Big Day Out @ AdelaideShowgrounds (03/02/2012)

Mon 6th Feb, 2012 in Gig Reviews

Every other year, the Big Day Out has almost been guaranteed to sell out, regardless of which acts were due to appear. It was as though going to the BDO had become an annual summer tradition for thousands of music fans (or more accurately just people wanting to say they went to the Big Day Out).

The issues leading up to this year’s tour have been well publicised and are too complex to go into in great detail again here, but the main headlines came from the parting of organisers Ken West and Vivian Lees, and the down-scaling of the event outside of the eastern states, meaning that after tickets went on sale Adelaide lost controversial headliner Kanye West.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the occasion, the punters already in attendance looked set to make the most of the day, and although the crowds were noticeably smaller than usual, this made for easier access to food, drinks, and toilets, which seemed to please everybody there.

Once I had settled in and mapped out where everything was, I headed down to the front of the main stage (just the one main stage this year due to the down-scaling) to check out Parkway Drive. I expected to see a fairly crazy crowd for Parkway as they always seem to have a loyal fan-base turn up to their gigs but it seemed that it was a little too early for everyone to be getting into hardcore metal. The band struggled to get the sparse crowd moving and as they mentioned their up-coming gig in Victor Harbor, it almost sounded as though they were looking forward to finishing this set, and getting back to the smaller stage.

On the smaller Converse stage at the other end of the showgrounds Melbourne’s The Getaway Plan had a good crowd already packed in. Their set was well received and their pop-rock sound suited the early afternoon summer festival vibe much more than Parkway’s hardcore, although it wasn’t until they played their hit Where the City Meets the Sea as the set closer, that the crowd really came to life.

Back to the main stage for some more metal – former Sepultura vocalist Max Cavalera’s band Cavalera’s Conspiracy. Unfortunately, once again, there were large spaces in the crowd and it was still pretty quiet compared to the usual madness of the BDO main stage. I guess now that the Soundwave festival covers the hard rock and metal genre, there are fewer fans of the heavier bands coming to the BDO.

Next up it was time to check out how the boiler room was faring this year. At this year’s Big Day Out, due to the smaller number of big rock acts, it was much easier for me to get around and see everything without having clashes in timetables so I had a nice leisurely stroll over to check out former Helmet drummer John Stanier in his latest project Battles. The boiler room definitely has a vibe all of its own. Away from the sunshine of the other stages, this was the place that you could get immersed in the darkness and feel like you were at a club gig in the middle of the night. Battles played their mix of electronica and rock with a real focus on the drums as Stanier’s kit was a real centrepiece on the stage, and the crowd were really getting into the atmosphere as they temporarily forgot it was the middle of a warm summer’s afternoon.

After re-surfacing into the daylight, it seemed that the main stage had returned, finally, to the vibe of the old BDO as local hip-hop outfit The Hilltop Hoods had a large crowd waving their hands in the air and singing along. From this point on, it seemed that everyone was over the fact that the crowd was smaller this year and the beers in the hot afternoon sun had started to loosen everybody up.

My Chemical Romance hit the stage, playing mostly songs from their latest album Danger Days. Thankfully, even though the set was less than an hour, they managed to include a few of the hits from previous albums The Black Parade and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. From the second MCR finished, it was time for a visit to the stage closest to the main stage.

Side by side, off from the main arena, was the Guvera Skate stage and the skate ramp. As the world’s most famous skateboarder Tony Hawk hit the skate ramp, The Living End started on the stage right next to it. From where I was situated, I could see Tony Hawk and his skater crew going crazy on the ramp and I also had a great view of The Living End providing the soundtrack at the same time. The Living End’s set was full of all of their biggest hits and it suited the skate action provided, which was a visual feast with the backdrop of a perfect blue sky.

As Soundgarden launched into their set, it seemed just like every other BDO as everyone made their way closer to the stage and things got pretty tight. For the next hour and a half, the headliners went through all of their biggest hits, barely stopping, in a effort to get through an extensive back catalogue including Spoonman, Outshined, Fell on Black Days, Black Hole Sun and Rusty Cage. Unfortunately, being a festival on a tight schedule, there was no encore, but Soundgarden did play a satisfying set which was well worth the price of admission.

Soundgarden’s set felt like the end of the night and a good climax to a fairly mellow BDO but there was still one more act to see. Back on the Converse stage, right near the exit was Oasis guitarist/ song-writer Noel Gallagher with his band High Flying Birds.
There was a good crowd packed in to watch this performance, and the band entertained with new songs and even some classic Oasis ones, which went down very well as a fairly mellow way to see out this year’s Big Day Out.

Although numbers were down, those in attendance would have likely rated the day as a positive and trouble free one as the experience was entertaining without the chaos usually seen at larger festivals. It will be interesting to see how the Big Day Out organisers rebound from all of the negative press from this year and try to build the BDO brand back up to its former glory again.