Beats On The Beach

2006/2007 saw the debut of a new summer festival for the central coast, the deceptively titled 'Beats on the Beach'. Now, I don't know about you guys, but when I see this title, I assume two things. There will be beats. There will be a beach. And it saddens me to tell you, that while the beats were there…. eventually, the beach was no more then a jellyfish infested puddle, which required a fair walk from the campsite, and festival.

The campsite, in contrast to the map available on the site, had one exit, at the furthest point possible from both the beach and the festival entrance. The campsite had no bar, and no entertainment, and alcohol was not allowed to be bought in. It turns out though, that people actually wanted to drink and see something on New Years Eve though, so an array of fireworks, alcohol and other contraband was being snuck under the fence from all sides.

But, it seemed, what the festival lacked in the usual facilities or entertainment, it made up for with some second rate 'zombies' looking completely out of place with the theme, and a dodgy midnight burlesque show, headed by a girl who loved telling her acid stories. The small beat tent was completely packed out by 9pm, a smoke chamber by 10 and a mess of passed out people, empty bottles of smuggled contraband and the same repetitive beat over and over again by 11.

Campers were awoken at 11am by the sounds of the first band starting, to discover there had been a huge downpour overnight and we were effectively flooded. Many stumbled over to the campsite in disbelief of what time it was, many more headed into town in search of some food. I headed over and checked the timetable. First band I wanted to see was Red Riders at 2. I made a mental note of this and went inside to check it out for a few minutes. The set up inside the festival site was quite good, with 2 main stages (one rock, the other delivering the promised beats) and a small trancey style tent. There was ample toilets and food vans, and the lines for both were minimum. I began to think the festival might turn around.

On the way out I noticed the timetable had changed. Red Riders were on at 1pm now. The beats stage had its whole order changed and Pete Murray had been bumped off his headline slot for main stage in favour of Karnivool. I took a photo of it, since there was no booklets or programs, and headed into town, in hope of finding a Laundromat to dry my sleeping bag, and perhaps some food.

Its almost one so I head back to check out the Red Riders, and am greeted by the lovely tunes of Operator Please. It doesn't take me long to realize the talent of this young band, and everyone in attendance (and by this point, it had grown to a fair size) seemed to agree, they were going to enjoy a long career. It was about now that the police and the sniffer dogs turn up. Now I have nothing against the police force, and I understand that they are needed to keep a festival like this running smoothly, but were the hundreds of police really needed when the festival wouldn't have hit 2000 patrons?

Operator Please finish up to a rapturous applause, and I notice Red Riders are still not setting up. At this point I am told that the entire timetable has changed. Again. Pete Murray is headlining again, the beats stage no longer has pendulum headlining etc. Red Riders will be on in about an hour and half.

Over on the beats stage Katalyst and Ru.Cl give a great performance to a small but strong crowd. I sit up on the hill and watch the skate demo's, and realize this would be a killer festival if only a few moderations were made such as letting us know the timetable and a stronger lineup (surely End of Fashion cant co-headline a $100 festival).

Eventually the time red riders were supposed to play rolls round, and I go, excited to finally see them this weekend, only to see Van She set up. This confuses the hell out of me. I ask someone in the crowd and am informed that Red Riders aren't playing anymore. No explanation is offered, but it meant that the whole timetable had to be changed again. As for Van She, well they could have been the best band in the world, but at this point, I am less then interested. The bands I wanted to see had just been decreased from Three to Two.

I decide to check out Bodyjar, a band that was quite prominent in my youth. However, after about 20 mins, it becomes clear exactly how washed up they have become, and while time can be kind to some AusRock acts such as You Am I, it can be harsh to others, and no-one wants to see Bodyjar still jumping around singing 'Not the Same' for the billionth time.

After this, I realize it is finally Saul Williams time. There is a tiny gathering of people at the beats stage watching the painfully long set up, but it is all worth it when Saul comes out, all guns blazing. What starts out as a small crowd, gets larger and larger, as Saul's rapping gets faster and faster. The influence of tours with Mars Volta and Nine Inch Nails is evident, and Saul gives what is undoubtedly the set of the day.

Infusion have the unenviable task of following that up, but don't disappoint. It has been a while since we have heard from the local lads, and we get a great mix of new songs, and tracks from their album 6ft Above Yesterday 'Girls Can Be Cruel' in particular, really gets the strong crowd moving.

In the break between sets, it becomes extremely obvious that everyone is hear for one band, and that band is Pendulum, and from the second they step foot on stage, the massive crowd does not stop dancing. They rock through most the tracks from their successful album and by the end of the set, everyone is just ready to collapse from so much movement.

Over on the rock stage, End of Fashion are playing to an also sizeable audience, but get nowhere near the reaction on their fellow Perthians. They rip through all their radio hits, and finish up with a new song, off an album they promise is coming soon.

Pete Murray wraps the festival up, at the modest time of 8pm. Most of the festival goers park themselves in front of the rock stage and relax after the sunny day listening to some familiar tunes by one of out premier singer-songwriters. So do about 200 police officers, who have surely been very bored for the day.

All in all Beats on the Beach 06/07 didn't end up the disaster it seemed to be from the outlook, and with some changes, and perhaps something to do on NYE, a price drop or stronger lineup, could easily become one of the countries premier festivals.