Sunday brought with it some heat that made Saturday’s warmer temperatures seem weak. The massive trees of the Amphitheatre provided shadow enough for the crowd to find a relaxing spot on the hill, and couches, chairs and picnic rugs covered the whole area for a lounging morning and afternoon.
Something that was not fun first thing in the morning was Jane Badler and Sir. Whilst her band was full of classy jazz vibes, by the end of the set Badler was seemingly singing sub-par karaoke. The Sea and Cake made up for the trashy melodramatics with their indie pop pieces, though after a while their excessive and extended guitar tuning became rather annoying as well, with the crowd thinking they’d finished at several points throughout the set.
The softer sounds of the morning were then, all of a sudden, thrown away with the emergence of Jay Reatard. Big hair and heavy guitar ensured this trio were the epitome of the ‘80s rock image, and seemed totally unexpected amongst the acts surrounding them. Reatard’s new wave, punk trio were a smack in the face for most, and their half hour set ensured that those hungover loungers woke up in preparation for the afternoon.
Jens Lekman introduced his orchestrally arranged band to an adoring crowd following the trash-faced trio, and it was easy to see why people would fall in love with him. Moving between piano and guitar, Lekman took time to mix storytelling between his tracks, to give some insight into his songwriting. His vocals soared throughout the amphitheatre and were lifted beautifully by his string arrangements and incredible piano skills.
The rest of the afternoon was even more of an amalgamation of genres. The Scientists of Modern Music, much like Saturday’s Qua, got a daytime slot, but their electronic-based music seems more appropriate for the night. The Panics, on the other hand, were perfectly suited to the hot afternoon with their feel-good tunes. Buffalo Tom then perked up the crowd a little more by adding their dance-worthy, country-tinged rock n’ roll to the festival.
Unfortunately for Beirut, technical difficulties meant that feedback became a major issue. Regardless, the orchestral arrangements of the band and operatic style vocals of Zach Condon were without a doubt a standout of the festival. Each member genuinely looked to be enjoying themselves on stage, dancing about and swapping instruments regularly. Violin, mandolin, ukulele, double bass and a variety of horns were all on show as the Beirut brought their two albums to life. Condon’s dancing made him look like a matador, as he multi-tasked between singing and playing horns and ukulele. Also, his triumphant toss of the ukulele mic after discovering it was the cause of the feedback was hilarious. And no one could agree more with Condon when he remarked how glad he was that the sun was going down.
What’s more rock than lighting your cigarette with a self-made flame thrower? The Vines frontman Craig Nicholls was in fine form as they came out to the very welcome dark of Meredith. With the sun no longer bothering anyone, the masses converged on the stage for one hell of a spectacle. This being their first gig in over a year, The Vines were eager to road test a bunch of new material. The earlier half of their set contained a fair few newies in the vein of earlier material, but they also included the very welcome cover of Ms Jackson. Jumping and running around like a madman, Nicholls did not relent in delivering the craziness that the Vines are renowned for. By the final trio of songs – Ride, Get Free and F*ck The World – he’d pulled out every rock cliché possible: including crowd surfing, launching himself into the drum kit and smashing his guitar in half as a conclusion.
The Dirtbombs upped the rock energy to another level when they came out at half eleven. The Detroit quintet mixed blues, soul and garage rock across an amazing stage show. The dual percussion from two drum kits during their introduction established a high energy from the beginning. From then on, the trio owned the crowd with their tracks suited both to the smallish mosh down the front and soulful dancing everywhere else. Lead vocalist Mick Collins was the epitome of cool, strutting his stuff back and forth on guitar and continually losing his shades. Unlike The Vines, The Dirtbombs didn’t have any insane stage antics up their sleeves, and they didn’t need too. Their energetic harmonies and insane guitar riffs ensured they grasped the crowd’s attention with some real intensity.
The rock explosion came to an end and Kid Koala and Optimo took the frenzied, dancing crowd well into the night and eventual morning, ending what had been a fantastic second Golden Plains.
