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One of the beauties of the summer festivals, in Sydney or anywhere else for that matter, is the promise of spending a day in the sun with good company and good music. Occasionally though, part of that promise is left unfulfilled, and as thousands of Sydneysiders woke on Saturday morning, Valentine’s Day or not, they knew things were going to be wet. Very wet. Singlets and thongs were out: ponchos, gumboots and for some, shower caps, would be the order of the day as thousands descended on Centennial Park for the first day of the Good Vibrations tour.

As you approach the gates, you see nothing but a throng of people everywhere, queuing up to enter. Logically, express lanes seem the fastest option, except they are anything but ‘express’. The bag check queues prove just as slow, except bags are rarely being checked, leaving little wonder why so many umbrellas managed to find their way inside. Having waited more than thirty minutes for one gate, there would be another hold up on the inside, as one queued up for the invaluable wristband. Surely there are quicker ways of doing this; in fact, there must be: anyone that has been to a festival would have seen it. Not a good start to a day that promised so much.

Finally, close to an hour after arriving, you are finally inside. Properly. You get your bearings, and like many, make a beeline for one of the many bars scattered across the expansive site. The shortish lines are a huge plus. Upon closer inspection though, a rude awakening awaits you: $11 for a pre-mixed can? $8.50 for a mini of beer? You look at your friends in disbelief, but reluctantly hand over your hard earned. Not really much of a choice in that kind of situation. The logistics aside, it is time to finally get your music on.

Chromeo do what they do so well, and provide an upbeat feel to an otherwise dark and dreary landscape. There is loads of energy and gusto from the lads, and despite the weather, the open main stage gets pumping. Having endured a lot of rain, you seek some temporary relief from the elements and make the trek across to the Laundry Tent for some respite. Respite from the elements perhaps, but you walk into the start of 80 minutes from Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock. Jesus. The latter, is just bloody annoying, and while the former chimes in with a remix of Where’s Your Head At? from Basement Jaxx and Hey Boys, Hey Girls from The Chemical Brothers, you realise where they are going, and it does not appear to be anywhere interesting. Not in a hurry anyway. That coupled with appallingly low sound at the back of the tent makes a decision to head off to the Roots Tent relatively straightforward. Just dodge the mud on the way through. While mobile phone coverage was terrible all day, the occasional message that did come through from friends suggested that the Roots Tent was the place to be.

You find Sampology grooving along nicely, as he would all day, throwing in Get Up from James Brown and by the time Roni Size come on, the crowd is really getting into it. As it would seemingly be for the entire day, this is the tent with the most space and a very relaxed vibe to it. With Kid Kenobi long gone, those in the Laundry Tent are quite happily picking up what Micky Slim is putting down. In what is a good festival set, without necessarily being ‘oh my lord, get your ass down here to listen to this crazy shit’, he churns out a host of crowd favourites in style, with Pjanoo from the jet-setting Eric Prydz, Breathe from Prodigy and a nice chunky version of Kids from MGMT. With better sound also pumping out of the Laundry Tent, the rain easing just a touch, things are looking up. Just.

Back at the Roots tent, Pharcyde is proceeding to tear the place apart, playing a lot of what their loyal fans had come to hear. There is a sprinkling of classics, but all in all, they belt out what many would later consider one of the sets of the festival and a totally unforgettable performance. Despite that, you make the long trek back to the main stage for festival favourites The Presets, and as you make your way over the mound between the two sections of the festival site, the absolute mass of people awaiting the locals’ arrival bodes well. Hopefully, something special. Alas, it is not to be. As a festivalgoer, you’ve had the opportunity to see the lads a few times over the last few years, both at festivals and smaller more intimate gigs: this is not their night though, and not one of their best performances, for they just seem flat. Lacking in energy, the sound is far too low (not necessarily their fault though), overall, even with golden jackets, they struggle to capture the crowd’s attention.

Some scoot back to the Laundry tent, and witness an impressive offering from the Stanton Warriors. They churn out some pretty good shit and boy oh boy is the crowd responding, absolutely lapping up every drop and beat. By the time they wrap up, the crowd is seemingly dripping in anticipation (as is the roof) at the arrival of Deadmau5. Does he proceed to deliver? Oh yes he does. As he wanders out, mouse head and all, he drops straight into his The Reward is Cheese and yep, the crowd: nuts. Whether or not you’re a fan of the outspoken Canadian, he tears the tent apart. A masterful edit of Arguru and a chunky Sometimes Things Get Complicated and the crowd is putty in his hands. Little wonder that tickets for his sideshow are selling like hot cakes.

Over at the Roots tent, Q-Tip is having just as much fun, and with just as much success, he works the room with absolute aplomb. With maximum energy and with tunes like Find A Way and ElectRIC Relaxation, the lad from Queens, New York finds himself in front of a very appreciative crowd and would ultimately leave his fans wanting more, more and more.

There is but only one thing left to do, and that is catch a glimpse of the headliner for the day, Fatboy Slim. If the crowd at the main stage during the Presets looked impressive, you cannot help but think that it must have grown considerably. Put simply, it is huge. The playful Brit is being his usual jocular and animated self: air-horns, Australian flags, it is all part of the show. The music is pumping, and while being nothing fantastic, it is solid, and typical Fatboy. Then… well… it all seems to go just a bit Pete Tong. In a big way.

Silence. Lots of it. You and your friends stop, look, and wonder whether perhaps he is being funny. Or well, attempting to be. Hands in the airs and looks of frustration from the boy from Brighton suggest otherwise. The music starts again, then just as quickly, it stops. If technical support being called to the stage doesn’t confirm it, then the DJ tossing his headphones in disgust does: there is something terribly wrong. Originally seemingly playing off a laptop, he switches to vinyl, but that doesn’t quite work either. Ripples of jeer and boos permeate through the crowd, but the Brit seems helpless (or not all that concerned), and the music switches into a some sort of “track – silence – track – silence” sequence. Even Good Vibrations from the Beach Boys or Love Is In The Air (it is Valentine’s Day after all) from John Paul Young fails to save the day. In front of some 20,000 people, regardless of whether you blame the tradesman or his tools, this was an epic fail.

As the crowd trudges off on the long journey home, with public transport just too far away, it is fair to say that even with the weather aside, Good Vibrations may be in need of just a bit of fine-tuning. While there were highlights scattered through the day, for a festival that has been running for a few years now there were also a few too many disappointments. You swear that you won’t go back next year, but deep down, know that if the lineup is right, you might put yourself in the position where you may just be very pleasantly surprised.

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