Day three of Falls Festival in Lorne continued the high spirited and very hot celebrations. It saw international acts being cooped up in the tent whilst the locals took over the main stage; the beginning of clashes for many; as well as standout sets from the festival’s dark horse White Rabbits, local heroes The Temper Trap, and the stunning, Karen O led, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The hangovers were a plenty as crowds avoided the beating sun come morning, and the bar tent, the shade tent and the Grand Theatre stage were the three places to be. Up in the Grand Theatre, Jordie Lane provided the pleasant wake up for many a seated punter with his folk and country tunes. Together with his band they produced some rollicking numbers like Don’t Go Near That One and Dig Straight Through, but equally impressive was Lane’s stripped back acoustic number, I Could Die Looking At You.

Out on the main stage, Lisa Mitchell managed to draw a more than impressive crowd down the front for her midday set, though the makeshift shades were in no short supply across the hillside. Yves Klein Blue pulled a nice sized crowd of their own in the tent though, and stirred the crowd early with their energy despite the heat. Polka was certainly one people were hanging out for as they danced away the morning.

Dishing out their punk pop pretty early on the Valley Stage, young Scots, The View had little trouble exciting their smaller, but tight crowd down front. Insistent on introducing which album each track was off, the lads played a healthy mix of their two albums, with the crowd equally happy to bounce along with new tracks (opener Glass Smash, 5 Rebeccas) as they were to older ones ( Skag Trendy, Coming Down ). Toward the end of the set, Same Jeans provided the highlight with a nice dose of bouncing on stage and off.

The security were in fine form as well, for the most part. Hosing the crowd was a necessity, but whilst many of the guards were happy to play nice, there were some that were plain annoying – drenching anyone up front that asked not to be. Still, you’ve gotta love security guards that stand up front and encourage moshing despite their own signs saying not to.

Urthboy appeared out on stage dressed in full length sleeves and pants, and he immediately began to bounce around as though there was no heat – enough proof of madness. Alongside Jane Tyrrell, Urthboy’s set was full of energy and synchronised dancing. Shout-outs to drunken injuries went down well, as did Ready to Go, on which Tyrrell impressed with her soulful vocals.

A packed tent was a good indication that Emiliana Torrini should have been on the main stage. The Icelandic singer songwriter appeared and was immediately as charming as she is gorgeous, wooing the crowd with a selection of gentler songs to open her set. The very slow and moody Today Has Been Okay was a sombre early moment, though the set picked up soon after with happier tracks such as Sunny Road and Big Jumps, during which the crowd happily joined in the “doo doo doos”. The cool, boppy piano, clapping intro and vocals similar to another certain Icelander made Heard It All Before a highlight, though it was without surprise that Jungle Drum sparked the best reaction. Finally, Gun was a late standout, with Torrini’s sharp, breathy yelps and diabolical laughs a great addition.

Following Torrini in the tent was White Rabbits, who delivered a staggeringly good set. Pianist Stephen Patterson and guitarist Gregory Roberts effortlessly flipped vocal duties back and forth between them as they delved into their conspiratorial tunes. Rudie Fails was an early pleasure, with Patterson lurching back and forth rapidly on piano, whilst Matt Clark up back on percussion attempted to steal the show with his energy levels. Clark brought to the stage anything that might be used to hit something, or be hit. The Plot delighted the crowd, who sang along to its choruses and The Salesman couldn’t have been a better closer, with Patterson leaving his seat to stalk around the stage.

There was a certain buzz around Grizzly Bear playing at the Falls Festival, given their latest record has been claimed album of the year by many around the traps. Their late afternoon slot certainly had a nice crowd gathered, and the four-piece certainly seemed excited to be playing their first ever show here. Southern Point had people swaying, as the harmonies soared from the stage, whilst during Two Weeks and While You Wait For The Others there were plenty of voices added from the crowd singing along. The set was predominantly calm (closing number On a Neck, On a Spit providing a rockier offering), which therefore caused mixed reactions once the set had ended, with fans having loved it and those unfamiliar with the band confused at their placement.

There was no questions asked when it came to The Temper Trap, who received one of the best crowd responses of the entire event. It’s been a big year for the Melbourne band, but even they seemed a little stunned at the reception they received. When Sweet Disposition appeared in the set, singer Dougy Mandagi could hardly contain his excitement, voicing “oh shit…” in reaction to the crowd going crazy. Plenty of tracks from Conditions appeared, but unfortunately the band performed for only half of the time allocated to them. The crowd were happy enough though, and loudly embraced Dougy as he plunged toward onto the barrier for some up close and personals.

Editors followed on the Valley Stage, with the rowdiness of the crowd having dwindled a little. Opening track, In This Light and On This Evening saw Tom Smith contain himself on piano to begin with before bursting to life on guitar in the songs climax. Looking like some kind of possessed dinosaur, he made it easy work for photographers to get some good snaps as he delved into older tracks like An End Has A Start, Bones and The Racing Rats. Editors first album was represented with favourites Bullets and Munich appearing back to back, but it was Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors that stole the show – the band’s harmonies lifting the chorus to become a Falls anthem.

In the Grand Theatre after dark, Bertie Blackman had kept a respectable crowd away from what she called the “bounce music” outside. Seemingly attempting to be full on, the painted-whisker-faced Blackman began with a very longwinded Sky is Falling before giving everything she had to rev up her crowd. A rare addition of You Kill Me was happily welcomed, as was Thump before a bizarre techno version of White Owl took up much more time than it should have. Ending with Heart, Blackman seemed disappointed to not have time for Byrds of Prey, though it was only the fault of her own longwindedness in the first place.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs certainly had a creepy backdrop, with a giant eyeball watching the crowd before the New York trio appeared. When Dull Life began, the show immediately hit full stride with Karen O taking full charge. She quickly made it clear that she is a front woman to be reckoned with – dancing, jumping and rolling about the stage as well as consuming her microphone. There was one problem though – the sound. Whilst, by reports, those down the front had little to worry about, most of the hill could barely hear the vocals, and in tracks like Cheated Hearts it seemed like no more than bass and croaking. At times the issue passed, but it kept coming back, which made the set far less enjoyable from up back than it should have been.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs set was laden with anthems (though sadly no Phenomenon), with Gold Lion appearing early and getting many a voice to join in. One of the year’s favourite tracks, Zero followed immediately, with a pair of giant eyeballs entering the arms of the masses. There were costumes changes, with Karen O’s switching to leather jacket (“get your leather on”) and later again to don a headdress before singing the beautiful Skeletons. Soft Shock and Heads Will Roll then lifted the energy again, the latter of the pair heralding one hell of a loud chorus from the crowd. Maps was the final great moment of the set (though again, the sound issues made it far less enjoyable), as the band froze simultaneously (bringing back memories of the Hives pulling the same trick in the same slot of last year’s Falls) before bursts of confetti set a concluding frenzy.

READ THE REVIEW OF THE FALLS SOUL AND FUNK REVUE
READ THE REVIEW OF FALLS DAY TWO
READ THE REVIEW OF FALLS DAY FOUR

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