Compared to other summer festivals
Laneway attendees are more than likely to remain wearing a shirt for
most if not all of the day. Not that it’s during a colder part of
summer as Big Day Out was only held the weekend before for Sydney. Not
only does it draw an eclectic range of artists but it also used a somewhat
unusual venue moving from the streets of the CBD to Sydney College of
the Arts. Although the artists performing on the Laneway tour aren’t
overly big in the mainstream sense of things, a large number of people
still flock to see these great local and international acts that work
hard touring and making music.

First up on the day for myself was
Fergus Brown, backed by a four-piece band. I couldn’t help but notice
in amusement the little monkey sized hat his keyboard   player
and backing vocalist was wearing.

Next up on the same stage was Danimals
another band The Au Review holds in their hearts.  For any avid
reader of The Au, Danimals need no introduction. It has been sometime
since I have seen the band performing live and not only have grown in
terms of people knowing them, but also in band members. The songs contain
a lot of intricacies and performing them live will always be some sort
of a challenge I’m sure. ‘Christmas Worms Quest For Fresh Apples’
from the double A-side had a slightly more stripped back feel heavily
incorporating the guitar. ‘Hornets Nest’ was truer to the original
and saw the thundering drums in unison. The use of a glockenspiel also
featured in the set an instrument so pleasant in tone adding to the
percussive nature of the band.

Following Danimals was one of Dew Process
latest signings Jonathan Boulet, still somewhat fresh off the recent
release of his debut album. Boulet had drawn a fairly sizeable crowd
as the sun overhead began shine with full force over the College of
Arts. Not only did he draw the largest crowd of the early afternoon
so far but he also was able to bring to full voice and standing on their
feet, singing, dancing and clapping along to the song everyone was most
familiar with ‘Ones Who Fly Twos Who Die’.
’A Community Service Announcement’ another song that brought
to full voice visibly showing he had them at his fingertips. is definitely
a good sign for the band and shows the amount of people that enjoy the
music he writes.

The afternoon was going moving along
quite quickly then sun still pumping its rays down on the festival revellers
and the wind picking up slightly, but the show does go on regardless
of the temperature. Whitley showing no fear to the heat took to the
stage black clad. Also drawing a sizeable crowd, it made me wonder how
many people were going to see the bands on other stages as every band
at the inner sanctum stage was able to draw a crowd beyond the sound
desk and into the smaller gap between the two buildings. Jonathon Boulet
would have to be the man to thank, encouraging the crowd to get up on
their feet and it remained that way for the rest of the evening. I can’t
say im too familiar with either of Whitley’s material but the crowd
certainly did and were hanging off his every word. It was much to everyone’s
amusement when he recounted events of the night before “I have to
say I had some really bad acid last night”, much to the crowds amusement
they laughed, some also cheering at his antics. “I’d like to thank
the New South Wales Police Department, for escorting me to the venue…I
better shut up before I get into anymore trouble.” This brought raucous
laughter from the crowd assembled to see him. It also became partly
evident as the why there was a group of police officers patrolling the
grounds earlier. Either it was just coincidence or they really were
his method of transport to the venue. Rounding out the set was the song
I was familiar with ‘Lost in Time’, the crowd was in full voice
and singing along with him.

Next up were a band high on my anticipation
list and judging by the crowd which gathered, were high on there list
also this band was Wild Beasts (pictured above). Opening the set was ‘The Fun Powder
Plot’, Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto singing style had the crowd singing
along, although not quite as high but in the same key at least. It came
as somewhat of a surprise how popular Wild Beasts were. One lady in
the front row was shouting every word back at Hayden and the other singer
of the band Tom Flemming, while also lifting herself up off her feet
and holding onto the crowd barrier. It was amazing how well the songs
translated onto the stage, drummer Chris Talbot was spell binding in
the way he played the drums incorporating a somewhat signature style
with congas, cowbells and wood blocks fitting in so well. The band enthralling
the crowd during title track from the second album ‘Two Dancers’
was played, Flemming parading around the stage bouncing on each foot
before stepping and hitting his guitar with a drumstick. In summary
a very exciting performance, definitely garnering interest for their
sideshow the following day.

The wildly anticipated Londoners The
XX followed, Wild Beasts and the crowd seemed to be growing ever larger.
Of all the stages the inner sanctum stage was definitely the most consistent
with the calibre of acts. As intro to their album sounded, The XX took
the stage and the crowd went berserk. Dressed in black, dark like the
sounds they produced on their album. To be honest I wasn’t completely
convinced about the The XX, they had a lot of hype and all I really
liked was the track ‘Islands’. Watching them play at Laneway certainly
opened me up to them a little more.  With a very modest stage set
up guitar, bass and a few Akai samplers, its no hard to see how The
XX were able to create such a sparse sounding album, dark and brooding.

Setlist: 
Intro 
Crystalised 
Islands 
Fantasy 
Shelter 
VCR 
Basic Space 
Nightime 
Infinity

A man around for a long time was next
to appear on the inner sanctum stage, this man was Daniel Johnston.
On his first Australian tour in his career, the crowd came flocking
with great anticipation. Unlike most of the performers comfort was definitely
much higher on Johnston’s list of things to make sure of, much lower
on that list was fashion. For anyone who hadn’t heard of Daniel Johnston’s
music before, the name would definitely ring a bell a cult hero in many
ways. Supporting Daniel Johnston on his first Australian tour was Old
Man River. I can’t say I’m familiar with Daniel Johnston’s back
catalogue at all, with a discography of his I could get away with saying
I hadn’t heard anything at all. I did recognise some of the song lifted
from his latest album ‘Is and Always Was’, in particular ‘Fake
Records of Rock N Roll’ and ‘Freedom’. The sun seemed to take
great toll on Johnston and after his solo set took a quick breather
on the side of the stage before re-emerging with his band and taking
out the rest of the set. A performance I’m glad to say I witnessed
and definitely sparked more interest in the exploration of his extensive
back catalogue.

Rounding out the night were two of
Australia’s premier bands, albeit not quite radio popular to most
of the public. First up were Dappled Cities (pictured above), all members dressed in
matching gold suits. I guess Keyboard player Ned Cooke was right when
he said they were thinking of something special for the Laneway shows
in my interview with him for The Au Review. Dappled cities played a
great mixture of songs from Granddance. Guitarist and vocalist Tim Derricourt
physical in stage presence as always prancing around the stage and managing
to break strings on not one but two of his guitars. Dave Rennick also
vocalist and guitarist seemed a little more violent that usually throwing
down his guitar to join Cooke on keyboards for ‘The Night is Young
at Heart’. A highlight in the set other than the matching costumes
was Sarah Blasko joining them onstage and singing the verses in ‘Vision
Bell’ changing the feel of the song and adding the touch that only
female vocal could.

Headlining (for lack of a better word)
the inner sanctum stage were Melbourne’s Eddy Current Suppression
Ring. Brendan sporting his trademark black gloves looked like a kid
with a worm in his pants. So much energy never keeping still and moving
to the beat at all times, almost robotic in his movements. This was
the first time experiencing Eddy Current Suppression Ring live, after
much adoration for their album ‘Primary Colours’. The songs more
drawn out in their live form allowing those present to lose them selves
in the groove, just as Brendan is also doing. Personal set highlights
include ‘Sundays Coming’ and ‘Colour Television’ and ‘We’ll
Be Turned On’. In one of the extended jams Brendan scaled the left
speaker rig before dismounting onto the roof and singing to the crowd
assembled, the band remaining on stage. This wasn’t the only stunt
Suppression pulled later jumping into the crowd.

Laneway proved to have provided a very
diverse line up this year and also a very worthy venue, venturing out
of the CBD. It remains a question wether Sydney College of the Arts
welcomes Laneway back next year or it will return to the streets of
the CBD. All in all a great day and if there was more than one Laneway
Festival was attending would be sure to catch a few of the other acts.