Falls Festival 09/10 - 1st Lineup Announcement

The 1st announcement for this years Falls Festival has come out a week early due to a leak and it looks to be another solid lineup for 3 day festival. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Future of the Left and Grizzly Bear were long rumoured to be appearing and have now been confirmed in the eclectic lineup that has something to please everyone. This lineup will be shared with the rest of Australia with Brisbane's Sunset Sounds Festival on the 6th and 7th January 2010 as well as Perth on January 8-10, 2010 for the Southbound Festival. The Falls Festival will be held in Lorne, Victoria as per usual and be held over the new year period from the 29th December 09- 1st January 2010. Those wanting a ticket should head to the website www.fallsfestival.com to register as they will be harder to acquire than ever before with this stellar lineup.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Moby / Hilltop Hoods / Grizzly Bear / Rodrigo y Gabriela /The Temper Trap / Xavier Rudd / Emiliana Torrini / Little Birdy / Midnight Juggernauts / Andrew Bird / Lyrics Born / Chairlift / King Kahn and The Shrines / Editors / Philadelphia Grand Jury / Kaki King / Sarah Blasko / Art vs Science / DJ Yoda / Liam Finn / Lisa Mitchell / Major Lazer Soundsystem (DJ Set) / Patrick Watson / Seasick Steve / The View / Urthboy / White Rabbits / Future Of The Left / Killaqueenz (Lorne Only) / Yves Klein Blue / The John Steel Singers

Homebake 09 - First Announcement

Australia's premier homegrown music festival is back for it's 15th year and features some of the country's best bands and as usual some unexpected acts from yesteryear. The most exciting announcement for me is 90's stoner rock legends Tumbleweed who I have seen play excellent sets at a number of festivals. Hopefully they will some more shows around Australia around the time of Homebake. Powderfinger will likely have a swag of brand new tracks to road test as well as they are currently in the studio recording their 7th studio album.

POWDERFINGER, JET, HILLTOP HOODS, ESKIMO JOE, SIA, DANIEL MERRIWEATHER, MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS, SARAH BLASKO, A special best of performance by TIM FINN, CLOSURE IN MOSCOW, TIKI TAANE (NZ), SHORT STACK, UNDERGROUND LOVERS (original line-up) PHRASE, DECODER RING, BUMBLEBEEZ, TUMBLEWEED (original line-up), EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING, ROWLAND S HOWARD (together with Mick Harvey, JP Shiloh & Lindsay Gravina), THE FUNKOARS, THE MIDDLE EAST, THE ASTON SHUFFLE, SUGAR ARMY, RECORD PRODUCER, SHOCKONE + many more still to be announced

Featuring…FOUR STAGES (Main Stage, The Big Top, The Dome & The Hopetoun Stage) THE HOMEBAKE CINEMA PAVILION (bigger and better than ever), MULTIMEDIA, INTERNATIONAL FOOD FAIR, MARKET STALLS, ROVING PERFORMERS, ARTIST SIGNING TENT (ALL PROCEEDS TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY http://www.habitat.org.au, RIDES, YOUTH & COMMUNITY INFORMATION & AWARENESS STALLS & more!

SATURDAY DECEMBER 5TH, 2009The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney City, NSW Australia ON SALE MONDAY AUGUST 17TH, 2009 9.00AM - OVER 18’s ONLY

http://www.homebake.com.au/2009/index.html#/homepage/

http://www.oztix.com.au/

* Moshtix phonecharge: Ph 1300 438 849 or web: http://www.moshtix.com.au

Splendour in the Grass 2009 - Lineup - (Updated 16.6.09)

The 2nd Announcement for Splendour in the Grass 09 has just been announced and here it is.
The complete second line-up is:
Happy Mondays (in their only Australian show)
Doves
You Am I
The Beautiful Girls
Downsyde & Drapht
Architecture In Helsinki
Kisschasy
Little Red
Bluejuice
Children Collide
Miami Horror Live
Art vs Science
Paul Dempsey
Dappled Cities
Dananananaykroyd
Holly Throsby
Bridezilla
Deya Dova

The highly anticipated Splendour in the Grass festival is returning to Belongil Fields in Byron Bay once again and have delivered another stellar lineup, especially on the local front. On the international front we have Janes Addiction reforming with their original lineup after disbanding for the second time in 2003 after their great Big Day Out shows which I witnessed on the Gold Coast. Last years hype band MGMT are coming back after visiting Australia in December last year which will get the kids dancing. Splendour whores Bloc Party return for their 3rd time adding their new album Intimacy to their already impressive swag of hits. The Flaming Lips will bring their quirky sounds to the festival for the first time.
The local talent on the bill is just as impressive with something for everyone. Kram will be playing without his Spiderbait bandmates who played some great sets at the festival in 2002 and 2004 and his debut album has plenty of festival friendly tunes. Bob Evans, Sarah Blasko, Augie March and Josh Pyke will bring some cruisy sounds to Byron Bay and Midnight Juggernauts, Hilltop Hoods and Grinspoon will pump up the festival crowd. Leader Cheetah have just released their excellent debut The Sunspot Letters and have recently played some well received support shows with Elbow, Dan Auerbach and The Temper Trap. All tickets will sold online at http://www.qjump.com.au/ and go on sale on Thursday 14th May at 9am. Here is the full line-up so far.

Bloc Party (only Oz show) / The Flaming Lips / Jane’s Addiction / MGMT (only Oz show) / Hilltop Hoods / Grinspoon / Midnight Juggernauts / The Specials / Sarah Blasko / Augie March / Josh Pyke / Friendly Fires / Little Birdy / Birds Of Tokyo / The Gutter Twins / Manchester Orchestra / Yuksek / Bob Evans / White Lies / Kram / Yves Klein Blue / Decoder Ring / Lost Valentinos / Leader Cheetah / Jack Ladder / The Middle East / Polaroid Fame / Glass Towers.

Saturday July 25th and Sunday July 26th 2009
Belongil Fields

Chill City 09 - Melbourne - Friday 10th April

Chill City was the closest Victorians could get to Bluesfest this year with most of the artists on the bill also playing the legendary event in Byron Bay. With only one stage, the organisers picked a lineup to entertain all ages which ranged from young children through to seniors, all seeming to be enjoying themselves. My wife and I arrived at 2:30 to catch the beginning of Ben Kweller. His latest album Changing Horses is a country album and sounded great live with his slide guitarist providing some authentic country fills. After opening with the an older track "Walk On Me", the upbeat set covered his whole catalogue swapping between guitar on piano with varying success after some technical issues with the mic. His smile showed it didn't dampen his spirits any, even hugging the roadie at the end of the set to show there was no hard feelings."On My Way", "Sawdust Man", "Falling" and "Sundress" were all crowd favourites and the set finished with the highlight "Penny on the Train Track".

The Easy Star All Stars are a band who have re-recorded reggae versions of whole albums including Radiohead's OK Computer, The Beatles' Sgt Peppers and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with excellent results. Opening with "Sgt Pepper" and "With a Little Help From My Friends" they played tracks from all 3 albums and got the crowd up and dancing, especially the children. The set finished with a fantastic version of Radiohead's "Karma Police". Chill City was living up to it's name and whole families were able to enjoy themselves on their deck chairs or picnic rugs with a great soundtrack.
Paul Kelly was next on stage playing an hour long set of crowd pleasers. It is no mystery why he is one of Australia's most popular singer-songwriters and most of the crowd left their chairs and blankets to get a closer look. Back up singers Vika and Linda Bull were a great addition to the band on "Love Never Runs on Time" and "Deeper Water" with Vika Bull providing the days highlight taking the lead on a chilling version of "Sweet Guy". Other classics included "Dumb Things", "Before Too Long", "To Her Door", "When I First Met Your Ma" and the newer track "God Told Me To" evoking many a sing-along amongst the diverse crowd. "How to Make Gravy" was also greeted with crowd delight and rounded out the best set I have seen Paul Kelly play yet. Next up was The Bamboos feat Betty Harris who are a great instrumental band and went down well with about half the crowd, others were just awaiting John Buter Trio's arrival to the stage.

At 8pm John Butler Trio got on stage for a 2 hour set to please the old and the new fans. I fall in the former category and haven't listened to JBT much of late but a few songs into the set was reminded why I loved them in the first place. JBT sound best in a live capacity and their ability to win a crowd is as strong as ever. Over several lineup changes, John Butler has always been an excellent live performer and songwriter and put on one hell of a show on this occasion. This was also the last time this trio would be playing together in Melbourne and John Butler's only shows for 2009. Opening with "Company Sin" the hits were paraded out early with "Pick Apart", "Betterman" and "Used to Get High" warming the crowd up for the longer tracks that were played mid set. The epic instrumental track "Ocean" showcased Butler's excellent guitar playing skills and as the song built to a dramatic climax the crowd went wild. During "Good Excuse", drummer Michael Barker broke into the best drum solo I have ever seen which went for about 10 mins and made me wonder why John Butler would let this genius leave his band. The set finished with an extended jam version of "Zebra" featuring some call and response from the crowd. For the encore, John Butler took the stage by himself with his acoustic guitar for the ode to his children "Peaches and Cream" which was favourite from Sunrise Over Sea and only was only improved when the band joined him the second half of the song. The banjo was bought out for "Better Than" and the slide guitar was also featured earlier in the set on "Treat Yo Mama". That bought an end to a great day of music and rekindled my love for one of Australia's best musicians.

V Festival Melbourne - 4th April 2009 - Review

This years V Festival line-up was not quite as impressive as 2008's but as the festival was so well run I decided to go again. This time it was with a 10 strong posse to celebrate my friend Ako's 30th. After starting the day off with several schooners at the Newmarket Tavern we got through the gate as The Do were playing their fantastic song "On My Shoulders". After grabbing some beers at the bar we headed straight for That Stage to catch the band that I and a few others were most looking forward to seeing, Elbow. The Seldom Seen Kid was one of the best albums of last year and was featured heavily in the hour and fifteen minute set. Opening track from the latest album "Starlings" opened the set with the whole band playing trumpets and it sounded fantastic. Also joining the band on stage were 2 identically dressed violinists who also played in moved in unison and added something special to the stage. "The Bones of You" and "Mirrorball" from the Mercury Award winning album followed and sounded as good if not better than the recorded versions. Singer Guy Garvey interacted with the crowd with ease as he told jokes and introduced the songs with the confidence that comes with 18 years of playing live. The title track from the bands previous album "Leaders of the Free World" upped the tempo a bit and the crowd seemed to be getting into it, even the though it was not as big as it should have been. The crowd favourite from the set would have been "Grounds for Divorce" featuring the best guitar slide riff ever and would have been the best track of the day had it not been for the set's closer "One Day Like This" which I'm still getting chills from just thinking about it. It is a mystery why this band isn't bigger than Radiohead and should have attracted the biggest crowd of the day. Even more baffling was when half of my friends left to see Vanilla Ice try to steal another 15 minutes of fame. But for those who were there to see it, it was an amazing performance and my favourite set of the day.
After Elbow finished I was free to enjoy the day without worrying too much about the timetable. Razorlight were up next on This Stage (Main Stage) and decided to catch half of their set before seeing The Kills. They sounded great and I got to see plenty of their hits including "Back to the Start", "Stumble and Fall" and "In the Morning" before heading the The Other Stage for The Kills. I only started listening to The Kills about a month ago when it was announced they would be playing V Festival and have become an instant fan. For a 2 piece they pumped out some volume and played a great set with the highlights being "U R A Fever", "Black Balloon" and the excellent "Cheap and Cheerful". It was another great set that had the crowd dancing and singing along.
Next up were Kaiser Chiefs who played a great set that had the crowd singing due to their easy to remember and repetitive choruses ("Ruby", "Na Na Na Na Naa"). At a festival after a few beers though it is exactly what you want. It was the most fun we had for the day and was surprised at how many hits they had over 3 albums. Highlights were "I Predict a Riot", "The Angry Mob", "Never Miss a Beat" and the sets closer"Oh My God". I decided to have a look at Snow Patrol but after high energy performance of Kaiser Chiefs they seemed a bit dull so we headed back for the final act The Killers. I've never been a fan of The Killers before but everyone else I went with were big fans of Hot Fuss and were excited to see them so I gave them a chance to win me over. I was glad a did because they played a good set, especially when they played anything from Hot Fuss and the crowd went ballistic. The newer material didn't receive as good a reception but they spaced out their hits for the first half of the set before they finished with a string of crowd favourites (see setlist below), "All These Things That I've Done" and "When You Were Young" were my personal highlights. Once again the V Festival has organised a great day and although the lineup didn't impress me much on paper, in the end there was great live music played all day and I will be back next year as long as there is one great band on the list like Elbow to get me there.

The Killers Setlist
Spaceman / Losing Touch / Somebody Told Me / For Reasons Unknown / This Is Your Life / Joy Ride / Human / Bling (Confession of a King) / Shadowplay / Smile Like You Mean It / A Dustland Fairytale / Sam's Town / Read My Mind / Mr. Brightside / All These Things That I've Done
Encore: Bones / Jenny Was a Friend of Mine /When You Were Young

V Festival 2009 Playing Times - Australia (Updated 27/3/09)

Melbourne / Sydney / Gold Coast
This Stage
1:45pm - 2:15pm: Howling Bells
2:45pm - 3:30pm: Louis XIV
4:00pm - 4:45pm: Jenny Lewis
5:15pm - 6:15pm: Razorlight
6:45pm - 7:45pm: Kaiser Chiefs
8:15pm - 9:45pm: The Killers

That Stage
1:15pm - 1:45pm: Villians of Wilhelm
2:15pm - 3:15pm: Duffy
3:45pm - 5:00pm: Elbow
5:30pm - 6:45pm: Madness
7:15pm - 8:30pm: Snow Patrol

The Other Stage
1:15pm - 1:40pm: Canyons
1:45pm - 2:15pm: Tame Impala
2:45pm - 3:45pm: The Do
4:15pm - 5:15pm: M83
5:45pm - 6:45pm: The Kills
7:15pm - 8:30pm: Human League

Virgin Mobile Local Stage
1:30pm - 1:50pm: Black Rose (Sydney Only)
2:15pm - 2:45pm: Garage2V State Winner
3:15pm - 3:45pm: Garage2V National Winner
4:15pm - 4:45pm: The Temper Trap
5:15pm - 5:45pm: Children Collide
6:15pm - 7:00pm: Wolf & Cub
7:30pm - 8:30pm: Jackson Jackson

Perth Timetable

This Stage
2:30pm - 3:00pm: Howling Bells
3:30pm - 4:00pm: Jenny Lewis
4:45pm - 5:30pm: Elbow
6:30pm - 7:30pm: Kaiser Chiefs
8:45pm - 10:15pm: The Killers

That Stage
2:00pm - 2:30pm: Garage2V National Winner
3:00pm - 3:30pm: Louis XIV
4:00pm - 4:45pm: Duffy
5:30pm - 6:30pm: Madness
7:30pm - 8:45pm: Snow Patrol

The Other Stage
1:45pm - 2:10pm: Canyons
2:15pm - 2:45pm: Tame Impala
3:15pm - 4:00pm: The Do
4:15pm - 5:15pm: M83
5:45pm - 6:30pm: The Kills
7:00pm - 7:45pm: Razorlight
8:15pm - 9:30pm: Human League

Virgin Mobile Stage
2:30pm - 3:00pm: Garage2V Stage Winner
3:30pm - 4:00pm: Garage2V National Winner
4:30pm - 5:00pm: The Temper Trap
5:30pm - 6:15pm: Children Collide
6:45pm - 7:30pm: Wolf & Cub
8:00pm - 9:00pm: Jackson Jackson

Due to the complaints made about clash of The Killers and The Human League, V Festival has listened to it's audience and changed The Other Stage's times to avoid it. Unfortunately, it now means Howling Bells and Tame Impala are playing at the same time but it also gives punters a chance to see Elbow and The Do who were playing at the same time before. It's a true testament to the organisers of the V Festival that they listen to the feedback of the ticket buyers and make necassary changes.
You can also now go to the V Festival website http://www.vfestival.com.au/news/playing-times-change-the-other-yellow-stage-and-ma/1022.html to view the maps for each state online.

V Festival 2009 - 2nd Announcement

The V Festival has just announced a 2nd round of acts that will be touring around Australia in March/April. The full lineup is:

The Killers / Snow Patrol / Kaiser Chiefs / Elbow / Madness / The Kills / The Do / The Human League / Duffy / M83 / Louis XIV / Tame Impala / The Temper Trap / Canyons / Jenny Lewis / Jackson Jackson / Howling Bells / Wolf & Cub / Children Collide.

Not as good as last year's lineup but given that the festival is run so well it is sure to be an excellent day all the same. I went to the Melbourne V Festival last year and was inpressed with the layout and being an Over 18 event means there are no designated drinking areas which makes a big difference. Elbow will be the band I will be looking forward to seeing the most. Their Mercury Prize winning album of last year The Seldom Seen Kid was their best to date. The dates for the Festival are below and for more details go to the official V Festival website.

http://www.vfestival.com.au

Centennial Park, Sydney, 28th Mar
AVICA Resort, Gold Coast, 29th Mar
Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne, 4th Apr
Claremont Showgrounds, Perth, 5th Apr


Here are some tracks by Artists playing at V Fest this year.

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