Big Day Out 2010 – Melbourne : Gig Review

Celebrating Australia Day in style, Melbourne hosted its leg of the Big Day Out festival at Flemington Racecourse. Like any other year, the bogans and general mischief makers were out in full force, but this didn’t stop a huge selection of international and local acts from delivering one hell of an exciting Big Day Out.

Making my way across the venue towards the Blue & Orange Stages, the weather was nice, and a bright and early arrival ensured a great view of opening main stage act, Perth’s Sugar Army, who  played to a smaller, more intimate crowd.

Now I don’t want to start with a negative, but whether or not it was the outdoor setting, Sugar Army sounded like a typically generic support band. The last time I saw them was back in June 2009 with Karnivool – and I really enjoyed it. However,  in front of the bigger audience, it seriously felt like Sugar Army were swimming in the sea of incredible bands  that were to follow them – and drowning fast. The forty-five minute set passed by quickly, so I crossed over to the Blue stage, where coincidentally 2009’s success story Bluejuice were about to assault the Big Day Out.

Sporting yellow jumpsuits similar to the Beatrix Kiddo, Bluejuice are a force to be reckoned with. Classified as  “punk-hop,” “downtempo hip hop, ska-tinged pop and pounding disco” and “too straight for funk, too groovy for indie rock and too sweaty for pop,” Bluejuice qualify as one of the most, if not the most unique band on the Australian music scene.

Having released album #2 ‘Head of the Hawk’ in 2009, their popularity soared with the release of ‘Broken Leg,’ which also reached #5 in Triple J’s Hottest 100. A huge, well deserved congratulations are in order for Bluejuice.

Opening their set with Head of the Hawk & Miss Johnston, Bluejuice hold absolutely nothing back from the crowd. Foul language (with Jacob Stone dropping the ‘c’ word) sexual innuendo’s abound and a giant inflatable lizard were just some of the antics Bluejuice managed to fit into their forty five minute set.

That said, nobody was complaining, especially when fan favorite The Reductionist got its Big Day Out performance, with Stav and Jacob performing their usual insane routine of jumping around the stage like a pair of ten year olds on a massive sugar high. Set highlights from Bluejuice arrived at the end, with the inevitable Broken Leg, and compulsory performance of crowd pleaser Vitriol. The usual stage invasion has been absent from many of the past shows.

With more popularity comes larger venues, larger stages, and bigger security. That said, nothing was lost in Bluejuice’s performance. Bigger and brighter things are on the horizon for this New South Wales five-piece.

It’s easy to see why Karnivool are in a league of their own in today’s music scene. Touted as one of the most prolific and brilliant progressive-melodic rock bands, vocalist Ian Kenny (vocalist of  Birds of Tokyo) has such a commanding force, it’s impossible not to be swept up in their performance.

Plugging latest album Sound Awake, which took four years to be completed, Karnivool opened with Simple Boy, followed swiftly by the bass pounding Goliath. The melodic masterpiece New Day (my personal favorite) truly demonstrates Kenny’s sheer talent as a vocalist. Set highlights from Karnivool included new single All I Know, and Roquefort, with special guests from The Cat Empire performing the brass section.

A final song saw Themata receiving its long due Big Day Out performance, ending their set on a very high note. If anything, my only complaint from Karnivool’s crowd was the amount of drunk morons in the pit. Seriously, a circle pit where many patrons who would usually be barred from the ‘Vool’s’ usual 18+ gigs were attending? Where’s the safety? Many left that performance bleeding and bruised. Not impressed. Certainly a low point of the day.

It was then over to Mastadon. I’ve never truly listened to them properly, so I was very keen to check them out. However,  I was not impressed. Put it down to the outdoor environment, but they seemed so out of place playing during the middle of the day. Maybe I’ll give them a chance when they return and play some indoor venues. That said, they certainly looked the part with their Viking beards.

Heading over to the Hot Produce stage, I managed to catch a fair amount of Calling All Cars set. An old favorite of mine,  they are definitely one band to keep your eye on. Having just come off a support slot with Green Day, with some imminent support slots for AC/DC,  Calling All Cars are one utterly brilliant band. Vocalist Hayden Ing is one of the most talented performers I have seen. Song highlights included Hold, Hold Fire! and Hey You.

As I made my way back to the main stages, British rockers Kasabian were making their way onto the Orange stage. The ‘D’ pit was completely full, so I had to view them from outside of the mosh. Talk about your buzzkills! However, I finally managed to score my way in just as they launched into the utterly brilliant Empire. Moshing my way forward, set highlights from Kasabian included Shoot The Runner and Fire. I am most definitely looking forward to their return next year, a promise made by lead vocalist Tom Meighan at the conclusion of their set.

I, like most people who breathe air in this country, have seen Eskimo Joe a fair few times in the past, so I opted to make my way into the Hilltop Hoods pit, who admittedly I have seen just as many times, but never been in the thick of the nosebleed section.  Listening to Eskimo Joe, often seeing brief glimpses of Kav Temperly from afar, their set was composed of greatest hits. Opening with Foreign Land, and Inshalla, they played a solid worthy show.

Sarah, Black Fingernails Red Wine and a cover of Icehouse’s We Can Get Together were the highlights of Eskimo Joe’s set. By now, I had pushed forward enough to be one or two rows from the centre of Hilltops mosh. What followed was surely an experience.

As Suffa MC, Pressure and DJ Debris arrived on stage, it took mere seconds for them to have the 55,000 + festival goers in the palms of their hands. Opening with The Return (aka The Return of the motherf**king motherf**kers), the pit was intense, messy and downright fun.  ‘The Hoods’ are such an exceptional live group. Recapturing the Vibe, Nosebleed Section, The Hard Road and What A Great Night were such brilliant highlights of the set, and closing song Chase That Feeling (peaking at #3 in the Triple J Hottest 100 later in the evening) provided so far, the most enjoyable set from the day.

Pushing forward, I finally reached the barrier for one of my most anticipated acts of the day, Lily Allen. Anybody who knows me knows of my deep affection for Lily’s music ( not to mention my shameless love of Lily herself). So it goes without saying that I’m going to be bias in saying how brilliant her set was. It was my third time seeing Lily, and easily her best performance yet. So where to begin?

Arriving on stage in an Australian flag poncho and denim short shorts, it was enough to draw enough people to pack the D once again. ‘Wow there are a lot of f**king people here!’ exclaims Lily.

A planned hiatus from music saw Lily playing her hits from her two albums and b-sides. Everyone’s At It, LDN, Littlest Things, and a cover of Britney Spears’ Womanizer (no lip synching here!) Proclaiming about the sun, fans threw sunglasses on stage for Lily, one hitting a security guard in the head. ‘Ha ha, that hit the security guard in the head’ laughed Lily.

F**k You saw Lily proclaiming her hate for conservative ignorance, and how she is disgusted by judgmental people, asking the crowd to join her in by raising their middle fingers and saying F**k you. There is absolutely no denying that Lily Allen is a true shining light and a true talent in today’s music scene. It’s going to be a true loss in this reviewers opinion when she finally ‘retires’ in March.

A cover of Just Be Good To Me was a nice difference in the set, but she raised a few eyebrows and got more than a few cheers of approval from the guys in the crowd when during The Fear, Lily sings the line, ‘Everything’s cool as long as I’m getting thinner,’ pulling her shirt up more than too far to expose her chest. No complaints here, Lily displays public nudity in style. Highlights of her set included 22, and a final curtain call when Lily ask ‘Do you like country music?’ jumping into Not Fair, which also featured an extended reprise section at the end of the song. Farewell and thankyou Lily Allen, on behalf of the crowd, you will be sorely missed.

Jumping the barrier rather than walking back through a crowd, I head over to The Blue Stage to catch The Mars Volta. Honestly, I had absolutely no idea when one song ended and another began. But that didn’t really matter, because they are truly talented musicians, and they make such a unique, awesome sound. The stage antics of these guys is something to be witnessed!

Second headline act Powderfinger arrived on the Orange stage to a rapturous applause. Lead singer Bernard Fanning was donning an Aboriginal Flag t-shirt, which was apparently worn by Jay Watson of Tame Impala earlier in the day. Whether or not it was the exact same shirt is yet to be determined.

A huge display panel behind them displayed a light show, and later at dusk would fire brief lasers into the crowd. Opening with songs from new album Golden Rule, All The Dreamers began their set. Early highlights included Bless My Soul, & the utterly brilliant Love Your Way. New tracks A Song About Money and Burn Your Name made their appearances in the set, but the finale arrived in (Baby I’ve Got You) On My Mind. A notable highlight was Fanning declaring the winner of the Triple J hottest 100 (not that we didn’t already know…) and playing a brief rendition of Mumford & Sons Little Lion Man.

Despite the fact that Sunsets was not played, they played admirably (even though Bernard Fanning insisted on dropping the  F-Bomb at any given opportunity. I counted over twenty uses of it).

Finally, headline act Muse were ready to grace the stage. Latest release The Resistance has been met with mixed reaction, and despite the fact that they played a fare few songs from it, it didn’t dampen the show.

Opening with Uprising, giant light panels displayed the full force of The Resistance. I can’t begin to explain what brilliant experience it was to finally see Muse live. Supermassive Black Hole (whored out to Twilight fans in that pitiful baseball scene) continued the night, before we were treated to New Born.

Undisclosed Desires and Hysteria displayed a utterly mesmerizing lightshow, thick waves of lasers danced over the crowd. Displayed in rhythm with the crowds clapping, they moved, darted and provided one of the most spectacular scenes all day.

That ‘Queen song’ United States of Eurasia was actually an incredibly exceptional piece of music, especially when performed live. Guitarist Matt Bellamy is one hell of a talented musician, no doubt about it. MK Ultra, and the masterpiece Starlight lead the charge towards the end of the night, followed by Time Is Running Out, and Unnatural Selection.

As Bellamy took a quick break, Dom and Chris jammed for the crowd, displaying their own separate talents as musicians.

An encore saw drummer Dom Howard introduce Nic Cester of Jet, singing a cover of AC/DC’s Back In Black. It was incredibly out of place, pointless and enough to make me disown the set. Luckily, Muse made up for this with the two final songs of the night, surprise of the night Plug In Baby and the epic sing-along masterpiece Knights of Cydonia. Finally hearing it live gave me such a chill up my spine.

Overall, 2010’s Big Day Out had its highs and lows. The crowds were utter morons, but the display of talent from the musicians was above par. A few clashes forced me to miss Tame Impala, Passion Pit and 2009’s breakout band The Temper Trap, but above all, it was a truly exceptional day, and I look forward to 2011’s show, as well as Muse’s November/December tour. Bring it on!