Parklife hit both Melbourne and Sydney over the weekend, with Sydney-siders suffering a similar fate as last week’s Brisbane Parklife-goers as the heavens unleashed intermittent downpours while the Melbourne crowds were treated to gorgeous spring afternoon. I was in Sydney of course. Fortunately, due to the foresight and preparation of my accompanying festival buddies I was well equipped with requisite waterproofing: disposable poncho, mud-impervious footwear and, for extra safety, plastic bags tied around feet. Needless to say, the approach was low-glamour and low-maintenance – which appeared to be the consensus approach to styling by most attendees: Swimsuits were popular. Shirts were optional. One person had an umbrella – surely contraband? The poncho sales people had another bumper day, and so did the sniffer dogs.
SOME HIGHS
• Darwin Deez and his band executed some great synchronised dance moves throughout the (very quiet) set, reminiscent of the Spike Jonze-led B Boy posse in the “Praise You” video.
• Dayve Hawk brought his upbeat electronic pop project Memory Tapes (interview here) to Parklife as a two-piece and filled the slightly isolated tent The Cave with lush, melodic indie-pop vibes and had the decent afternoon crowd dancing and smiling. A large shirtless bro wearing fluoro zinc was overheard yelling “fuck mate that was awesome! What are they called?!” New Memory Tapes fans made instantly.
• After Memory Tapes finished the crowd poured out (presumably to catch a glimpse of Uffie and her post-natal curves) but those who stuck around were fortunate to lock in some excellent dance time with Classixx (interview here) who played their seamless amalgam of classic disco tracks, electro/house chart tunes and dance floor favourites – all while looking very handsome.
• I’m one of those who most prefer the Silent Alarm incarnation of Bloc Party and so admittedly haven’t listened to a lot of Kele Okereke’s solo stuff (which I think is kind of electro-shite). My opinion of his music hasn’t changed, but when he took his shirt off after much crowd encouragement everyone was pretty impressed. “He’s adorable” I overheard someone say. (Me.)
• Delorean. Hands down the revelation of the day. What they lacked in performance they made up for in sheer stunning synth-pop euphoria and fantastic post-punk indie hooks.
• Beastie Boys turntablist Mix Master Mike dropped the Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine, Marilyn Manson, Kylie Minogue, Nas, AC/DC, The Prodigy and Pantera in a 30 second mix within his 45 minute set. Shiiiiit.
• Unfortunately for Cut Copy the sound on the Kakadu stage was seriously poor (and had been all day), but by god they tried to get the most out of a shitty AV situation and treated the crowd to three new tracks including “Where I’m Going” and stand out “Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution”.
• Groove Armada and their superb live band played a mix of new tunes and classics in front of a huge crowd. Their new female vocalist SaintSaviour was particularly amazing. I’ve seen some great lady performers: Karen O, Alison Goldfrapp, Sharon Jones, and this contemporary dance pixie was up there.
A FEW LOWS:
• As I’ve mentioned the sound was a real issue at the Kakadu stage which played host to some popular acts on the line up including The Wombats, Kele, Cut Copy and The Dandy Warhols. I felt sorry for the bands and the audience there to see them. When you can stand in the second row and chat at an indoor volume to your neighbour mid-track that really is a problem.
• An incredibly high but supremely well-mannered gent told me and my pals we’d really missed out on seeing The Glitch Mob who he listed as his day’s highlight, and I later heard from several other (sober) people they played a great show.
• Missy Eliot. Look there’s no question that the lady is an insane producer and writes a phenomenal rhyme but she’s not a live performer. Once again she was all filler and spent the set hyping the crowd without actually performing many tunes. Boo.
On the whole, 2010 provided the most organised Parklife I’ve attended – spacious (possibly because the tickets undersold but still), nary a hiccup with the playing schedule (bravo!), portaloos were numerous and well dispersed, booze was plentiful, attendees were scantily clothed, tunes were well played, artists were varied and we survived the deluge. Til next year…
