Splendour in the Grass @ Belongil Fields, Byron Bay (20&21/07/02)
Splendour 2002 for the first time bought us a two day format ‘boutique’ festival, with an impressive line-up of indie/rock/alternative bands plus dance artists and dj’s across two massive tents and one outdoor area. The site itself was essentially divided into two, split by a row of trees and a dry creek, with two small (and perhaps a little too narrow) walkways connecting the zones together.
On first entering the site, we followed a long roadway through the massive camping area which housed some 3,000 festival goers for the weekend. This was an amazing sight resembling a mini city of dome tents, cars and people everywhere. This promenade through the tent city was decorated with lanterns right along its length, on both sides, which provided a great atmosphere, particularly at night.
On entering the ticket checking point we found a well set-up area for food and drink, with an impressive lounge bar area and a number of café/restaurants providing good sized marquees serving a great selection of food. Nice to see them providing table and chairs to enjoy your meals in a little bit more of a civilised manner. Venturing on from here a massive bon fire area was sure to keep people warm as the sun dropped, and market stalls a plenty provided all the usual festival goodies to spend your money on.
The crowd seemed much larger than I had expected. They said it was capped at 12,500 but it felt like more. Having said that, it was still more comfortable getting around the place than other large festivals.
First up, I’ll start with the Triple J mix-up tent, which was located further down the site from the markets, and was an impressively sized tent complete with two large visual screens behind the main stage. The screens looked great but the tent lacked a little in the lighting department. The Mix-Up tent provided some great highlights over the weekend. On the Saturday I managed to catch the tail end of 1200 Techniques, who gave a strong performance of their rap/dance/rock crossover material. These guys were really impressive – very tight with a great stage presence and plenty of interaction with the crowd. Gerling were the next live act in the tent, whipping the crowd into frenzy with their crazy antics and their now solid repertoire of dance influenced sounds. Dust Me Selecta bought the house down as did the classic Enter Space Capsule. Unfortunately I missed Katalyst and Bentley Rhythm Ace as there was too much going on over in the Supertop tent, but friends of mine who caught both of them were thoroughly impressed. We managed to duck back from the Supertop to catch Dexter, who I was really looking forward to seeing after great sets from The Avalanches at Livid and Mobile Home last year. Unfortunately he didn’t quite live up to expectation. The variety and the party beats vibe just wasn’t there, as he seemed to delve into more self indulgent hip hop territory. A shame really because the crowd just wasn’t reacting to it either, well certainly not in comparison to Avalanches DJ sets I’ve seen in the past.
The following day we had full intention of getting there early to catch Rhibosome, but alas we couldn’t quite make it on time so we arrived to the sounds of the 2 Dogs playing a fabulous set of all sorts of stuff from hip hop to funk to rock including old tracks from Prince, Queen, C & C Music Factory – it was bloody fantastic and had people dancing and grooving all over the place, both in and out of the tent. And the Dogs seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, with Katch being the most animated I have ever seen him, hyping the crowd and jumping around all over the place – nice one boys a true delight ! Next up was Paul Mac, and the Paul Mac experience. Paul arrived on stage to a huge applause with his big sunglasses and even bigger grin, and proceeded to guide us through the plodding Heat Seeking Pleasure Machine. I don’t know why, but the sound level at this point seemed way too low, which was a shame because it seemed to detract a little from the performance which in all other ways was excellent. The Paul Mac Experience included a full band and countless guest vocalists, all coming on stage for their respective tracks, travelling through most of the more commercial material from his latest album. There was however one classic that seemed to stand head and shoulders above everything else. As Paul announced ‘light that spliff now!’ the sounds of Sweetness and Light filled the tent. What a beautiful slab of timeless dance music it is, and as the song ended Paul dedicated it to ‘everyone who has ever been to raves and taken drugs’.....
Again the Supertop kept me away from the dance tent to catch Krafty Kuts, but my spy’s told me he played an awesome set of breaks and house, with plenty of familiar stuff thrown in including New Order’s Blue Monday and the recent remix of Sunglasses at Night, just as the sun dropped over the horizon – nice work indeed. By the time I made it back to the dance tent the stage was dominated by a large American man sitting on a chair rhyming and rapping to a crowd that was completely in the palm of his hand. Yes this was Blackalicious and my god they were amazing. Never have I heard a rapper with such control of his voice, who was able to create such an atmosphere and such crowd response. Amazing! oh yeah, and the other rapper wasn’t half bad either and there was some fine hip hop beats thrown in there from their DJ along with gorgeous vocals from a couple of backing singers also. A definite highlight of the festival.
Kid Kenobi followed Blackalicious, and I must admit it is the first time I have heard the man in action. He certainly didn’t disappoint either, laying down some very smooth breaks with great technique. He doesn’t keep thing’s too busy which so many breaks DJ’s seem to do, creating peaks and troughs in his set, building the tempo up and bringing it back down – a great set which had the crowd pumping and begging for more. Following the Kid was Sonic Animation, who arrived with an explosion of energy and sound. They really are a polished act these days, with the third member allowing Rupert to jump around a lot more and devote more time to lyrics. Moving through all of their well known material it was an ultra energetic show but one that started to feel a little ‘samey’ after about three or four tracks. Perhaps it’s just because I’ve seen them quite a few times before but for mine they just don’t seem to have progressed to far and it all becomes a bit boring after a while. Interestingly enough, their closing track seemed to be an ‘interpretation’ of Van Halen’s ‘Jump’, with the familiar big synth lines over a Sonic dance beat – not bad.
The Supertop tent could be found by moving through one of the small walkways to the other side of the site. It was a bit like walking through a small forest, with tall trees and ferns covering the journey. On reaching the other side we found more food stalls and markets, and the massive supertop tent, set to host the very best of the rock acts on offer for the weekend.
First up for our Supertop part of the weekend was Rocket Science, those crazy lads from Melbourne with their organ inspired sound. The crowd loved it and the lead singer seemed to love it even more with his wild gyrating antics on stage towards the end of the set. Nice work. You’ve got to love a lead singer who gets into his craft. Drag followed, the new side project from Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton. Very tight for a band that wouldn’t have played too often together, their punchy melodic guitar sound with Middleton’s superb lyrics left everyone impressed. One to keep an eye out for in the future. Next up the mighty Jebediah. A band that I find so-so when listening to on the radio, but who sure pack a punch live. A strong energetic set full of sing-a-long rockin tunes. The first band to really crank it up for the weekend and the very full Supertop loved it.
A lot of hype has been thrown about with regards to The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Three old style rockstar lads from San Fransisco with a sound that’s really nothing ground breaking but just seem to push all the right buttons in all the right places. So did they live up to the hype. You betchya ! We managed to get ourselves front and centre about 30m from the stage and they punched out 40 mins of fat driving rock’n’roll. Not an in your face noisy ruckus, but a strong melodic rock groove laiden in fat bass and driving rhythm. Fantastic – go and see them if you get the chance.
Local lads (well from Lismore anyway), Grinspoon were next up and were greeted with a huge response. Pushing through newer material like Chemical Heart and Lost Control, they also had time for the songs from the earlier two albums that launched them to superdom. Lead singer Phil was is usual strong presence on stage – another born front man for a rock band.
Another band which has been much hyped for their live shows after their last tour, Gomez also had a lot to live up to. Revered by many, I was still unsure about this band until this set. Without a doubt the highlight of the weekend for mine, Gomez was stunning. Difficult to describe, they have a very unique style, with real diversity in their music. Guitars, keyboards, bucket loads of percussion, vocals, you name it they got it and they know how to use it. They were also able to create a fabulous atmosphere, getting the crowd involved with chants of lyrics and singing of chorus’s. Totally entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable. A perfect way to end the first Splendid day.
Day Two and a later arrival meant Spiderbait were the first cab off the rank for this festival goer. This three piece have tread into more electronic territory of late but without losing the grinding guitars and thumping drum kit of Kram. Always full of energy, Spiderbait’s highlight was the house-esque Arse Huggin Pants which drew the biggest crowd reaction. Technical problems didn’t really phase them later in the set and drummer Kram closed by cheekily asking the entire crowd if they could give him the finger so he could take a photo – which they did !
For those who have seen a Machine Gun Fellatio show, they probably need no introduction. For those who haven’t, go and see them. Not only are they incredibly talented musicians with a great variety of music which is very dance influenced, they are the craziest group of nutters you will ever see on stage. From wild outfits to one of the female singers getting naked to climbing scaffolding to inappropriate but hilarious drug references to racy lyrics they are a complete entertainment package. They even tried out some new material and had the massive crowd shouting the verse to their new track, a disco funk rock number entitled ‘I’m Going Down Down Down Down Down Down Down…...to pussy town!’ With the crowd appropriately shouting (you guessed it). to pussy town, just at the right moment. Comical and good value.
Finally for us in the Supertop were The Doves. Spanned from that mecca of amazing bands Manchester, their brand of the Manc dance influenced atmospheric rock groove was nothing short of brilliant. Beautiful melodies, driving bass, sublime lyrics and subtle percussion combined to make a journey of very danceable dance/rock grooves. Long live Manchester and the superb bands it produces. If you are a lover of dance music and don’t own any music from the great Manchester bands, get out there and get some, you might be pleasantly surprised.
A quick mention also of the Circle of Consciousness, which provided all the local DJ talent in an outdoor zone which was created by a circle of teepees with surround sound and plenty of visuals at night. It seemed to be a place where many became trapped for hours on end, with everything from psy trance to acid and tribal house getting a work out. Special mention to local lad Pip who was laying down some fine house tunes on one of my visits to the Circle.
To wrap up a mega review, Splendour was fantastic. Great bands, great DJ’s, great crowd, great setting. The relaxed atmosphere all through Byron Bay the whole weekend was something to behold. From breakfast in the mornings to walking the streets to the pubs on the Friday night to the festival proper, Splendour is more than a festival, it’s a weekend of celebrating music, culture, and people the way we like to do it.
