Big Day Out 09 - Melbourne - Jan 26 2009

My Big Day Out started at 11am this year, at the Newmarket Tavern. It was meant to be a meeting place and a "couple of beers" but it turned into a 3 hour schooner marathon that left me a bit shabby. Not to mention missing a few bands i really wanted to see, especially Eddy Current Suppression Ring. But the beer was delicious on such a nice day and after dragging myself away we made our way down. The 1st band we got to see was The Ting Tings, they had already been playing a while when we got there but we got to hear a few hits from the bar including "Shut Up and Let Me Go" and set closer "That's Not My Name". Next were the Black Kids, who's debut album Partie Tramautic has been on high rotation for my wife and I and the only band we both really wanted to see. They sounded better live than I had expected, doing perfect versions of "I Wanna be Your Limosuine", "Partie Traumatic" and "Listen to your Body Tonight". We had to leave a bit early so we could see TV on the Radio, and regretted not catching their show at the Corner on the Saturday night before.

TV on the Radio played a set that covered their whole career, and a bunch of hits were played early in their set. When TVOTR belted out "Dancing Choose" it sent me running into the crowd for a better look which was then followed by "The Golden Age" and "Wolf Like Me" which all sounded amazing and the peak of the set. Finishing with "Staring at the Sun", it was a very enjoyable set but was on a bit too early for me to get excited.

The next half and hour was spent trying to work out where the boiler room was, the map provided only confused things. Eventually we found it after overhearing "Superstar" and following the sound and caught the last 2 songs by Lupe Fiasco which sounded great, especially "Day Dreaming" which was the only song I wnated to see anyway.

Next up were My Morning Jacket and they were awesome. Opening with "Evil Urges" they played an energetic set full of wicked guitar solos and thumping drums and was the highlight of the day so far. Highlights of the set included "Off the Record" and "Wordless Chorus" from the album Z and "I'm Amazed" and "Highly Suspicious" from latest album Evil Urges. I then shot over to the Essential Stage to catch the end of The Drones set, wishing they had started half an hour later. I watched Cut Copy with little interest for a few songs and then headed to the main stage for the 2 headliners, catching the last 15 mins of The Living End who sounded good.

Arctic Monkeys went straight into their fine style of geezer rock and played a very enjoyable set to warm us up for the main act of Neil Young. My highlights were great versions of "When the Sun Goes Down", "Brianstorm", "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and a great sped-up version of Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand". By the end of the Arctic Monkeys set, the anticipation for Neil Young was unbearable as we discussed what tracks he might be playing.

The chants for Neil Young (or "Youngy" as he had been drunkenly shortened to by this stage)were coming thick and fast now and we weren't left waiting long as he took to the stage not long after 8:30, much to my excitement. The hits were played early on with a kick arse version of "Hey Hey, My My" and as it's killer riff echoed through the crowd, I couldn't help notice that it was nowhere near big enough for such a legend. For the next half an hour we were treated to excellent versions of "Everybody Knows, This is Nowhere", "Cortez the Killer" and "Cinnamon Girl". But the best was yet to come as we were treated to 3 classics in a row from one of the best albums of all time, Harvest. Neil came out solo for "The Needle and the Damage Done" as chills ran down my spine and I realised I was witnessing something very special. As he warmed up his harmonica and broke into a brilliant version of "Heart of Gold", I officially crowned Youngy the King of the BDO. My favourite moment of the day then followed as he played perfect rendition of "Old Man", and by the time the banjo kicked in I was almost in tears. To close the set, the crowd went off to the often covered "Rockin' in the Free World" and the classic Beatles track "A Day in the Life". As I made my way out I got to hear Prodigy belt out their 90's anthem "Breathe" and left the festival with a smile from ear to ear.

Highlights from Past Big Day Outs

With only 2 days before the Melbourne Big Day Out comes to town, here are some of my highlights from the 8 previous Big Day Outs I have been to.

1996 - Melbourne

This was my first Big Day Out and was there to see Rage Against the Machine. The day was a scorcher and I made the rookie error of shaving my head the day before and not wearing a hat. The result was the worst sunburn I have ever had, mainly on top of my head. During the day I caught excellent sets from Regurgitator, Spiderbait, Tumbleweed and Elastica. RATM hit the stage at 5pm with the killer riff of "Know Your Enemy". I got caught up in a mad rush for the stage and had to head forward with the crowd to avoid being crushed. It was the most insane pit I have ever been in and by the end of the song I had rolled my ankle and decided to make my way back to a less hectic area so I could enjoy the set. They were faultless in their performance with Zack owning the mic and Tom Morello getting sounds out of a guitar that seemed impossible. They played tracks from their self titled debut album like "Bullet in the Head", "Wake Up" and "Bombtrack" as Evil Empire was not yet released. I do recall them playing "Vietnow" from it's distinctive guitar intro and "Bulls on Parade". They finished the set with "Killing in the Name" and "Freedom" and left nowhere for the day to go but down. Another great set was by Radio Birdman, having left Porno for Pyros after they played "Pets". I didn't have any of their albums at that stage but was urged to go by my cousin. After witnessing an average set by Rancid earlier it was great to see some good punk played like it should be, fast and loud. All in all, it was an excellent Big Day Out.

2000 - Melbourne

I missed the next few Big Day Out's after buying tickets Soundgarden's solo show in 97, 98 being cancelled and 99 featuring a nu-metal line-up that I could not get excited about. With Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails headlining, it was my favourite Melbourne Big Day Out to date. As we walked in we heard the lovely sounds of Beth Orton playing on one of the smaller stages and became an instant fan. During the day, I also enjoyed sets by Spiderbait, Magic Dirt and Something for Kate but walked off during Blink 182 who sounded awful. The last three bands on the main stage were all amazing. The Foo Fighters opened with their best song from their new album "Stacked Actors" and followed it with a string of classics including "Breakout", "I'll Stick Around", "My Hero" and highlight "Everlong".
We headed down to the front to get a good position for RHCP while we watched NIN who were amazing, especially on "Head Like a Hole", "Starfuckers, Inc" and an epic version of "Closer".
RHCP played a set featuring tracks from Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication , sadly ignoring One Hot Minute altogether but it was still one my fave Big Day Out sets ever. Starting the set with Californication opener "Around the World" they played a great set featuring a selection of their many hits with "If You Have to Ask" and "I Could Have Lied" being unexpected and excellent inclusions. The encore of "Soul to Squeeze" and "Power of Equality" was the perfect conclusion to a great festival.

2001 - Melbourne

After the tragic death of a teenager at Sydney's Big Day Out, Limp Bizkit packed up their big dacks and terrible Nu-Metal songs and went home. I was fairly indifferent about them as a headliner anyway and was more interested in seeing Queens Of The Stone Age, You Am I, Coldplay, Augie March, Placebo, The Avalanches and At the Drive-In (which I sadly missed). The day ended with an excellent sing-along set from Powderfinger who had just taken out JJJ Hottest 100 top spot for the second year in a row and German metal band Rammstein who hit the stage engulfed in flames. The higlight of the set was the amazing visuals of pyrotechnics and crazy costumes but also sounded pretty good for metal, which I don't usually listen to. Another great day of live music, the highlights of the day being Placebo's "Every You, Every Me", The Avalanches' "Frontier Psychiatrist" and Queens of the Stone Age's "Lost Art of Keeping a Secret".

2002 - Gold Coast

The Gold Coast BDO venue is my favourite festival location as the weather is always fine, it has an awesome stage layout and there is no designated drinking area, which gives you more time to get around to more bands and still have a few beers. The lineup was not the best as far as international acts but the aussie contingent more than made up for it. I had convinced a couple of friends from work to come along to their first music festival, at this time they only listened to gangster rap. BDO 2002 cured them of that for good and to this day they now attend more festivals than me, I had created a monster. The standouts of the day were all Oz artists from the up and coming John Butler Trio, Eskimo Joe and Machine Gun Fellatio to festival legends like Regurgitator, Magic Dirt, Spiderbait and Something for Kate. The JBT set was probably the best of the day, playing songs from his best album Three and featuring the best bongo solo I'd ever seen. We also get to witness a pretty raw set by The White Stripes that I enjoyed but I was alone in that verdict so we only watched about 20 mins, I was happy getting to see "Hotel Yorba", "Fell in LOve with a Girl" and "Jolene". I also got to see some of Garbage, silvercahir and New Order who were all good, got to see "Blue Monday" which was awesome. To finish the day we had the Prodigy on the main stage. They were great and finished the day on an upbeat note. "Breathe" and "Voodoo People" sounded amazing. I got to see more bands in this year than any other, 13 in all, and was my favourite BDO to date.

2003 - Gold Coast

This year was a bit of a blur, I had a bit "too much fun" before I even got there. I invited a couple friends around to have a big bacon and egg cook up so we'd have some
fuel for the day. By the time my wife had cooked up these delicious bacon and egg rolls however we had already consumed about 6 bourbon cans each. Then we went to the Parkwood Tavern to watch a boxing matach and some beers so by the time we got to the Big Day Out at about 2 (missing The Waifs) we were very loose. Watched a bit of Millencollin and then Deftones who were both good and then after 10 minutes of The Vines it was time for one of the highlights of the day, Machine Gun Fellatio. I had seen Machine Gun Fellatio at 4 fetsivals in 2002 and was a big fan by this stage, especially of their live shows. They played a great mix of tracks including "Rollercoaster", "The Girl of my Dreams", a great singlong with "Pussytown" and my fave "Unsent Letter". They also put on a great visual show which at times looks like a circus act is performing. I missed Wilco to see The Living End which I still regret having seen The Living End so many times and not catching Wilco yet. They were ok but next up were Queens of the Stone Age who were excellent and played a set full of their latest album Songs for the Deaf. Bassist Nick Oleveri decided to nude up for the occasion which is one way to keep cool on stage I guess and second vocalist Mark Lanegan's voice was giving me chills. They were my favourite act of the day with recent JJJ Hottest 100 winner "No One Knows" sending the crowd into a frenzy. I then caught a good set by You Am I over at the Green Stage before heading back to the main stages for the 2 headliners, Janes Addiction and Foo Fighters. By this stage, I was pissed as and didn't manage to go in close. Janes Addiction sounded great and was happy to hear anthems "Mountain Song", "Stop! and "Been Caught Stealing". Foo Fighters also played a good set of hits but I was happy to see them end so I could go home to bed.

2005 - Gold Coast