Not a cloud could be found as we made our way to the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Sydney. Indeed, the sun had come out to play on a typically beautiful Sydney summer day (which we haven’t seen much of this year); a stark contrast to the weather of last year and a very welcome start to what would be a stellar day of music.
For those who haven’t been to Laneway before, the idea of the festival (and ones like it), is quite unlike broader festivals such as Big Day Out. At Laneway, if you like a couple of the bands on the lineup, chances are you’ll like the rest of the music on display – or at least the vast majority – whether you’re familiar or not. It’s heavily (and cleverly) curated, and provides a chance to tour the sorts of acts who mightn’t be able to afford to come to Australia otherwise.
Needless to say, it attracts a very particular sort of crowd. A crowd who love music, keep their shirts on and the good vibes going. Here’s just hoping no one came hoping a fashion blogger would notice them, because there were a LOT of well dressed people here. Or maybe they were ALL fashion bloggers themselves? But I digress…
With DZ Deathrays finishing up ten minutes early, the first band I caught was Melbourne’s Total Control. The band is comprised of two Melbourne music identities – Mikey Young (Eddy Current, Ooga Boogas, Brain Children) and Dan Stewart (UV Race, Straitjacket Nation, Stained Circles, Distort zine, and heaps more) – and as a result they are a find for fans of the Melbourne post-punk scene. They do it apt justice, though it’s never really been my thing. I didn’t feel too inspired by Pains of Being Pure at Heart either, so I ended up at EMA, being taken on a beautiful musical journey – my first highlight of the day.
“California”, though one of her most popular tracks, is hardly indicative of Erica M. Anderson’s sound. She’s a diverse talent whose voice and instrumentation are phenomenal. Givers came up next and served to be a surprise highlight for many. Performing tracks off their brilliant album In Light, the band didn’t disappoint… and I think we can safely thank the inclusion of the Flute and the Xylophone for that. Likewise, Canada’s Austra led a massive crowd with some beautiful tunes – an artist who would have pleased both fans of someone like Florence Welsh and lovers of bass. Their record Feel It Break – of which they naturally focused on today – is one of the best around at the moment. Check them out!
As Active Child‘s ethereal vocals spread over Rozelle, Girls and Laura Marling were also taking to the stage. One of the many clashes of the day. But having seen Active last week and heading to Laura’s Opera House show on Thursday, Girls was the obvious choice – and a good one at that. It was nice to hear some good, old fashioned electric guitar accompany their melodic tunes. I’d never thought too much about it before now, but their music really does herald back to that of the 60s, in that Beatles/Rolling Stones boy band sort of way. They could sit well with any generation, really. “Lust for Life” was the easy highlight of the set, with some great singalongs from the crowd.
After hearing that track, I snuck over to take a peak at Laura Marling, who was playing the beautiful “I Speak Because I Can”. She sounded impeccable, but being up the back, amongst a crowd that was louder than she was, ruined the vibe and I though I best wait for the Sydney Opera House gig for the rest. Which brings me to the act I was most excited about seeing today…
Portgual. The Man. The Portland-based, Alaska-bred band have released no less than SEVEN albums over the last six years, and their latest, In the Mountain in the Cloud, was one of my favourite of last year. The set today focused on this one (thankfully, as it’s the only one I know well), and the five piece did it ample justice, proving to be my personal highlight of the day.
With the second guitarist also serving as a drummer they pushed out a truly LOUD set, opening with “The Sun” and moving through tracks including: “Floating (Time Isn’t Working My Side)”, “Save Me” (my favourite of the set), “So American”, “Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)”, “Head Is A Flame (Cool With It)”, “Work All Day”, “The Devil” (with a great deal of percussion) and ending with “All Your Light (Times Like These)” and an amazing drum solo. Pure aural splendour.
Twin Shadow was next door in full band mode and sounding great, while The Panics were waving the Australian flag playing the obligatory “Don’t Fight It” when I popped in for a listen. Cults, meanwhile, received one of the biggest crowds of the day, with a great singalong in “Go Outside” and xylophone – clearly a trend of the day (and very welcomed)!
Feist was victim to the same problems as Laura Marling back over on the main stage – too many people talking over too soft a sound. Always a pity, but typical amongst a festival setting. “I Feel It All” went against this trend and finished out her set in splendid fashion, though it ended ten minutes early – another trend of the day, it seemed… Yuck, meanwhile, pulled out one of the most talked about sets of the day, with a droney, shoegazy jam at the end of the hypnotizing set. These guys are an amazing live act.
Back at the main stage, as the sun began to set, The Horrors were sounding bloody good. Having been disappointed by their set at Big Day Out a couple of years ago, I was impressed by a well mixed, solid sound, and tracks like “I Can See Through You” proving to be particularly impressive. With songs like that, they beat a lot of the bands they emulate and admire at their own game. But then at other times it’s a bit uninspired. Hit and miss? That’s probably the best way to describe The Horrors in my book – but definitely more hit than miss in this instance.
Toro Y Moi? What is all the fuss about this band? I heard such amazing things, but felt so “meh” about it all. Maybe I need to listen to the record. One band I have always enjoyed, however, are The Drums, who took to the stage 15 minutes late and as such had their set cut short. Again, I couldn’t hear much of what was happening, but that’s the fun of trying to see a bit of everything! You can’t get a spot up the front! So any criticism of this is not a flaw of the festival, rather an indication of how much amazing music there is to see. Those there early enough to see their favourite band would have always had a great spot with good sound – Portugal. The Man being that moment of the day for me.
Highlights of The Drums’ set included “Forever & Ever Amen”, “Money” (with an amazing singalong, naturally) and of course “Let’s Go Surfing” (see previous comment re: singalong). The only band that would top The Drums in singalong fashion, however, would be M83 and their mind blowing set to close out the main stage. The track in question? “Midnight City”, of course, which hit the top 10 of the Hottest 100 with ease. Millie from Bridezilla had the honours of playing the famous riff on her saxophone for this number… a beautiful touch that got everyone dancing… though my favourite track of the set was the opener aka “Intro” off the latest record. Love that song.
Anthony Gonzalez was a gracious front man, truly appreciative of the massive crowd, while the fabulous vocals of Morgan Kibby were well mixed into the electronic sound. Oh, and then there was the cowbell. If there is a better way to end a night, I’d like to know about it!
Finishing his set early, we managed to make it over to SBTRKT to find he still hadn’t even begun! Taking to the stage more than twenty minutes late, SBTRKT (in full band mode) proved well worth the wait and played past curfew to keep punters satisfied. The live drums and tribal vibe, mixed in with the electronic beats and mixes, made for a very entertaining set, and indeed a great way to end the night for many.
As we left the festival, we spotted the bus shuttles heading back to the city – something that was very much needed last year. They ran smoothly and provided punters with an easy route home and locals with some peace and quiet. Nice one. As a whole, the day ran just as smooth. Food queues were a bit of a pain in the late afternoon, only due to the limited amount of choices and possibly the unexpected sell out… plus Bulmer’s ran out pretty early. But these are minor complaints. Ultimately, Laneway delivered what it does every year: a wonderful day with phenomenal music in beautiful surrounds.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
