It might have surprised anyone not familiar with a typical Brisbane climate to learn that even though it’s not summer yet, Mother Nature had turned up the heat to a stroke-inducing 32ยบ, leaving many people to think we were in the throes of a heat wave. However such was the lot of the Parklife faithful who had a blisteringly good day to soak in some sun, some alcohol, and some killer music.
With any festival, it is obviously impossible to cover every single act, and, as much as that was the intention, some were missed, but one early starter who deserved not to be missed was Junkbeats opening up the Air Stage. Coming out with their live show, they won over the crowd early by employing the services of dancing animals to throw candy at the crowd. Dave Basek had an auxiliary-percussion back up working overtime to compensate the smooth House he was laying out.
Early on in the Fire Stage’s day, Fans! DJs showed off some nice mixing and mashing and was a good accompaniment to the early afternoon vibe that permeated around the area, stretching from the Earth Stage, through Woods, and up to Fire. When 99 Problems, the most overused track in most mix bags, was spun, it was time to venture further into the Botanic Gardens.
That venture turned into more of trek, but before a Sherpa’s services were called upon, the winding track was finally negotiated and opened up to the Riverstage, and to the sounds of Miami Horror who by lunchtime, had claimed most of the Parklife crowd. Front of stage was already packed, bodies heaving to the Melbourne-based band’s ‘80s inspired electro. Down front wouldn’t have had any sounds issues, but it certainly didn’t seem loud enough to fill the ears of those taking in the view from the top of the hill.
Taking it down tempo a notch were Dubmarine, one of Brisbane’s best homegrown Dub and Reggae bands, at the Woods Stage. D-Kaz Man was giving it his all on the man, stirring the passing crowd into bouncing along to tracks including their infectiously Eastern inspired track Singie and finishing up with the funky Dancehall beats of Pass It On. The only problem with the Woods Stage was that it did seem somewhat sandwiched between the three other intermediate stages, so it was on occasion difficult to concentrate on an act without hearing the dull thud of a different tempo emanating from elsewhere. However, the roar of the crowd was unmistakable, and, as Dubmarine were packing up and making way for The Loops of Fury, the rapturous ovation demanded investigation.
Coming from the Air Stage, it was the sounds of Art vs Science filling its own corner of the Gardens with their fiery and blistering performance. Their ballsy set got into full flow with the likes of Parlez Vous Francais?, New Order and they kept the energy and the pace rocking with the biggest track of their show, Flippers. The hill in front of the Air Stage writhed as one wave of people, with thousands lapping up the raw energy of the boys’ set, and the dial was turned to 11 when they came out with a brilliantly original cover of Where’s Your Head At.
The Loops of Fury were doing a great job with the relatively small stage they were given, packing out the makeshift dancefloor as best they could and throwing out some bassy breaks in the afternoon sun. Operon tried to keep the energy going and it was all looking good but for some lacklustre MCing and a technical hitch here or there emptying the floor out somewhat. When the music he produces is so good, it’s better to let it speak for itself rather than blare over the top of it.
With the intention of catching a bit of Little Boots, preparations were made and provisions packed for the second expedition towards Riverstage. Obviously weather conditions were too treacherous as our party were informed that capacity was reached and the stage was closed. The Air Stage made a good base camp though and we were more than rewarded with a solid set from Autokratz. The London duo rocking out with some electronica liveliness in the form of What You Want, What You Got and a blinding cover of Primal Scream’s Swastika Eyes.
Not getting to the Riverstage had been a wise move as it might have meant missing one of the highlights of the Air Stage. The host for the venue, Busy P took his turn on the decks and blew everyone away with an absolutely banging set that started off with a certain Italian duo’s hardcore release Warp that you might just have heard of, and only got better from there. The crowd looked to be enjoying it almost as much as he was, especially with one fan showing him two particular motivational aids.
Highlight of the day was the Earth Stage in general. Few stages had the consistency of greatness on display here, none more so than Junior Boys. Their chilled out electronica suited the stage and the atmosphere perfectly. In The Morning typified a perfectly balanced and laidback style that ran throughout the set, Jeremy’s finely tuned vocals suiting Matt’s skilled production down to a tee.
Reaching the summit of Riverstage once more it was clear to see (or hear) that the sound restrictions were only going to become more intrusive as the night wore on, so what was indeed a great performance from The Aston Shuffle, with For Everyone a definite highlight from the ACT boys, was somewhat dampened by the curbing of the noise. If you weren’t in the thick of the pit front of stage and prepared to stay for the whole day then you were going to miss out.
Coming back down to Earth, the second half of the greatest piece of lineup scheduling was well under way, as Aeroplane carried on immaculately with the vibe that Junior Boys had carved out. The space in front of the stage lent itself well to having lots of room, and as a result it was the sanctuary within the park. Plus, when you have the smoothest of DJ sets from the likes of these Belgian maestros then you have a recipe for a perfect festival experience. Every track they laid out, from Joris Voorn’s Sweep The Floor to some subtle inclusions of their own making like Now Til ‘69, was met with stoic appreciation from the happiest crowd in the park. They brought the sun down over the park with their minimal tech and there was simply no better way to meet the dusk.
The draw of the Air Stage was ever present and it was difficult to miss Erol Alkan who pulled off one of the most eclectic sets of the day. Combining a healthy dose of disco house, jungle, bass heavy breaks and driving techno, there was something for every raver in the crowd. The Gossip had never sounded so good after Joakim had finished with a powerful mix of their big sounding Heavy Cross.
Catching Tiga finish up the day at Air Stage was a sight to behold. The strobes dousing the crowd in intermittent blue rays of intense energy gave the whole area a vibrancy that seemed to represent the electricity that had been building up at the Air Stage all day. This exploded in raptures when he dropped his signature Mind Dimension, one of the strangest but most compelling tracks to come out of the Montreal house scene in years. Never has a DJ so seemingly unassuming had so much success with a track that can hold one note for so long.
Not wanting to stay away from the best stage in the park it was back to Earth and back to minimal with Claude Von Stroke sealing the deal on Parklife for the night. His dark and seedy samples, the smoky and melodic synths all framed within a subtle but contagious beat, was an overpowering concoction of superior electro that rounded off the day beautifully and left those who had found the jewel in the crown of Parklife wanting more.
No comments:
Post a Comment