- When you think of summer festivals in Australia, Big Day Out is inevitably the one that comes to mind. Since its humble beginnings in 1992 as a one-off gig, it has risen to iconic status, appearing in cities across Australia and New Zealand and entertaining hundreds of thousands of people along the way.
This time around, record ticket sales had prompted the promoters to decide to put on a second effort in Sydney, something that had only occurred once before in the festival's history. They were lucky to do so: The Friday show saw sweltering temperatures beating the 40 degree barrier, with hundreds treated for heat exhaustion as a result. You can only imagine the organisers were happy to have another chance to entertain—and to put the medical emergencies of the previous day behind them.
Photo credit: Patrick Munoz and Anthony Lloyd
Saturday brought more of the same, though, and it was with some trepidation that made our way to the Sydney showgrounds. Feeling like we were walking through hot soup, we arrived to a crowd of excited youngsters proclaiming their thrill at being at BDO. The crowd, as always, was a mix of cultures and ages, from 15 to 50 and hailing from all parts of the state. The weather had clearly had an impact on wardrobe decisions: There was no glam, shorts, t-shirt and a bottle of water were the norm.
We entered the aptly named Boiler Room to check out Itchee & Scratchee—the old rave duo that had recently reunited for an upcoming new album. From the looks of a few older attendees, it was clear many were glad to see them back. Their pumping set culminated in "Sweetness and Light," and we headed off afterward hardly noticing that our t-shirts hung heavy with sweat.
At 4.30 PM came an unexpected addition to the line-up. Rain. And lots of it. This had the welcome effect of taking the sting out of the day, even if it meant that the humidity was ramped up a notch. Either way, we were soon back at The Boiler Room, which saw a real mix of styles throughout the day. The Midnight Juggernauts were far too downbeat whereas Sam La More put together a good blend of electro tracks including a mash-up of "I Remember" and "Hello" as well as a nice remix of "In for the Kill." Calvin Harris, the current dance-pop sensation, enjoyed a packed house and belted out his biggest numbers with energy, although his constant exhortations of the crowd to go "absolutely fucking mental" grew somewhat irritating. Simian Mobile Disco, unfazed by two-thirds of the crowd disappearing after Harris, produced a pumped-up set of tech-house.
Photo credit: Patrick Munoz and Anthony Lloyd
Then came Sasha. The progressive legend had promised a whole new direction, combining light and sound. As the first chords of "Coma" dropped in and the huge LED screens surrounding him lit up, we knew he hadn't been kidding. The set thumped along at a terrific pace, the VJ'ing was well thought-out and 12 multi-directional lasers created an amazing atmosphere as they flickered over us. As he ended with a few teasing bars of "Xpander," we couldn't believe an hour and ten minutes had passed so quickly.
After such a show, it seemed almost unfair to make anyone try to follow it. Last up on stage were Groove Armada, but their style couldn't live up to what had come before, and songs like "My Friend" were just too mellow to keep tired legs dancing after eight hours. Nonetheless, with Sasha's performance firmly in mind, sitting on a train in wet clothes never felt so satisfying.