Of all the events on the Australian summer festival line up Big Day Out is the most cavernous, the most well-attended and the hottest. A live music rite-of-passage, and a gig that attracts a crowd as diverse as it is sweat-covered: overenthusiastic moshers, aggressive drunks, twinked out stranger-huggers, and sartorially-coordinated groups of fairies, people painted in green, stilt-walkers, and (possibly not) surgeons wearing O.R. scrubs. This diversity of crowd generally derives from diversity of tunes, and this summer’s line up is shaping up to be no different. The first announcement of acts for Big Day Out 2011 has finally been unveiled to reveal a typically random collection of artists and bands. It’s a bill that has me torn: I’m stoked about some of the acts and simultaneously not massively jonesing on the lineup on the whole – for various reasons which I will detail below.
HIGH FIVES
I wouldn’t miss the catch to catch Primal Scream perform their seminal 1991 acid house opus Screamadelica, the winner of the inaugural Mercury Music Prize. It’s one of the best albums of the decade and has stood the test of time so impressively it blows the mind. The last time they played Big Day Out was in 1995 and their live shows continue to be phenomenal – as you can witness in this footage at Fuji Rock, 2008.
Other high fives include the first ever Australian tour for South African rap duo Die Antwoord who’ve been one of the year’s most hyped live acts; and the always reliable Nick Cave and his brilliant band Grinderman, The Black Keys and Ratatat, who’ve all dropped some great new tunes in 2010. The welcome return of PNAU to the Boiler Room after their phenomenal 2008 show will keep local dance fans happy too.
And a life lived without seeing Iggy Pop fling his sinewy shirtless body into a sea of frothing fans is a life half-lived.
REPEAT OFFENDERS
I’m going to say what we’ve all been thinking: 80 per cent of the acts on the bill have been in rotation for the past two or three years which kills the excitement. And not just the big international acts like Tool (who played 2007 BDO), LCD Soundsystem (BDO 2008, Splendour 2010), and M.I.A. (Parklife 2007); but we’re also seeing the same Australian acts rotated through every goddam festival. It’s a shame really that an entire community of the great local acts out there aren’t getting the support they deserve from festival coordinators: Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Seabellies, The Jezabels, Bleeding Knees Club, Slug Guts, Love Connection, Step Panther…
RUMOUR RELIEF VS RUMOUR RESENTMENT
Big Day Out’s marketing ploy of dropping vague hints and casual band innuendo through their social media channels was a fabulous way to get everyone talking: the rumour mill overflowed with speculation, bets, mud-slinging and the anonymous bravado of online discussion forum participants. Fans of industrial-metal will be stoked that the rumoured riff-heavy duo of Tool and Rammstein was legit (although personally I’m kind of afraid of Rammstein).
There was also heavy talk surrounding Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer and Blink 182 as hot contenders for the LA band tipped for another headline spot. Now I feel kind of jibbed that Weezer didn’t get announced (yet) as I had subconsciously convinced myself they’d be there based on the entirely unsubstantiated guess work by bloggers and commenters. And then there is the FALSE CONFIRMATION that Blink 182 would play…
DAMN DANNY CLAYTON AND HIS RIGHT-ANGLES HAIRSTYLE
Danny Clayton built up the hopes of all 90s punk-rock fans by “leaking” the story that Blink were confirmed to play in a series of tweets. Black listed.
WHAT IF YOU JUST DON’T LIKE METAL OR ROCK?
Uh oh.
WHAT HAVE THEY DONE LATELY?
Andrew W.K., Deftones and CSS are all capable of fantastic live performances but none have put out new material in the last 12 months, so there may not be a whole lot to their live shows we haven’t already seen. [CORRECTION: Deftones released new album ‘Diamond Eyes’ in May of this year. Apologies.]
L.I.E. SOUNDSYSTEM
Yes James Murphy is the Elvis of neo-disco. And yes there’s no debating the fact LCD Soundsystem are a great live band. But what the hell happened to the “Farewell World Tour” that their recent Australian visit was all about? Don’t threaten to take away the keytar and then make us feel lied to.
And seriously fucks sake, they’ve been here twice in the last three years! Send over someone new. Go random. Hell, go shit! – I’ll take Alien Ant Farm or Wheatus. Bring Xzibit back? Bring Eminem over. Blur. Prince. Bruce Springsteen. Yothu Yindu. DAVID BOWIE? Just give us a more rare experience to get us really, really excited again.
THE VERDICT?
Touted as both their “biggest and most diverse” line up ever I can’t help but be curious to see what they’ve got in store for the second announcement, because the first announcement doesn’t quite hit the mark. But so long as there’s partially-dressed girls streaked with fake tan and middle-aged BDO diehards drinking bourbon, I’ll be there. If there’s an infinite number of hideous tattoos, shirtless drunks and excessive displays of Aussie pride, I’ll be there. If the booze is plentiful and the weather is biblical, I’ll be there…
Big Day Out dates:
Sunday January 23 – Parklands, Gold Coast (on sale October 7)
Wednesday January 26 – Sydney Showgrounds (on sale October 6)
Sunday January 30 – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne (on sale October 8)
Friday February 4 – Adelaide Showground (on sale October 8)
Sunday February 6 – Claremont Showground, Perth (on sale October 8)
[DISCLAIMER: the following is based solely on the opinion of one person and does not reflect the viewpoint of the publication at large.]
