Good Vibrations Festival @ Centennial Park, Sydney (17/02/07)

Some reports have over 35,000 people enjoying the cloudless blue summer day as a host of local and international artists graced Sydney’s Centennial Park for one of the bigger festivals this party season. With a new lay-out, more acts than ever before, and a solid reputation behind it, Jam Music had a lot of pressure to provide a Good Vibrations festival like no other. So how did it stack up on the day?

It was Rock the Casbah from the very beginning as quick entrance queues saw this lusciously large venue fill up swiftly, with a largely mixed crowd echoing the array of musical sounds streaming from its various arenas. Van She got proceedings off to a slightly rocky start, seeming almost nervous as they played their way through Sex City looking like they were with us but sounding as if they were somewhere else entirely. Their ship steadied though as they pulled out Kelly to a largely positive response from the crowd at the main stage.

The main stage itself looked phenomenal with dual screens either side of what looked like a mock-harbour bridge as Steve Lind played a Snoop Dogg remix, teasing us with a taste of things to come. A plethora of fence jumpers provided some light entertainment as security guards alternated between sprinting pursuits and mindless head-scratching. As we crossed to the Roots tent, Good Buddha ‘Got Me Dancing’ but not for long as DJ Moto took over playing a well-received old school hip-hop set intermingling Digital Underground with Nas in a flashback to the 90s. Then we packed our overnight bag and crossed the hill to the other three tents stopping at the numerous beverage stations along the way and picking up some free sunscreen – it was a scorcher of a day.

Brazil’s Carnivale seemed to have moseyed on over to Sydney as Martini Club’s vibrant live sax sounds turned the B-Live tent into somewhat of a fiesta. Miss Savage’s electro squeaks and bleeps included Eric Prydz’s Proper Education, but she made way for the surprise package of the festival, The People’s Republic, who had the Star Bar pumping like no other time that day. Sure, at some stages, like when they played Sweet Dreams and Jump Around, you could have been forgiven for thinking you were at Sydney’s other Star Bar, but they read the crowd well and their behind-the-decks energy rubbed off on their audience.

As a huge fan of the productions of both Ursula 1000 and Nightmares on Wax, I found both their sets quite disappointing as they failed to connect with the crowd, losing many punters after 15 minutes or so. I heard Sneaky’s Pictures twice before they came on, and thought why play it when you can hear it live down the road a little while later? Sneaky Sound System, for their part, played a polished if not predictable set, proving yet again they can handle themselves on the international scene.

The free chewing gum silenced the sound of grinding teeth as the slightly epileptic movements of Cut Copy’s lead singer put Modular on the main stage for the second time that day. They performed their hit Zap Zap to perfection, and provided what could have been their first major performance of the new single Hearts on Fire, which was received with vigour by the increasingly rowdy crowd. Irony made a brief appearance as Cut Copy sang the popular Saturdays with the lyrics: “When I’m looking for you, I call you number but I can’t get through”.

Deep, proggy and dabbling in tech, Desyn Masiello played an awe-inspiring set as chin-strokers were left baffled and were forced to dance as this fresh-faced DJ innovated and educated seemingly flawlessly. Hook & Sling, New Order and Adam Beyer all made an appearance in Desyn’s myriad of sounds as punters see-sawed between kicking up dust with their dancing feet and choking on it in the sweltering Laundry tent. Walking between the tents saw cleavage in your face in all directions, from both the girls and the guys.

Two villages lost their idiot’s, as two over-enthusiatic party-goers scaled the Roots tent forming a human tumble-weed as they somersaulted their way down the fabric much to the delight and distress of onlookers. Below them, Jurassic 5 created a furnace, as they solidly performed their hits What’s Golden and Work It Out to an audience packed in like sardines. A unanimous cheer was heard as Jurassic 5 spat out ‘Fuck George Bush’ in an interlude, which combined with the aroma of whacky tabacky seemed to unintentionally pay tribute to the politically charged music festivals of yesteryear.

And then there was Snoop Dogg, in the worst kept secret this year. However, everyone who saw Snoop was putty in his hands as his perfectly balanced performance combined sweet lyrical delivery with great comedic value as he became the hit of the night. Donning a Souths football jersey was a beautiful touch to a concert including the hits What’s My Name, Murder Was The Case and Gin & Juice. The two highlights were the sing-a-long that ensued when Lodi Dodi came on and the spliff tribute song I Love You Mary Jane. Like him or not, he unquestionably provided the good vibes required to successfully steal the show.

Rahzel’s talent shone through as he did impossible things beat-boxing his way through Gold Digger and Seven Nation Army. But it was the song that put his name on the map that dropped everybody’s jaw to the floor. If Your Mother Only Knew saw him beat-box, sing and play the backing instruments simultaneously with a mouth that surely confirms the existence of some higher being. He provided the background sound for Snoop with Drop It Like It’s Hot and left people wondering what use The Neptunes were in the first place. Unfortunately as you moved out towards the main stage the sound from the Roots tent muffled with that of the main stage.

Marred by sound problems and an inconsistent tempo, the Beastie Boys were disappointing. Whilst separate tunes were still – on the whole – executed well, their insistence on changing up the beat constantly mid-song made the set disjointed and hard to follow for all but the most dedicated fans. Highlights were the classics No Sleep Till Brooklyn and Paul Revere featuring Snoop Dogg. Intergalactic was the crowd favourite, with many left wondering where Fight For Your Right was. The interlude of tracks from their jazzy release The In Sounds From Way Out! was ill advised and dampened the party atmosphere. If they’d played the whole set with the energy they used to close it out on Sabotage then the story might have been different.

Back at the laundry tent, DJ Dan played a decent, straight up-party set which suffered from being placed directly after the magic of Desyn. Cassius pleased all with their two major tunes Feeling For You as well as a remix of The Sound of Violence in a well-received set. Rapture swept the Star Bar when John Course slipped on Born Slippy toward the end of the set, but the two best finales of the evening were in the Laundry and the Roots tents.

London Elektricity began with grime but swiftly moved into fast paced and pumping drum’n’bass that really set the crowd on fire with random, unsynchronised dancing being the moves-du-jour. MC Wrec provided an almost symbiotic lyrical accompaniment, making me wish I saw more of London Elektricity’s set. An exhausting final haul over the hill for Timo Maas was well worth it as he weaved his way from highly atmospheric progressive house, to tech and breaks, without losing the flow of the performance. Take note Beastie Boys!

Overall, the good over-balanced the bad. As people griped about the lack of shade, the excess of people and the proximity of the main stage to the Roots Tent, they praised the variety and quality of music, the short lines to grab a drink and a few likely never-to-be-seen again artist collaborations. A consistently good choice of artists means Good Vibrations is definitely here to stay and the professionalism of Jam Music should see the teething problems experienced this year remedied for GV2008.