It’s that time again! Laneway has arrived in town, a week or so after Big Day Out left us all rather exhausted. In its second appearance at the Sydney College of the Arts in Rozelle, let it first off be said that the organisers nailed the venue layout. Gone were the problems plaguing the festival the year prior – namely, lack of variety in food stalls, and their location impacting thoroughfare. It did little to take away from a superb day in 2010, but the lack of these problems this year definitely added to a smoother event, and therefore a better day for all.
Sure, there were times when the lines were still pretty hectic, and I still think the bands should be spaced out differently (e.g. No 20 minute periods where there’s basically no music playing). There also remains the problem of getting home (a shuttle bus to central needs to be implemented next year, should the event once again be held on a Sunday). But these are minor gripes. This was without a doubt the best run, most consistently impressive and entertaining Laneway I’ve yet attended.
And it all comes back to the question of a highlight. As I’ve walked away from the festival, people have queried me on my festival highlight, to which I’ve had to honestly respond: I don’t know! There really wasn’t a dull moment from the time I arrived – which unfortunately was just moments after The Antlers called it a day – although there were certainly the more memorable moments. Let’s now look back at the day that was.
Having missed The Antlers, I managed to catch the last couple of tracks from Melbourne’s World’s End Press. These guys are one of our favourites here at the AU, and with the tracks I saw – full of a great sense of energy and a fine attention to detail – they continued to live up to their name. A fine addition to the national lineup.
I ventured to an early highlight next – Stornaway. I was unfamiliar with the Oxford based group until today – at least musically. This “indie folk” band was one damn impressive live experience. They effortlessly conveyed emotive, layered and beautiful music in a performance that would have definitely bought them plenty of new fans. Myself included.
Meanwhile, Violent Soho were rocking the Clock Tower stage – “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend” remains a damn fun Breeders-inspired track, and in general these guys just know how to ‘rock’ – in every sense of the word. While far from a breath air, their tunes are nonetheless a welcome addition to any lineup. PVT was on the Inner Sanctum at the same time and closed with the wonderful “Window”. Ah yes indeed, it was a day chock block full of clashes, but the layout made it easy to catch a little of everything you wanted to see.
One band I was particularly looking forward to seeing today were Local Natives – a five piece hailing from Silverlake, Los Angeles. Their debut album Gorilla Manor has been one of my most played records in recent months, and they lived up to their name of presenting impressive and energetic performances – thanks mainly to the lead singer adding a second set of drums into the mix. They opened with “Camera Talk” and played tracks including “World News” and “Shape Shifter” during the portion of their set I caught. I didn’t want to leave but thankfully I plan to catch them on Thursday night at the Metro.
Clashing with Local Natives were Jenny and Johnny (aka Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice) and Bear in Heaven. The former were lovely, playing through tracks off their debut LP I’m Having Fun Now. It wasn’t just the duo in stage, the pair calling on the talents of a bass guitarist and drummer for their live performance. It made for a full sound, and the pair perform beautifully on the stage. Bear in Heaven, meanwhile, brought their album material to another level. Only catching their last two tracks, I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching a completely different band to that experienced on Beast Rest Forth Mouth, their most recent LP. This was some energetic, powerful stuff – but then again, I’m not familiar with their earlier material, so it’s hard for me to judge appropriately. Nonetheless, an impressive live presence.
Far from a day of consistency in style (you’d go from a crazy loud experiences to a slow quiet one, all within the same hour), Beach House reminded us that today was a day all about the quality of the music, sticking themselves on the far end of the “slow quiet” scale. But few bands come sweeter than this duo from Baltimore, Maryland. The set kicked off with a slight glitch, however, with the group losing their vocals during the first track “Walk in the Park” – so they did it again “just like the old days!”. “Silver Soul”, “Used To Be” and “Lover of Mine” were among the other tracks which made Teen Dream focused setlist.
Menomena were yet another surprise of the day, the Portland trio proving to be damned talented instrumentalists who know how to produce amazing music. The next clash saw Warpaint, Two Door Cinema Club and Blonde Redhead each playing outstanding sets to the cooled down crowd. What once was over 30 degrees, was now well in the low 20s, a cold wind whipping up the dust and a light rain making us all wish we’d brought jackets. Warpaint were lovely, Two Door gave the festival the biggest sing alongs of the day and Blonde Redhead showed themselves off as the worthy musical icons of many of the artists performing today. It’s a pity I only caught a few tracks, because they really were a highlight – their tight sound, brought on thanks to almost 20 years in the business, could not be ignored. Blonde Redhead aren’t going anywhere and they’re here to make sure we all know it.
Kicking off the next set of bands, “Beverly Kills” opened up the set of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. While many claimed this was the highlight of their day, Ariel and his group didn’t grab me, and my desire for some Yeasayer overtook me quite quickly. I was planning to give them a miss in place of some bands that I hadn’t seen before – but Yeasayer are, as return readers would know, one of my favourite bands, both on record and live. So at the end of the day, I just couldn’t say no. Having seen them at the Oxford Art Factory and at the Metro in their two previous visits to the country, this was the first time I’d caught them at a festival, and I was thrilled to see the crowd truly get into this Brooklyn based quartet.
They opened with a cowbell drenched “ONE”, before heading into a fantastic set that included “Tightrope”, “Rome”, “2080” and “Wait For The Summer” – a good balance between their two albums, though weighed towards the newer Odd Blood. As always, their live performance is a well crafted variation of what we’ve come to be familiar with on record. They take it to a different level live, and some may be slightly thrown by the way they make it work. However, I absolutely love the experience from start to finish. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay too long, however, as there was another live favourite on the Clock Tower….
Les Savy Fav proved once again why their shows are legendary. The set saw lead singer Tim Harrington run through the crowd, crowd surf, jump up onto just about every structure he could see, all the while beaming out tracks like “The Sweat Descends” and “Let’s Get Out of Here”. For a band whose frontman exhibits such a ridiculous amount of energy, and rarely wears a shirt, they could be forgiven for producing second rate music. However, this is a band who truly balance the bast of both worlds. The live energy only accentuates what was already energetic and wonderful. Les Savy Fav are, without a doubt, one of those live acts you have to put on the “have to experience” list.
The final artist to garner massive crowd attention and interation were Foals – making their second appearance on our shores since releasing their sophomore LP Total Life forever. The title track of which opened up the set. “Cassius” followed, along with. “Miami” and “Spanish Sahara”. This is a band who feel most comfortable in the smaller venues, but nonetheless suit the festival environment well with tracks full of energy and arbitrary singalongs.
I ended my night on the Clock Tower stage. Holy Fuck and !!! were given the honours here and both proved a similar level of excitement. The former may be more ‘experimental’ than the latter, but they both achieved the sort of beats that get the crowd dancing – albeit in a slightly heavier manner than what Cut Copy were producing, headlining the main stage. They were simply great live artists, who seem to enjoy trying something a little different everytime they hit the stage.
All in all, the 2011 Laneway was a wonderful day, full of the sort of consistently brilliant music that puts other festivals to shame. Sure, the more popular bands like Foals and Two Door will get the bums through the door, but this is secondary to the quality of the music. It just so happens that, in these instances, the public has great taste! See you next year!
