It had been a couple of years since I had been to a Big Day Out and although I originally wasn’t as excited by the announced line up compared to previous years, I still had a good feeling about the day.

I arrived just in time to miss The Donnas’ set on the main stage but to see the start of Eskimo Joe’s set. Their laid back style seemed a good way to start the day with a beer in hand, easing my way into the heavier bands that were coming up over the next few hours.  Eskimo Joe are one of the many bands from this country that seem to be becoming regulars on the big day out roster. Their radio friendly tunes went down pretty well with the crowd in attendance but they made no real lasting impression after they had vacated the stage.

Coming onto the stage to their left, immediately after this set, was Spiderbait. They were greeted with a more raucous crowd who were now sounding to be in full swing for the day ahead. Although spiderbait’s set was more rocking than Eskimo Joe’s, they still have trouble filling the large big day out stage. It was mid way through this set that I decided to venture outside the main arena to check out the second half of the Dallas Crane set on the Green stage.

This atmosphere was more like it! Set in the long and skinny confined spaces of the showground’s atrium, this undercover (and right in front of the main eateries) area had people hot and sweaty and Dallas Crane were rocking the crowd like I had hoped they would be. Even the people who had found themselves here looking for hot food had seemingly become very interested. There is something about Dallas Crane that remind me of the classic Australian bands of the past (like AC/DC), bands that played to entertain and didn’t get on stage looking sorry for themselves.

By the time Jebediah hit the stage, there was a pretty decent crowd ready to go. They seemed to be apologetic for the oldest songs in their set because they wrote them when they were only teenagers but the majority of the crowd (including myself) seemed to regard them as the best of the set.

After I had been for my walk and to the bar for another beer, I was ready to kick back and enjoy the John Butler Trio. Although they were dwarfed by the giant stage, the music from the John Butler trio seemed to hit the spot with a lot of the crowd. They played a great tight set which had everyone in jovial spirits before the coming onslaught of heavier bands.

Grinspoon were on next and provided a great segue between acoustic folky music of the JB Trio and the heavy metal stylings of Slipknot. I have long been a fan of the simple powerchord rock from the Grinners but found it much harder to get into them here.

Next up, an act I was very interested in seeing live before I felt able to understand them completely, Slipknot. This was the first overseas band that I had had the chance to properly see today and I was looking forward to seeing something a bit different. The minute Slipknot hit the stage with their freaky clown masks and elaborate stage show; the crowd seemed to instantly turn into a horde of over excited metalheads. Depending on perspective, this is where the day either started to heat up or it went to the dogs. Personally, it woke me up. They were typically loud Americans and tried their hardest to win over the audience with plenty of audience participation and loud noise. The heavy acts continued with System Of A Down.

After Slipknot, System Of A Down seemed a little “normal”. It seemed to me that they were a little undeserving to be performing on the big stage right before Powderfinger. Overall, the main arena was now pretty full in anticipation of Powderfinger hitting the stage. Every song in the set was sung along to by thousands. With almost every song a modern day classic, Powderfinger’s set was possibly the most powerful set of the day.

The final band to play was The Beastie boys. I had secured myself a decent position while the majority were distracted by the Powderfinger set. It got off to a very amusing start as the giant screens showed scenes from Mad Max 2 with Mel Gibson’s face cut out and instead had a very dodgy paste of the Beastie’s DJ Mixmaster Mike in its place. The scene on the screen eventually led to amusing confrontations with the members of Slipknot and finally to the live video of Mixmaster Mike taking to the stage, followed soon after by the Beastie boys themselves.

Considering the Beastie boys must be 40 plus years old by now, they put most of the younger hip hop artists to shame. Their energy levels were through the roof for the entire set and the video screens were used well to keep the visual aspect of the show at a high. I was grateful to hear the Beastie’s early classic No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn make an early appearance in the set. Songs from every era of the Beastie boys career were included as they went from solely using the DJ to using guitars and drums and back again.

After it was all over, the majority of the crowd went home as the Chemical Brothers set went on in the boiler room to a packed crowd. The wall of security guards made it clear that if you weren’t in there already, there was no room for you now.

Reflecting on my experience of the Adelaide Big day out for 2005, I wondered what had kept me away from the previous couple of years’ events. If I have learnt anything from today, it is firstly; buy tickets early regardless of who is playing, and secondly, even if you think you have applied enough sunscreen, apply more, because although it’s all over for another year, I still have a few days of sunburn recovery to go.