After battling through the crowds at the entrance – and realising it had taken a good two hours to arrive inside the gates – first up on the day’s itinerary was Drag. Formed by Powderfinger’s Darren Middleton after a decade or so of on-the-road jams and demos, Drag has been waiting in the wings for some time. Now that Powderfinger are taking a well-earned break for the year, Middleton has the opportunity to flex his solo muscles with an upcoming tour with Athlete. Drag’s set is a fairly enjoyable collection of pop rock, focused on the almost lethargic combination of shimmering rhythms and lush melodies. Amid the low-key numbers were bursts of energy with the past Triple J favourite Take Me With You and the first single from the band’s debut album, You and I.

Athlete took the stage a few minutes later. Highlights included the summery El Salvador and sing-a-long You Got the Style. The band’s solid Brit-pop was punctuated by slithers of crazed psychedelia, complete with some enthralling interpretive dance moves on the theremin. I’d have liked to see more of this, rather than the so-so rock contingent that made up most of the set, inspiring me to leave mid-set in search of a hot dog. The closing refrains of “Just Let Yourself Go” instilled some element of involvement from the crowd but overall the set lacked a dynamic foundation – especially in comparison with some of the other UK-based mood rock bands to come.

The lovely Sarah Blasko was the next victim of the hugely overblown atmosphere of the Supertop. Luckily the VIP viewing area lent a certain intimacy to her set, but the crowd seemed to tire of straining to hear and see Blasko towards the end of her collection of songs. Counting Sheep proved almost too delicate to reach the enormous confines of the tent, but Always Worth It seemed to win the entire festival grounds over, Blasko’s beautifully fractured vocals penetrating the beer-and-rock vibes of the day.  Don’t U Eva also got the crowd moving, while Blasko’s instrument-swapping and sweet interaction with the crowd certainly won a few hearts.

Not too keen on the no-brainer rock of Shihad, it was time to explore the fields before Mercury Rev took to the stage. Walking around the festival grounds proved an adventure in itself, with mud pits ever increasing and corn cobs strewn around in the sludge. As promised, the Cas Bar (VIP area) was a warm haven amongst the chaos, decked out with Persian rugs, huge elephants flanking the entrance, a gorgeous fountain and swirls of incense curling around the array of coloured glass lanterns suspended from the ceiling. Then it was on to check out the delights of the elusively-titled Taboo Boo stage, where for a small fee, you could be married at the faux-chapel, or confess your rock’n’roll sins. To the right were the notorious dance music orientated Ti Pis, where a mud and hay swamp was being circled by dancers on stilts. A huge hay-bound construction with a giant set of lips loomed, which was later set alight as a dramatic Splendour fireshow finale, complete with fireworks.

Back at the Supertop, Mercury Rev’s Jonathon Donahue was already reeling in the crowd with his enthralling stage presence. Began what was to become an extraordinary set with the first track from the latest album, Secret for a Song. Later, The Dark is Rising cemented its powerful live reputation once again, the technically-perfect performance and eerie lighting adding to the melodrama. Donahue’s conductor-like antics were great, and the synth orchestration of the All is Dream tracks resulted in an absolutely huge sound. One of only a few bands to actually capitalise on the immense size of the performing area, other highlights from Mercury Rev included Tides of the Moon, Little Rhymes, Black Forest and Diamonds.  There is something inherently creepy about Donahue, yet you can’t help but admire the man’s debonair style. After the set he swanned around the Cas Bar working his charm on the other patrons, and we took off to see what else was going down. 

A surprisingly popular favourite for the day, The Living End had gathered a monstrous crowd that was spilling out from under the tent. They punched out a hugely energetic set that included hits Prisoner of Society, West End Riot and Pictures in the Mirror. Not exactly this reviewer’s cup of tea, but the younger crowd loved it, and admittedly, the virtuoso double bass slap was kind of cool.

Then there was Ryan Adams. I’ll stop short of saying the set was an abomination (the response I had muttered at the time), but it was pretty disappointing to see Adams’ slide into the spoiled rock star persona. Sticking mainly to the melancholy alt-country of his Love is Hell combo and Heartbreaker, it’s doubtful the set would have ignited much recognition in a crowd obviously poised for Rock and Roll numbers. Any hope the set’s potential was quashed when Adams spat the dummy at the less-than-professional sound quality. Yes, you could hear his vocals dropping out during the first couple of songs, and a noticeable amount of feedback, but he threw a hissy fit at his cowering backing band first, before snapping at the sound guys. After stopping two songs in their introductions, an awkward tension remained for the duration of the set. Another cringe-worthy appeared when he sarcastically declared the sound was the best he’d ever heard. The crowd, boozed-up and anticipating the entrance of Queens of the Stone Age, ignorantly cheered.

The technical difficulties lingered as Queens of the Stone Age blasted their way through a very memorable set, but luckily any faults disappeared after the third or forth song. Taking the stage amid an eerie Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf intro, the band launched into Little Sister with cowbells ringing and a thundering rhythm section propelling the song to an all new level. Monster in Your Parasol, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret and Feel Good Hit of the Summer were the welcome slices of retrospect, and Go With the Flow’s distinctive lead guitar proved absolutely hypnotising. A massive encore version of No One Knows quieted the salivating crowd and showcased Josh Homme’s impressive vocal ability, while newies Everybody Knows That You Are Insane, Tangled Up in Plaid, Long Slow Goodbye, Burn The Witch and In My Head were clearly the more recognised numbers. Overall, a fantastic headlining set, putting the band’s live reputation back into a very positive light. I just pray that next time they tour, Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan come along for the ride.

-

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed the next morning (well, after a beer we’re fine), we arrived a few minutes into The Grates’ hyperactive performance. Lead singer Patience was clad in bright pink tights, high tops and a ‘60s brown minidress, and was as charming as ever. Unfortunately, the trio was plagued by equipment problems, most notably John’s guitar’s refusal to beat out the chorus to Sukkafish. Unlike last night’s tanty courtesy Ryan Adams, Patience handled the situation exceptionally well, all smiles and apologies, and drummer Alana pummelled out a solo for us, effectively avoiding a stilted silence. After the problem is sorted, the band swing back into their bevvy of alterna-pop gems, including a spot-on version of Wash Me and Rock Boys, the schizophrenic punky pop of Message and later the enthusiastically-received Trampoline.  A staple live act in Brisbane, these guys never disappoint, the only downside being hearing their unreleased material time after time, and not being able to purchase it!

A clumsy shift into a completely different mood ensued when After the Fall began their set. All the kids crammed up to the front of the stage barrier and we took cover in the VIP area. Technically, the performance was tight as a drum – so to speak – and quite energetic, but lacking in dynamic. The songs blurred into one another and although these guys were awfully LOUD, they didn’t excite me in the least. Mirror, Mirror made an appearance (you’ve probably heard this one being played on Triple J if you’re not familiar), while a new single, Concrete Boots, received a tentative reaction. After the Fall’s sanitised punk and roll has earned them brownie points with the younger generation but in general they aren’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking.

It was off to the Mix Up Tent then to see Caribou (formerly Manitoba). I’d heard nothing but good things about this band and my expectations were exceeded immeasurably. Performing in front of a large video screen with tailor-made animations for their tracks, Caribou brought a whole new meaning to multi-instrumentalism, perpetually swapping percussion instruments and beefing up the rhythm section with two drum kits. Even without the aural element, their set was spellbinding. The dual drum kit performance was great to watch, and the animations were a performance of its own. The sounds dipped and rose with lush landscaped layers of electronica, to tinkles of organic percussion, to the thundering of drums. Quirky sampling and vocals coloured the tracks and frequencies were pushed to the outer limits, at one point forcing me to cover my ears. Despite the worrying state of a guy tripping on acid directly in front of us, my attention was well and truly focused on the stage, where a collection of songs from The Milk of Human Kindness and Up in Flames slowly won over (most of) the sparse crowd.

Quickly scuttling back to the Supertop, the crowd was huge and Doves had already begun their set. It was a virtually identical performance to their set on Thursday night at the Arena, but the festival context made for a far more magical atmosphere. A brilliant sunset marked the arrival of beauties Sky Starts Falling, Sea Song and Pounding. Clearly, this is a band comfortable with the festival vibe, having played Splendour in 2002 and returning to triumphantly floor this year’s audience. 

One of the biggest drawcards of the festival, Interpol certainly didn’t disappoint – especially for fans of Antics. Opening with the subdued tension of Next Exit, the focus seemed to be more on the intensity of Paul Banks’ vocals than pumping out purely dance-friendly tracks. The jagged-edges-and-soft-curves contrast of Evil wooed the crowd quickly, with cheers rising in between pauses of the track. Slow Hands was explosive, the descending melody thundering through verses and the drum sound reaching shattering levels during the chorus. The gurgling bassline and shimmering rhythms of PDA set the house on fire. The more up-tempo Say Hello to the Angels didn’t seem quite as suited to the venue, with a lot of the details becoming lost in the larger-than-life PA.  Obstacle 2 was later added to the collection from Bright Lights (drunken yells for Stella… went ignored), with a fair chunk of the set containing Antics material. Although the set was nothing short of brilliant, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was like listening to the albums, only a lot louder. That’s not to say that inter-song banter would have improved the set, rather it just seemed like Interpol’s material is not quite made for a festival situation.

Finn Brothers weren’t my pick of the litter but from all accounts they made a lot of people very happy with their blend of career-spanning and iconic songs. Crowded House numbers It’s Only Natural and Weather With You warmed up the singalong. Four Seasons in One Day was a clear crowd favourite. Later the Hunters and Collectors classic Throw Your Arms Around Me and Split Enz’ I See Red picked up the energy of the performance, and even if you weren’t in the Supertop the strains of the set were a solid reminder of the songwriting prowess of these two men.

After a short break it was time to face facts: Splendour was almost over, and there’s only one choice left – Moby.  Yeah, I know, it’s not cool to like Moby today, he’s a sellout, appropriator, etc etc. I haven’t listened to any Moby material since Play. But for the pure energy radiating from the circus tent that night, I would rate his set as one of the best of the weekend. Focusing largely on the pop efforts of his last few years, the set was jam packed with familiar tracks. Highlights included Porcelain, We Are All Made of Stars, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad and Bodyrock – Moby even admitted that Bodyrock wasn’t the most impressive slice of songwriting he’d ever done, but it was good to dance to. A rave track from earlier years also appeared, and he included a 30-second punk song “just to get it out of his system”. Political commentary aside, it was a great end-of-the-night set, although the ode to Australia with AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night was somewhat strained when followed up with a keyboard solo of Men At Work’s Land Down Under.    

It’s funny how a music festival can reveal the differences in peoples’ musical tastes, despite what had originally seemed like very similar preferences. Over the course of the weekend, not once did someone completely agree with my response to a particular band. It’s a testament to the incredible line up that there wasn’t one band I completely loathed – although After the Fall came close. And, typically, I’m already wondering what the line up might be for next year…and how I’m going to get tickets the minute they go on sale.