Parklife @ Botanic Park,Adelaide (04/10/10)

Tue 5th Oct, 2010 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

Like any good dance festival Parklife got into the swing of things with some decent groove to get the ball moving. In the ‘Cave’ tent Flight Facilities, adorned in vintage pilot goggles and headgear, had some rivetting hooks and great danceable vibes that got punters moving earlier in the day. The reaction was strong and their more melodic numbers really took their set to a greater level.

Adelaide trio on the rise, The Swiss packed out the Cave and really brought the crowd to life. The mix was fantastic for the guys and the pumping sounds especially from Surahn Sidhu’s eye-catching bass, really resonated throughout the tent. Nowadays, drummer extraordinaire Tony Mitolo appears to be the band’s main spokesperson onstage and did his best to rev the crowd up, but really, the band’s music did all the talking for them. The terrific reaction is a great boon for a city starved of professional outfits making a name for themselves nationally and here’s hoping this Modular signing continue to go from strength to strength.

Melbourne’s Gypsy and the Cat pulled a much smaller crowd than expected, given the indie hype machine has thrown its full support behind them. The band’s performance was really tight and some of the harmonies were really emotive and beautiful. Some of the 80’s influenced sounds verged on a little cheesy, whilst in other parts it was a little tighter. Perhaps the modest crowd response was due to the lack of danceability of the music, but that aside major single Jonavark was really well recieved by the few who were there to witness it.

Midnight Juggernauts put on one of their better shows in a live arena and reminded those in attendance that they still remain one of the best live performers, not just of dance rock in Australia. The synth and the bass were in complete harmony and this year’s major Vital Signs sounded huge and was easily one of the tracks of the day. Finishing on Tombstone the band’s last set of the year in Australia was very well recieved. European audiencesare set for some fantastic shows and here’s hoping their profile flourishes in that environment.

Known primarily for their worldwide hit Radar Detector The Darwin Dees had a very popular set with fantastically overdone lo-fi vocals and dreamy jazz guitar chords. Their very random and hilariously choreographed dance routine was perhaps the funniest point of the whole day. Beastie Boy collaborator Mixmaster Mike really got a great crowd reaction with some fantastic mashups. Working over a wide number of well-known numbers and some lesser known gems, his spinning skills were one a whole other level to what most revellers were used to and his performance and rivetting body language was a hit with revellers.

British indie-pop gems The Wombats put on a fantastic show perhaps highlighted by signature track Seasick. The crowd response to the laddish Englishmen was extremely enthusiastic and revellers really got their moneys worth with catchy danceable UK indie.

French electro icon or Miami expat (whichever way you look at it) Uffie put on an extremely charismatic show which just herself, two DJs, one of which was also a multi instrumentalist of sorts with an awesome looking keytar and some drum pads. Shunning a glamorous look, with dyed brown hair, a T-shirt and some tights the singer romped through her hits. Pop the Glock sounded exquisite and was one of the best tracks all day, with the ‘keytarist’ sounding grand on vocoder. In fact the whole set sounded great and Uffie took things up a level by jumping into the crowd, crowd surfing and providing the greatest level of crowd interaction by any act all night. Definitely one of the highlights of the day, despite the minimal set budget compared to the other acts.

The performance of Soulwax really brought a raucous element out of the crowd with an addictive furiously danceable sound by the band who were refreshingly as close to the audience as possible. The act sounded huge and their set was lapped up by a crowd eager to move and really take their Parklife experience up a couple of notches. The performance was reliably professional and the Belgian act showed why they have the live reputation they have Europe and beyond.

Then Missy Elliott got off to a high with the singer emerging from a box with a bevy of dancers really pulling out all the moves (this term is not to be taken metaphorically). The level of screams by near hysterical teenage girls demonstrated the hip hop icon’s worldwide status and she lapped it up. The work of a couple of MCs to rev up the crowd certainly worked a treat. The level of performance and energy was huge, although constantly breaking up songs to talk to and try and get a reaction from the crowd was a little distracting. The crowd’s reaction to the iconic Work It was simply mammoth and the dancer provided a pumped and energetic display to get the massive throng moving. Get your freak on was another well known number which was well recieved. The strangely random introduction of singer Saraya for a song in the middle of the set was a little unexpected and a touch confused.

The dance/electro arm of Soulwax, known to the world as 2ManyDJs got the crowd revved up, not long after Missy Elliott left the stage and their signature driving beats brought out the spirit of Parklife in the main electro contingent of the crowd, especially a many Missy fans departed and held back. The act threw in a few surprises like nostalgic John Paul Young classic Love is in the Air and overrall had a strong reception a the business end of Parklife got underway.

With a huge reputation for a fantastic live show, headliners Groove Armada had a dramatic start to their final ever Australian show with a blistering lights display and SaintSaviour in a space age reflective silver costume, designed to fan out whenever she jumped and spun in the air. Every track had a huge sound and a perfect mix with SaintSaviour proving a very animated frontwomern dancing and twirling all over the stage. Newer singles I Won’t Kneel and Paper Romance from Black Light really translated well live with the crowd responding easily to both. The tracks were easily accessible each with an atmospheric feel and a pumping modern taken on a disco beat. The laser show which came on halfway throughout the set was stunning and really capped off the night, even taking into account the signature ending Superstyling which came on during the encore.

The Dandy Warhols were perhaps not an ideal closing band, even given their iconic status with hits songs like Bohemenian Like Me and Holiday maintaining relevance despite the years. The sound varied at times with different elements a little out of balance at different times but nevertheless much of the show was lapped up by the eager crowd, one admittedly a little smaller than that of Groove Armada.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.