Meredith Music Festival - DayOne @ The SupernaturalAmphitheatre, Meredith(10/12/2010)

Tue 14th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Typically, only the most banal of conversations tend to centre on the weather. Yet it would be impossible to aptly describe the 20th Meredith Music Festival without mentioning the lashes of rain and blasts of sunshine that punctuated the weekend. Reports in the week before suggested some sort of rainpocalypse; a land and mud slide that no poncho or newly acquired pair of gumboots could withstand. As it transpired, those in attendance got their fair share of sunburn and saturation, but neither extreme could stand in the way of Aunty M’s big birthday.

Over the course of the weekend, there would be international bands that impressed and those that misstepped. Local bands who moved beyond the realms of ‘promising’ into something much more significant, and one festival-defining set from Neil Finn that will live very long in the memory.

With even the earliest of early risers encountering car park-like conditions in the kilometres leading up to the festival’s gates, it was a relief for many to have set up camp and finally plonk down in the Supernatural Amphitheatre to witness Friday’s openers the Puta Madre Brothers. The trio began with a series of driving country-tinged instrumentals, with the occasional whistle or indecipherable holler thrown in for good measure. Having taught the audience how to tell a woman “you can spread yourself all over me,” in Spanish, the Brothers proceeded to plough through several (presumably filthy) growled and fast-paced Mexicana ballads.

If Animal Collective succeeded in distancing last year’s Meredith crowd, the similarly minded Rat Vs Possum proved far more engaging in what may serve as something of a breakthrough set for the band. Tribal and calypso beats peeked through waves of synth-pop, with Pills in particular evolving into something far more exciting in a live context. Totally involving and with an impressive amount energy from a group who has gigged so relentlessly, RvP ensured the party had truly begun.

Kimbra’s place on the bill fell in line with a recent Meredith pop-precedent (see Sia in 2009), and her refreshingly up-beat set fitted well within the fabric of the Friday night line-up. Tambourine fixed in hand and with a tennis club-attired backing band, the slinky Melbourne-based New Zealander impressed on the well constructed Limbo. It was certainly all pop, but pop done very well. While the act grew a little tired towards the latter half of her slot, Kimbra’s enthusiasm meant she was warmly applauded as she exited the stage.

Versatility is usually a quality to be admired, yet JEFF the Brotherhood’s unwillingness to lock themselves in to one style is to their detriment. Abrasive garage guitar morphed into generic psychedelia, which later transitioned into easily-digestible radio rock. They achieved an impressive depth of noise for what was for the most part, a two-piece, but their lack of focus meant repeated calls to visit their merch desk fell largely on deaf ears.

The highly regarded Broadcast met an audience not altogether willing to give themselves over to the English duo. Dimly lit in the twilight of the evening and with little onstage presence, their set was short on spectacle, and the repetitive circling drone from James Cargill sparked a partial exodus to nearby food stalls. Those who locked in to the nuances of their sound were more heartily rewarded, yet a latter set move into dreamier pop came too late to capture the attention and imagination of the masses.

The Amphitheatre however proved far more receptive to the triple j favoured Cloud Control. Perhaps more centre of left from Meredith’s usual M.O, singles There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight and This Is What I Said have nonetheless permeated mainstream consciousness enough to engender full fledged sing-a-longs. Cohesive and dynamic on stage, Cloud Control’s finely tuned live show made their set the first unifying performance of the festival.

As can after can of BYO beer was consumed and strangely scented smoke filled the air, things in the cold and dark Amphitheatre became a little messier. Two years since their last Meredith appearance,Little Red have moved from their slavishly reverential take on 60s pop to something far more bland. Watered down hit single Rock It garnered a decent reaction, but the band’s target audience would these days seem to lie elsewhere.

Veteran hip-hoppers Clipse battled with sound issues and an at times unresponsive crowd during their set in the early hours of the morning. A pre-programmed ‘BOOM’ effect was employed a little too frequently and, like the set in general, was all explosion, no fireworks.

Read the coverage of days two and three of the festival