So the Big Day Out festival has past yet again, not to worry though, as I partied like it was 1999 and made sure that this BDO was the most memorable ever. Why and How you ask, easy just obtain yourself a lovely laminate courtesy of Recovery magazine via winning a grouling competition labeled “Lindsay Stole My Suncream”, which encompassed me hanging backstage with the lovely lads from Frenzal Rhomb. Unfortunately the Frenzal boys had to pull out of the tour, now I was left with this wonderful pass and all I had to do was enjoy the soiree absorbing all the features of such a magnificent day.
The day began with me bouncing off the walls trying to contain my excitement, this was good considering it was going to be hot and I mean really hot like 40-degrees, which is just pure insanity. We arrived and there was already masses of people. When the gates did eventually open I had one thing on my mind and that was of course Gerling. The boys were the first band to grace the main stage and boy did they do it justice! They are just so cute, bursting with energy; you just can’t help but be infected by their happiness.
Shihad were the next band to grab me, which was my incentive to find backstage, fast. I know this seems like a silly statement “find backstage”, but its very confusing to a new comer. Once backstage was discovered, a decisive beeline was made for the stage and the effervescent viewing platform. Now Shihad know how to get the crowds attention. From the opener Interconnector nothing slowed them down we heard favourites from Thin White Line to La La Land, a personal favourite for me.
Now it was time to wait, wait for Blink 182, and this anticipation was well worth it. On the path to see this great band I encountered a little trouble from the bassist Mark Hoppus (well not really trouble as such, he almost knocked me for a six whilst trying to escape a water fight which left me a little flabbergasted). When the boys took to the stage the tomfoolery still hadn’t stopped. With an opening line like “we’re here to liberate your gentiles” whose attention wouldn’t you have? They started with a little ditty referring to their love for oral sex and then continued to belt out tunes like All The Small Things, Carousel, M & M’s. Their set was full of energy with constant mischievous adventures. Taylor Hawkins aka the Foo Fighters was in on it, trying desperately to remove pants from first Travis, then Mark and finally Tom (fortunately for the boys, they wear belts).
Grinspoon were now the lads to see. Starting the experience with American Party Bomb and Ready 1 you knew this would be good, and it was. Pat and Phil discussed what the fences were for (referring to the drinking sections) once they resolved there purpose Phil announced the mosh pit to be the illegal drinking area and made sure that the crowd was well nourished, with beer. As they chanted water he chanted beer and then he would either throw one out for them or consume some just to spit it back out, fantastic. The most dazzling part of the set for me was bassist Joe Hansen. I was utterly mesmerized by his playing style and his ability to practically do the splits while still playing, not to mention the fact he truly rocked out during my favourite, SignPost.
By now you can probably tell that I didn’t venture far from the main stage. Ultimately why would you when all you needed to do was climb down one set of stairs, in order to climb up another on the other side of the stage. Being precisely what I did after Grinspoon, as it was local hero’s Jebediah gracing the stage next. Now I am a relatively huge fan of Jebediah, so consider an uncontainable 21-year-old on the side of the stage (interesting). I thought that they were brilliant, couldn’t fault them. In fact they gained my absolute respect as they played at possibly the worst time. When they took to the stage it was saturated in sunlight, 40-degree sunlight no less, but it didn’t stop them. We heard all the favourites, even an interesting, crowd participating rendition of Jebediah’s take on Nookie aka limp bizkit.
Now for what was really going to be a life altering experience, The Foo Fighters. With their giant red and yellow FF backdrop, which adorned the back of the stage you just knew that they weren’t leaving till the fat lady sang. Stacked Actors cranked in with Dave Grohl stretched out in full rock style utilising all of the stage ridding himself of his rock angst. Learn to Fly was well greeted as was EverLong but the highlight was definitely Alone + Easy Target where Grohl thought it best to grace the alternate stage. Showing some of his well-mastered rock moves to the other side of the audience to eventually return via the pit. I couldn’t tell whether it was the Foo Fighters that were claiming the Big Day Out or whether it was the Big Day out that had claimed the Foo Fighters.
Directly over to Nine Inch Nails for what seemed the most surreal experience of the day. They covered what seemed to be a tremendous amount of older material whilst still drawing heavily from their new album, The Fragile. The first track was Head Like a Hole followed by Terrible Lie, set the pace for the show to come. NIN incorporated the new material with the old successfully. The Void being the highlight of the set.
Now the choice needed to be made Red Hot Chili Peppers or Chemical Brothers. Fortunately I’ve seen Chemical Brothers before so I decided to watch RHCP then move onto Chemical Brothers afterwards. The rewarding part of watching the RHCP was their obvious respect for each other, they make you want what they’ve got. The set started with the their new anthem Around the World and then continued to work the crowd with Give it Away. We were even lucky enough to hear John Frusciante’s version of Elton John’s Your Song, which was fantastic. RHCP performed like it was the first leg of the tour, with all the energy and child like playfulness that an audience responds too. It was the skulking around of Taylor Hawkins behind the scenes that made it for me, as it showed the mutual respect these bands have for one another. Taylor looked like a child who wanted to learn, he was entranced by Chad Smiths methods inadvertently shaping my entire view of the day.
Chemical Brothers were still belting out their psychedelic funk in the boiler room when I finally got there. Just as I remember it to be, it was amazing. Everybody’s in a trance like state, appreciating every moment. Bizarre sounds pumping through your system, visual displays of what appears to be your brain waves all around you. Every second is like you’re on another planet. This was the best ending to the biggest day of my life, the Chemical Brothers summed up what the Big Day out is all about, this being dancing with your friends and or complete strangers. Ultimately it doesn’t matter because everyone is your friend, as we are all there for the same reason and that is to have a Big Day Out.
By Peita Lindsay