by eliza czander (reporting from Australia)
Splendour In The Grass. What can I say? A piece of my heart, and definitely my mind will forever be left in Byron Bay at the Belongil Fields. As well as about 300 bucks, a few pairs of sunglasses, and arm fulls of glow sticks.
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As festivals of this magnitude tend to go, when it’s crowded, beautiful, and oversold, even getting the energy to head into the fest site is pretty daunting. It was absolutely packed on Saturday when we arrived at the gates. Security wouldn’t let anyone pass through, and even with pressers, none of the guards would budge. Aussie crowds have proven themselves to be a pretty rowdy bunch, and it wasn’t until everyone started shaking the gates down that security finally let us through. Unfortunately, because of the hour or so spent behind the cage caused me to miss a couple of bands I was really looking forward to seeing. Both Manchester Orchestra and Art Vs Science played early slots, and from what I’ve heard from the people that made it in that early, it was completely worth getting out of the house and beating the crowds.
After waiting in line for drink tickets, then waiting in the actual drink lines, it was nearly 3 PM. I was beginning to grow sick of the masses, until I realized Miami Horror was going to take the stage shortly. I caught a glimpse of them earlier this year at Good Vibes, and was expecting a fairly intense performance. I suppose I was expecting a sound similar to their studio stuff, which is more remixes and turntables. This time around, Benji was joined by other band mates on stage with electric guitars in tow. They were alright – fun and loud, albeit a little sloppy and shambolic. We decided to pop over to the Jaeger tent where Sean Cool of Yves Klein Blue was ripping up a DJ set. Rip it he did, and after about an hour of dancing, we were back where we needed to be, in a good head space for the night to push on.
Yacht Club DJ’s put on an impressive show shortly following, playing Run DMC to house, to old Disney songs. The bouncing and strobes continued as Yuksek came on, and absolutely brought the house down playing lots from his latest release, Away From The Sea and getting a rampant crowd response from his remixes. Architecture in Helsinki was up next, and although I was sweaty and the tent was packed to shit, we did our best to push to the front for a better look.
This was another band I had heard put on a fantastic live show, but I have to say, I just didn’t love it. Both of the main tents had pretty substandard speaker systems, and unless you were in the complete right spot, you could barely hear (or see) who was on the mic. It wasn’t nearly loud enough, and they were playing too much of their new stuff, which doesn’t translate as well in a live performance. Too bad, since I thought they would be one of the highlights of the day. We thought it better to head back over to Jaeger and see the Sosueme DJs. Again, an awesome set in the tiny tent, where the drink lines are short, sound is great, and it’s impossible to lose anybody.
With Jane’s Addiction dropping out last minute (right!?), we decided to try and get in a good spot for headliners Bloc Party, who I knew would draw a massive crowd. I really like BP’s stuff, and their new album is fucking brilliant – but again, the f’ing speakers! From our spot dead smack in the middle of the tent I was hearing the people around me screaming the lyrics, as opposed to Kele’s sweet sweet voice over the PA. It was actually better on the outskirts of the tent, where the sound wasn’t muffled and you could at least catch a peek of the band on the big screen. The Bloc put on a much tighter show from the last one I caught a couple of years back. They lived up to the hype, that’s for sure.
Once they’d finished their set, it was time for a mad dash to beat the lines at the DJ tent, which was the only one left open till 2. What a great way to end the night, dancing your face off to every old school hip hop and dance jam you can imagine. I eventually dragged my tired ass back home to try and get some sleep for day 2.
Surprise surprise, I didn’t end up leaving the house until the afternoon, which meant a bolt through security, and over to where Friendly Fires was playing. A phenomenal way to kick off the day, with the band playing nearly all of their greats, like “Hospital” and “Jump In The Pool.” They sounded fantastic, probably more due to the spot we were in, and the fact that the tent was waaaay less crowded. But nonetheless, a top notch performance, certainly my favorite of the fest so far.
We finagled our way past the massive line at the DJ tent to check out Midnight Juggernauts. Because it was a DJ set, and not their usual catalog, it was relatively ordinary, and we thought it better to bail and go grab a spot for Downsyde and Drapht . I’m sure glad we did, cause again we landed in the perfect place to blow out to Downsyde’s set maneuvering a seamless opening to Drapht and his entourage. Possibly the most amp’d up crowd I’d seen yet, as the Aussie rapper pulled us through much of his album Brothers Grimm and ignited the audience with his current hit “Falling.”
Around 8, I reluctantly followed my friends over to MGMT, where I maintained my prediction that the guys would be absolute shite. Unfortunately for the thousands of people gathered to see them, I was right. They slowly moved through the songs on their one album, and did less than little too inspire. It made no sense to leave though, since Flaming Lips were on next, and the number of people was only going to swell. The gates went up and we pushed our way to the front, finding an opening close enough to the stage, holding our ground for about an hour while they set up.
I knew that the Lips would put on a flawless performance, and was blown away when Wayne Coyne stepped out of a neon, pulsating vagina on screen, and then straight into the crowd in a huge rubber ball. After 20 minutes of a trippy psychedelic instrumental, complete with fans dressed as green frogs and sheep, the band moved through their impressive index of hits. Even during slower jams like, “Fight Test” the energy was alive, and everyone loving it. The lights, the sound, and the vibe was perfect, and going out with “Do You Realize” was a really nice way to say goodbye to Spendour.
SO, after a weekend of non-stop boozing, dancing, and waning through the waves of people, I can say that this festival was exactly what I was expecting it to be. Some really great music was sadly overturned by too many people, and the tents too large to really feel like a part of the show.
We all know it sucks when festys get this crowded. The lines are always massive, it takes 45 minutes to take a piss, and you spend half the night trying to meet up with friends, and end up missing much of what drew you there in the first place. I suppose you just have to take it for what it is, and pick and choose how you want to spend the days. I vow that next festival, I spend more time in the side tents and less trying to push through the troops. That said, what a great way to spend my last weekend in Australia. At Byron Bay, lounging in the sun, and checking out some amazing bands ain’t so bad. Now, I’m off to the beach to enjoy the few hours I l have left….
