The Electric Circus/Rocket Bar Stage promised to offer the most diverse range of music of the day including disco, funk and indie dance featuring live acts who hailed mostly from the UK and Northern Europe. The first act on this stage catching my attention was D.I.M. from Hamburg, Germany. He was playing icy cool dance grooves, and threw in his own remix of The Presets’ My People. Evil Nine were up next, but instead of the earthy-organic breaks that we know him for he was spinning crowd favourites like Metallica’s Enter Sandman, laid under a heavy Daft Punk-like groove.
I’d heard only grand things about the lively Datarock crew, and they didn’t disappoint. Five dynamic dudes in matching red tracksuits emblazoned with their logo, jumping around the smokin’ hot stage. Their obvious love of kooky electronic toys brought smiles all round with Fa Fa Fa showcasing Datarock at their infectious best, with a mix of dance-rock drums, funk-strummed guitars and a super-catchy chorus. Joining the party were Who Made Who filling in on percussion, bass and vocal. The rewarding finale for all this activity in a sauna was the power ballad from Dirty Dancing I’ve Had The Time Of My Life – the craziest sing-a-long I heard all day! Wonder if local lads Casio Brothers were there taking notes.
I’m sure there’s been enough talk about the day’s stifling heat and dusty grass, needless to say, most punters took a liking to artists playing in shady areas as the sun migrated. Unfortunately this took its toll on the mid-afternoon set from London duo The Black Ghosts who were worthy of a truck load more appreciators. Where were all those indie Hot Chip and The Rapture lovin’ Rocket Bar kids? Probably entranced by the Silent Disco concept which SoCo Cargo Club turned into for the day. This eclectic idea was first introduced to Adelaide at the 2006 Big Day Out when it was held on an old open dodgem car rink. The idea of choosing one of two channels on your private headset with volume control in a club environment really does work. Next time I’d recommend giving passers by the chance to ridicule and guess what people are singing along to – much more entertaining!
The final live act on the Rocket Bar stage were Who Made Who from Copenhagen, featuring three guys in navy and white Japanese yukata (summer kimono) on bass/vocal, guitar/vocal and drums. On the first guitar strum and harmonised vocal, people either loved it or moved onto another stage. Their folk-tinged disco funk was a breath of fresh air breaking up the electro atmosphere with groovy bass lines and roaming stage antics. Single Space For Rent is a killer song that easily sticks in your head. The celebratory mood of their final gig in Oz inspired the bassist to pop a sparkling wine and continue playing guitar using the bottle neck.
My first FMF experience was a real treat and I commend the organisers for using Rundle Park to its fullest and shadiest. May events like this and Parklife continue to make good use of the city parklands!
