Big Day Out Preview
By Chris Mitchell.
The Australian music festival calendar is becoming increasingly crowded, but there is still one name that casts a shadow over the rest. The Big Day Out is the centrepiece of festival season, a truly national festival that year after year attracts the biggest and best artists from around the world.
This year’s line up is typically solid, and the perennial problem of who to see and who to sacrifice is as strong as ever. So, in our humble opinion, here are a couple of potential strategies to think about.
Headliners, Headliners, Headliners.
To see the biggest bands, you need to head to the biggest stages. For the uber-keen, forget drinking, eating, or relieving yourself and head straight into the D and to the front. The inside of the D barricade usually fills up very quickly, so leaving later on may not be an option.
Your patience will be rewarded though, and you will be in prime position for both the Blue and Orange Stages. In a strange act of timetabling, organises have slotted in The Vines and Little Red at 11am and 11:45am respectively to open these stages. So you may need to set your alarms.
If you manage to stick it out here the treats will come thick and fast with Blue Stage acts Bliss N Eso and Birds Of Tokyo, and Oranges Lupe Fiasco and Deftones.
The headliners are big this year, and if you’re a John Butler Trio fan, look out, because the band following them is pyro-metal heads Rammstein, and they are sure to draw a huge crowd.
Seeing the night through on the Blue Stage will be the punk icons Iggy and the Stooges, and an hour of a shirtless Mr. Pop will be, as always, a sight to behold. Closing main stage proceedings is Tool, and this set promises to be one to remember.
Locals, Locals, Locals.
Scattered across the multitude of stages are a heap of talented home-grown acts well worth a look. On the Green Stage you can catch Paul Dempsey, Wolfmother and the mighty Grinderman. On the Essential Stage you might bump into the likes of Pnau, Angus and Julia Stone, Gyroscope, and Children Collide. On the aptly named Hot Produce Stage Blue King Brown and Lowrider are well worth a look.
Now, seeing all these will be impossible, so perhaps your best bet, if Aussie bands are your bag, is to get there really early, catch Little Red, The Vines or Gypsy and The Cat, and then head to the Essential Stage, where you will be treated to those mentioned above, plus a bunch more locals and the wonderful Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros.
The Boiler Room.
Hugely popular and very quick to fill up, The Boiler Room is a Big Day Out institution. If this is the way you are thinking, perhaps it’s best to head there pretty early on and stake your land rights claim. Those who do will have their patience rewarded by performances from Sampology, CSS, Crystal Castles and The Bloody Beetroots.
If you manage to survive the day in The Boiler Room, then surely it will pay off as soon as LCD Soundsystem hit the stage. With the future direction of Mr James Murphy the subject of much conjecture since the cracking This Is Happening album, this is surely an opportunity too precious to miss.
Closing The Boiler Room will be sets from Booka Shade and M.I.A. Whether you like M.I.A’s latest effort or not (and many didn’t), these two promise to be a whole lot of arse waggling fun.
Wonder Around Aimlessly.
There are those that swear by this. They reckon that one of the hardest ways to see everyone you want is to plan to see everyone you want. So, don’t think things through too much, and watch whatever you happen to come across. Perhaps you will discover your new favourite band. Whatever happens, you’re sure to see a whole heap of music.
LnL’s Hot Tips.
See Andrew W.K. Don’t even think about it. Just do it, and bring your party shoes.
Get there early. The Vines, Little Red, and next big thingers The Naked And Famous are all on crazily early. Like, 11am early. That’s real early. But they are all very much worth seeing, perhaps more than some of those on later.
For something different, head to Lilyworld. In particular, around 6pm, and check out comedic musical genius Reggie Watts. You’ve probably seen him on YouTube, now see him in real life 3D! 2:30pm’s Arse Painting should be another highlight.
Don’t light your mate on fire. I know Rammstein like to do crazy shit like that, but it’s not very nice.
Wear sunscreen. Yes mum. You’ll thank us later.
