Having warmed up for Laneway Festival’s debut appearance at Port Adelaide with The National’s mind-blowing gig at Thebby the night previous, I got along down to Power heartland a little later than hoped (work really is the curse of the drinking class), but still in plenty of time for my “must-see” acts. Although in a perfect world I would’ve liked to have seen The Growl’s set, albeit with a new bass player (wasn’t that a terrible state of affairs?). It hit 36.7˚ in the city, so the Port was definitely the place to be, although it was still pretty bloody hot! So, after sorting myself a pulled pork roll and drink, I settled in at the Dolphin View Stage to a) be as close to the water and developing shade as possible, and b) check out the interestingly named, Melbourne’s Dick Diver.
With a “Carn the Power” cry they got into their set, having expressed their delight in playing at the home of Bad Boy Bubby, and proceeded to give us some laid-back pop/rock vibes not dissimilar to fellow Melbournite Courtney Barnett. I really enjoyed the bass-line of Head Back among others, with all members clearly having a good time up there, swapping instruments and such, and after a big finish they were done, making way on the Dolphin View for former Magic Dirt front-woman Adalita.
With a “Carn the Power” cry they got into their set, having expressed their delight in playing at the home of Bad Boy Bubby, and proceeded to give us some laid-back pop/rock vibes not dissimilar to fellow Melbournite Courtney Barnett. I really enjoyed the bass-line of Head Back among others, with all members clearly having a good time up there, swapping instruments and such, and after a big finish they were done, making way on the Dolphin View for former Magic Dirt front-woman Adalita.
Having seen afore-mentioned former band at HQ many, many moons ago, I was very much looking forward to Adalita’s solo set, as the one thing I remember from that Magic Dirt show is the energy that she brought to the table, and was keen to see if she still “had it”. A good crowd also had similar designs seemingly, and having surrounded herself with some excellent musicians (I particularly dug drummer Dan McKay’s work) it was soon apparent that she had lost none of her spunk! A fact some idiot punter will (maybe) remember for a while, when after throwing a bottle at lead guitar Lewis and thankfully missing by a wide margin (I’d say he throws like a girl, but I’ve seen many girls throw much harder and straighter than he did), he was removed by security at Ms Srsen’s request and was manhandled hopefully out of the venue to her parting shot of “FUCK OFF”! Good for her. As far as the music goes, I really enjoyed Trust is Rust and My Ego in particular, but it was an excellent set overall, and they were a perfect lead-in to Brooklyn indie outfit Parquet Courts’ Adelaide premiere!
To say there’s a fair amount of hype attached to this band would be fair, although it depends who you hang out with I guess! Certainly, the lads have enjoyed much critical acclaim for their album Light Up Gold and I was eager to see how this would translate to the live format. Having positioned myself on the barrier for the start of the gig, these guys certainly made the big crowd gathered move with a furious intensity straight away, with crowd-surfing undertaken by almost everyone up front, seemingly. When given the double hit of Master of My Craft and Borrowed Time it went properly right off! So much so, that I thought my safety and future work prospects were better served somewhat removed from the maelstrom, so I took my older-than-the-average-festival-goer arse off to the back a bit and watched the rest of the set from there. They are just so damn cool! Seems to be the way when you come from NYC, and more specifically so, Brooklyn. Musically they kill, and it was such a tight, dynamic set that almost before we realised they’d finished they were packing up their shit (not too cool for that!), all too soon I’m afraid. Hype more than justified. My day seemed to be getting better and better, and I had high hopes that HAIM would keep the roll going.
To say there’s a fair amount of hype attached to this band would be fair, although it depends who you hang out with I guess! Certainly, the lads have enjoyed much critical acclaim for their album Light Up Gold and I was eager to see how this would translate to the live format. Having positioned myself on the barrier for the start of the gig, these guys certainly made the big crowd gathered move with a furious intensity straight away, with crowd-surfing undertaken by almost everyone up front, seemingly. When given the double hit of Master of My Craft and Borrowed Time it went properly right off! So much so, that I thought my safety and future work prospects were better served somewhat removed from the maelstrom, so I took my older-than-the-average-festival-goer arse off to the back a bit and watched the rest of the set from there. They are just so damn cool! Seems to be the way when you come from NYC, and more specifically so, Brooklyn. Musically they kill, and it was such a tight, dynamic set that almost before we realised they’d finished they were packing up their shit (not too cool for that!), all too soon I’m afraid. Hype more than justified. My day seemed to be getting better and better, and I had high hopes that HAIM would keep the roll going.
Moving stage for the first time of the day, I made my way over to the main stage area for the Los Angeles sister act, amongst the thousands of others there to watch the uber-popular so-mainstream-they’re-cool Californian girls. Unfortunately, some poor young thing had to get carted off in a wheelchair, which I’m pretty sure she didn’t arrive in. She seemed to have lost all her motor skills (a la Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), although she still had a massive smile on her dial. Hopefully she’s OK! I managed to get in all their big songs, including the early Madonna-esque If I Could Change Your Mind, before high-tailing it out of there to the Future Classic Stage, where I could breathe a bit easier, at least until Sydney’s Jagwar Ma got fired up.
This stage was also situated wharf-side, and with the tall ship “The Falie” docked immediately side of stage, it made for another cool location to watch music from. Once the psych/dance trio got started, they came from everywhere and as the sun went down and the sniffer dog got to work, we were treated to some great, groove-worthy tunes from their debut album Howlin’ such as Uncertainty, which was just awesome, The Throw and Let Her Go. With the Aboriginal flag flying proudly on The Falie matching the hat of bassist Jack Freeman, it made me wonder what those that were here 300 years ago would’ve thought of proceedings. I’m sure there would be some shaking of heads in wonder at some of the punters, but I’d like to think they would’ve appreciated the music, foreign as it would be to them! They’re really on to something these guys, and it’s not hard to see why they’re making such a big splash overseas, although not as big a splash as my next act back on the main stage, a certain young girl from New Zealand…
This stage was also situated wharf-side, and with the tall ship “The Falie” docked immediately side of stage, it made for another cool location to watch music from. Once the psych/dance trio got started, they came from everywhere and as the sun went down and the sniffer dog got to work, we were treated to some great, groove-worthy tunes from their debut album Howlin’ such as Uncertainty, which was just awesome, The Throw and Let Her Go. With the Aboriginal flag flying proudly on The Falie matching the hat of bassist Jack Freeman, it made me wonder what those that were here 300 years ago would’ve thought of proceedings. I’m sure there would be some shaking of heads in wonder at some of the punters, but I’d like to think they would’ve appreciated the music, foreign as it would be to them! They’re really on to something these guys, and it’s not hard to see why they’re making such a big splash overseas, although not as big a splash as my next act back on the main stage, a certain young girl from New Zealand…
Once again nowhere near the front for Lorde’s performance, the just-17 international sensation was quite a coup for Laneway, what with her being the flavour of the month and all, and she didn’t disappoint her legion of fans. Belting out all her massive hits from debut LP Pure Heroine, she had the crowd in raptures for Samsung ad Royals. I read recently that she doesn’t think that’s her best song and I tend to agree, for me Team gets the nod and was maybe the best received. Ella certainly moves and sells her songs well, and it will be very interesting to see how her career progresses from here. What do you do when you’ve won 2 Grammys at the age of 17? Where do you go from there? All will be revealed in coming years, and as I pondered these questions and more, I’d conveniently made my way close to the front of the other stage in readiness for a band that I’d wanted to see for a long time, Cloud Control.
At Laneway 2011 I had to choose between seeing Cloud Control and Two Door Cinema Club who were on at the same time. I chose the latter, and certainly didn’t regret it as TDCC were exceptional, but ever since I’ve been waiting to see Cloud Control, and I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip! I was once again starting to flag by this stage, but once the Hungry Jack’s ad Dojo Rising started I got my second wind, although it did make me think of Whoppers. I’d put off eating as the lines for all food vans were horrendous, as were lines to get a drink. This mattered little to me, once they reeled off pretty much every song you would want to hear off both their albums, including the brilliant Gold Canary, There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight and Scar which featured a big sing-along moment with the bloke in the Mack cap next to me! Unfortunately, as is often the way with festival sets, they were finished before we were ready and there was extreme disappointment on show from all around me. The Blue Mountains band were definitely worth the wait, and it made me think that everything happens for a reason, as sometimes seeing a group after 2 albums in the can makes for a better show. As long as you like the 2nd album of course, which in this case I certainly do!
At Laneway 2011 I had to choose between seeing Cloud Control and Two Door Cinema Club who were on at the same time. I chose the latter, and certainly didn’t regret it as TDCC were exceptional, but ever since I’ve been waiting to see Cloud Control, and I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip! I was once again starting to flag by this stage, but once the Hungry Jack’s ad Dojo Rising started I got my second wind, although it did make me think of Whoppers. I’d put off eating as the lines for all food vans were horrendous, as were lines to get a drink. This mattered little to me, once they reeled off pretty much every song you would want to hear off both their albums, including the brilliant Gold Canary, There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight and Scar which featured a big sing-along moment with the bloke in the Mack cap next to me! Unfortunately, as is often the way with festival sets, they were finished before we were ready and there was extreme disappointment on show from all around me. The Blue Mountains band were definitely worth the wait, and it made me think that everything happens for a reason, as sometimes seeing a group after 2 albums in the can makes for a better show. As long as you like the 2nd album of course, which in this case I certainly do!
My night was almost done, as was the festival’s, but it was left to The Jezabels to close the main stages, and after being intensely involved for all of Cloud Control’s set, I retreated to the far side of stage to watch a bit of Hayley and co, before making like a baby and heading out. I was out of gas, and gave them a half hour, before heading off into the Endless Summer that is South Australia at the moment. I did think that Cloud Control should have closed, but I’m glad they didn’t, as I was able to give myself an early mark!
Overall, I think Laneway has found a great venue for future years, and hopefully the organisers learn from this year and provide more of every facility. They could learn a thing or two from BDO as well, in how to handle a festival in the heat. Nonetheless, the quality of most of the acts I saw helped make it a very enjoyable day, especially as I fortuitously chose Jagwar Ma, rather than poor Chvrches who I hear didn’t get on too well!
Overall, I think Laneway has found a great venue for future years, and hopefully the organisers learn from this year and provide more of every facility. They could learn a thing or two from BDO as well, in how to handle a festival in the heat. Nonetheless, the quality of most of the acts I saw helped make it a very enjoyable day, especially as I fortuitously chose Jagwar Ma, rather than poor Chvrches who I hear didn’t get on too well!
Review by Paul Chivell
Photos by Melissa Donato. Full gallery can be seen here.
Photos by Melissa Donato. Full gallery can be seen here.
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