Big Day Out - Wayville Showgrounds, Adelaide
3rd February 2012
Words: Rob Lyon
Words: Rob Lyon
The Big Day Out juggernaut has been and gone for another year. The 2012 edition didn’t seem to galvanise the masses to assemble at the Wayville Showgrounds as it has in previous years, instead only attracting 12,000 or so punters. With attendances falling by some 20,000, the big question of whether the festival broke even or not would be running through a few minds. The rants and backlashes were wholly and solely centred on the line up and ticket price in comparison to other festivals, with debate still continuing in numerous music forums.
Nevertheless, the Big Day Out had a solid line up featuring Soundgarden, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Kasabian, My Chemical Romance, The Living End, The Vaccines, The Bronx, Foster The People and The Vaccines to name off a few. Break that down in to individual shows and that’s still a significant outlay so weigh it all up and there was plenty there to make a good day. A poignant quote heard from a random passer-by, is that “Big Day Out’s are like birthdays, some are really great and some are really shit” – maybe there’s a lesson or two to be learnt from that.
The weather was stellar and punters walking through the Rose Terrace gates were greeted by the men and women in blue and their trusty sniffer dogs, attempting to ‘weed’ out those carrying illicit substances on their person. Much has been made of the changes thrust upon Adelaide (and Perth) this year. The first thing noticed upon arrival was the reconfiguration of the stages. This made getting around even easier than usual, regardless of the smaller crowd
Best Coast were a true delight, bringing a touch of California to little ‘ole Adelaide. Their set seemed far too short, although lead singer Bethany Cosentino’s promise to return once their album is finished was somewhat of a consolation. Set highlights included Have Fun and Boyfriend.
Nevertheless, the Big Day Out had a solid line up featuring Soundgarden, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Kasabian, My Chemical Romance, The Living End, The Vaccines, The Bronx, Foster The People and The Vaccines to name off a few. Break that down in to individual shows and that’s still a significant outlay so weigh it all up and there was plenty there to make a good day. A poignant quote heard from a random passer-by, is that “Big Day Out’s are like birthdays, some are really great and some are really shit” – maybe there’s a lesson or two to be learnt from that.
The weather was stellar and punters walking through the Rose Terrace gates were greeted by the men and women in blue and their trusty sniffer dogs, attempting to ‘weed’ out those carrying illicit substances on their person. Much has been made of the changes thrust upon Adelaide (and Perth) this year. The first thing noticed upon arrival was the reconfiguration of the stages. This made getting around even easier than usual, regardless of the smaller crowd
Best Coast were a true delight, bringing a touch of California to little ‘ole Adelaide. Their set seemed far too short, although lead singer Bethany Cosentino’s promise to return once their album is finished was somewhat of a consolation. Set highlights included Have Fun and Boyfriend.
It was a very short wait for The Vaccines to hit the stage. Front man Justin Young had all the rock moves and all the right stuff to keep their set lively and entertaining. A fair chunk of their debut album was played, with Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), Wet Suit and Post Break Up Sex being highlights. Punters were spoiled, with a couple of new tunes titled No Hope and Teenage Idol entering the set. At this point, many could have left and still been quite content, despite the Big Day Out being only in its early stages.
There was plenty to see early on, with Bluejuice, Frenzal Rhomb and Parkway Drive all playing mid day slots. Mariachi El Bronx were fantastic! Hola! Mexican mariachi music meets punk rock seemed to be a great way to spice up the lunchtime slot, creating a really happy vibe. Acoustic guitars, trumpets and a violin and dressing in black charro suits made for quite the contrast, with the band returning later in the day as the hard hitting Bronx.
Regurgitator always seem to kick it up a gear for festivals and this occasion was no different, with the Brisbane band sporting long “Cousin It” wigs, making it difficult to see their faces. The usual suspects were all there, with I Will Lick Your Arsehole, I Sucked A lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am and Kong Foo Sing all going down a treat.
Home town boys The Hilltop Hoods had the biggest crowd of the day and if you weren’t a fan you’d likely have been converted by the end of their set. They were quite impressive with the likes of The Hard Road, new single I Love It and Nosebleed Section getting the mosh jumping. Battles were well worth a look, even for a fleeting second simply to see the last couple of songs Ice Cream and My Machines.
There was plenty to see early on, with Bluejuice, Frenzal Rhomb and Parkway Drive all playing mid day slots. Mariachi El Bronx were fantastic! Hola! Mexican mariachi music meets punk rock seemed to be a great way to spice up the lunchtime slot, creating a really happy vibe. Acoustic guitars, trumpets and a violin and dressing in black charro suits made for quite the contrast, with the band returning later in the day as the hard hitting Bronx.
Regurgitator always seem to kick it up a gear for festivals and this occasion was no different, with the Brisbane band sporting long “Cousin It” wigs, making it difficult to see their faces. The usual suspects were all there, with I Will Lick Your Arsehole, I Sucked A lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am and Kong Foo Sing all going down a treat.
Home town boys The Hilltop Hoods had the biggest crowd of the day and if you weren’t a fan you’d likely have been converted by the end of their set. They were quite impressive with the likes of The Hard Road, new single I Love It and Nosebleed Section getting the mosh jumping. Battles were well worth a look, even for a fleeting second simply to see the last couple of songs Ice Cream and My Machines.
Cage The Elephant! Simply WOW! These guys proved to be the real surprise packet of the day. Hailing from Bowling Green, Kentucky there is no doubt their performance today won over a stack of new fans. The lead singer Matthew Schultz is one crazy man jumping out for a crowd surf a few times, with no care in the world for his own safety. They have some awesome songs in their armoury with the likes of Around My Head, In One Ear and Shake Me Down standing out particularly today.
My Chemical Romance played a tight set and tried really hard to inspire their legion of fans, encouraging them to ‘get involved’, but not surprisingly, a complete lack of anything from their most successful album The Black Parade hindered more excitement from the crowd. Thankfully Tony Hawk was in fine form over on the rampsproviding a great distraction. The Living End were great as always and they’re almost a Big Day Out staple these days. The core hits of Prisoner Of Society, Second Solution and West End Riot seem to be must plays as the crowd went nuts for them. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Big Day Out, The Living End pulled out an awesome Nirvana cover Breed.
Big cheers for Kasabian, who have been elevated up the Big Day Out batting order, for being handed a coveted headliner spot, going on before Soundgarden. These chaps continue to get better and better, opening with Days Are Forgotten before tearing it up on Shoot The Runner. Front man Tom Meighan dedicated Velociraptor to Noel Gallagher, who was watching in the wings, before following up with Underdog. Not sure what Tom was thinking when he thanked the crowd “for singing with us in this fucking scorching sun”. Wasn’t it forty degrees the last time you played the Big Day Out? Perhaps perfect 30º days still seem scorching to those English lads. Hard to believe there was no room for Empire in the set, but set closer Fire was a ripper, with even Meighan saying “this song is a fucking good one” then leaving the stage a tad earlier than seemed normal, confusing the rest of the band.
Foster The People were a huge disappointment considering their spectacular show at The Gov last year. It took about four songs before the crowd started ambling away, clearly leaving many wondering what all the fuss was about. Compared to some of the other acts that played before, them they did seem amateurish. Admitting that they were tired from being out the sun, checking out other bands all day, probably didn’t help their cause either.
My Chemical Romance played a tight set and tried really hard to inspire their legion of fans, encouraging them to ‘get involved’, but not surprisingly, a complete lack of anything from their most successful album The Black Parade hindered more excitement from the crowd. Thankfully Tony Hawk was in fine form over on the rampsproviding a great distraction. The Living End were great as always and they’re almost a Big Day Out staple these days. The core hits of Prisoner Of Society, Second Solution and West End Riot seem to be must plays as the crowd went nuts for them. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Big Day Out, The Living End pulled out an awesome Nirvana cover Breed.
Big cheers for Kasabian, who have been elevated up the Big Day Out batting order, for being handed a coveted headliner spot, going on before Soundgarden. These chaps continue to get better and better, opening with Days Are Forgotten before tearing it up on Shoot The Runner. Front man Tom Meighan dedicated Velociraptor to Noel Gallagher, who was watching in the wings, before following up with Underdog. Not sure what Tom was thinking when he thanked the crowd “for singing with us in this fucking scorching sun”. Wasn’t it forty degrees the last time you played the Big Day Out? Perhaps perfect 30º days still seem scorching to those English lads. Hard to believe there was no room for Empire in the set, but set closer Fire was a ripper, with even Meighan saying “this song is a fucking good one” then leaving the stage a tad earlier than seemed normal, confusing the rest of the band.
Foster The People were a huge disappointment considering their spectacular show at The Gov last year. It took about four songs before the crowd started ambling away, clearly leaving many wondering what all the fuss was about. Compared to some of the other acts that played before, them they did seem amateurish. Admitting that they were tired from being out the sun, checking out other bands all day, probably didn’t help their cause either.
Soundgarden had a lot to prove as headliners and judging by numbers milling around at the main stage, they really seemed to lack the power they once had to attract numbers the likes of Hilltop Hoods and Kasabian do now. It was a rather low key arrival on stage and right from the get go the band looked tired, disinterested and like they would rather be somewhere else instead just going through the motions to collect a big pay cheque. This wasn’t the full of energy Chris Cornell we saw on his solo tour last year but maybe the fizz has gone from the whole Soundgarden reunion. Spoonman was an early inclusion before moving on to other highlights including Blow Up The Outside World and Fell On Black Days.
The end of the Big Day Out was near and the band many were hanging out most to see was Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. In short, they were fucking brilliant! Quote of the night goes to Noel asking punters ‘have you all had your money’s worth?’ promoting a further comment “it can’t all have been good – somebody must have been shit! Who was the shittest? Someone’s always shit!” With varied replies ringing out through the crowd, it was a nice chance to let people have a final bitch about the 2012 Big Day Out. Playing mostly his new self-titled album, Gallagher included highlights AKA What A Life, Dream On, Talk Tonight and The Death Of You And Me. The set was also littered with Oasis gems, keeping the most die hard of fans happy with the likes of Mucky Fingers, Little By Little and the epic finale Don’t Look Back In Anger, complete with typical audience sing-a-long.
With the curtain closed on another Big Day Out one can only hope for a return to form next year and for years to come – in the meantime, hopefully punters don’t lose faith with the Australian summer icon and get back on board in 2013.
The end of the Big Day Out was near and the band many were hanging out most to see was Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. In short, they were fucking brilliant! Quote of the night goes to Noel asking punters ‘have you all had your money’s worth?’ promoting a further comment “it can’t all have been good – somebody must have been shit! Who was the shittest? Someone’s always shit!” With varied replies ringing out through the crowd, it was a nice chance to let people have a final bitch about the 2012 Big Day Out. Playing mostly his new self-titled album, Gallagher included highlights AKA What A Life, Dream On, Talk Tonight and The Death Of You And Me. The set was also littered with Oasis gems, keeping the most die hard of fans happy with the likes of Mucky Fingers, Little By Little and the epic finale Don’t Look Back In Anger, complete with typical audience sing-a-long.
With the curtain closed on another Big Day Out one can only hope for a return to form next year and for years to come – in the meantime, hopefully punters don’t lose faith with the Australian summer icon and get back on board in 2013.