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Melbourne Big Day Out 2008

I'd kinda given up on Sydney BDO because of the DBF - Drunken Bogan Factor. My brother told me Melbourne was a better crowd, so I figured I'd give it another shot.

Some highlights and lowlights:

Muph and Plutonic. Don't know how I avoided seeing these guys live for so long. Great show. I reckon live drums really kick hip-hop shows up a notch.


Dizzee Rascal. Awesome showman. Killer beats. Shame the Boiler Room sound system wasn't clear enough to hear the lyrics properly. The closest thing to UK grime that we're likely to see in Australia any time soon.


Blue King Brown. These guys are great, and they've rocked every crowd I've seen them play to. I've got to go buy their album.


Battles. Easily a highlight. Mirrored is my favourite personal discovery of 2008 so far. They played even though one member had a ruptured eardrum, which I reckon is pretty hardcore. There's amazing skill involved in building up the kind of looping and layered tracks which they do, and as far as I can tell they did it all live which was awesome. It's inspiring in an era when many "live" electronic just press play and dance around their synths. I loved Race: In, a song that I didn't really appreciate till I'd heard it live.

Silverchair. I caught the last ten minutes of their set just before Bjork. A clearly wasted Daniel Johns was acting like a spoilt child, making noise and insulting the audience. The bass player looked embarrassed. The band eventually finished with a decent rendition of Freak.


Bjork. Amazing. How do you put out a job advert that says "I require ten girls who can sing beautifully and each play a brass instrument. Must be willing to dress up in orange and yellow robes with flags on their backs and dance around intensely on stage." Then how do you make this look good? She did. High-energy closer Declare Independence was inspiring, but the intro to Hyperballad was probably my highlight. I really regret not going to her Sydney Opera House gig last week.

It's also worth mentioning the Reactable on stage, which had its own screens so people could see - and hear - it in action. I talked to some guys on the train home who were sure it was "totally fake".


After Bjork I skipped Rage Against the Machine and went to see Dr Octagon. Was a pretty subdued crowd, 99% of the attendees were watching De La Rocha and Co.

I don't know if Kool Keith was ever regarded as a great live MC, but he didn't really do it for me last night. His heart didn't seem to be in it, and his raps - while awesome lyrically - seemed on autopilot. I think a newcomer could easily have thought his backing MC was the main artist, cos he carried a lot of the songs (even though I didn't rate him either.)

I still had fun though, mostly watching my companion's reaction to songs like Girl Let Me Touch You. And getting 10 seconds of halfsharkalligatorhalfman. I love that tune.

The Venue. Not really as nice as Sydney IMHO. Being able to chill out in the stadium and listen to bands while waiting for things to start is a real plus in Sydney.

Drinks Setup. This year there were designated bar areas. This was great cos it cut down on the numbers of sweaty morons elbowing you to oblivion. On the flipside, it means you can't stand and sip a beer while you watch a band. A tough call to say if this is a highlight or a lowlight.

Sound. This really is a big downer. I'm no audiophile, but a lot of the stages had bad enough sound that you couldn't hear any individual instruments, or often even the lyrics. The exception was Bjork. She must have brought her own sound tech cos the sound for her was a cut above. I guess bad sound might be the price you pay for a festival vibe.

I think next year I might spend some more dosh and go to a few sideshows instead of Big Day Out. Might save my festival experience for more laid back events like Splendour and Great Escape.