Photo: Justin Edwards

Saturday Jul 25

The good honest townsfolk of Byron Bay batten down the hatches for another weekend as they become overrun with punters from around the country. The sun is beaming, but you have to wonder how people will survive the chill wearing singlets and the shortest of short-shorts. Oh well, that’s a night-time problem.

Early arrivals swarm to Manchester Orchestra at the Supertop, on a scale rarely seen this early at a festival. It’s a set that’s heavy with new material, although Now That You’re Home is an intense standout. As is recent radio staple I’ve Got Friends, but it’s upsetting to see the mass exodus as the song climaxes.
 

A manic crowd descends on the Mix Up tent for Sydney dance duo Art Vs. Science. The band’s beats are big and dumb. In the scheme of dance music, it’s the equivalent of Neanderthal man but there’s no denying the band’s people-pulling power. The duo get the party started via radio hits Parlez Vou Francais? and Flippers.

Brisbane’s Yves Klein Blue’s wiry indie-pop is rockier than suspected when amplified in the Supertop. Despite charismatic front man Michael Tomlinson looking like a pale Felt fan from 1984, he and the lads dish up muscular, barnstorming versions of Polka and Getting Wise, while they also deliver a ballsy version of Springsteen’s Born To Run!

Sydney’s Bridezilla bring a touch of class to the GW McLennan stage, previewing tracks from their as yet untitled debut album. Showing musical depth well beyond their age, and with nods to the Velvet Underground and the Dirty Three, the band deliver a well-rounded set of jazz folk. Lead singer Holiday Carmen-Sparks’ breathy vocals are perfectly complemented by the unusual combination of violin, guitar, saxophone and drums.

Festival stalwarts Bluejuice are next to hit the Mix Up tent. Usually bringers of fun, stupidity and general mayhem, there is something lacking from their set today. Despite the antics of nutter Jake Stone and partner in rhyme Stav, the band aren’t on their game and trudge through a slightly muffled mix.

Photo: Justin Edwards

Opening with Do The Dog, UK Two Tone pioneers The Specials are one of the huge highlights of Splendour 2009. One of the first mixed-race bands from the UK to achieve worldwide success, The Specials are the definitive founders of modern ska. Epitomising everything brilliant about the genre including Fred Perry shirts, pork pie hats and suspenders, the band groove their way through a greatest hits set. Nite Klub, the stomping Little Bitch, the skanktastic anthem A Message To You Rudy as well as Ghost Town are all delivered with a brilliant brass section and calypso-tinged organ.

Augie March can be hit-or-miss at festivals, but they’re on form tonight, joined by a four-piece horn section on the GW McLennan stage. The mix is perfect, and even perennial cranky-pants Glen Richards has little to complain about. Unfortunately a fair chunk of the crowd disappear after Triple J favourite One Crowded Hour, which is a shame because the rest of the set features classics such as There Is No Such Place and This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers. They close the set with a stunning version of The Hole In Your Roof.

“It takes an Australian band to get the job done properly,” says The Living End’s Chris Cheney in reference to Jane’s Addiction’s no-show at the Supertop. Elbow infections don’t cut the mustard with these meat-and-potatoes pub punks, dishing up reliably adrenalised versions of Second Solution, Prisoner Of Society, White Noise and even a not-bad version of Farrell and co’s Jane Says with Grinspoon’s Phil Jamieson on lead vocals.

Following on from Augie March on the GW McLennan stage, Sarah Blasko graces the us wearing a colourful cape-accented outfit, apparently channelling her inner Björk. Joined by a standard backing band, with the addition of two violin players, Blasko delivers material from her three albums, focusing heavily on new songs from her recently released album As Day Follows Night. Her vocals are top notch, and cut through the crisp night air like a knife. There seems to be something lacking though –the band sounds slightly flat, but Blasko makes up for this in her unique performance style.

Photo: Justin Edwards

Photo: Justin Edwards

Rave is a bit tired and emotional during a long wait for the last bus. “Mummy, we want to go home!,” we wail, “That said, mother, the day’s blend of everything from psychedelic dance and hard rock to lean ska stylings was satisfying and diverse.”

Sunday Jul 26

After the dust settled on Belongil Fields and the last bodies were collected from the bus pick up points (hopefully), Splendour danced slowly into day two. Bleary-eyed and a little worse for wear, it was a matter of pushing through the pain and succumbing once more to the music.

At the Supertop Scotland’s Dananananakroydare like a much needed shot of caffeine. The self-described fight-popsters leap around the stage with playful abandon. Sitting somewhere between the frenetic spaz-core of Blood Brothers and the apocalyptic indie-disco of ¡Forward, Russia!, the band bring their own flavour to Splendour with a new take on The Wall of Death – The Wall of Cuddles.

Brooding Londoners White Lies sound solid and steely at the Supertop, but don’t quite display the immensity and atmosphere of their excellent album To Lose My Life. That record’s title track and particularly Death get a rousing response from the crowd, but their Joy Division-via-Duran Duran soundscapes are merely good when they could have been wonderful.

At the Mix Up stage for Friendly Fires, the few eager hipsters we expected have somehow transformed into a full tent. Who knew the outer-suburban London shoegaze-dance kids were this popular? Opening with Lovesick, technical problems derail them momentarily, but Jump In The Pool is jaunty enough to get people back on board. Front man Ed Macfarlane gets a whiteboy wiggle going early on, but wilts a little mid-set. New song Kiss Of Life is maybe just a little too Duran Duran, but when the boys give into Rapture/LCD Soundsystem-esque extended dance jams, they really shine. Penultimate song Paris gets a huge sing-along crowd response, and closing with the tremolo-heavy Ex-Lover sees the band indulge in a sweaty dance-off during a lengthy percussion outro. It’s great fun, and overall makes Friendly Fires one of the better debuts of the festival. Plus, given they attracted three times as many people as the Happy Mondays did the night before, the ascendance of Gen Y indie dance over Gen X indie dance is no longer in question. And so the torch is passed.

Manchester’s Doves are Splendour veterans, with 2009 marking their third performance at the festival. On the back of their new long player Kingdom Of Rust, the three-piece demonstrate why they’re always a highlight of our favourite winter festival. Favourites such as Pounding, The Cedar Room, There Goes The Fear, and Black & White Town showcase the band’s ability to command a huge audience, whilst maintaining an immaculate sound and stage presence. The new material marries seamlessly with the older tracks, and many punters walk away from the Supertop with a bounce in their step and a smile on their face.

It might not sound like it, but three middle-aged men sitting with acoustic guitars playing melancholic country music is exactly what the GW McLennan tent needs as daylight disappears. Mark Lanegan’s rough-as-nails baritone holds everything together for The Gutter Twins like it’s nailed to the ground, and he may have even cracked a smile once or twice. 

Grinspoon kick off the hardest rocking set of the festival with Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills and don’t lose that intensity for the entire 60 minutes. While their recorded output may have been less than spectacular in the last few years, a decade of touring has sharpened their skills to a knife’s edge. DCX3 FTW.

It’s likely that The Beautiful Girls have taken a few notes from The Specials over the years, particularly the gorgeous whirring organ tones. It’s not like Byron Bay have ever been starved of blissed out reggae, but the set is pure class. Neither too snappy nor jammy and long-winded

The harsh words about MGMT’s failure to translate their psychedelic pop fun-times from record to stage seem to have filtered back to the band, as their sound is refined tonight with an excitable touring band. Their new material signals a slightly more garage rock sound, but chucking their handful of singles in the first half of the set doesn’t provide much incentive to hang around.

Photo: Justin Edwards

With The Flaming Lips’ psych-rock hymns still singing in our hearts, Rave today gets to bed at a civilised hour, a bit achy and muddy, but mainly just plain ecstatic at another great Splendour weekend!

MITCH ALEXANDER, JACK LANGRIDGE, BRI DALTON, TOPHER HEALY, & MATT THROWER

Comments (2)

2. Written by Kez, on 30-07-2009 20:04     sad its all over...

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