Splendour In The Grass: Part I

Thats right ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls it's time again for Javid's annual Splendour review. A bigger entourage, better accomodation an amazing lineup and NO MUD made this a pretty damn good fesitval, but please, read on. I'll try my best to be breif when I can but I'm making no guarantees because it was HUGE! So without further ado...

Given that someone left his keys in the boot of his car, and the tickets were in the car, its no surprise that we arrived a little late on the first day. Ultimately it didnt bother me too much although I would have liked to catch Operator Please as they climb the ladder of success at a rapid rate. I have heard nothing but good things said about their performance but for more detail than that you'd be better off asking someone who was there. Our entrance to the festival did however provide me with enough time to get down to the MixUp Tent and catch my first act of the weekend.

Now I've just got to say, I used to hate Muscles. I hated the voice, the lyrics, pretty much most of his act. But sometime in the week before Splendour with Triple J flogging him to death I somehow caught the bug that makes you go absolutely nuts and realise that this skinny Melbourne-based white guy is a genius. While I was expecting to see a bit more on stage than just himself and the keyboards he was using I certainly wasnt disappointed by the show he provided, and neither were the thousands of others dancing their asses off around the tent. The place was packed, moving, and you couldn't help but get caught up in the simple pleasure that this man provides. Big things ahead for this guy - you wait and see.

So that was one chance taken on an act I wasnt familiar with, someone with a distinct sound that I wasnt sure if I should embrace, and it paid off. This would happen a few times during the festival, with another shining example straight after as I made my way to the G.W. McLennan Theatre to catch WBDF darlings Tilly and the Wall. I didnt know what to expect when I walked in and I was first shocked by the relative emptiness of the standing room area. Then I looked up to see a whole drum riser with no drums on it, just one girl tapdancing. A nerdy looking guitarist who was having a blast, a keyboardist and two more women standing on top of much smaller risers but also dancing. It was weird to see all the contrasting images brought together on the one stage, one girl looked like a dancer, one girl looked like a country western star, one looked like a circus person but they were ALL hot. Im not gunna discriminate. But as well as looking the part these guys played an absolutely amazing show. Im not sure which astounds me more - the fact that these guys use tap for percussion or the fact that there arent a shitload of other acts out there who'd already thought of it. Either way it made you want to dance like Fred Astaire. With 'Bad Education' being the only song I was really familiar with I went into this set with no expectations, but these guys delivered. Amazingly.

After some lunch, seeing the sights and absorbing the dense atmosphere it was into the Supertop for the first time during the festival to catch personal favourites The Cat Empire. The tent was absolutely packed, little room to dance but we found a spot with a decent vantage point and got comfy. I've already seen the Empire a few times live and once again they didnt disappoint. They moved seemlessly between new riffs which are sure to feature on the upcoming album, already existing songs and massive jams including an epic scat vocal solo from co-frontman Harry. They closed with what would appear to be 'The Chariot', making everyone think they were leaving the stage before a four-count and straight into 'Sly', getting the whole place moving and expressing their gratitude towards a crowd that just couldnt get enough. The Empire are home again and thats where they belong.

Straight after that it was over to the MixUp tent again to see locals Blue King Brown. Very much like The Cat Empire with the amount of people on stage and the fact that they went into some epic jams, these guys were thoroughly enjoyable. Extensive amounts of percussion, backing vocalists and a full band got everyone in the place moving. Everyone in the band got a moment in the spotlight, from the timbale players ridiculously amazing solo to both backing vocalists singing songs of their own. Just like Muscles these guys are a relatively new Australian outfit about to take on the world.

As you can no doubt tell by the photo we were right up the back for the Kaiser Chiefs. Another band I wasnt really that familiar with apart from the obvious songs. But what I learnt about these guys is that they are straight rock and roll, they dont fuck around and they were absolutely stunning. Hearing songs I'd heard before and making the connection to this band was a good thing as an impeccable sound and an excited crowd came together in an hour of feelgood intensity. 'The Angry Mob' brought the house down as the crowd sang in full voice. 'Oh My God' and 'Ruby' were other highlights of the set, and in conclusion these guys are a band I certainly wont be missing at any more festivals. Recommended viewing.

And last but not least, to close the first day came Lily Allen. I was looking forward to seeing what she would do tonight in comparison to the Big Day Out show of over half a year ago. Unfortunately for me she went straight into 'LDN', then straight into the second song she played at BDO - 'Window Shopper' or whatever its called, and from there it was pretty much the same thing all over again. The sound was great and the vibe was good but to be honest she turned out to be one of the most disappointing acts of the festival. A nice cover of Blondies 'Heart of Glass' broke the mould a little bit but then, just like at BDO she played the Kaiser Chiefs 'Oh My God' and when you've already heard the men themselves play it the same evening it just doesnt have the same effect. Closing with 'Alfie' (again) was also a highlight as the man himself came out on stage in a cow (or panda) outfit (im not quite sure, blame the X). Overall though there was little to nothing different about the BDO which was saddening, but it certainly didnt bring the day or festival down at all. Actually I stand corrected, there was one thing that was different, and that was that she didnt have the whole band with her, which made it even less dynamic and exciting, but oh well i'll see how she goes in a few weeks (stay tuned).

With that, the first night was over. The slight possibility of heading to the Tipi forest was thought against upon the realisation that pretty much everyone who was still at the festival would still be there. The night had gotten very cold and there was another big day ahead of us all tomorrow. So we left the festival and thats where I leave you for now. Dont worry, you wont have to wait too long for the next installment, keep your eyes open. Until then..