Big Day Out 07 Review Part 3

Hot Chip - And I Was A Boy From School (Live at BDO Melbourne)

I had prepared this post yesterday and for some reason when I posted it, it was deleted for some reason. So instead of me giving my two cents and retyping it all again, ill let Javid's summary to the talking, as it is sufficiently poignant and controversial. Enjoy.

So another Big Day Out has come and gone and once again we're all filled
with that little void inside us that happens this time of year. Because
Splendour is so far away.. but before we finally put the Big Day Out 07 to
rest there are just a few things I'd like to say:

1. To me, one of the most important factors a band needs to consider before
deciding to play a festival like the Big Day Out is if their sound is up to
it. You need an engineer who knows what he's doing and you need to know what
you want out of the sound otherwise, while it might sound good through your
foldbacks, The crowd cant hear shit. while many bands displayed exemplary
sound quality, some were shite. work out if you're a festival band. if
you're not, don't play festivals.

2. I've been going to the big day out for a while now and theres a few things
im used to. one of them is Australian flags (with the Sydney BDO
traditionally being on Australia Day, although not always) and the other
thing is the good nature of people at music festivals. this year it was NOT
on Australia day, for whatever reason you choose to believe. But STILL, the
place was absolutely packed with Australian flags - more than usual! Why?
It's not Australia day, its not really THAT hot to walk around with nothing
but a flag for a cape all day. The simple answer is because people are
incredibly fucking stupid. The media, the people who are supposed to help
promote the event, went in every single fucking direction with it and hence
the patriotic dickheads thought they'd take their flags a day early. Because
the press told them not to. Honestly, they interviewed Pauline Hanson for
fucks sake. Notably controversial and god knows certainly no longer an
important figure in this country with her 'you don't like this place ill
drive you to the airport myself' mentality. Why would you show that? Who
gives a fuck what she thinks about the Big Day Out ? So many out of context
interview snippets made so many dumb impressionable fucks bring their flags
and a stupid bogan mentality that has made this the WORST Big Day Out crowd
I have ever been a part of. particular highlights include friends being
phsyically thrown across the place, and watching these bogans tackle people
for no fucking reason, and into bins etc. It is because of these people that
I have developed a strong level of contempt for our flag and anyone that
chooses to wear it. You talk about how proud you are of this nation yet you
brandish our biggest symbol of ownership to another country that really
doesnt give a fuck about our dying land? (but thats another story
altogether)
So to the bogans, I salute you - with a middle finger. And to anyone who
wore an Australian flag - WHY? That is my question. If you can honestly and
succinctly explain to me WHY you wore a flag when it wasn't Australia day
then maybe ill be satisfied. Because this BDO showed just how stupid people
are, and it could be the start of an unfortunate decline for Australia's much
loved festival. iIwould also like to give a big FUCK YOU to the following
people for making this happen:
- every single person who brought a flag because they were told not to
- Th Daily Telegraph
- A Current Affair
- Today Tonight
- commercial networks 7 and 9
- any other program with no credibility that made this as unneccesarily
massive as it was
- Pauline Hanson and all other ill-informed politicians grasping for
attention
- the people of Sydney (this problem was nowhere else)
and for once I would like to COMMEND the work of security forces and police
(and thats not something i do often). If you were there to have a good time,
they were no trouble. They had a hard job to do and did it well - and for
once it wasn't about people bringing drugs in, it was about making sure
nothing got out of hand which i don't doubt was a massive task.

The BDO - still one of the best, but for how much longer? While the bands
were absolutely amazing, the crowd brought the whole day down many notches
with the mentality and maturity of an 8 year old with ADHD. Fuck our flag. -Javid

(all views represented solely by javid van der piepers as opposed to the
wbdf crew. if this angers you or makes you feel like you've got a smartass
paragraph thatll make you feel imporant till i reply and cut you down,
please address to myself and not my associates).