Big Day Out

This year's Sydney Big Day Out was definitely something special. Almost 60,000 hungry music enthusiasts attended the annual festival, with tickets selling out in Sydney in record time. Since it's inaugural conception in 1992, this years Sydney show was the first ever to NOT fall on Australia Day, however, seeing as this year's show fell on a Thursday, many punters would be able to enjoy a 4 day long weekend!

There has also been some other firsts for the 2007 Big Day Out. BDO lost a court battle to have the right to stop ticket scalping on electronic auction sites, which is always unfortunate for those having to pay up to nearly 4 times the price of the original. Also, there was much publicised outrage over the bringing of Australian flags to the Big Day Out. Various governing bodies tried to ban people from bringing them in an effort to minimise tension and anti-social abuse. However, this reviewer (a Fijian-born-Indian who grew up in New Zealand!) was happy to see many flags proudly brandished, as nothing more than a symbol of Aussie pride.

Having only last year's Big Day Out to compete with in this reviewer's experience, I would have to say that 2007 was the best BDO I have been to so far, (however hanging out in Shihad's dressing room and seeing them from backstage last year was pretty fun.)

I arrived shortly before midday and went to the Orange stage to see the Sick Puppies. Although it was early in the day, there was a decent sized crowd to see this guitar-fuelled rocking 3-piece. The totally gorgeous bassist Emma Anzai, was definitely the highlight of the set. Having been dubbed ‘the female Flea', I had to see it to believe it, and rightly so- she deserves that title. She was just amazing on that bass. Other memorable moments include singer Shimon Moore stating that he is only interested in ONE flag – the FREE HUGS flag. He then exclaimed to the roaring audience that "This is OUR day!" and proceeded to play their latest single ‘All the same'. The Sick Puppies surprised the audience by doing a hilarious ‘punk-rock' version of the Destiny's Child song Say My Name before launching into the last song, Nothing Really Matters, which was a lot more full on and heavier than their other stuff. Needless to say, I walked away a new fan.

*Temporary Tattoo Break*

Half an hour later, the crowd at the Orange stage had grown quite considerably to see The Butterfly Effect, adding more to the heat which was now just starting to poke through the otherwise cloudy grey sky. The Butterfly Effect played an ok set, I was surprised they didn't play Perception Twin, but was more than happy to hear Take It Away and Phoenix as well as a bunch from their lastest album, Imago. Having seen this band a few times, I was kinda disappointed- I felt they lacked the intensity they ooze at their own shows. And maybe it was my position in the crowd but I thought Kurt Goedhart's guitar could have been louder. Metal-heads Trivium were on the exact same timeslot as The Butterfly Effect and this reviewer only managed to catch their last song, who sounded promising, but to me they were just another metal band.

*Greasy Chicken Kebab Break*

Whilst enjoying this greasy chicken goodness, I walked past the V Energy Local Produce stage, which was packed. So packed that I could not see what was happening inside; there were people climbing up structures that had clearly labeled signs saying ‘Climbers Will Be Evicted'. According to my timetable it was South-Coast alternative rockers Something With Numbers that were causing all the fuss. From what I could hear, they were very energetic, and the crowd was extremely receptive. As there was no room for a reviewer and his kebab, I marched myself over to the boiler room to catch Lily Allen. The entire boiler room was filled to see the British 21 year olds blistering brand of infectious pop/hip-hop grooves. With her upbeat rhythms, and sassy onstage presence, it was a hip and funky performance that had the whole boiler room pretty much boiling with energy. I had to leave early to catch one of the most coveted bands of the day, My Chemical Romance.

MCR took to the main Blue stage to the delights of thousands of youngsters, however, not wearing matching uniforms as I hoped. Another surprise to many was that singer Gerard Way had re-dyed his hair from bleach blonde back to the good old-fashioned emo black. But from what I had saw of them, it was nothing like emo; solid upbeat rhythms, rocking guitars, and thousands of fans screaming out every word. Truly a great live band, I would have loved to see them at their own headlining show (with the uniforms) which parallels their latest concept album The Black Parade.

Back to the Boiler room to catch a bit of Peaches and Herms before John Butler Trio came on. The room was not quite as filled as it was for Lily Allen, but was still brimming with lots of energy. Peaches and her band Herms came out dressed in space masks and wielding light sabers, before kicking into the explosive Rock Show and then Two Guys (For Every Girl). Lots of fun, and the crowd were lapping it up. Unfortunately, I had a date with a hippie and his trio, so it was back to the main Blue stage.

I was really looking forward to seeing the John Butler Trio again. They have been one of the best live bands I have ever seen and today was no exception. One of the stand out bands of the day, and the trio was in fine form. They kicked it off with Something's Gotta Give and my personal favourite Treat Yo Mama (which inspired me to buy a lap-slide guitar a couple of years ago.) They played some newies including Funky Tonight along with other classics like Peaches and Cream, the crowd favourite Zebra and the beautiful epic instrumental that is Ocean. Percussionist Michael Barker was a sight to behold behind the drumkit; he is possibly one of the most talented in his field. Bassist Shannon Birchhall is amazing, playing conventional bass and the double bass (plucking and with bow). Combined with the soulful playing of John Butler on his various instruments, this band has got to be one of the most skilful and musically gifted acts of Australia.

Due to the timetable clash with the John Butler Trio, I could only manage to sacrifice a small amount of time for English Indie rockers Kasabian on the Green stage. Kasabian had drawn in a largish crowd, who all seemed delighted with their brand of electronica-indie-rock fusion and quirky onstage antics.

*Spicy Hotdog Break*

On the Orange stage, American Indie rockers The Killers had drawn in a huge crowd; the entire arena by this time was filled. The Killers played their mainstream hits Mr. Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It, All These Things That I've Done and their smash hit Somebody Told Me which was an absolute favourite with the crowd. The Killers had a great onstage presence however I felt some of their stuff a tad bland and boring, but they pleased the masses immensely.

Managed to catch a bit of Little Birdy's set, and from what I saw, they were quite phenomenal. Katy Steele has an amazing voice, and her performance was just downright amazing. Wish I could have caught more of them but I had to make my way back to the Main stages so I could get in decent position for the festival headliners Muse and Tool.

At the main stage I was camped in front of the gates for the ‘D' barrier during Jet. I could barely see them, however they sounded weak and lacked intensity, but their brand of generic rock brought about some banging heads and tapping feet. After much suffocation and pushing and shoving, I eventually managed to get into the ‘D' barrier for the Main stage where Tool would be, and waited for Muse to start on the next stage over.

Muse were extraordinary. They played with great intensity, and showcased most of their hits such as Hysteria, Time Is Running Out, Butterflies and Hurricanes and Stockholm Syndrome as well as smashes from their latest album Black Holes and Revelations like Supermassive Black Hole, Knights of Cydonia and Starlight. Truly phenomenal, Matt Bellamy is a magician of a musician, his wailing vocals, piano work and guitar work is so heartfelt, and the entire crowd belonged to him. Again, an amazing showcase of talent on their part.

However, once Muse left the stage, the chant of "Tool, Tool, Tool…" could be heard all around. By now the wind had dropped and it seemed likely to rain, and possibly thunder, which would have seemed fitting for the progressive metal gods Tool. However, the weather maintained its dreariness for the whole day, and fortunately refused to rain on the parade. Tool delayed their arrival, causing the heaving crowd to chant more furiously. To the stages left, a big metal hand suddenly burst into flames, adding to the excitement of the crowd. It would frequently do so, also adding extra heat to the already sweaty masses. The hose sprayed from the front of the crowd gave temporary relief to those but it wasn't nearly enough to quench the crowds thirst. Finally, almost 20 minutes after their slotted time, Tool came out, much to the delight of the roaring crowd. They opened with Stinkfist and then The Pot, which got the crowd moving so much that its impact could have been recorded on the Richter scale. They played a solid set covering all their albums including classics like Schism, Opiate, Lateralus and Aenema. The visuals and light shows were breathtaking and just added to the overall astounding show. At the end of the show, drummer Danny Carey frisbee'd his bass drum skin and threw drum sticks into the crowd, who were all on it like a pack of depraved starving wolves. Maynard also assured the masses that Tool would be back soon, closing the show by stating "See you in December!", an added bonus to the thousands of screaming fans.

After all that, I was unsure where to go next; the Violent Femmes, Crystal Method or Shapeshifter. I ended up going to the Hot House to see New Zealand's lively drum and bass/dance music act Shapeshifter. Even though many of the festival goers had been here for almost 12 hours, the Hot House was almost filled to capacity with jumping, grooving dance junkies. The atmosphere was extremely energetic and the crowd was pulsating. The kiwi quintet produced a vivacious sound, and in my opinion, it was a perfect way to end a fantastic Big Day Out. I was extremely grateful to have access to the Guest Bar, which had real toilets and no queues, so I took thorough advantage of that. In hindsight, I probably would have taken more cash, because the ATM lines were HUGE. And the only stall that had EFTPOS access was the ‘Happy High Herbs' stall. During the course of the day, I must have passively smoked enough stuff (legal and illegal) to send an elephant high! All unintentional of course… Well there it is, a fantastic Big Day Out! I was a little bit surprised as the initial line up did not really sway me, but in the end pretty much everyone delivered. See you all next year!