Upon entering the first official day of Splendour, an instant culture shock is presented in terms of previous years. But not the one to judge a book by its dirty fake tanned muscled up beer drenched cover, I put on a brave face and tackle the masses who are waiting for Kanye West head on as today presented some of the strongest highlights on this year’s bill.
An early highlight is the recently reformed Jebediah taking on the masses at the amphitheatre. Playing a set which is heavily focused on new album Kosciuszko, crowd reactions are mixed, where new singles go down a treat but other album tracks go unappreciated. The classics at points don't gather as much attention of newer singles like 'She's Like a Comet' and 'Losing My Nerve'. Still, the classics are undeniably great tracks with 'Harpoon', 'Animal' and more being awesome sing alongs and great to see in the live arena again. Kevin Mitchell is on fire, straining his voice and drawing curiosity as to how he pulls off his solo moniker Bob Evans tracks in such a nurtured way. Also, bass player (for a bit of trivia) Vanessa Thornton was supporting a 2010 Radiothon shirt…Eow!
I make my way over to the G.W. McLennan tent for an early billing of Kendal, England's Wild Beasts. Performing to an average size crowd the band is flawless with some poor sound mixing (a consistent problem at this year’s festival) being a few tracks downfall. The falsetto of tag team vocalists Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming is undeniable talent as they hit higher notes than most female vocalists. It's tracks off debut Limbo, Panto that prove to be highlights with Virgil for a Fuddy Duddy being strong enough to warrant their Australian tour alone.
The crowd picks up for Warpaint and the demographic changes quite noticeably as well. The four piece deal with more of the same sound issues Wild Beasts had, but where Wild Beasts were able to overcome in many ways the sound continued to falter for Warpaint. The more experimental tracks of the band went unappreciated where as new works and debut single Undertow being the only real crowd movers. Drummer Stella Mozgawa is an absolute machine proving to be the most entertaining member on stage (along with an audience member who was 'under the influence' of the bands ecstasy and charisma proving to be an air one man band) as she break beats and fills her way to superstardom. By the last track the band and crowd seemed to have had enough, maybe invoking that an hour long set was too long for this young group. Still a good band and good show for the most part.
With the afternoons highlights drawing to a close, unlike most I retire to my tent for a brief intermission to take some Ginko Baloba and to study the works of Salvador Dali before returning to the festival…
Having seen the set list to the bands amazing 'On the Bright Side' performance, one of my favourite bands Modest Mouse take to the stage with Dance Hall off their most commercially successful album Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Being a fan, I like their old stuff better then their new stuff (thanks Quan) and thankfully they play an all round set of the old and the new to please the masses and the fans. Gravity Rides Everything is an early highlight with the aggressive/softly spoken Isaac Brock taking a nurturing approach to the track. Dashboard pleases the audience and following on Third Planet was a first for Queensland fans and a more than welcome addition. The obligatory Float On, while a drag to fans and the band, is none the less a crowd pleaser and it is always a pleasure to see Isaac get riled up. There is possibly no one more expressive behind the mic as Isaac as he barks and howls at the microphone. At one point during the set he wanted a cigarette and was denied by roadies and it made you want to throw him a cigarette, lighter and hell, your wallet as well! An extended version of Dramamine was a welcome addition to the set and quite possibly the highlight of the show as Jeremiah Green’s drum work complimented Isaacs’s musings. Modest Mouse finish with The Whale Song, a high point from the recent EP No One's First and You’re Next. A sprawling jam session in which everyone of the six members on stage push their instruments to their limits and a song which is hopefully a sign of things to come on the upcoming Modest Mouse album.
Ah, The Hives can never put on a bad show and tonight’s performance was no exception. Having ditched the trademark white suits in favour of a tuxedo get up, the band are on the verge of a new release and a number of unreleased tracks are on show tonight. Mr Howlin' himself, Pelle Almqvist is an undeniable showman bantering with the crowd in between songs and consistently demanding satisfaction. Songs like Walk Idiot Walk, Hate to Say I Told You So and off their most recent effort Tick Tick Boom have a sea of people jumping up and down and even catch the eye of the influx of people ascending the hill for Kanye. The banter alone calls for an unforgettable performance with the Fagerstan locals leaving their mark once again on the impressionable Splendour audience.
While a horrible clash on paper, but a no brainer to either party, I make the smart move and leave the amphitheatre for the exclusive Australian performance of Glasgow's post rock innovators, Mogwai. With a projection screen featuring stylised films of traffic, artwork and scenes of everyday life, the band that rarely has vocals do not need them in a performance that can easily be called the highlight of this years Splendour in the Grass. The band is faultless as audience members watch in awe and call their friends to tell them they are watching Mogwai! The band, like many others on the McLennan feature sound issues and are not their usual ear bleeding selves and show frustration at the quality of the sound. Still, the sheer scope of their musical talent is hard to describe in words. The fuzzed out sludge of Rano Pano off latest offering Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will is a notable highlight as is Mogwai Fear Satan. For the few that were there, a 'Fuck Kanye' chant is nearly as loud as the band as guitarist Stuart Braithwaite informs the crowd that he heard backstage that Kanye enjoyed fish sticks. The PA is tested with Auto Rock, with the thunderous drums moving the ground as the softly spoken piano calms it. It is 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong with its digitised vocals over a building atmospherical sound that send this performance into an outer worldly with so much passion behind the music and emotion interwoven throughout it is hard not to feel something during this magical track. The band finishes with Like Herod which goes to pure silence (which the appreciative crowd respect) to an explosion of sound with ear drums and instruments being pushed to the extremes. A purely amazing performance in which the band awesomely played 20mins overtime. Despite sound issues the band proves themselves to be a must see… And you can, because the band inadvertently tipped off they will (almost positively) be on the Harvest Festival line up in November!
Finishing off the day, the one and only DJ Shadow has drawn a reasonable crowd to the mix up tent despite his Kanye clash. If Mogwai impressed you musically then Shadow impressed you visually, appearing in a giant sphere aptly named the 'Shadowsphere', it was his light show coupled with the music that did the talking as the Shadowsphere interacted with a backing video projection and almost incited seizures among the crowd. The full HD visuals simulated 3D as Shadow was constantly flicking switches and providing live digital drums on most tracks. Shadow showed appreciation of being here with a smile constantly on his face and enthusiasm that showed in his work. Recent track I Gotta Rokk burned the retinas as the synchronised music went to blinding light bulb projections. The Shadowsphere spun round to hide Shadow as it turned into the centrepiece becoming anything from a pool ball to the death star to the whole freakin' solar system! Call me crazy as well, but did Shadow also sample Karl Pilkington’s famous quote 'I could eat a knob at night’? Six Days feels like a theme to a 007 movie with similar visuals as it then explodes into an insanely high tempo rave as people can’t resist singing along as the beat drops in and out. The humbled Shadow finishes his set to widespread applause with the crowds minds affirmed that they were at the right show. Pure hip hop and talent, unlike a number of other acts on this year’s bill.
An excellent day for good music at this year’s edition (depending on where you were) and as the temperature drops and the crowd to get out thickens from Kanye, one can only hope that peoples blood alcohol levels are too high from tonight to ruin the promising acts that tomorrow brings.
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