LIVE REVIEW: Big Day Out (1/26/14 – Sydney, Australia)

January 30th, 2014

Brenton Harris

For over two decades, the Big Day Out has been regarded as Australia’s premier touring musical festival. Responsible for bringing some of the world’s biggest acts to Australian shores, the Big Day Out has played host to international acts as influential and diverse as Nirvana, Kanye West, Blink 182, Rage Against The Machine, Bjork, Iggy Pop, Tool, The Foo Fighters, Neil Young, Metallica, The Prodigy and The Ramones, all the while maintaining a commitment to granting once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for exposure to local acts (such as Silverchair, The Living End, The Vines and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds who all experienced commercial ‘break-throughs’ following stand-out sets on BDO stages) and lower profile international acts. In 2014 the multi-award winning festival package featured a typically diverse and impressive array of acts, headlined by the awesome-foursome of Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg, Arcade Fire and Deftones.

For the very first time, Under The Gun Review had a man in the land down under. Below you’ll find Brenton Harris’ review of the day’s proceedings, which is the first of five articles originating from the day that Under The Gun Review will be featuring over the coming days, including interviews with Northlane, Brant Bjork of Vista Chino (Kyuss Lives!), Tame Impala, and Ghost (aka Ghost B.C in the USA) to come later in the week.

Live Review: Big Day Out – Sydney, AU (2014/26/1)

As I joined the throngs of thousands making the venture from Sydney’s Olympic Park train station to the Showgrounds for the annual pilgrimage that is the Big Day Out, an ominous cloud threatened to quite literally put a dampener on the day’s festivities. Not to be disheartened though, the masses (many of whom were clothed in various versions of the Australian flag and other national costumes ranging from full-body morph-suits to the barely-there, on account of it being Australia day) marched onwards towards what promised to be another exciting and fulfilling Big Day Out adventure.

After quickly collecting my credentials, I headed inside to establish my bearings and made a rapid-dash over to the Orange stage to see Queensland’s premier thrash-pop proponents DZ Deathrays get the day off to a riotous start in front of an appreciative crowd. Blending buzz-saw guitars with groove-laden rhythms, frantic melodies and irrepressible energy, the two skater blokes from Bundaberg had the crowd jumping from the get-go with the likes of “Teenage Kickstart” and “Cops Capacity,” inciting a bit of mid-morning moshercize for some of the more energetic folk down-front.

DZ Deathray’s were followed by the ever-entertaining pop zaniness of Blue Juice on the adjacent Blue stage, and appeared to be well received as we made the trek over to the Red stage to take in Brisbane grunge-lords Violent Soho, and what a sound decision that trek turned out to be, as Violent Soho, armed with nothing more than their talents and their suitably distressed instruments, quickly set about turning the Red stage into the only place to be. Delivering their unique blend of throw-back grunge with unrelenting passion and just the right amount of precision, Violent Soho had the crowd in raptures, with the huge choruses of “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend” and “Covered in Chrome” inspiring full-crowd sing-a-longs. The latter of these two anthems came in an impressive 14^th in the annual ‘Triple J Hottest 100’ poll later that day, serving as a fitting reminder of just how ‘hot’ this band is right now. Following the (barely) controlled chaos of Violent Soho on the itinerary was Portugal. The Man whose unique blend of psychedelic pop had the crowd completely entranced. Opening with “All Your Light (Times Like These)” the Alaskan band performed each song with aplomb, inspiring looks of wonder from old and young alike before taking things to another level with closer “Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue” which featured the day’s first great cover with their unique take on Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in The Wall PT.2.”

Following that breathtaking display I embarked on a quick three-stage tango to catch a glimpse of sets by the super-chill Toro Y Moi, The Naked and Famous (who played a stellar rendition of their mega-hit “Young Blood” as I arrived) before getting up close and personal with Melbourne’s Kingswood. Taking the stage looking every bit the rock gods they appear destined to be, Kingswood ripped through an absolutely riveting set of good-old-fashioned balls-to-the-wall rock and roll to a rather large and engaged audience. Led from the front by the awesome pipes of vocalist Fergus Linacre, the Melbourne quartet left the JBL essential stage crowd clamouring for more, with radio favourite “Medusa” the highlight of a seriously impressive set.

Tame Impala were next on my must-see list and from the moment Kevin Parker and his lively band of lovable lads took the stage in the mid-afternoon sunshine, their gloriously dishevelled psych-rock had the crowd gazing in awe. These lads do not so much as play a live show for you, as they invite you to go on a journey with them as they take you on jam-band like trip through their impressive catalogue of washed-out soundscapes. Playing a set that leaned heavily on their breakthrough album Lonersism (for which the band received a Grammy nomination), WA’S finest brought some magic to the Orange stage and in the process only further solidified their status as a truly world-class unit.

Exiting the Orange stage just in time to make it over to see the final four songs of Manchester indie-pop darlings, The 1975, set on the Essentials stage turned out to be a solid choice, as I arrived just as the ever-dapper gents were dazzling the surprisingly gender neutral crowd with their hit “Girls”. From the four songs I was able to see (which also included the equally popular “Chocolate”) there is no denying that these lads tick all of the boxes, from presentation, to song craft, to performance and are well and truly set to be the next big thing in British indie. Following their set, I had a trio of face-to-face interviews booked, so I only managed to catch small segments of sets by Group Love (including smash-hit “Colours”), Primus and Mudhoney all of whom were in absolutely smashing form, with the bass work of Les Claypool and the sheer fuzzed out power of Mudhoney a delight to behold. The word doing the rounds was that while that unholy trinity was unfolding, RUFUS had absolutely stolen the show over in the Boiler Room.

At this point an insatiable aura of excitement had overtaken the Orange stage as Sweden’s finest garage-rockers The Hives were taking things up another level with their trademark blend of showmanship and energy inspiring the crowd to kick things up a gear and start to truly embrace the moment. Decked out in matching suits and vests as always, The Hives put on a polished, yet raucous set that took the form of a run through their very best tracks from across their catalogue. Highlighted by a frantic rendition of “Tick, Tick, Boom” The Hives ensured that as always, they were a hard act to follow. The man with the privilege of following that act was none other than Liam Gallagher and his band of merry-men Beady Eye, and it has to be said that they simply couldn’t cut the mustard. While there was nothing essentially wrong with the set they played, the fact that it was arguably highlighted by a rendition of Oasis’ “Morning Glory” probably serves as testament enough that the Gallagher brother’s are better together than they ever will be apart. Feeling uninspired by what was unfolding in front of me, I chose to take my leave and head on over to the Red stage to see some of what appeared to be a stellar set by The Lumineers. Displaying the pop-nous that made “Ho Hey” a worldwide smash and an impressive ability to engage the audience in a game of musical statues, these folk-pop troubadours put on a polished performance befitting their status as radio darlings and left many a smile on many a face as I made my exit from the stage area. Speaking of smiles on faces, you’d be hard pressed to find a band more excited to be on the bill today than Sydney’s own metalcore superstars Northlane. When I arrived mid-set the boys from nearby Blacktown had already turned the essential stage into a sweaty mess of flailing limbs. Smashing through a set that was highlighted by material from their incredible Singularity record, these ridiculously talented lads put on a show that was quite unlike anything else on display at the Big Day Out. Crushing in its intensity, but uplifting in aura, the band’s music is tailor-made for the live environment and after playing 150 shows in 18 countries in the space of the last year, they have become a truly great live act. Nice to see their parents make an appearance too!

I had an interview with one of the Nameless Ghouls from Ghost next (Which proved to be one of the absolute highlights of my day) so by the time I arrived back in the Orange stage, Canada’s Arcade Fire were already a few songs into what was by all accounts a pitch-perfect set of their ethereal indie-pop. Launching into “Keep The Car Running” as I was literally running into the arena, these purveyors of dream-pop perfection had the crowd in awe, with most of the crowd singing along in quiet reverence while looking transfixed. Led superbly by the personable Win Butler, Arcade Fire are a joy to behold in a live environment and I couldn’t help but find myself singing along as “Wake Up” sprang to life. At this point, it became apparent that by falling under the spell of Arcade Fire, I was missing Vista Chino, who I had had the pleasure of interviewing earlier. Armed with the knowledge that they were going to be playing not only their own material from the great Peace but a selection of songs from the legendary Kyuss, I hotfooted it over to the Essentials stage just in time to hear the opening strains of “Hurricane,” which to my delight was followed by “Freedom Run” and “Green Machine,” so with three Kyuss cuts witnessed I could say that I was blessed, so I took some time to fend off malnourishment before plonking myself front and centre for Ghost. (aka Ghost B.C)

There is simply no way to describe the dark majesty that is Ghost in a live setting, it’s something you simply have to see for yourself. Taking the stage dressed in their matching cloaks, masks and grucifix’s, the Nameless Ghouls announce the arrival of Papa Emeritus II, who takes the stage looking every bit the demonic reimagining of the Catholic Pope. From that moment on Papa leads the Nameless Ghouls through a flawless set of their utterly unique and hauntingly-melodic metal, stopping only to greet the audience with his disturbingly polite tone, before inviting us all to join him in welcoming the son of Satan into this realm. The Nameless Ghouls for their part, are incredible musicians and their combination of theatricality, technical proficiency and melodic sensibility make for an enchanting watch in their own right. As a concept, Ghost are brilliant, but as a band they are even better and their set went down as the (somewhat) unexpected highlight of the day. Bookended by “Infestissumam” and the epic “Monstrance Clock,” Ghost played a flawless set that delivered a one-of-a-kind artistic experience to the small crowd in attendance.

As Papa Emeritus II released us all into the night, I made my way back to the Orange stage to see some of the second hour of Pearl Jam’s enormous two-and-a-half-hour set. Arriving as the band launched into mega-hit “Even Flow,” it seemed like myself and the majority of the crowd had been taken back to the glory days of the ’90s grunge movement, and what a thrilling trip down memory lane it proved to be. Playing a solid set that featured tracks from pretty much every album, Pearl Jam sounded just like you’d hope they would. Matt Cameron’s drums locking in seamlessly with Jeff Ament’s bass tones, while the bluesy guitar tones of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready created the perfect backdrop for the often imitated, never bettered vocal styling of Eddie Vedder, as they took us all on a journey through their back catalogue. Vedder was his usual charming self as he chatted casually with the crowd between songs, swigging from a bottle of red wine for good measure, and then launched into passionate (if at times weathered) sounding renditions of “State of Love and Trust,” “Insignificance”, “Spin The Black Circle,” and “Rearviewmirror” before temporarily taking leave of stage to prepare for the encore. It was breathtaking stuff, so breathtaking that I neglected to leave in time to see Deftones, for which, Chino, I am deeply sorry, please forgive me. By all accounts (on the train on the way home) their set was the usual flawless display, so to those who chose to end their night that way I am sure had a wonderful time.

As Vedder sauntered back on stage I feared that my night, and the Big Day Out for another year was soon coming to an end, and as the familiar sounds of “Footsteps” filled the stadium, the crowd shared in a moment of reflection and reverence, a moment of reflection that proved to be short-lived as Pearl Jam launched headfirst into a two-part, 12-song encore featuring their own songs “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” “Betterman,” “Jeremy,” “Black,” and “Alive,” as well as an impressive array of covers including “Chloe Dancer” and “Crown of Thorns” by Mother Love Bone, a special “Australia Day campfire rendition” of “Throw Your Arms Around Me” by Hunters and Collectors, and a truly epic final duo of “Kick Out The Jams” by the MC5 with Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney and a riotous version of “Rockin’ in The Free World” by Neil Young.

Sounding as passionate and important as ever, Pearl Jam brought yet another fabulous Big Day Out experience to a fitting close and left everyone walking out feeling better about life. On the way in, much of the talk had been about Blur’s last minute cancellation and how the day would be less special without them, but on the way back much of it consisted of people talking about how good the acts were that they’d seen, the hot new acts they had discovered and how the day could not have gone any better had they planned it themselves.

Essentially they sounded like they’d been to a Big Day Out.

Big Day Out dates remaining:

FRIDAY JANUARY 31, BONYTHON PARK (Adelaide)
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2, ARENA JOONDALUP (Perth)

Tickets from http://www.bigdayout.com