Fri 9 Jan – ATP Australia 2009: Mt Buller
Garrett, Gary, Mikk, Morgan and I dragged our half-conscious asses down to the bus depot at Southern Cross on Friday morning and boarded the bus that took us to Mansfield, and then another one to Mt Buller, and then another one to Merrijig Ski Club.
We put down our bags, fought over the beds, and then hurried out to the Bourke St stage to see
Dead Meadow. It was definitely a good start to the whole weekend. What else could we have started it with other than psychedelic shoegaze music? I found myself grooving to the music, and if I hadn't been sitting down, I probably would've been moving to it.
After Dead Meadow, we decided to head down to ABOM for some $23 pizzas. Ridiculous? Very. They weren't even that big! Or that yummy! The top just kept sliding off the bottom crust. Ripoffs. Hotdogs there cost about $7 too. Ah well.
So after a more or less hearty but pricey meal, we headed down to the Amphitheatre stage to see
Beaches. I hadn't heard much of their stuff then, so I didn't really have much of a clue what I was about to witness. In my opinion, they just didn't match up to the other bands I saw for the rest of the weekend. They were alright, but the music just didn't sit well with me much.
After Beaches, we decided to head back to the lodge to take a rest before the big night. The mystery act was up next and after messaging Gary to find out who it was, we decided to head up to the Bourke St stage.
Grinderman dominated the stage and held fast to everyone's attention.
Nick Cave couldn't be found still for even a second as the wonky tunes pounded from the massive speakers. Cameras were flashing, with everyone trying to capture the energy the band was exuding.
Experimental noise band
Fuck Buttons was up next. Fuck Buttons is 2 guys standing on opposite ends of huge table cluttered with wires and laptops and who-knows-what. As Benjamin Power screamed into a toy microphone and distorted his voice, Andrew Hung tweaked the noise levels, sending odd sounds through to the crowd. Pretty much everyone was nodding to the bass beats that were barely audible through the noise. Shrieks and tribal-sounding drums only added to the band's unique sound. They sure fuck with your mind.
After calming down from the Fuck Buttons set, it was time for some
Dirty Three. One of the more popular members of the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis played the violin till it weeped. The emotions that swept over the mountain was intense. Just watching Ellis was emotional in itself. The way he moved with the music, it reminded me of an eccentric musician from the romantic period, so immersed in his own music and thoughts that nothing else mattered. His appearance didn't help either, with a straggly beard and long unkempt hair. However, when Ellis spoke to introduce the next song, the crowd would be sprinkled with chuckles and laughter at the man's silly jokes.
The last act of the night was
The Saints. Having not grown up in Australia, I didn't really know who they were except that they were the ones who started the whole punk movement in Australia. The crowd there to see them were definitely pumped for the reunion of the band. It was unfortunately, getting very chilly (it apparently went down to about 1 degrees Celsius that night), and to get myself warm, I tried to get myself into the music and move to the beat. I found the band alright, but not enough to keep me entertained, especially with the cold threatening to bite my ears off. So after a couple of songs, we decided to head back to the lodge.
Saturday started off with table tennis, foosball and pool in the lodge's Games Room. Because the boys were being a bit lazy in the afternoon, I decided to head down to the Amphitheatre stage on my own to see
Hunter Dienna. The music was rather dark and mysterious, and vaguely reminded me of local band,
A State of Flux.
The next band that got everyone out of the lodge was
Afrirampo. And man, am I glad we went to see them. 2 Japanese girls in red tops and shorts with a red feather boa, drums and guitar, screams (pretty on pitch, mind you), just going absolutely nuts! When they first got on stage, they were doing the letters "A T P" with their arms, and then after a minute or two, started saying "Afrirampo. Top of mountain. POWER!!" You know how crazy the Japanese can get. One of the girls even went backstage to get out a Nick Cave mask and yelled out to the crowd "Can you see my moustache?!" How awesome is that! Coupled with their broken English, the music these girls produced was tops. Definitely the most entertaining set I saw while I was up on that mountain.
We were so mesmerized by the craziness of Afrirampo that we decided to stay till the end of their set, and then hurry down for
Michael Gira. It was a very distinct change of atmosphere, from wild music to strong controlled vocals. Gira belted out his songs, and along with the powerful lyrics, managed to silence the crowd. Although he was a bit bothered with the flies, exclaiming once "Is Australia's main export flies?!" in distress, it didn't hinder his intoxicating performance.
Harmonia took the stage after Gira. The electronica music somehow managed to fit with the backdrop of mountains so well. It was man-made complementing nature at its prime. The whole scene sent me into a bit of a trance, as it did with quite a lot of others I suspect. Although there wasn't much to watch of the band, the whole atmosphere was amazing.
I nipped back to the lodge to grab some extra clothes to ward off the impending cold and hurried over to ABOM to see
Dead Meadow. Again. They were so much better this time, after having been exposed to their sound a little more. And this time, I was on my feet, and just letting the music move me. There wasn't a single soul in the crowd who was standing completely still, at least I doubt so.
After Dead Meadow, I grabbed some dinner and we headed back to the lodge, before coming out again for
Psarandonis. The Cretean (he's from Crete) is a master of the lyra, expertly manipulating it to deliver gypsy-like traditional music that was filled with passion and dynamics. There was a number of people dancing around before the stage, thoroughly enjoying the songs.
Unfortunately, I had to leave early to catch
Spiritualized, the main band I'd come to ATP to see. We stood up on near the top of the mountain for awhile, looking down on the stage from afar. But Mikk dragged me down to the front where it got so so much better. The flashing strobe lights only helped stir up the energy of the crowd more. The heavenly voices of the backup singers added a whole new touch to the psychedelic sound of the rest of the band.
Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space has got to be one of my favourite songs of theirs, and when the first line was said, I couldn't help but scream in excitement. It wasn't as good as it sounded on record, but it was good enough.
Come Together was probably the best song they did.
And then it was time for
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. I was up near the front, and you could just feel the anticipation everyone had during the half hour between Spiritualized and The Bad Seeds. Everyone was bubbling with excitement, some obviously drunk or on weed. You could just feel how everyone in the crowd connected as a whole, all here for the same purpose, for this one band. I'm not an enormous fan of The Bad Seeds, only having listened to 2 or 3 albums thoroughly before the festival. Regardless, I still found myself dancing the night away and utterly enjoying myself, as I'm sure everyone else was as well.
It was really sad to have to bid farewell to the entire festival. But, it had to be done. Walking back to the lodge, knowing there were no bands left to see, was very depressing. And then on the bus trip down the mountain to Mansfield, I felt even more disheartened.
This last weekend was probably the best weekend in my life.
Fantastic music, good company, awesome place, great atmosphere. What else could I ask for?!
Afrirampo
