When: Friday, Jan 15
So with all day concerts like Big Day Out you need to be prepared. 1st of all get lots of sleep the night before! The others girls in our dorm made the most of being out in the city with their shiny new I.D's and boy did they regret it at the show! Get lots of sleep, eat a big breakfast, and if you are planning to take party pills then make sure you take a water bottle (nothing worse than missing the band you went to all the effort to go to see because you passed out in the mosh pit waiting for them). Also don't forget sunscreen! I know it sounds so old lady like to say, but in a misguided attempt at teenage rebellion at my first Big Day Out I purposely avoided putting it on and spent a week wincing every time I moved.
Now a quick run down of the acts that I got to see:
Bandicoot: a three piece band of 15yr olds who were very electro-indie and did a cover of Eminiems rap in '8 Mile' (that scared me). They are having great success at the moment, opening for The Cribs, and attending Camp a Low Hum, but are not a band that I would go out of my way to see again.
After that we wandered around checking out the stalls before heading to see one of my favourite New Zealand bands The Checks: who were once again amazing live. Lead singer Ed Knowles is strange and sexy and energetic on stage. Their indie, jazzy music is fun and catchy and they always put on a great show.
After that I headed back over to the Green stage where I planned to camp out with friends for most of the day. Although by now it was about 1pm, we were pushed against thousands of other hot, sweaty, dehydrated people in the bright sun. The best plan was to get to the front of the mosh pit as soon as possible because that's where the only shade was.
So we spent most of the Jet set dancing, singing and slowly pushing our way to the front. Watching them was like being at a giant house party. They were pure fun. Loud, fast, radio-friendly music with catchy chorus' and lots of sing along made for a great set, (even if I did nearly get trampled).
After that I managed to snag a primo spot, front row of the mosh pit just in time for one of my current favourite Kiwi musicians the beautiful and talented Pip Brown, otherwise known as LadyHawke: I was scared that she was going to be one of those performers who were great on CD, thanks to creative work in the studio but rather disappointing live... Only shes not. She is AMAZING live! She is sweet and gorgeous and all her back up musicians are skinny indie boys wearing all black. There were lots of pretty lights, smoke, amazing music and fun had by all :) After this I rushed out and bought (yes that's right people, you should only ever BUY New Zealand music) her album and have been listening to it ever since... Much love!
Next band that we saw were the Decemberists. I had heard of them (but had no idea what they were like) and I thought they were lovely... (seriously lovely is the best way to describe them). If your wondering why their name seems familiar they were recently mentioned on QC ( http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1590 - this is how I feel when people make similar assumptions based on bands I like). They had a very loyal, very indie following there --> and were very enjoyable. However, while I enjoyed them live, i listened to a CD and didn't love them quite as much.
Rise Against: Now this is the band that I actually bought my ticket to see (well them and of course Muse)... I actually felt really bad for the act on the other stage while the roadies were setting up for the band though, because I have learnt that Hardcore punk Rise Against fans are loud... very very loud. They were chanting, VERY loudly, and jumping, and screaming to the point where I actually felt bad for that weird hippy guy one stage over. But then the band came on and they were freaking MINDBLOWING! They played my three favourite songs; 'swing life away', 'prayer of the refugee' and 'Ready to fall' - to which I sang along every word to, while almost in tears (although that could also have been because I was getting crushed to the point of major pain... (no seriously, the mosh pit was so bad my friend cracked a rib). But all the pain was worth it because not only did I have an amazing time and met a cute guy from the South, but I also caught a guitar pick (Fan girl SQUEE!).
And Finally the headliners - Muse: Considered the best live band at the moment I can see why - Although I think that their own show, as opposed to a slot on a festival would be more impressive. While I didn't like their latest album as much as their others, (although i do get a giant hard-on everytime i hear either 'Uprising' or 'Undisclosed Desires'), I still think that their act alone was well worth the $120 odd dollars for the ticket.
