Golden Plains Lucky Seven
Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre
9-11 March 2013
Photo courtesy of www.kompound.blogspot.com
Despite the heat and the dust, strange things happen when you take folks out of town and put them in a paddock. It’s a colourful paddock, packed with eye candy of every kind – masks, movement, face paint and skin, skin, skin. Inhibitions are left at the gate, or else covered with a layer of filmy dust, like everything else in the supernatural amphitheatre.
Highlights from Day 1 included the stunning soundscape from Wild Nothing, the traditional Greek sounds of Psarandonis, whose set garnered a jubilant reaction, and The Tallest Man on Earth, who was saluted by many a Boot – his husky, earnest, gravelly voiced honesty was echoed by much of the crowd, who knew every word. Luckily, the three male voices behind me were pitch perfect, so it felt like an edgy male choir. The sticky Swede was an energetic solo performer, clearly at home in front of the appreciative audience and his energetic prancing behind his guitar was an infectious upper.
Cat Power’s set followed, full of ambience and aching plaintiveness, where the immaculate harmonies of the bass player nearly eclipsed Chan Marshall’s vocals, to the back drop of a stunning lightshow. While her pared down folk punk was embraced hard by some, there was somehow an air of unfulfilled expectancy in the restless crowd.
Dinosaur Jnr’s distorted guitar rock sounds grated as the sun went down, feeling like an odd program segue. The set was a guitar fuelled, distorted blimp on the feel good first day, with the distinctive vocals of J Mascis too far down in the mix.
Later, Client Liaison’s unashamed 80s pop sounds were too contrived to even be ironic, and though it refreshed the ear-palette like a lemon gelati, (which, incidentally, was the exact shade of his blazer) after a couple of tunes icecream headache set in.
It was worth enduring though, because next Purity Ring took the stage, and their ethereal pop took the night to another, heavenly level. Their sweet electro sound, with a solid dark bass but transcendent vocals lifted the dreamy, hot shimmering night. A vision in a long floaty black dress, Megan was a goddess with all the gravitas and charisma of a levitating angel. All seemed right in the world.
Flume’s incandescent remix of Chet Faker at the start of his 2am slot was met by cheers from the expectant crowd. The light show was exceptional for his set, and he lifted the mood from dreamy to instill an upbeat panache to the wee hours.
On Day 2, Bushwalking’s sweet, jangly sounds worked to bring in the new day. Hopeful beginnings. Other notable standouts were Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk with high energy and unashamed rock. “Our songs are as diverse as I am – here’s another one about girls!”
Toro Y Moi bought things to a restrained swaying, thigh slapping appreciation, his confident R&B style imposing a definitive groove.
Then the 32 piece Melbourne Ska Orchestra delivered to the audience just what they were looking for – the dancing moved into some fever pitched, screaming abandon, and elicited vocal responses from the surging crowd. The throng followed all the instructions thrown at them by their very adept front man, Nicky Bomba, who was able to read the palpable excitement like a navigational GPS.
After an extended set of Keb Darge’s hit-and-miss DJing, George Clinton’s 2 hour set was aspirational – and nearly delivered, despite keeping the crowd waiting. He demonstrated his wide reach of musicality across the decades and genres, with his granddaughter’s dirty talking rapping managing to inject a freshness into the chewy 70s funk. Along with the classics, there were some other surprises including a sweet, floaty cover of Gnarls Barkly’s “Crazy”. They played an energetic set until midnight, but their attempts to encompass all kinds of progressive genres ultimately diluted the experience.
The eclectic line up, though a trifle choppy, delivered variety and diverse little cherries for every taste. By Sunday, the shared experience of wacky outfits, enthusiasm, heat and sawdust amenities ensured that air of community where ‘anything goes’ behaviour is, more than tolerated, positively encouraged. The crowd were participants, far beyond mere audience, in that dusty, colourful paddock.
Naomi Taig
Highlights from Day 1 included the stunning soundscape from Wild Nothing, the traditional Greek sounds of Psarandonis, whose set garnered a jubilant reaction, and The Tallest Man on Earth, who was saluted by many a Boot – his husky, earnest, gravelly voiced honesty was echoed by much of the crowd, who knew every word. Luckily, the three male voices behind me were pitch perfect, so it felt like an edgy male choir. The sticky Swede was an energetic solo performer, clearly at home in front of the appreciative audience and his energetic prancing behind his guitar was an infectious upper.
Cat Power’s set followed, full of ambience and aching plaintiveness, where the immaculate harmonies of the bass player nearly eclipsed Chan Marshall’s vocals, to the back drop of a stunning lightshow. While her pared down folk punk was embraced hard by some, there was somehow an air of unfulfilled expectancy in the restless crowd.
Dinosaur Jnr’s distorted guitar rock sounds grated as the sun went down, feeling like an odd program segue. The set was a guitar fuelled, distorted blimp on the feel good first day, with the distinctive vocals of J Mascis too far down in the mix.
Later, Client Liaison’s unashamed 80s pop sounds were too contrived to even be ironic, and though it refreshed the ear-palette like a lemon gelati, (which, incidentally, was the exact shade of his blazer) after a couple of tunes icecream headache set in.
It was worth enduring though, because next Purity Ring took the stage, and their ethereal pop took the night to another, heavenly level. Their sweet electro sound, with a solid dark bass but transcendent vocals lifted the dreamy, hot shimmering night. A vision in a long floaty black dress, Megan was a goddess with all the gravitas and charisma of a levitating angel. All seemed right in the world.
Flume’s incandescent remix of Chet Faker at the start of his 2am slot was met by cheers from the expectant crowd. The light show was exceptional for his set, and he lifted the mood from dreamy to instill an upbeat panache to the wee hours.
On Day 2, Bushwalking’s sweet, jangly sounds worked to bring in the new day. Hopeful beginnings. Other notable standouts were Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk with high energy and unashamed rock. “Our songs are as diverse as I am – here’s another one about girls!”
Toro Y Moi bought things to a restrained swaying, thigh slapping appreciation, his confident R&B style imposing a definitive groove.
Then the 32 piece Melbourne Ska Orchestra delivered to the audience just what they were looking for – the dancing moved into some fever pitched, screaming abandon, and elicited vocal responses from the surging crowd. The throng followed all the instructions thrown at them by their very adept front man, Nicky Bomba, who was able to read the palpable excitement like a navigational GPS.
After an extended set of Keb Darge’s hit-and-miss DJing, George Clinton’s 2 hour set was aspirational – and nearly delivered, despite keeping the crowd waiting. He demonstrated his wide reach of musicality across the decades and genres, with his granddaughter’s dirty talking rapping managing to inject a freshness into the chewy 70s funk. Along with the classics, there were some other surprises including a sweet, floaty cover of Gnarls Barkly’s “Crazy”. They played an energetic set until midnight, but their attempts to encompass all kinds of progressive genres ultimately diluted the experience.
The eclectic line up, though a trifle choppy, delivered variety and diverse little cherries for every taste. By Sunday, the shared experience of wacky outfits, enthusiasm, heat and sawdust amenities ensured that air of community where ‘anything goes’ behaviour is, more than tolerated, positively encouraged. The crowd were participants, far beyond mere audience, in that dusty, colourful paddock.
Naomi Taig
Photo courtesy of www.kompound.blogspot.com
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Photo courtesy of www.kompound.blogspot.com
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