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Playground Weekender
celebrated its 4th year this year, and what a success it’s
been for them. Their stages have been graced by some amazing bands
such as Primal Scream and The Streets last year, however the real lure
of this festival is not so much the line up as it is the people, the
fancy dress and the quirkiness that you can only get from boutique festivals
such as this. Having won the ‘Best Crowd and Atmosphere’ Festival
Award for the last two years, this festival is about the experience
- here’s mine…
FRIDAY
Like many Sydney-siders on
Friday I spent my day at work itching to get out and hit the Playground
with the other kids. Finally I was set free and embarked on the
trip up to Wiseman’s Ferry for what was categorically stated as one
of the best weekends ever. After a swift water taxi dash over
the Hawkesbury river to the Del Rio Resort, the bullshit of everyday
life evaporated into thin air.
Having decided that there was
really no need to attend to the essentials straight away, such as pitching
a tent, we dove head first into the party atmosphere. First up
to kick our weekend off were Sydney lads Space Invadas (above) at the
main stage and man did they get the party going. Looking back,
it probably would have been a good move to hit the Sounds Bigtop stage
to follow up that act, but OK Go (below) were up next and I was keen
to see if they would bring any treadmill moves into their set. Sadly, they didn’t, however there was a lovely rendition of ‘What
To Do’ where the hand bells had their moment in the spotlight.
The set was not quite as energetic as I’d hoped for, however the crowd
pleasers ‘Here It Goes Again’ and ‘Get Over It’ did their job
on the masses.
The Sounds Bigtop tent seemed
a good option to end the first night on. Vincenzo was on
the decks doing his thing and as much as the crowd was in frenzy, I’m
not 100% sure if this was down to his skills or the fact that by this
stage everybody was truly in the party spirit. Either way, the
crowd loved it and so did we.
Finally it was time to face
the truth and realise that the tent was not going to put itself up,
so we found some friendly folk to help us before kicking on to one of
the traditional Playground Weekender late night parties… a campervan,
a sound system fuelled by a dodgy generator and some party people are
your basic ingredients.
SATURDAY – Fancy Dress
Day
After a dusty start to the
day, remedied by a laze in the river, we stopped off to have a bit of
brekkie and enjoy the dulcet tones of Manchoir. An accapella
outfit featuring the most good looking men on the planet… probably.
Manchoir are described as “a group of men who keep their clothes on
while singing delightful harmonies… they [also] enjoy long walks on
the beach at sunset and listening to women’s needs”. Performing
covers of what can only be described as "Choons", such as Massive Attack’s "Teardrop" and The Presets’ "This Boy’s In Love", the comedic nature
of these guys became a surprise hit of the weekend.
Over at the Filth Stage,
The Black Ryder were riling up a devoted crowd with their post-psychedelic
sounds. Watching these guys, you get the feeling that authentic
rock’n’roll is on its way back. Their rock star stage presence
and epic guitar riffs stood out so remarkably that I’m sure they will
playing in the big leagues in the very near future.
This is about when the scorching
heat got the better of many of the revellers and we retreated to the
pool at Club Tropicana where you can chill in the shade, impress the
crowd with your best bellyflops and enjoy some upbeat tuneage from the
likes of the M.U.M DJ’s, Jamie Lidell & Mad Racket
and Tim Sea.
Bjorn Again is something
I would normally avoid with all my might; however it was too bizarre
an experience to miss. As far as tribute acts go, they’ve got
it all, but for those who can’t stand Abba, it was a pretty good reason
to head over to the Soco Carnivale Stage to check out the Fashion Parade. This is where the best of all the weird and wonderful costumes of the
day (you have to see this for yourself to fully appreciate it) are displayed
for all to enjoy. Among the winners of the parade were an extremely
convincing Michael Jackson and ‘Hot Lego Girl #2’. As for
the groups, the entrants were outstanding – among the best were The
Simpsons, Thunderbirds, Crayola’s and a special shout out to the loudest
and most passionate group by far, The Farmy Army.
Over in the Sounds Bigtop there
was a hell of a line up with Steve Lawler, Ewan Pearson
and Gui Boratto who were all on top form… party time does not
even describe it. Regardless of the temperature-unfriendly costumes
donned by us all, everybody danced their asses off until the very last
beat.
As much as I was drawn to the
Main Stage, it seemed I had a lucky escape. Apparently the night
was riddled with sound issues and delays. The biggest delay of
all was Lupe Fiasco who rocked up straight from his Enmore Theatre
gig around two hours late. Luckily for us he still played, but
on entering the main arena it was clear that the crowd was not impressed. Despite the bitter chanting and the readiness to dislike Lupe, it was
impossible to hold a grudge. From the second he took to the stage
he put in every ounce of energy he had and gave us a set truly worth
waiting for. ‘Kick Push’ went off like a steam train and forgiveness
was granted. Sadly, he launched into a ballad for his second last
track, a disappointing move for many and the arena gradually cleared
out until halfway out he pulled out ‘Superstar’ stopping us in our
tracks for one last boogie before bed.
SUNDAY
If the sun wasn’t out to
torture us on Saturday it was definitely breathing some fire on Sunday. Hiding under the trees I caught a bit of Washington who were
a gentle way to break us into the day. The daytime crowds were
so small due to the fact that if you couldn’t fit in the shady spots,
you were out of there. With their recent hit ‘How To Tame Lions’
along with their other melodic tracks, their set really enhanced the
chilled environment that is Playground Weekender. Bringing a bit
more insanity to the scene was Gaslamp Killer over at the Soco
Carnivale stage. Performing his awesome dubstep and described
as ‘a mental big haired American dude ripping it up on the decks and
his lappy’, I would definitely grace his gig this Saturday at the
Civic Underground.
After a day in and out of the
river – in this heat it was the only sensible option - we finally
tore ourselves away from its cooling grasp and had a little peak at
Sound Casino. Front man, Andy Crosby channeled his Playgrounder-bender
fuelled energy into performing on top of the speaker for the majority
of his set. Highly recommended for anyone in need of a high energy
gig!
Sydney locals Bluejuice
gave yet another truly entertaining performance at the Main Stage. What the boys lack in lyrical genius, they make up for in comedy, bromance,
and good old fashioned fun. When they kicked off with ‘Broken
Leg’ it was amazing to see how many revelers on crutches came out
of the woodwork to get down to their anthem of the moment. A quality
performance, as always, and one that would have earned a fair few more
members for the fan club.
The atmosphere was charged
as we awaited the arrival of Orbital to the stage. After
taking a second to give the thumbs up and a bow to the crowd at the
front donning their Orbital inspired LED safety glasses, they took hold
of the crowd like a tornado. Highlights included "Halcyon" (a crazy
blend of Belinda Carlisle and Bon Jovi) and an amazing extended version
of "Chime" which absolutely rocked it.
Sadly it was time for the final
acts of the weekend, LTJ Bukem & Conrad and Norman Jay,
but wow, did they take us out with a bang! LTJ Bukem & Conrad
made my night by mixing in the Sublime track "Ball and Chain". Norman Jay had the crowd going mental and was joined by Orbital to send
the craziness through the roof. Eventually he spun Dizzee Rascall’s "Bonkers", and, well… you can imagine the rest!
MONDAY
Dusty is not even the word.
Yet, to be feeling worse for wear in such a beautiful environment is
not really so bad. The warm fuzzies I got from flashbacks of such
an amazing weekend and the experience of spending it with such a fantastic
crowd kept me going through the recovery.
Where do I sign up for next
year?!
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
