it would have put a lot of typical rage fans off, but I liked it. At the end he told everyone to go download his album, saying "we sold so many of that Rage Against the Machine record that it doesn't matter".


However, most of the day I felt like something was missing, and it wasn't until UNKLE Live came on that I realised what it was - straight up rock! Most of the acts I had seen were hiphop or folk, and when UNKLE came on and proceeded to rock I was really surprised and really happy. They reminded me a lot of Depeche Mode actually, and the lighting in the boiler room was top shit!

Krafty Kuts and Dynamite MC played after, and I gotta hand it to Krafty, he certainly knows how to rock the festival crowd. I wasn't really feeling it though, so wandered to the bar and chatted to some randoms (Melbourne is so friendly and so full of freaks it's awesome!) and then caught 5 minutes of Pegz, who was rocking his home crowd well.


I made my way over to the blue stage in preparation for RATM, so caught most of Bjork. I really enjoyed her set, although lots of people around me whinged like little bitches about her playing right before Rage. The video showed her horn section jumping around, and the freaky instruments she uses. One was this large round touchscreen that you put cups on, and the different cups have different sounds, and the closer they are the different frequencies they make. Really interesting and I want one! (I've since found out it is a ReacTable)

Then Rage Against The Machine came on, and if I was lamenting the lack of rock, they fixed it for me. Playing all their hits, they simply smashed it. Although I got to take issue with one thing - Zac had a rant about the system, as he is want to do. It's all well and good to rant about "the system" comrade, but "the system" is the thing that's got you in front of 50,000 people singing and earning millions instead of doing an honest day's work... But it's only a minor gripe and I love the commie bastards.

Things got a little out of control in the crowd too - there were people up on the roof of the bar tent, people on the scaffolding, people in trees, and security and cops couldn't do much, although I saw one security dude just laying into one of the crashers. Not good.


But all in all it was a pretty good Big Day Out, although I think I might head to Adelaide next year, for the simple fact that there are nice places to sit and see the action, unlike at Flemmington, because my legs and feet are fucking killing me right now!

Bands I've seen

These are the ones I remember seeing... There's probably more... And this list doesn't include DJs who essentially just played records...

1200 Techniques
Acyalone
Afro Celt Sound System
Alien Ant Farm
Aphex Twin
Ash
Atari Teenage Riot
Basement Jaxx
Beastie Boys
Beasts of Bourbon
Beth Orton
Black Eyed Peas
Blackalicious
blink-182
Bliss
Blue King Brown
Body Count
Butterfingers
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
Coldcut
Corduroy
Cosmic Psychos
Def FX
Depeche Mode
DJ Shadow
Downsyde
Faith No More
Fat Freddy's Drop
Fear Factory
Femi Kuti
Foo Fighters
Franz Ferdinand
Freestylers
Fundamental
Garbage
Gerling
Gnarls Barkley
Gotan Project
Grinspoon
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Happy Mondays
Headless Chickens
Helmet
Hexstatic
Hilltop Hoods
Hole
Hoodoo Gurus
Hunters and Collectors
Ice T
Iggy Pop
Infusion
Inspiral Carpets
Itch-E & Scratch-E
James Brown
Jamiroquai
Jarvis Cocker
Jebediah
Jet
John Butler Trio
Jurassic 5
Kosheen
KoЯn
L7
Leningrad Cowboys
Live
Lou Reed
Luke Slater Freek Funk
Lyrics Born
Machine Gun Fellatio
Magic Dirt
Massive Attack
Metallica
Midnight Oil
Ministry
Mudhoney
Muse
My Chemical Romance
Mylo
New Order
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nightmares On Wax
Nine Inch Nails
Paul McCartney
Pavement
Peaches
Pennywise
Pet Shop Boys
Peter Gabriel
Phoenix
Pixies
Placebo
Pop Will Eat Itself
Porno for Pyros
Powderfinger
Primal Scream
Primus
Prodigy
Queens of the Stone Age
Rage Against The Machine
Rammstein
Rancid
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Regurgitator
Resin Dogs
Roni Size’s Raprezent
Roots Manuva
Salmonella Dub
Scissor Sisters
Shihad
Silverchair
Skunkhour
Slipknot
Snoop Dog
Sonic Animation
Sonic Youth
Soulwax/2 Many DJs
Soundgarden
Spank Rock
Spiderbait
St. Germain
Stereo MCs
Stone Roses
Supergroove
Superjesus
The Avalanches
The Breeders
The Cat Empire
The Chemical Brothers
The Clouds
The Cruel Sea
The Crystal Method
The Cult
The Cure
The Dandy Warhols
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
The Donnas
The Flaming Lips
The Hard Ons
The Herd
The Killers
The Living End
The Offspring
The Presets
The Rapture
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Streets
The Strokes
The Tea Party
The White Stripes
TISM
Tool
Tricky
U2
Ugly Duckling
Urge Overkill
Violent Femmes
Ween
Wolfmother
You Am I

As Promised... Hilltop Hood & the ASO Photos!

Pressure

Suffa

Debris

7000 people going off!

More at Ringo

Big Day Out 2007

Another year, another big day out, and another disappointing Boiler Room line up. Sure, all the acts that played this were top notch, but I don’t know, maybe the all-dance events like Good Vibrations, Field Day and Parklife keep scoring all the crowd pullers, but I wasn’t too impressed with the Boiler Room this year and spent a good deal of my time seeing bands.

Having said that though, the Herd were the first band I saw, and testament to the draw of hiphop, especially in Adelaide, they had the Boiler Room packed and pumping in the early afternoon. They have such energy and vitality on stage, and bringing John Schuman out for their cover of Redgum’s “I Was Only 19” was a very pleasant and welcome surprise.

The floor thinned out considerably for Digital Primate, which was a shame because he was really good. Playing his own tunes, with his rappers jumping up next to him and kicking some delicious rhymes, he was better suited for a later time slot. Also at this time I decided to get a drink. What a farce that was! Lining up for 30 minutes in the hot sun just to get tickets to go line up again for a drink? From a logistics perspective I can see why they did it – only a few places that deal with cash so no money goes missing from the bars, but from a punters point of view the idea is almost as stupid an idea as trying to prevent people wearing the Australian flag.

Spank Rock surprised me. I knew MC Spank Rock was a no show, but I expected the Spank Rock DJs DJ Devlin and DJ Darko to be far more hiphop orientated than they were. They only did a couple of their own tunes and played a lot of dance orientated stuff in mashup style, mixing up Mylo and AC/DC and the Rocky Theme, with Pacerock hyping the crowd rather than rapping to the music. They reminded me of the Nextmen or Z-Trip, and I really wonder how different they would have been if Spank Rock had made it.

I went for a wander after this, managing to catch My Chemical Romance, who, I grudgingly admit, were rocking the crowd far beyond my expectations. I’ve never really listened to them, and what I’ve heard on the radio I can’t say I like them, but I didn’t run away with my fingers in my ears screaming “You Suck!” at the top of my lungs like I have to other bands in the past.

Making my way back to the Boiler Room for Peaches, I was not disappointed by her on stage shenanigans. Sucking water out of fake boobs during Shake Your Dix, ripping off her tight black jumpsuit to reveal porn style electric pink underwear, she dominated the audience with her sexy style and on stage presence. And I love how many instruments they swap for every song – I much prefer to see people playing samplers on stage than relying on DAT backup tape.

Needing a rest, I wandered over to the Lilly Pad, and managed to catch King Kapisi, New Zealand’s king of hiphop. I don’t care what people say about Scribe, King Kapisi wipes the floor with him. Better rhymes, better attitude, just simply better.

After Kapisi came Afra & the Incredible Beatbox Band. And my word, they are aptly named! Beginning with the Shadow’s Apache, made famous by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, the proceeded to box out various beats from Michael Jackson to James Brown, and classic hiphop like ‘Let Me Clear My Throat’. The Japanese rapping was pretty cute too, and these guys are the best beatboxers I’ve seen to date. Although I’m seeing Rhazel next weekend, so my opinion is open to change.

After Afra, I went and checked out the Streets, who played far too much of their slow stuff, so I went to see Jet instead. I must admit in the past I’ve not liked Jet, thinking them to be too derivative, but seeing them live really made me appreciate their sound a little more.

Speaking of sound, Muse blasted some awesome rock, but not knowing too much of their stuff I sought out something I knew and could bop along to. Enter You Am I, another Australian band I have never given much credit to, but on the smaller Green Stage they seemed much more intimate and comfortable than last time I saw them.

Tool kicked off their set with probably the only Tool song I could identify as them, but I stuck around for a while and enjoyed the heavy rock, until hunger got the better of me and I went to grab some food. Here I was subjected to the wailing of Her Latest Flame, which made me glad I don’t go out to see local bands anymore. I understand you’re an angry teenager, but do you have to scream about it? Listen to the other bands on the line up – Tool and Muse didn’t produce eardrum busting yelps!

After dinner, it was time for the Violent Femmes, and I was happy as a pig in mud dancing and singing along from the first note of ‘Please Don’t Go’ to the last I heard, ‘Add It Up’. I loved the fact they played ‘Country Death Song’, one of my all time favourite Femmes tunes, and Brian Ritchie was great on the Xylophone for ‘Gone Daddy Gone’.

Leaving the Femmes before the end of their set was a heart wrenching decision, but I had a job to do. I had to go see Crystal Method to see if they’d disappoint me for a fourth time. In the past they’ve been average or simply downright crap. The ease I got into the Boiler Room confirmed my suspicions that the Crystal Method aren’t as popular as past BDO closers, but I grudgingly admit they played an alright set. Recognising their own remixes of Prodigy, New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’, along with their own ‘Born Too Slow’, and capping off with their squealchy and tough ‘Keep Hope Alive’, they exceeded my expectations, but my expectations were pretty low.

All in all it was another great Big Day Out, but there was nothing absolutely mind blowing this year, like two years ago when I heard Wolf Mother for the first time.

To see the bigger versions of these photos, go to www.ringo.com

All in all it was another great Big Day Out, but there was nothing absolutely mind blowing this year, like two years ago when I heard Wolf Mother for the first time.
To see the bigger versions of these photos, go to www.ringo.com