24/01/04 @ Olympic Park
Big Day Out 2004
Skulker. Yeah, whatever. While the ladies were checking out Skulker, I was wandering around, trying to figure out how to get into the sealed off mosh pit area. And the security peeps are full of shit.
Then sis wanted to check the Baggsmen. I swear, I have seen them do good shows before. (Back when they were still called the Hive. Ar, back in the day?) But today, they were rather lacklustre. "Who wants reggae?" No!!! Do drum'n bass like you used to! Drum'n bass! "Alright! Reggae!" Ar, fuck this. And fuck their new singers too. Well, at least it went by quick.
And on to the first highlight of the day. Friendly, in DJ + MC configuration. Unexpectedly wicked business. (And ain't that the best kind of wicked business?) I wasn't a huge fan of his new tune "sneaker sex", but now it sounds like the funkiest dance tune. Played Underworld, Groove Armada, Cypress Hill... everything but Freeland!
We then got some ice, some cordial and some water bottles, and we did some pretty weird shit to them, which I went on to regret for half the day. just thought you ought to know.
Gerling. Geez, again? No, just a brief glimpse of them, really.
Audio Bullys. Another DJ + MC duo. I thought they'd be fully live. But this was good. Yeah, mark this down on the scoreboard as another highlight of the day. Not tunes I'd recognise. But nice fun.
Pnau was being annoying. I had this fantastic memory of their awesome Homebake show. And I guess I left quickly because I didn't want to ruin the memory of that gig. Or maybe I really was hungry.
Eating "lunch" to Something For Kate at the main stage. I never liked the sound at the main stage. It never have felt right to me. But there was something very right about Something For Kate playing in the rain. It suits their songs.
Peaches. Dear oh dear. My sister's bouncing with excitement. I'm not so sure. Sister's friend is definitely sure she doesn't want to see this. A perverted pornographic singalong with costume changes, cheeky props, dancers. Some swearing, some stripping, some licking (armpits), some swallowing (microphones). It's that kind of a show. Nuts. Makes Spod look so tame.
Failing to figure out the barricade puzzle, I was relegated to the general, losers' area at the main stage for Muse. Damn security bastards lied to me about where to line up to get into the mosh pit. They're full of shit. So, just behind the second barricade, the sound actually does feel right down here, but far too loud. A few around me, I begin to notice, have ear plugs. Reckon I better get me some of those quick smart. Yeah, the volume levels were a bit too much for my old ears. So halfway through, I skipped back...
And caught half of Sonic Animation. Yeah, you all knew I wouldn't miss them for anything, not even for over the top melodramatic pommy rock. Which I also love.
But catching half a show just doesn't do it for me. Didn't feel right.
By now, the ladies have had enough (of me) for the day.
Because Friendly played Underworld, to me, he's automatically cool. Inversely, because David Holmes played Beyonce, he's automatically uncool. In my eyes, it's hard for any dj set to recover from that.
So I went and caught some Aesop Rock & Mr. Lif. What? I don't know. What am I doing here?
So, David Holmes gets another chance. There's some good stuff in there. But I sat through most of it.
And on to the best show of the day. Aphex Twin & Luck Vibert. Two heads bobbing behind two Apple Powerbooks. Set starts off with some totally fucked up beats and basslines that no one can figure out. I loved it. The set then settles down to some unexpectedly normal beats. I mean, it was still good enough to weird out a few people on the dancefloor. But I was hoping it'd be more difficult, weird, fucked up shit. I think I'll blame this section of the show on Luke Vibert, this is more Ninja Tunes than Warp material. I don't know whether it was meant to be all original material, but I could have sworn I heard traces of Air's "Kelly Watch the Stars" (silly), Kraftwerk's "Titanium" (wicked!), and Krust's "Kloakin Device" (phoaw! Rinse out selekta!) All in a totally fucked fashion, of course. By the time they got to the Krust tune, things were getting rough and nasty. Hard drum'n bass, verging onto drill'n bass/industrial territory. Yeah, this is what I came for. Freaking out the dancefloor to the point that gaps were growing in the crowds quite noticeably. Wicked, insane shit to spook out the Felix da Housecat fans.
And by then, I was too wasted. I never cared much for Bassment Jaxx anyway. And Felix da Housecat was doing some annoying 80's sounds. Think I'll call it a day. I really need some ear plugs next time. Getting too fucking old for this music festival caper.