BDO 06 : The first installment

I dont know what the rest of Australia do for Australia Day, because in Sydney, the 26th of January means its time for the southern hemispheres greatest travelling festival, the Big Day Out to roll into town. The day is all a bit of a fast moving haze; the train ride, the march from the station, the crush to push through the bag check and the eventual foetus out of the womb moment of stepping into the main arena, being met with an orgy of heads, sweat and sound seems to occur instantaneously. There was a slight cloud cover in the morning but we knew that it was going to be hot, sunny and sweaty. Welcome to the Big Day Out 06, Sydney style.

My experience kicked off in the electronic music enclave of the Boiler Room with a small sampling of ultra-hip electro outfit The Presets. Forget End Of Fashion, forget Wolfmother and those other pretenders on the scene, these guys are the hottest act in Australia at the moment and prove why Australian electronic music at the moment is kicking some serious ass. At times they almost channel New Order, but that isnt a bad thing at all.

After a small trek back to the main arena of the Sydney Showground i was greeted by Magic dirt, who again prove why they are the most pointless band in the country. Uninspired, tired and far too safe, Adilita needs a paper bag for her head, and a mute button for her voice. To the delight of the throng of black shirted metal brigade, Mudvayne followed soon after, delivering a tight and proficient set void of any real highlights or great variety sonically. Maybe im just not a huge fan of this sort of music but if you dig it, they played a mighty solid set.

Then followed one of the most profound musical moments i have experienced. I saw The Go! Team play live. For the mass of people who hit the Essential Stage to see them, they were served a set full of colour, energy, dancing and a plethora of cool samples and odd instruments, including the exquisite banjo section in 'Everybody's a V.I.P to someone'. I danced, i wanted to cry tears of joy, i waved my arms in the air and i clapped my hands on command. Two drummers, a hyperactive lead singer and a guitarist who by the end of the set had played at least 6 or 7 different instruments flooded the senses. This is what music is all about. I couldnt stop smiling and neither could anyone else present. I doubt that show will be matched any time soon for me. Go Team!

I reluctantly shuffled off after that set and saw dabblings of both the Living End and Kings Of Leon, who both turned on solid performances, the former revelling in the flood of patriotism present in the crowd with a set full of great aussie rock. However, much of their music is beginning to get tired and samey, but fingers crossed the new album isnt so. I wish i had seem more of both acts, however Elfonzo didnt miss a note so he will fill you in on the goss there.

My trek continued back to the boiler room, where LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy was finishing off what seemed to be a great set with danceable beats at times on the harder side of the electro scale. But i wasnt there to see him spin some tunes, i was there to see Sri Lanka via London sensation M.I.A. The seemingly virgin crowd were treated to Maya's clever and poigniant rhymes, intriguing dance moves and Diplo's willing and able DJing mixing grimey hip hop, dancehall and tribal rhythms. The beats were hawwt, the energy oozed out of the stacks and the crowd was grooving. M.I.A. came to the boiler room and kicked some major ass. Not even some technical problems with the video screens could sour this performance as the beats broke, the melodies glitched and her voice hit all the right syllables.

Moving on from the fresh to the old school, it was time for James Osterberg aka Iggy Pop to grace the stage with the band that created punk rock: the Stooges. They may be old, but they know how to put on a great rock show. To the tune of classics such as 'I wanna be your dog', Iggy humped the stacks, pushed a cameraman out of his way, was physically embraced by members of the crowd and invited punters on stage, who replied by storming over the barricades and security guards and rocking out side by side with the godfather of punk himself. That was pretty punk rock in my book, pretenders get out your notepads and put away the eyeliner. Iggy had imense stage presence, his snarl as vicious as ever and the rhythm section dirty and slick all at the same time.

The Mars Volta was next on the list and since i first saw them play live in 04, they have become tighter, somehow found a better map to go by in their improvisation and have discovered the art of melody. It was an intense, passionate, almost overwhelming, cohesive and near watertight performance that surprised and impressed me. They are a sublimely talented group of musicians who are musicians in every sense of the word. Their older material has evolved in the live medium and sits nicely alongside their more recent work from 'Frances the mute'. This band are pretty important, as long as their songwriting stays strong they may continue to fly the prog-rock flag for a long time to come and even eventually (gasp!) surpass ATDI as the more accepted and acclaimed Omar/Cedric project.

Then next door aussie band Cog, who have been the subject of great praise as of late hit the stage to what seemed to be a rabid and loyal crowd. Their sound is hard to pin down, with some moments that unfortunately screamed Nu-Metal, and some that border on art-rock. They didnt hit all the right buttons for me, but they sound much better live than their recordings. To end the evening, Trans-Tasman titans Shihad hit the stage and boy did they disappoint. Their lack of variety is their weak point with predictable songs and lazy songwriting, however their energy is infectious but that wasnt enough to win me over in the end. Come on, i saw The Go! Team that day, what hope did they have of leaving a mark on me?

Overall musically, the day wasnt as good as the previous years BDO, however the more lesser lights seemed to shine the brightest this year and at times made some of the bigger bands look inept and bland. Independent music, the unconventional and a dinosaur band delivered the goods. And once again, the punters were the winners. Long live the BDO.

Coming up next, Elfonzo's view and the Fun Boys take the BDO by storm!!!