Big Day Out @ WayvilleShowground, Adelaide, 04/02/05

Thu 10th Feb, 2005 in Gig Reviews

It was overcast and slightly chilly when the Big Day Out rolled into Adelaide – not the searing temperatures that regular festival-goers have become accustomed to, but it certainly did not put a dampener on the day.

Undoubtedly the most successful outdoor festival in Australia, the BDO managed to sell out each of its five shows this year. Tickets were still in high demand on the day, with some hopefuls waiting at the perimeter on the off-chance of scoring one at the last minute. The gates were opened half an hour early to get the already milling crowd moving through.

I arrived at the Wayville Showgrounds at 11:30am and, after the obligatory line-up, was inside just in time to catch US band The Donnas at 12:15pm. And what a fantastic start to the day! The band was great to see live – they had loads of energy on stage and obviously love what they do. The bulk of their set consisted of tracks from their most recent offering Gold Medal.

Lead singer Brett Anderson interacted well with the crowd, amping them up and getting fists pumping during Triple J favourites Fall Behind Me and Take It Off, before finishing the set with 5 In The Morning.

Next up on the Orange Stage were festival regulars Spiderbait I’ve seen them play a few times before and they didn’t disappoint, playing a good mix of old and new material. Classic Spiderbait tracks I Should Not Go Out Tonight, C’mon, Fucken Awesome, Calypso and Buy Me A Pony got everyone jumping around.

Singer/drummer Kram wailed like a madman and had the audience responding to his call-outs of ‘Oh, yeah! Baby, yeah!’ The highlight of the set was the extended jam – leaving a lot of sore limbs in its wake after all that thigh slappin’ goodness!

The Music brought it down a level to a more melodic style of rock. It was the second time they have played the BDO circuit, and they put in a solid performance, opening with Take The Long Road And Walk It. I hung around to watch singer Rob Harvey pull off some amazing dance moves that would give Peter Garrett a run for his money, then ventured off to check out some of the smaller stages.

For some reason or other, I always miss seeing Little Birdy when they tour so I was looking forward to catching them here. The Perth quintet graced the Green Stage with their presence and played a charming gig.

Vocalist Katy Steele is often compared to Polly Harvey, and when she performs you can see why. Up on stage her small frame appears dwarfed by her guitar, and she uses her voice to its full potential. A versatile singer, she infuses ballads with poignancy and then rocks out on faster tracks, such as my personal favourite This Is A Love Song.

Following Little Birdy was what proved to be the stand-out performance of the day for me – the awesome Le Tigre. I have been a fan of Kathleen Hanna since her riot grrrl beginnings in band Bikini Kill, and was keen to experience the electro-punk stylings I had thus far only heard blaring from my stereo.

With matching sparkly outfits and choreographed dance routines, the group’s visual performance matched the energy of their music. They played an excellent cover of the disco classic I’m So Excited and finished off with a phat version of Decepticon. Needless to say I merrily danced my arse off, as did everyone else at the CAT Essential Stage.

By this time the grey morning clouds had parted and the sun was starting to bite. Having come prepared for rain, not sun, I took this opportunity to have something to eat and rest in the shade. Looking around at other red-tinged faces I discovered I was not the only one lacking sunscreen!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent catching snippets of hip-hop, ranging from Aussie favourites the Hilltop Hoods, to Butterfingers, to the English geezer rap of The Streets. The latter played to a packed crowd under the Atrium, some punters climbing trees to get a glimpse of the group in action. Mike Skinner seemed a bit tense about this situation, urging them to ‘get out of the fucken tree!’, and prompting the crowd to send a few cans of encouragement their way.

After wandering aimlessly around the market stalls for a while, I finally made my way back down to the main stages and caught the last few songs of Powderfinger’s set. I was impressed with their lighting and effects, and a bit disappointed I hadn’t come down sooner. I didn’t stick around for much of the Beastie Boys as I wanted to check out UK house legend Carl Cox in action. Making my way to the Boiler Room I heard the familiar refrain of Billie Jean, much to the delight of the clubbers inside. He finished his set by paying homage to the Beastie Boys and dropping Intergalactic Planetary into the mix.

It was now nearing 10:00pm and the Boiler Room was rapidly filling up in readiness for the Chemical Brothers. I quickly messaged friends still down at the Beasties to let them know they’d better hurry if they wanted to get in. But, seeing the main stage winding up and a mass exodus towards the Boiler Room, security decided it was doors closed from then on. This resulted in a mini riot, but eventually people either went home or watched on the video screen outside. The Chemical Brothers took us on a sonic journey through their impressive back catalogue, including classic tracks Hey Boy, Hey Girl, Star Guitar, and Block Rockin’ Beats, as well as material from their current album Push The Button. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons looked to be having as much fun up on stage as we were having on the dance floor.  It was a case of each feeding of the other’s energy and was a brilliant end to another great Big Day Out.