BRADFORD (he's very good)
A first (and much, MUCH belated) festival review for this humble blog, so I'll do my best to be short and sweet and not too waffley. St Jerome's Laneway Festival sprang from the loins of Melbourne's actual lane-way festival, and turned up in Brisbane some four years ago (yes? correct me if I'm wrong!!) as a smaller, indie-er music festival in Winn St, a street bordering the Zoo music venue in Fortitude Valley. Since then it changed hands to Alexandria St, which really is the entrance to the Exhibition Showgrounds. Thus, even less laney was this years laneway, becoming more of an awkward and disgustingly hot, condensed Ekka music show day. It had to be done I guess, as it appears that the numbers interested in the Laneway festival have well exceeded its original capacity, and there were indie kids packed in from end to end. Still, despite the amass of crowds, it being Brisbane after all, I managed to bump into half the people I knew anyway.
What brings people there, are of course the bands playing. And this years lineup was set out to be the indiest of all festivals, possibly only trumped if Animal Collective took their All Tomorrow's Parties lineup over here. Mind you, those bands that weren't on my personal itinerary were mostly unheard of to me, and I am sure I missed out on some very good performances. What I did manage to see was an interesting array of experiences, some good, some amazing, some okay, some damn awful.
I arrived there with my bro a little later than my usual festival promptness, and we fumbled about for our group while the Local Natives played on the main Alexandria St Stage (Nothing much to report as although they sounded good from memory, my attention was minimal, sorry fellas). Bear In Heaven were the first band I got to check out properly, in the oddly named "Inner Sanctum" stage, inside one of the exhibition halls. As far as they went, it was quite dull and uneventful, but not unpleasant, rather a slow stirring buildup to the day's events. We missed their last bit to check out Beach House back outside, ending up nicely in the front-ish row.
Beach House are a band I am still undecided on, finding their ultimate laid back, slow burning style kind of tedious, but a little catchy in some way. After a few songs, I soon decided they were better than I gave them credit for. They flowed seamlessly from one song to the next, and played a lovely selection of their catchier tracks, mostly from Teen Dream. Victoria was an oddly charming frontlady and sang well, and the band played quite pleasantly. It was an enjoyable set and we left it with just a song to go, to ensure we got to see as much of the Antlers as we possibly could, sandwiched in between Beach House and Warpaint.
I got to the front of the Inner Sanctum just as the Antlers' signature track 'Kettering' was in the throes of an explosive wall of sound, incredible to hear and see. Antlers are a band I need patience for, as their somber soft build ups can be frustrating when their louder/faster/heavier moments are so appealing. Luckily there were more moments I enjoy the band for, and it was an awakening, entertaining few songs I got to see before scuttling off to Warpaint.
As our group gathered for Warpaint, it was apparent we must have missed Undertow, which I must admit was the only song of theirs I knew well. Not to worry though, as what followed was a pretty powerful end of a set, and I couldn't help but move along to the grinding beat and vibe. It also helps that the ladies of Warpaint are pretty easy on the eye as well. I just wished that the clashing of timetables had not occurred so that I could have seen more of both Warpaint and the Antlers.
What followed then was a wait for Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti...
ARIEL PINK (I don't think so Tim)
As Ariel came onstage to "assist" with the roadies, it was entertaining in itself to watch him parade around with his op-shop apparel and fake snake around his neck, babbling into mics to get the show on the go... And then suddenly without warning launching onto their first song. It was a weird beginning which only got weirder as the mental state of this guy became more apparent. You could barely hear a word, no thanks to the appalling sound; he forgot lyrics and had to restart songs; and after hearing that they had only 2 mins left, he spent the next minute babbling to the band about what to do, then sat on the floor while blaring out the last song. I recognized only one of them. The rest was a mishmash of noise and yelling. I know that being crazy and psychotic is supposed to be Ariel pink's schtick, which everyone else seems to think is awesome, but to me, this schtick is useless if it's not involving and engaging of the audience, which it wasn't. Ariel was in his head, performing to himself, uninterested in providing anyone else with a decent experience, and frankly it was embarrassing to see a band with such a worldwide acclaimed album and millions of indie fans wanting to s their d's, to be so unprofessional and rubbish onstage. Don't do drugs kids.
Luckily after that train wreck, there was the redeeming sound of Deerhunter, the band I most wanted to see on this day. Despite technical issues left over from the Haunted Graffiti, the sound leaving much to be desired, Deerhunter blew the crowd away.
Bradford Cox and and opened with most possibly my favourite track from Halycon Digest (the latest album), 'Desire Lines', a perfect opener to take the awful taste of pink from our mouths. The vocals were a bit distorted however the guitars and drums were exquisite, and as the song built up to its climax, a wonderful feeling of bliss crept into my body... thissss, this is what I was here for. Other highlights were 'Nothing Ever Happened', and 'Helicopter', which were amazing in very different ways, the first pounding and volcanic from opening thumping beat to wall of screeching noise at the end... the latter, a gently, lulling emotional ride of obscurity. Bradford stood stoically at the appropriately moments and thrashed around like a fish out of water on his guitar at other appropriate moments. The whole band was mesmerizing and perfect for the vibe of the day. Which is why it felt a bit strange when they exited on 'Cover Me (Slowly)' and 'Agoraphobia', which together opens the album Microcastle. This choice left an unfinished feeling at the end of the show, and that feeling of uncertainty as to whether a show was finished or not continued throughout the day.
I ended up missing a fair portion of Cloud Control's set, which was unfortunate as what I did see was pretty entertaining. They were set up in the only lane-like area in the showgrounds, narrowly in between two buildings, which made viewing difficult anyway. I managed to catch a few of their signature tunes, including their cover of Kid Cudi's 'Pursuit of Happiness' and a brief switch mid-song into 'Pepper' by the Butthole Surfers.
After the last of Cloud Control's set, we drifted past Foals who sounded fairly tight, to eventually find a struggling Gotye back at the carpark stage. Gotye was halfway through his set, again having to suffer the terrible audio issues that wouldn't let it be. Still, Goatee pressed on, playing the cringeworthy thanks for your time, all cheese on, voice activated phone message and all. He was oddly placed, as despite a new album, Gotye hasn't quite got back the hype he once had, and the end of his set saw a dude making the most of what he could with what he had. Still, it was nice to hear 'Heart's A Mess', not that anyone cares about it anymore, and 'The Only Thing I Know' from his more unknown Boardface record. Again, unsure if he was coming or going, we left a bit early (I think?) to catch a little Cut Copy before goodbye times.
And it had been a very long day, we were tired and out of it, but that's really no excuse for Cut Copy to bore the pants off us. Perhaps being closer to the front would have made things a little more exciting, but considering the dance genre of Cut Copy's tunes, I expected to be somewhat moved. It was a slightly indulgent set including only one from their (best *cough*) album Bright Like Neon Lights, a lot of boring time between songs, slow-building (and frankly boring) songs from their newest one, and not only 'Hearts on Fire' but also 'Lights and Music' from In Ghost Colours, which are basically the same song. Seeing them way back almost five years ago during the Good Vibes festival, I recall them as not the best band live, and of course dance/electro doesn't always translate to live as well as on an album. But you know, time for improvement perhaps? Eh. I ended up sitting on the sidewalk with the group as the band finished, exhausted from the day and ready for bed. I don't know how I managed to get through the past few Splendour In The Grass festivals, as just a one day festival takes it out of me nowadays.
All in all, the Laneway festival was a good day, with lots of room for improvement, particularly the sound issues that dogged particular stages, weirdness of venue, and timetable clashes. Some things are staple festival issues that can't be helped (including price of drinks!!) but I do hope next years is a little tighter.
FESTIVAL RATING: Six and a half raybans out of ten.
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