Big Day Out @ WayvilleShowgrounds, Adelaide(30/01/09)

Sat 31st Jan, 2009 in Gig Reviews

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Another Big Day Out has been and gone and all that’s left is the experience, the memories, maybe some sunburn and a hangover.

The 2009 Big Day Out line up has probably been the most contentious and hotly debated music topic for some time but nevertheless there was still plenty there to make a day of it. No doubt the debate will rage on whether Neil Young was the right guy to headline this year’s event.

Adelaide had already endured a week of 40 degree plus heat and Big Day Out day was not exempt from the scorching temperatures, which ultimately tamed punters down a little from the usual BDO craziness. It is a credit to the organisers, Medical staff and volunteers for doing everything possible to make limit the potential temperature related danger.

This Big Day Out is no different than any other festival – tearing around like a blue arse fly trying to take in as much as possible. The day started on the main stage with Sparkadia. Awesome band, plenty of potential here for the future as they treated those early birds with songs from their debut Postcards.

Straight after Children Collide hit the main stage and wow! These guys are smokin’ and were one of my highlights from the day. The Long Now is a superb album with stand out single Social Currency going down a treat.

Quality band after quality band follows as Birds of Tokyo got in on the act. The set featured the majority of the new album Universes and I’m pretty sure with the legion of new fans they picked up today, their Thebarton Theatre show in February will now be an odss on sell out.

Coin flip – The Grates or Youth Group? Well, I didn’t really need a coin to decide as The Grates won out. Even in the heat Patience was full of beans jumping around getting the crowd in to it. 19 20 20 really did hit the spot.

Cog received an arousing reception and didn’t take long to get their rock chops on. Having to keep on the go I had enough time for two songs, which were Bird Of Feather and Resonate. They sounded great but I’m sure they’ll be back soon enough with another set of tour dates..

The Green Stage was great – inside and slightly cooler – with everyone having the same idea to see the Ting Tings. It was packed as punters looked for the best vantage point and whilst they’re not my favourite band they definitely captured the festival spirit with their short and punchy set which included the hits Great DJ, What’s My Name, Shut Up And Let Me Go and We Started Nothing.

Next for me was TV On The Radio and oh my god they were brilliant. I’ve been waiting a long time to see these guys belt out hits from Return To Cookie Mountain and the recent work Dear Science. Golden Age was fantastic, Dancing Choose equally as fantastic, DLZ and Wolf Like Me were unbelievably great also.

Sneaky Sound System – I don’t think a comment is required here.

Pendulum brought a lot of credibility back to the main stage. Not knowing a lot of their stuff or even seeing them before I could not help but being impressed. They were superb whipping the crowd into a frenzy even getting a circle going in the heat – nice work guys.

Serj Tankian probably wasn’t as well received as what he should have been with a small, diehard following gathering down the front. Still, despite some sound problems his set was solid as the majority of Elect The Dead got a good going over and at sets end Serj stormed off looking very dissatisfied.

The Living End were up next and they’re as dependable as ever when it comes to festivals – can’t say I’ve ever seen these larrikins put in a bad one. A well-balanced set featuring Prisoner Of Society, Moment In The Sun, What’s On Your Radio?, Who’s Gonna Save Us and finishing with White Noise.

It was a tough choice missing My Morning Jacket and Cut Copy but oh well. The Arctic Monkeys (or Agile Beast as the drum kit inferred) are a tight live band and far more confident compared to when they first burst onto the scene a few years ago. There’s no doubt that their new stuff isn’t quite as good as their debut and that could be gauged by the crowd response. The punters did however go nuts to I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and A View From The Afternoon as well as When The Sun Goes Down. Brianstorm, Fluroescent Adolescent and From The Ritz To The Rubble were favourites of mine. The Nick Cave cover Red Right Hand was top also notch.

As the sun started to set behind the grandstand it was time for the headline act Neil Young to convince the knockers and doubters as to his worthiness to close out the main stage. Whilst Young is not quite my bag he still did it for many others who battled on. The sound was top shelf and he was far from disappointing. All the hits were there with Hey Hey, My My, Cinnamon Girl, Heart Of Gold and set closer Rockin’ In The Free World. I can now say that I’ve seen another one of the legendary acts in music history and it makes me wonder if the door is now open for the likes of Bruce Sprinsteen or even David Bowie to headline in future.

At this point I was ready for a Panadol and a good nights sleep but did ventured past the boiler room to see The Prodigy. 1997 and 1998 was their time with The Fat Of The Land and everything has been downhill since. Breathe, Firestarter, Voodoo People and Smack My Bitch Up were good but I thought leaving now might prevent my previous postive concert memories of them being soured.

Another Big Day Out down, bring on 2010!

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