Live Reviews : Big Day Out Melbourne (29/01/2012)

The big day out has had a rough few months. They had been chasing and in good talks with Prince and Blink 182, but that fell through in the end. They had bands who have toured the BDO before, who like the BDO, and will do the tour for cheaper. But then the fans complain the festival keeps recycling the same acts, and then you get outbid for headliners by Soundwave Festival. Once the line up was announced, things got worse as the media was filled with outrage and dismay at the choice of Kanye West (who headlined Splendour not 6 months prior) as headliner and what was considered a poor overall lineup. Vivian Lee’s, cofounder of the festival bailed the day the line up was released due to the terrible reaction on social media sites. As a result, ticket sales bombed. The festival seemed in crisis. But all of this could be thrown away as a footnote in the Big Day Out’s history so long as the festival delivered on the day…

Stonefield were playing early on at the third stage, nevertheless they had one of that stages best turn outs of the day. They have all the hallmarks of a fad band: they are young, female, sisters, and play led zeppelin covers. But these girls fucking rock! Knowing one or two of their track from the radio, I was there more for the shade than the band, but they were an absolute highlight of the day. What lead singer Amy Findlay pulls out from the back of a drum kit is amazing, belting out vocals with more balls than is normal for a girl of her age. Their main single “Through the Clover” had the crowd cheering and head banging along, but when they pumped out “Whole lotta love”, they were in a frenzy. Amy’s vocals again were amazing, and her wailing to finish off the set left the crowd wanting so much more.

Parkway Drive were Parkway Drive to the core. The crowd assembled to see them in the mid afternoon might have been one of the smallest the main stages has ever seen, but they had that crowd, which was still promising given the genre of their music, doing their hardcore thing til death. The heat did not deter the black clad faithful moshing and circle pitting to their hearts content. They played with amazing energy on stage, and even though we watched them from the distant safety of a trees shade, they nailed every note like Jesus to the cross. Carrion finished off the set perfectly, and left a lot of metal fans wet and dirty.

The Amity Affliction was one of the few genuine heavy offerings at this year’s Big Day Out, and for that reason alone they were worth checking out. I didn’t know anything about the band beforehand, and know little more now, but for fifty minutes at the big day out they had me thoroughly entertained. Their screamo brand of metal, though not something I’d normally partake of, is something which only improves in the live environment. The vocals are that bit harder, the cleanliness of the produced environment is removed and what you’re left with is four guys on stage belting out heavy tunes. They were lively and the crowd ate it up, and along with some sweet guitar melodies were a surprise treat.

Given the role that Soundgarden were playing at this year’s Big Day Out as second headliner, it was clear from before the band had hit the stage that the audience had been misread by the organiser. Not just that, but timing wasn’t on the site of the organisers, the band was meant to have a new single out 2 months before the festival which would have helped a lot with promotion. The crowd that turned up to see them play was not enough to fill the d barrier, and the crowd filling in front of the other main stage to see Kanye West outnumbered those in front of Soundgarden within the first 20 minutes of their set, while those at foster the people on the third stage at the same time flowed so far out of the tent that it was virtually impossible to see the band from any angle.

To the actual performance though. Soundgarden have such an amazingly large collection of hits that it’s hard not to be impressed when you see them. Chris Cornell is an amazing frontman, and his voice in his Soundgarden performance is much better than I ever heard from him with Audioslave. The band are not the most energetic on stage, and you do get the feeling too often that you are witnessing a reformed and ageing rock band, but soundgarden were never that energetic even in their heyday. What they do and do well is play amazing songs pretty much flawlessly, and for that reason alone did Soundgarden’s set leave me grinning stupidly.

Cavalera Conspiracy appeared high on the billing of this year’s BDO, and there’s no doubt that like everybody else at the big day out playing late that some of their audience was at Kanye West. But the crowd there to see Max, Igor and co. to play there tunes was pitiful. There couldn’t have been more than 100 people in the crowd, and you couldn’t help but feel a little awkward with so much empty space in front of this huge stage. Max’s weight issue continues to hamper the band’s live show, which with Sepultura and then Soulfly was once one of the most energetic performances in metal. Instead, we get a fat Brazilian man puffing into a microphone whilst the crowd wonders what happened. It’s still great to hear classics from the Cavalera’s glory days, and they still sound pretty great, but 100 people standing around while five people mosh is sad sight to see of these once great men.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience to attend a Big Day Out and not feel like you are drowning in humanity, but I can’t imagine that the poor sales would have done much good for the future of this once great festival. It was without a doubt a weaker lineup than previous years, but the addition of shade tents in front of the smaller stages made the day much more bearable than the 38 degrees would normally have allowed for. Whilst it wasn’t the Big Day Out’s finest moment, it also wasn’t its worst, and it would still be sorely missed if it were to disappear.

For all the photos of the day click here

Photos by Scott Boelsen, review by William Shakespear