Winter festivals are far from an easy exercise to put yourself through, especially ones that run multi-days. When you think about it, it’s quite remarkable Splendour in the Grass has become the popular event it has, line-ups irrespective. I guess people are just gluttons for punishment. I feel this way after every Splendour.
So what is it that keeps me – and everyone else – coming back? Is it the line-up? The atmosphere? The fact everyone else is doing it? It’s fair to say that it’s a bit of all the above, but one thing is for certain: when you leave Splendour in the Grass, you’re going to need a long nap, a hot shower and a big dose of Vitamin C to avoid the dreaded post-Splendour flu. The only question you have left to ask yourself is: was it worth it?
Day Three, as those before it, brought with it an electric mix of local and international talents; though the last minute omission of Frank Ocean certainly put a damper on things, that wasn’t going to stop anyone from going out with a bang. The Jungle Giants were finishing up their set to a strong crowd at the Supertop when I arrived, as some of the more sedated of the attendees enjoyed some mud wrestling. Past festival favourites Surfer Blood followed, playing tracks off their sophomore LP Pythons, as well as old favourites like “Twin Peaks”. They’re a tighter band than I remember, if not terribly energetic, and were very well received by the Splendour crowd.
Irish outfit Little Green Cars made their Australian festival debut in style, showcasing the incredibly strong vocals of Faye O’Rourke (not to discount Steven Appleby) their tight sound, featuring no less than three guitars, including a beautiful acoustic played primarily by Faye. It feels a common thread that Irish bands are of a strong blend by the time the rest of the world hears about them (The Frames etc.), and this young outfit have certainly worked through their paces in Dublin over the last five years, making themselves no exception. Indeed, here’s hoping we hear plenty more from them; they seem to have impressed on their first visit. I for one was entranced for the entire set! “Harper Lee”, which came out early, was a sure fire favourite with the crowd and I was a big fan of “Please” as well as the high energy “Big Red Dragon”, helping make it a well rounded set.
LA punk rock outfit, FIDLAR, followed back on the main stage, easily the loudest band of the day I’d seen so far and one of the event’s most buzzed about bands – and justifiably so. The band have big songs, huge amounts of energy and are helping revitalise a genre that had become a bit old hat. “No Waves” was a favourite of the set with some amazing riffs and “Max Can’t Surf” – about their drummer – was similarly fun, as was the Weezer-eseque “Awkward”. Does it get more Southern Californian Punk Rock than lyrics like “I got no money for weed”? I don’t think so. A must see band for fans of the genre.The Bamboos, meanwhile, were bringing some local musical perfection to the Mix Up Tent, throwing in a Frank Ocean cover of “Lost” along the way, just before the legendary Tim Rogers joined them on stage for “I Got Burned”, bringing the set to a close. Loved the blue pants Tim!
By the time I made it to Snakdaktal they were well into their set, playing in front of a massive crowd; easily the biggest I saw at GW all weekend. Not bad for a band from Melbourne! Their music translated terrifically in the environment and had everyone singing and dancing along to their best known, atmospheric tracks. Their debut record Sleep in the Water is released August 2nd. Meanwhile, Airbourne rocked out on the main stage at a volume that surprised no one. Loud, proud and a hell of a lot of fun with tracks like “Black Dog Barking” off their latest record of the same name and “Raise the Flag”, during which Joel O’Keeffe ran into the crowd with guitar. Oh, and there was Shiraz skulling, of course.
While Airbourne delivered the expected levels of rock and energy, Everything Everything, who were at the Mix Up Tent, were one of the bands on the line-up I had no idea what to expect from. Though their name probably should have been some indication; there’s a little bit of everything going on here. You can hear instrumental influences from Led Zeppelin, experimental moments reminiscent of artists like Robert Wyatt with pop sentiments similar to a modern artist like Yeasayer or even Foster the People. Far from your usual “big festival band”, they were an inspired addition to the lineup and resonated well with the crowd, who gave them a stellar reception. You could tell on the faces of the band that they were humbled by this; it’s always a joy to see a young band enjoying new success, especially ones who are in Australia for the first time.
Last minute arrival Lorde, the 16 year old talent from New Zealand stunned with her youthful but powerful voice. Her music features poignant lyrics and sweet beats while her on stage setup sees a drummer and keyboardist/beats maker behind her. Not long after, The Rubens got the kids singing along in a BIG way and had the honour of being the final locals to grace to main stage for the 2013 Splendour in the Grass. Peking Duk, meanwhile, had the kids dancing just before Hermitude hit the stage on the Mix Up Tent and The Drones rocked out at GW. Even in the last hours of the festival, there were still so many great options for punters.
I spent the rest of the night jumping between the main stage – where “secret act” Alt-J (who were unfortunately not so secret), Passion Pit and Of Monsters and Men closed out the festival in Frank Ocean’s absence – the GW McLennan tent where You Am I performed Hi Fi Way in full and Laura Marling delivered a minimalist ending – and the Mix Up tent, where bass heavy James Blake performed with his two piece band and The Presets gave the crowd a suitable alternative to the main stage festivities, closing out the stage.
Of the above, highlights included Alt-J‘s cover of “Slow” by Kylie from their Like a Version, which along with the rest of the set got a great singalong from the massive crowd. The Drones whipped out the first couple of lines of “Friday On My Mind” as part of a typically phenomenal set that briefly attracted rain from the gods. Passion Pit launched into things with “I’ll be Alright” right into “The Reeling” and the high energy and massive singalongs from the crowd didn’t let up for a second from there on out. “Take a Walk” was a highlight, as was “Little Secrets” and the now classic synths of set closer “Sleepyhead”. Walking onto the stage to an operatic soundtrack, Of Monsters and Men wasted no time, jumping straight into the vast majority of tracks off their debut My Head is An Animal, this being their third time in Australia touring the record. They did not disappoint, but here’s hoping they have some new material out soon!
And so that brought to and end another Splendour in the Grass – for us at least. Plenty of punters kicked on until the early hours of the morning, dancing at the Sminoff Bar, in the Tipi Forest, at the Red Bull Music Academy or in their own campsite. Whether you were just looking for some quality dance music, the best in local music or triple j international fodder, Splendour in the Grass had something for you. And there were plenty of surprises along the way too. The Frank Ocean cancellation was a disappointment for many, but Lorde was a nice surprise and the rest of the quality music on offer more than made up for it. As for the traffic teething problems, we look forward to seeing how they address that next year, but in spite of many complaints, I doubt it put a damper on the weekend for most punters. Good weather, good music and good vibes – this is what festivals are all about. And Splendour in the Grass achieves all of this in its stride. So, maybe this is why I keep coming back after all.
So… was it worth it? Definitely.
