I have a real love/hate relationship with festivals. Festivals can be great when the vibe is right, the bands look like they want to be there, the weather is nice etc etc. But they can also be terrible for just as many reasons. So on the morning of 11 February 2011, things weren’t looking good for Adelaide’s Laneway Festival when a massive downpour hit at about 11am.

Luckily the weather cleared and the gates opened at 2pm to what turned out to be quite a pleasant day. The crowd was surprisingly small for the first few hours of the day, but as the festival had sold out that morning, it was bound to fill out well before the biggest names hit the stage.

Rat Vs Possum opened with a high energy performance in the reasonably small Fowler’s Live venue situated on the University of SA grounds where the festival was held. Rat Vs Possum are pretty cool, but I don’t find them particularly inspiring. While their high energy, beat oriented show really engages the crowd and gets people pumped, I found the music to lack any real dynamics. It’s as if their dynamic goes from loud to very loud to just loud drums. They sure love their big beats though, with all five members smashing some kind of drum at one point. You can tell they have a great time on stage, and are a well rehearsed unit, and I suspect we’ll certainly see more of them in the next year or so.

I caught Violent Soho next, who also played in Fowler’s Live. Even though this was only second act for the day, I could already see problems with the venue. The band sounded pretty bad in Fowler’s, and I put that down entirely to the venue and not the band itself. Despite the annoying feedback and problems, the long haired indie rock band smashed out some really great tracks.

Jenny and Johnny were the first band I caught on the courtyard stage, inconveniently located between the entrance to the festival, the entrance to Fowler’s and the rest of the festival grounds. But more on that problem later. I was at this point still in a good enough mood to actually enjoy Jenny and Johnny, who I hadn’t even heard of before. I think the easiest way to describe the band is fun. Their bright pop songs, mixed with a colourful and cheery performance by the band makes for a really happy, feel good set. The band was incredibly loud however, with an ear splitting high end. Despite this, the ever swelling crowd seemed to be really getting into their set.

The festival was in full swing by early evening. People were excited for some of the big names to come, and the weather was great. I was pretty happy to be out of the crowd for a while around the back near the stalls, and from there I went to the massive open air stage that ran the length of a small laneway next to the University called Fenn Place. It was at this stage that I found myself a nice seat on a stair rail up the back and got comfortable for the absolute highlight of my day, Blonde Redhead. I’ve been a fan of Blonde Redhead for a long time, and couldn’t wait to see them live. I wondered how they would pull off their unique sound, and even more so I wondered how many songs they would play off 23 and Misery is a Butterfly.

For anyone who saw Blonde Redhead, you’ll know how this next part of the review is going to read. They were, quite simply, stunning. I remember hearing “Equus” and “Dr Strangelove” at some point, and a couple more oldies too I reckon. And their new album just sounded wicked live. Their sound was brilliantly crisp and clear from my vantage point well back behind the crowd. They were loud and tight and I was so blown away by the sheer beauty and elegance of Kazu Makino’s voice. As with most festivals, you feel ripped off when the shortened set ends and there is no encore. Sure I could have listened to another hour of Blonde Redhead that night, but their set was entirely satisfying and the standout performance of the day to me.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti followed on this stage immediately after, and it was a rather annoying delay, particularly after Blonde Redhead’s performance, that got this set off to a bad start. I have only just got into Ariel Pink’s album Before Today and it took a few listens to understand what was going on. I felt this was the same for the live performance. Perhaps after seeing this band a couple of times you’d really get it. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is a bit different – they are not your normal indie rock band and this showed. I remember reading about Ariel Pink being booed a lot in his early live shows because he never intended his music to be played live. His show has obviously come a long way, because there is no way I would have booed it, but it still didn’t show the polish of some of the other international acts on the bill.

It’s always funny how different people perceive performances differently, and Yeasayer was a great example of this. I spoke to some people who loved it. Personally I didn’t like it at all. I love the band, and what’s more I love the way they interpret their albums to play live. But it seemed to me that they weren’t really interested in being there, and their compositions of their well known songs were a bit obscure. It was pretty awesome to hear some songs from All Hour Cymbals, but even these were lost on me.

However I have to say here that I blame the venue more than the band. It was at this point of the night that I was getting really shitty with the whole situation. Yeasayer played in the courtyard stage, which you practically could not get into without pushing through the shoulder to shoulder crowd. I hate watching live music in that kind of uncomfortable situation, meaning that I often end up near the back, as I did for Blonde Redhead and Ariel Pink. But the Courtyard stage wasn’t at all set out for this kind of layout. Not only was the sound quality from the back shocking but it was also a major walkway to the Fowler’s entry. What’s more, you actually had to tackle this kind of crowd all the way to the door of Fowler’s, which I imagine was just as awfully packed inside.

So at this point, I’m sorry to say, I got something to eat and then fucked off. Sure I would have liked to see Les Savy Fav or !!!, but those crowds were ridiculous. I know a lot of people shared this sentiment, so hopefully this message can get back to the organisers and next year they can avoid such madness.