Harbourlife @ Royal BotanicalGardens, Sydney (25/11/2010)

Mon 22nd Nov, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Perfect days like this are too few and far between; the sun, the water, good music, good people, fantastic pizza, the ‘tanned, daisy dukes’ clones, the ‘brown, shirtless and tattooed’ gym junkies, a coldie and a beautiful city. Mixed with the colourful flavours of a hot Aussie summer was an incredible line-up of non-stop bliss and the most spectacular location for a festival known to man – Farm Cove, The Royal Botanical Gardens.

Harbourlife 2010 sported some of the best dance music I’d heard in a long time, amoungst whom were class acts like; Yacht Club DJ’s, (a surprisingly incredible) Ember, Metronomy, Knightlife and The Temper Trap. Upon entering, I was welcomed with tunes like Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheel and Flawless by The Ones, and a free massage. It was a good start to a great day…

The line-up was tight and sequenced perfectly so that transitions were smooth and the crowd had no excuse to stop for a break. What really impressed me was the ability of each and every DJ to keep their set fresh all the way through. For example, Yacht Club DJs took a more ‘heavy’ approach to their set with intense electronica, whilst Ember performed suped up renditions of tracks like You Used To Hold Me by Calvin Harris, Barbara Streisand by Duck Sauce and Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana – all of which floated well with the swelling crowd.

Metronomy took hold of their time-slot and owned it performing all the favourites such as A Thing for Me and Heartbreaker. Up the front there were quite a few die-hard fans, but upon looking back at the crowd I don’t think Metronomy were appreciated as much as they should have been. None-the-less, they were received well and still played a killer set; Metronomy should be expecting a fair few downloads in the coming week.

The festival had two ‘levels’ of garden. The bottom level was where all the magic happened, and contrary to this, the top level was riddled with couches, garden chairs and tables, fruity cocktails, cushions, shade and burnt people. My respect goes out the jazz/funk band on the top level that played a continual set from 2pm to 8pm; nice work, you were awesome!

The sun beat down on backs all day until evening came and the mood went from excited to ecstatic. People waiting at the front of the stage were beginning to feel as though the hard work of guaranteeing the ideal position was paying off as all the lights were turned off, and photographers moved hastily across the front of the stage. All of a sudden bright white lights peeled through the night and The Temper Trap slid onto the stage. The crowd went insane. Dougy sung like he meant every word and with a freshness like he is configuring the music in his mind at that very second.

The Temper Trap’s set was raw and expressive as they lived up to every expectation. Pounding on big floor toms layered with water, Dougy worked the explosive Sydney crowd to its full potential and by the end of their set the crowd were screaming for more. Songs like Fader, Sweet Disposition, Resurrection and Science of Fear were perfect ‘gearing up’ material and were strategically placed throughout their set to keep the vibe going. On top of all this, fireworks against the Harbour Bridge provided the perfect backdrop… It was just incredible.

It was just one of those perfect days. Man, I wish I was back there right now…

Check out the photos from the festival