- There is nothing on earth quite like the New Years day hangover. Some people try all sorts of remedies. I myself have long searched for a successful cure. Raw eggs, black coffee, Beroca, greasy breakfasts. I’ve tried them all to no avail. New Years Day 2003 saw a ground breaking discovery. What better way to cure a killer hangover than standing three inches from a giant speaker spitting out 23,456dB sounds and rubbing up against thousands of people that you don’t know. That’s right I had discovered, and thoroughly enjoyed, my first Summadayze. This year I decided to recreate the experience by heading to Summadayze ‘05.
In the two years since my first Summadayze much about my music tastes has changed. Every day I find myself becoming more and more demanding. While I try to convince myself that I am far too young to be jaded I still find I cringe at music that isn’t described using at least one of the words German, minimal or tech. However, for Melbourne’s ultimate party I had decided to put the music out of my mind and concentrate solely on enjoying the atmosphere. An atmosphere I had plenty of time to soak up while stuck in a queue for approximately 45 minutes. Thankfully I didn’t have a bag that needed to be searched or I might quite possibly still be waiting now. I normally don’t mind queuing, but this was not Disneyland and I was not waiting to ride Space Mountain. With so many years of experience, I’m not sure where Future Entertainment came up with the idea that 27,000 people could easily file through one entrance gate. Once I was finally inside I headed straight to the hill in front of the main stage. It was clear from here that Summadayze was going to be busier than ever. It had only just gone one o’clock and the main arena was already packed, with the crowd seemingly engrossed by Andrew Padula’s set. Playing a remix of Franz Ferdinand "Take Me Out" really got the crowd going and exemplified that he really is Melbourne’s flavour of the month.
As time ticked by I was forced to wonder where De La Soul were. It was now twenty minutes after their set was due to start and Padula showed no signs of stopping. This trend was to continue on every stage for much of the day with set times being more a dream than a reality. In protest I headed off to find myself the greasiest food possible to satisfy my appetite. De La soul actually started just as I headed off in my search for food but seemed to go no longer than the time it took me to find and devour a bucket of deliciously salty chips. Their set couldn’t have lasted more than forty five minutes and while the dance floor seemed to love every minute I couldn’t help but feel it was all a waste of time. Yes they played some great songs but it hardly seems worth bringing out an International act for a token 45 minute set. On top of this I am confused as to how De La soul are supposed to serve as a link between a set by Andrew Padula and Sean Quinn. Poor organization of set times was a constant theme with Armin Van Buuren playing a trance set that lead up to John Course’s closing set which unless I’m mistaken is always going to be lacking in the Arminesque ambient breakdowns. The disappointing set arrangement and the fact that most DJs were only given around an hour to play suggests to me that there is too much concern with quantity rather than quality.
After De La soul had finished up it was time for Sean Quinn to take over. I stayed long enough to hear him drop a breaks remix of U2 "Vertigo" but soon headed off. For a little while I decided to wander around and take in some of the sights. I walked hurriedly past the Trancedayze stage all the while fearing for my ear drums. The stage name seemed to be somewhat of a misnomer as the intricate and often emotional sounds I associate with trance seemed to be replaced by loud stabbing synths and worryingly fast beats. Then again I’m not sure quite what I expected from DJs that use the letter z to form plurals or name themselves after blue skinned cartoon characters. Next on my travels was the Breaksdayze stage. Now, and for much of the day, the breaks arena seemed largely under-populated. The main peaks in crowd size seemed to be for the ever popular local Phil K and the closing set by Meat Katie and Lee Coombs. The crowd size at the Housedayze arena on the other hand was the complete opposite. Whether it was for the Bodyrockers set or the genre mish mash sounds of Moguai the Housedayze stage was always pumping.
My favourite International act for the day was without a doubt Adam Freeland. His party style breaks were a definite match for the Summadayze atmosphere. Despite the grey skies he really had me in the mood for an outdoor summer party. However, his set was slightly marred by the fact that he insists on continuing to play the remix of Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Don’t get me wrong I used to love this track… the first 2642 times he included it in one of his sets. However, Freeland was not the only offender of ignoring upfront music with three DJs on the day playing the tiresome bootleg of the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army". Anyone would’ve been forgiven for mistaking this for Summadayze ’03. Apart from Adam Freeland I wasn’t overly keen on the rest of the Internationals. The one act I did want to catch however was Cassius. But surprise surprise I didn’t get to due to the well thought out and planned set times. Not one to hold a grudge, I will eventually build a bridge.
With the lack luster performances by most Internationals the show was most definitely stolen by the locals, with two in particular topping the group. First off was the wonderfully bouffant Angela Maison whom I had never had the pleasure of hearing before. A great example of a deep house set that left me wishing I had discovered her earlier. I was also left wishing I was able to train spot at least one track to better describe how good this set really was. The other stand out local DJ was of course the genre slut that is Boogs. Every time I see him play I am amazed at how he can make such an eclectic sound work so well. The crowd also seemed to be on the same page as me, really getting behind both these sets. This was demonstrated by the fact I was forced into doing my best impersonation of a pinball, constantly bouncing around searching for a little bit of dancing space. Despite spending much time struggling for space the Deepdayze stage definitely proved itself to be the highlight of the event. It’s just a shame that me and my fellow poseurs couldn’t share the best sets of the day with the masses considering only those with VIP passes were allowed to enter.
Now to sum up the event as a whole. First off there was the music, which despite my best efforts I just couldn’t ignore. On this front all I can say it is amazing how many times I can go to and event only to find that the Internationals are outshone by the locals. Summadayze was no exception which is disappointing when people pay a lot of money in order to bring the big names from overseas. And lastly, as far as the atmosphere goes I just couldn’t seem to get into. Despite the crowd really getting behind the event I just couldn’t seem to get myself into party mode. Over all I had quite an enjoyable day despite the stress caused by spending much of my day trying to avoid serious eye damage from random shirtless men’s erect nipples. Summadayze is definitely not for those of discerning music tastes. The scatter gun approach to music this time didn’t really hit the mark. With much of the blame going to the ridiculously planned set times, a point which I am not sure whether I have mentioned before.