Falls Festival Days Three and Four Review @ Erskine Falls, Lorne (30-31/12/2012)
Days One and Two
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Days Three and Four
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Day 3
Luckily the clouds had parted for day 3 of what so far had been an unbelievable experience – I was still on a high from The Hives the night before and was ready to get back into it.
Heading straight into the Grand Theatre to catch the end of a beautiful set from Ash Grunwald, I was excited to finally see Oh Mercy. Playing with a live five piece, they delivered to a heavy afternoon crowd who seemed quite familiar with the sounds the Melbournians were producing.
Luckily the clouds had parted for day 3 of what so far had been an unbelievable experience – I was still on a high from The Hives the night before and was ready to get back into it.
Heading straight into the Grand Theatre to catch the end of a beautiful set from Ash Grunwald, I was excited to finally see Oh Mercy. Playing with a live five piece, they delivered to a heavy afternoon crowd who seemed quite familiar with the sounds the Melbournians were producing.
From the grand theatre we again trotted along to the valley stage to catch The Vaccines. The grungy West Londoners made Falls their home stage for what I felt a real treat to witness.
It’s always sentimental seeing local acts at festivals, but there’s a real excitement to seeing those big internationals. They’ve flown such a long way to get there, so there’s no denying their status. Racing back to the Grand Theatre, we caught Cosmo Jarvis, whose set had drawn a sizeable crowd and was the perfect entree for the rest of the night. A surprising, yet well received inclusion of the festival, Beach House provided mixed reactions amongst the crowd with their mellow evening set. On one hand, their indie tunes caused the shoe gazers in the audience to mellow out, as others lay back on the grass listening to the sweet tunes of the trio. On the other, their set was wildly inactive, and the band lacked any real stage presence with each member staying fixated to their area of the stage. While Beach House's music is beautiful, some more crowd interaction wouldn't have gone astray. Next up for the night was Boy and Bear. This would be my fifth time seeing the Sydney folk kings, and it’s true they get better every time. From seeing them at The Corner Hotel early 2010, to a packed out Valley Stage at Falls Festival it was obvious that these boys are going places. They played old favourites like Rabbit Song and Mexican Mavis, which had the whole crowd stomping and singing |
together in unison, though it was their famous cover of Crowded House cover Fall At Your Feet was the definite crowd pleaser, including a snippet of Neil Young's Heart of Gold.
By half ten Sunday night, the campers had split into two half the crowd seemed to have gathered in the Grand Theatre to check out Flume, and the other half outside to witness The Flaming Lips. I was amongst the thousands surrounding the Valley Stage to finally see The Flaming Lips.
By half ten Sunday night, the campers had split into two half the crowd seemed to have gathered in the Grand Theatre to check out Flume, and the other half outside to witness The Flaming Lips. I was amongst the thousands surrounding the Valley Stage to finally see The Flaming Lips.
After hearing stories of how wild The Flaming Lips shows are, my expectations were higher than Wayne Coyne on a Sunday afternoon.
The band kicked things into high gear with the best stage introduction I’d ever seen in my life, with lead singer Wayne Coyne crowd surfing in a blow up bubble, ball, all while monsoons of confetti and giant multi-coloured balloons rained down and smothered the audience. Heart rates and expectations were high after that incredible introduction, but to much surprise of myself and those around me, The Flaming Lips opted for a different direction with tonight's show. Rather than crank out a set full of upbeat and classic numbers such as The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips surprised us all by instead performing a distractingly mellow, slower and darker set without incorporating their well known classics. |
For the diehard fans in the audience, it would have been a rare treat to hear a few more obscure tracks in the setlist, but for those who weren't too familiar with the legendary band's work, this wasn't the best introduction.
Following on from this rather disappointing set, the utterly wonderful Hot Chip tided us over into the early hours of the morning with their upbeat dance numbers, stealing the thunder from what should have been The Flaming Lips night to remember.
Day 4
The final day was upon us. Feeling a little heartbreak at the thought of not waking up to this again, I was overcome by the excitement of the next 24 hours. I made sure I got an early start to the fourth day, and was at the Valley Stage for the final breakfast of the festival.
Following on from this rather disappointing set, the utterly wonderful Hot Chip tided us over into the early hours of the morning with their upbeat dance numbers, stealing the thunder from what should have been The Flaming Lips night to remember.
Day 4
The final day was upon us. Feeling a little heartbreak at the thought of not waking up to this again, I was overcome by the excitement of the next 24 hours. I made sure I got an early start to the fourth day, and was at the Valley Stage for the final breakfast of the festival.
While enjoying my breakfast the beautiful sounds of Hayden Calnin echoed into the VIP tent.
Hearing snippets of Hayden over 2012 through Unearthed had convinced me to check him out – and he did not disappoint. Such maturity in his songwriting and sound for such a young guy was really impressive, and he deserves the credibility he’s getting. An already beautiful start the final (and hottest) day so far was about to be made more beautiful when we took sat on the grass inside the Grand Theatre one last time to wake up with Tinpan Orange. A beautiful set, led by singer Emily Lubitz made me kick myself for not getting around to seeing them earlier. |
We decided to courageously stay in the tent as it filled in minutes as the early risers had come down to see Angus Stone. The first time seeing him solo, his intense and dominating electric guitar sound filled the theatre and the audience was entranced. I heard a "…Where’s Julia” more than once but it was clear Angus can stand on his own two feet and produce a captivating set without the aid of his older sister.
We had been bolting back and forth to the Valley Stage for the past three days and this time it was for Best Coast. I’d been looking forward to seeing these guys since the release of the line up, and they were better than I imagined.
Playing in a to a perfectly fitting chilled crowd, the Californian surf pop duo seemed right at home under the Australian sun. Led by Bethany Cosentino, she interacted well with the crowd and discussed her hometown of L.A as they played hits all too familiar to the Triple J airwaves including The Only Place, Boyfriend and When I’m With You. Bertie Blackman was up next. Playing in a long, heavy blazer it’s no wonder she started to get hot under those lights. By 3pm the weather had definitely scorched well into its 30’s, but she pulled through and surprisingly played old catchy tracks from her debut album Secrets and Lies. |
At 5pm, the outside ampitheatre again had filled entirely when it was time for Matt Corby. With such a successful year it was the perfect way to end it on the eve of 2012 in front of thousands of people. The hit Brother sounded incredible with the aid of thousands of extras during the chorus and classic ‘oooh ahoo’ vocals. Accompanied with a full live band, and in true Aussie spirit, a can of VB.
By sunset it was time for festival veterans Hilltop Hoods. There’s something about HH’s that make people come together from far and wide. Looking around the mosh pit I was surrounded by multiple walks off life – from NBA jersey wearing hoodlums, to flower power hippies – everyone was there for Hilltops.
Without thinking about it, I was familiar with the entire set. With such confident stage presence, both MC’s had an ability to dictate the audience whenever they chose to do so. Whether it be pumping a fist or waving an arm side to side, the audience was under full control. Taking a break after Hilltops, the audience soon gathered (this time with more breathing space) for a live audio-visual treat from Sampology. The video demonstrated a twenty-year reflection of the wonder that is the Falls Festival. The film recaptured past headliners and artists, news surrounding the event and a behind-the-scenes look at how the festival was created in a small town farm by a young farmer who decided to throw a party on New Years Eve that soon blew up into one of the world’s most successful events. I doubt that by 11pm there was anyone left in their tents, as it was all happening at the Valley Stage and Grand Theatre. I chose to spend by countdown at the Valley Stage in front of Two Door Cinema Club – an act that sold the line up to me - you could only imagine the glee I felt when they were announced to do the countdown. It was a real treat to see TDCC in such an atmosphere. With two hit albums to their name, the band crammed as many hits into their epic set as possible. As they counted down the final ten seconds of the year everyone was going wild, loving each other and getting their best boogie on. |
What an epic way to enter 2013. Most definitely one I’ll remember forever. Despite the onesies and overpriced beer, it truly is a whole other world in that rainforest – one completely full of happiness. For anyone thinking of going next year, I highly recommend it in a heartbeat – I’ll see you there!
Maddie Stephenson
Days One And Two Photos
Day Three Photos
Day Four Photos
Maddie Stephenson
Days One And Two Photos
Day Three Photos
Day Four Photos