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As the opening riff of Testify rang out through the stadium the crowd exploded – Rage Against the Machine hit the stage at the Sydney Big Day Out running. The crowd had been waiting 12 long years for their return, and were suitably primed. Rage, it appeared, were the act everyone was waiting for. Fans had parked themselves in the “D” for hours, waiting. For many fans it was the second coming, one of the most iconic bands of the 90s had returned and were playing in Australia. The set was a greatest hits compilation, with all four of their albums were represented, but the bulk of the songs played came from their 1992 self titled debut, considered a classic album.

Everything you’d expect from a *Rage * greatest hits package was there – Bulls on Parade, People of the Sun, Bombtrack, Vietnow, Guerilla Radio, Sleep Now in the Fire, Know Your Enemy and of course Killing in the Name. A down tempo version of Killing in the Name closed proceedings to rapturous applause and enthusiastic moshing. Their set caused the entire stadium to mosh and bounce all at once. Throughout the set there was no doubting Tom Morello’s guitar, Tim Commerford’s bass and Brad Wilk’s tight drumming. Zack de la Rocha took every opportunity to for crowd participation, leaving bars free for the crowd to rap on Bombtrack. Much of the crowd knew every word to every song and at times drowned out the massive stadium PA.

On the train to the Big Day Out earlier in the day, the crowd’s anticipation had been palpable, although the shock of loss of Bjork at the last minute was a disappointment as it meant carefully balanced days needed to be re-planned at short notice. Kicking off the day were Aussie indie kids Dappled Cities who performed to a large early crowd on the Essential Stage. Highlights from their set included the ever popular Fire, Fire, Fire and Holy Chord. With a new album but months away they chose to close with a new song, an unusual, and some would say risky move, but it went down well with the crowd.

Operator Please have become firm pop favourites both here and in the UK, and drew a sizable crowd to the main arena. They kicked off their set with Yes, Yes, Vindictive and the crowd were eager to share the youngsters enthusiasm, and they are young, with an average age of 19. Also included within the set was a cover of Devo’s Whipit, which was twisted with their own particular style. In retrospect it may not have been the most suitable cover. It was not until they closed with Just a Song About Ping Pong that you really saw the crowd get into their set, as most people were content just to stand and watch.

Josh Pyke drew a sizable crowd to the Green Stage, waxing lyrical about love, loss and all those other essential pop themes. Between songs he chatted to the crowd about his Big Day Out memories and recalled his first appearance, the day Middle of the Hill appeared in the Hottest 100 two years prior. I’m always a sucker for Sew My Name which came on just as I arrived at the stage and he closed with Private Education another crowd favourite.

Over the past six months there has been a great deal of hype surrounding UK songstress Kate Nash. Having played Glastonbury and some of the other UK Summer Festivals she was no stranger to the mid afternoon slot she performed in. For those who’ve not had the pleasure of her musical company think a cross between Lily Allen and American Regina Spektor ’s quirky poppier moments. Her songs are quintessentially British, and at times it was just like watching an episode of The Bill. She spent most of the time behind her substantial keyboard, however also got up to play guitar. In Sydney she was joined on stage by Billy Bragg for a duet, this was a highlight for the day, her whole performance was one of the days best.

Having survived the nineties, Anti-Flag could almost be considered old school punk, and they did what punk bands do, they played blistering two and a half minute punk songs. In everything they did there was a sense of the political, with a strong theme anti establishmentism, one of the tenants of punk rock. It was one of the few times during the day that the sky opened up and provided any substantial rain to cool the crowd, a welcome relief. Anti-Flag’s set was also one of the few times anyone managed to get on stage, and the person in question with removed, although with cries from the band to go easy on him.

The Boiler Room this year was massive, with four huge video projections, two hanging from the ceiling and four large mirror balls reflecting spots of yellow light all over the room. Funk Trust closed their set with a rave classic Here’s Johnny and caused the crowd ti writhe in their collective ecstasy. Hitting the stage after Funk Trust was Dizzee Rascal who entered the stage with sirens blaring and kicked off his set with Jus’ a Rascal, his signature track.

Back over on the Essential Stage, Enter Shikari were blending dance beats and synths, with brutal hard rock guitars to great effect. It was one of the more original sets of the day, and drummer Rob Rolfe’s antics on top of the kit during the programmed loops were quite amusing.

Spoon played one of the most memorable sets of the day, not only for their musical prowess, but also as they had the guts to tell security to stop spraying the crowd with water, and doing this in no uncertain terms. Today they were on song, the crowd loved every moment from Underdog to Gonna Keep a Good Thing Down. On Cherry Bomb the delayed vocals created an interesting effect for the chorus.There was very little crowd banter, with Spoon being content with getting on with job of entertaining the crowd. The set closed with a great version of The Way We Get By.

If Tom Morello had not been part of Rage Against the Machine would he have been on a side stage playing as The Nightwatchman, a term that has a certain cricketing connotation in Australia and one that could describe his set, just filling in time. Whilst it was interesting seeing Morello on stage with but a guitar and harmonica, there was certainly none of the guitar trickery seen in his roll as guitarist for Rage Against the Machine. One of the more memorable moments of his set was when he “covered” AC/DC ’s Dirty Deeds, changing the lyrics to describe George W Bush’s America.

The Hilltop Hoods were on as I attempted to make my way into the “D”. Whilst the D was set up to protect the crowd from surges, being stuck in the queue to get in was as bad as the worst of moshes with people pushing from both sides and towards the entry to get in. Most of the Hilltop Hood’s set was obscured by bodies and the pain of others pushing. Their set was closed with The Nosebleed Section and The Hard Road to which the crowd ballistic bouncing around.

Silverchair was one of the disappointments of the day. Daniel Johns’ between song banter was at times incoherent, and what was meant to be amusing, was not particularly. When Silverchair actually played you could not fault their performance. The opened with an extended version of Motion Sickness, moved on to All Across the World, The Greatest View, and on from there. When Johns introduced Paul Mac there was a distinct boo that went up from the crowd, registering their disappointment at both the performance and the extended amount of time taken between songs. Straight Lines and Reflections of a Sound were also received well. Their set closed with crowd favourite Freak and the crowd as a whole bounced. At the end of the song Daniel John’s teased a wall of feedback from his guitar and Ben Gillies threw his sticks into the crowd.

Arcade Fire was one of the major reasons to attend the Big Day Out this year for indie kids. With 10 members on stage, and moreinstruments than you could poke a stick at, they were an impressive and imposing sight. It was great to see a pipe organ fixed to the back of stage. Keep the Car Running, No Cars Go and three parts of the Neighbourhood Movement were impressive. The crowd for Arcade Fire was sparse with most people preferring to jockey for position for Rage Against the Machine. Those who witnessed the performance were impressed with the scale of what they saw and heard. The sound was a credit to their technicians, as even in the stadium setting all of the instruments could be heard, no doubt it was much practised on the European summer festival circuit.

In the wash-up the Big Day Out was an enjoyable day. Highlights were definitely Arcade Fire, Spoon, Kate Nash and Rage Against the Machine’s best of set. Going on the Rage Against the Machine experience, huge internationals that reform should really stick to the hits and not new stuff – Billy Corgan I hope you’re reading this!