- While everyone was hoping for sunshine, most didn't let the heavy rain spoil their fun at this year's Parklife festival in Sydney. The national touring event has long been one of October's most prominent dance parties, usually selling out months in advance. However, this year's Sydney leg featured much smaller crowd than in those previous, and the significantly smaller festival grounds reflected that.
More rock-oriented acts littered this year's lineup, with punk/dance act Death From Above 1979 offering a point of difference to the otherwise electro-heavy bill. The Canadian duo were touring Australia for the first time since they temporarily broke up in 2006, and played all the hits from their 2004 album You're a Woman, I'm a Machine with highlights including "Black History Month" and "Blood on Our Hands." The energy from Jesse F. Keeler (now also in the MSTRKRFT live outfit) on bass and Sebastien Grainger on drums and vocals was infectious. Scottish jock Mylo then spent his afternoon slot playing vocal and electro house, while throwing in classics like New Order's "Blue Monday" and some tunes from Daft Punk and The Gossip.
Frenchman Sebastien Tellier provided the festival's highlight slot. Touring Australia for the first time, the eccentric performer concentrated on the electronic side of his diverse catalogue, playing many songs from his 2008 album Sexuality, "Kilometer" and "Devine" among them. However, the finest moment came when he sat down at his keyboard and played the beautiful "La Ritournelle." Though it is a much slower, largely instrumental song compared to the rest of the tracks aired throughout his set, the audience swayed to the melody and most wore a smile ear to ear.
Next up was The Gossip, fronted by the impressive Beth Ditto. When talking to the audience, the American singer sounds like a ten-year-old schoolgirl, but when singing, she belts. Cleverly interacting with the crowd, the group cover Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and took snippets of Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," Daft Punk's "One More Time" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" before going on to their own tracks like "Standing in the Way of Control" and "Listen Up."
Simian Mobile Disco concluded the festival on a high. The UK duo—James Ford and Jas Shaw—spent their set behind a collection of assorted machines. Their performance was dominated by tracks from their first album, opening with "Sleep Deprivation" and going on to feature "Hustler" and "I Believe." But selections from Temporary Pleasures also got a spin, with the highlight coming when Beth Ditto came out to supply the vocals on "Cruel Intentions."
There has been a steady decline in punters attending major festivals like Parklife, opting for the more boutique events where the lineup is somewhat more "underground" (and where you don't have to worry about sweaty men running around with their shirts off). However, as long as festivals like Parklife continue to bring these kinds of acts to Sydney, people aren't missing out on the more commercial end of the dance music spectrum. This year's Parklife Sydney was not the best festival I've ever been to, but it kept me, and thousands of other Sydneysiders on my feet and dancing for over eight hours. What more can you ask for out of a festival like this?