The threat of rain has been synonymous with Splendour in the Grass,
almost as much as its reputation for being arguably Australia’s premier
festival. The last three years have been proof enough that Splendour
doesn’t just get the best bands, but it gets the best lineups in a
holistic sense.
2006 was no different. A new stage, a few thousand more patrons and a
ticketing system that had many concerned (albeit none more than
scalpers) could have been ingredients for Splendour in the Grass to
lose the atmosphere that made it such a worthwhile pilgrimage for
punters across Australia.
But luckily for punters, SITG remains the Garden of Eden. The crowd
retained the laid-back demeanor that has made the festival so much more
than a lineup and sideshows, and their adulation of the bands
performing was both justified and reciprocated.
Ballina’s own Brittle Fex opened proceedings on the Supertop stage with
high-energy pop-punk in the vein of AFI, but the following Dungen set
proved the buzz around them to be justified and set the benchmark for
the festival very high.
Not too high for Youth Group, however. Power-pop at its brightest, the
quartet proved their live sets could be as exuberant and sparkly as
their recordings. Preceding their 2005 tour mates Death Cab For Cutie,
the tangible anticipation in the crowd was soon harnessed as the Sydney
band lived up to already high expectations. DCFC played an energetic
set unfortunately lacking key tracks from their excellent ‘Plans’
record, but still entrancing for the adoring masses.
In a year’s time, The Grates have grown in leaps and bounds as live
performers. From the huddled crowd of Splendour 2005 seeking the
much-hyped newcomers to the packed hordes enticed by their debut LP
‘Gravity Won’t Get You High’, the Grates rose to the challenge with a
shamelessly enjoyable set.
Even Alana was smiling, so you know it was good.
TV On The Radio. What more needs to be said? The New York band of the
moment delivered on the promise of the expansive ‘Return to Cookie
Mountain’ with the highlight set of the first day, storming through
single ‘Wolf Like Me’ with fierce grandeur before culminating in a
beatbox-driven ‘Ambulance’. Something For Kate refused to be the
low-point of the night, shaking off their poor live reputation with a
highlights set including ‘Always’ from Beautiful Sharks and an
exceptional cover of The Clash classic ‘Rock the Casbah’.
There must have been something in the water, because Grinspoon rose
beyond phoning in for the mosh pit with a white-hot set of their very
best, including the supposed last time ever for ‘Just Ace’ to be
trotted out on a stage. But no matter how well Grinspoon played, there
was never doubt that it was to be Sonic Youth who left people talking.
Tearing through the highlights of their latest addition ‘Rather Ripped’
with a smattering of brilliant tracks like ‘100%’ and encore
‘Schizophrenia’, Kim Gordon and Co. showed SITG why in 25 years they
have never been considered irrelevant.
The Sunday saw replacement bands The Exploders and Butterfingers fill
their timeslots admirably with strong sets, but despite the crowd’s
adulation of Butterfingers’ rhyme-rock The Zutons left no doubt as to
why they’ve been on the lips and hearts of so many lately. Definitely
one of the highlights of the day, the Zutons had the crowd in a
foam-mouthed frenzy until The Vines dispelled lingering rumours of
terrible live performances with a powerful set in which the crowd was
definitely and somewhat surprisingly on their side.
Snow Patrol seemed somewhat lackluster following these two sets of
visceral power, but it was You Am I who made the Sunday a truly
memorable event. Tim Rogers’ seemed to bathe in a quiet nostalgia that
left a tear in every eye at the end of their set, but never seeped too
deep into his rock roots. Tex Perkins’ cameo left absolutely no doubt;
You Am I are kings of Australia’s rock arenas.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs delivered a solid if not incendiary performance, which
seemed as much for the flock of photographers as the crowd. However
despite the many photo opportunities that seemed to arise from Karen
O’s antics, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase pushed their case as the most
enthusiastic players of the weekend.
Mass exodus from the front rows seemed to signal that Gerling were on
the menu before the Scissor Sisters’ main course. Of course, Gerling
kept the party rolling while entertaining those not in the club-land
mindset with a fun party set.
But if Saturday was a struggle between TV On the Radio and Sonic Youth,
Scissor Sisters left no doubt that high camp disco was the order of the
day. Splitting the set between the hits from their eponymous debut and
their forthcoming LP slated for September, no-one seemed to be too
concerned to be missing the start of Brian Wilson. That is, until the
Scissor Sisters were over. The sing-a-long outside the main stage was
well and truly joined as the walkways linking the tents began to bounce
with ‘Good Vibrations’.
That’s the secret of Splendour in the Grass. With so much quality on
show so consistently, there’s no need to be greedy. Nobody’s worried
about stage hopping because it’s all so good. As long as you’re in
Belongil for those two days, the world is your oyster. Big Day Out,
take note; the gap has closed.
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