Homebake returned to The Domain over the weekend for the first time since 2009. It was missed by all of us in 2010, but its year away was understandable in all respects. Though its 2011 installment didn’t sell out, the crowds were massive, energies were high and the music was killer. Here’s a look back at the day…
Running between doing interviews backstage and the four stages, it would be fair to say the first half of my day was a bit of a whirlwind. No pun intended, but I think “Do The Whirlwind” by Architecture in Helsinki was the first full song I heard all day! OK, pun was intended there. AiH put on their usual high energy, blockbuster show, which jumps from hit to hit to hit. The band, who have had a great deal of success overseas (thanks much in part of the support of Pitchfork in their early days, I would suggest), are sounding and looking better than ever on the stage. Never a dull moment when they grace any festival…
I did try to catch Kids of 88 early on, but technical problems seemed to be letting them down. I’m actually not sure they got a song out at all. The theme of sound problems was pretty consistent throughout the day, with sound bleed being a problem between the Main Stage, The Dome and the Big Top… not to mention tech problems weighing some sets down in the first place.
The Rowland S Howard tent was the only one left unscathed and was my favourite place to be all day. Closing out with Ratcat (and a fantastic performance at that), the stage was chock-a-block from Big Scary onwards, who put on one of the best performances I’ve seen from them. Meanwhile, you couldn’t get anywhere near the tent during Hungry Kids of Hungary… someone put them on a bigger stage already! The Brisbane based band, who have had a great deal of success in the last year, put on a rollicking set, with the packed out crowd singing and dancing along to every song.
Earlier in the day, DAMNDOGS were unlucky to receive a small crowd, but made up for it with a high energy performance of some damn fine, danceworthy rock and roll. New Zealand’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra were a find, their live performance taking their debut self-titled album to another level – and it’s definitely the sort of set appropriate for stages big and small.
But the two best sets on that stage belonged to Papa vs Pretty and Passenger. Though technically from the UK, Mike Rosenburg aka Passenger has become an honorary Australian thanks to his album Flight of the Crow, which saw him collaborate with a variety of Australians while on the road in Australia – which happens more often than not. Mike is one of the finest performers around, able to engage the crowd with style and gravitas, while pumping out some beautiful and occasionally hilarious music. If you haven’t caught him yet, you’re obviously living under a rock.
Papa Vs Pretty meanwhile gave us the best performance I’ve ever seen them pull out. They’re rocking harder and sounding tighter than ever. With an amazing debut under their belt – United in Isolation – the sky’s the limit for this young trio. They even got the praise of Hungry Kids, later in the day, as they proclaimed United… as the best album of 2011.
Moving back out to the main stages, Gurrumul sounded amazing, with Sarah Blasko joining him for his last track. You couldn’t get anywhere near the tent for Kimbra, though her twenty minute late start meant her set was shortened. Still, what I heard sounded as good as ever. Drapht got one of the loudest reactions of the day – though that award definitely goes to Gotye for “Somebody That I Used To Know”. The crowd sang along to every word, cheered incredibly loudly when Kimbra joined him and thanks to the average sound during the set, I’m pretty sure they were louder than the stage was! An amazing moment. I have me some goosebumps just thinking about it! There’s no way that song isn’t winning the Hottest 100… surely no one else stands a chance…
Gotye’s set, in spite of technical problems, was a grand one. Utilising the animated films sanctioned for the GRAPHIC festival earlier this year, there was plenty to enjoy with tracks like “Eyes Wide Open”, “Easy Way Out” and “I Feel Better”. “State of the Art” was a highlight of the set, for its video alone!
Daniel Merriweather, meanwhile, performed stripped back set compared to his memorable 2009 Homebake appearance. He had four band members behind him as he wore the hell out of a Steve Zissou beanie. In addition to some new material and all the crowd favourites, Daniel cranked out a great cover of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”.
The overall highlight of the day, however, was the flawless set from Sydney’s The Jezabels. Their popular track “Endless Summer” was second up and with the beautiful weather we had on the day, it was possibly the ‘anthem’ of the day. Their performance was full of the usual energy and charisma that Hayley Mary is well known for and you’d never know that they pretty much just got off a plane from London. “Hurt Me” was another easy highlight of the hit filled set. Looking forward to them learning more of their debut full length, too – some of those tracks, absent today, will go down a treat, that’s for sure.
In addition to Ratcat, the focus of the “Classic Edition” of Homebake was on three bands. First we had The Triffids performing a pile of their classics with guest vocalists that included Oh Mercy‘s Alexander Gow and the one and only Mick Harvey. For the most part, this worked pretty well, though some of Alex’s renditions didn’t seem well received by others. Icehouse meanwhile were performing Flowers in full, alongside a few covers – which many wish were replaced by some of their greatest hits – but it was a special experience nonetheless. And finally there was The Church playing a set of crowd favourites, closing out The Dome in style – though occasionally drowned out by Grinderman – a set that was definitely cranked up to eleven.
The dance party was locked in with PNAU and Ladyhawke, though the former was by far the most energetic of the pair. Though I was far back, Ladyhawke seemed to throw a verse of Gary Numan’s “Cars” into “Paris is Burning”… or maybe I was hearing things. But either way it was pretty fantastic. The sound was great for PNAU. “Wild Strawberries” and “Baby” were the highlights, and the band was of high energy – crowdsurfing and jumping around like maniacs. A set from PNAU used to be about the costumes… but now just about the music and damn are they tight. “No More Violence” ended the rollicking set.
But the night closer belonged to the aforementioned LOUD Grinderman, the other project from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. You couldn’t help but wish that you were watching The Bad Seeds, but it was damn fine all the same. “Worm Tamer” came second, one of my favourite tracks, and saw Nick launch himself into the crowd. Damn that man can perform. Highlights included “Heathen Child”, “I Just Want To Relax” and “No Pussy Blues”. A great way to end a remarkable day of music. Especially if you like your ears to ring.
From the moment the festival started there was amazing music to see and people here to enjoy it. While this might have been the “classic” edition of the festival, I think the future of Australian music is looking pretty damn bright.
Some additional thoughts from Claire Knight:
Indie pop darling Kimbra took to the afternoon crowd in a swirl of red satin. Backed by a chorus of screaming fans, not to mention a sharply dressed and uniquely coiffed band, her powerful vocals soared through the Big Top and left no question as to why everyone’s talking about this bright young New Zealander.
Another fierce NZ femme who rocked the Big Top was melodic powerhouse and indie-pop hookmaster, Ladyhawke. Armed with a tighter than tight band of upstanding English lads, she thrilled a captive audience with a steady stream of alt-pop hits as well as a sneak peak of material from her upcoming album… and between you, me and the internet… its pretty damn awesome.
Gotye, fresh from a bunch of ARIA wins and with a new J Award to his name, was one of the bigger drawcards of the day. Although during his somewhat experimental set, a sense of restlessness could be felt rippling through the expectant crowd as he weaved and darted his way through intricate melodies and a concoction of strange sounds that was described by many as ‘one big jam’. Despite having a mini orchestra on stage with him, much of the sound was lost over the vast space of the Domain, however it seems all previous discrepancies were forgotten as he closed the set with mega hits Somebody That I Used To Know and Heart’s a A Mess.
Self proclaimed ‘titans of atmospheric rock’, The Church, pulled a diverse crowd at The Dome stage. Veteran fans and newbies alike watched on in awe as epic arrangements and fierce 80s guitar solos abounded, all reigned in by the commanding vocals of front man Steve Kilbey.
Cut Copy closed the Big Top with a wave of high energy, percussion heavy electro dance. Having just won an ARIA and been nominated for a Grammy, the band were in pretty high spirits, and it showed.
