_The Falls Music & Arts Festival 2011/2012 @ Marion Bay, Tasmania (28-01/11-12/2011-12)
_Brisbane to
Hobart is a bit of a hike to attend a festival, especially these days when they
seem to pop up anywhere a promoter can stick a stage, but Falls offers more
than just a music festival, it’s a tourist opportunity. Bringing in more that
7,500 punters from the mainland, the 2012 Marion Bay event is now in doubt due
to lack of Government funding.
Whether you road trip it along the Great Ocean Road to Lorne or take a camper van around Tassie, The Falls Festival has always been a favourite for people who like to get a little more than just overpriced beer and a dusty greyhound track.
As one of the oldest and most prestigious festivals in the country, I was excited to see what Falls could offer. We opted for the three day ticket, wrangled some camping gear and picked a pozy between the Valley (main) and Field stages, right in the thick of it.
Day one was essentially an orientation day. We checked out the markets, worked out where the closest toilets were and came to terms with the fact that Tassie’s extreme UV means that any bare skin not caked in multiple layers of SPF30+ will crisp up to crimson in minutes. At 8:30pm, when the sun was still quite high in the sky, The Village opened up to offer people a range of crazy sideshow shenanigans to get us all in the festival spirit.
Day two was time for the real festival to begin, with Emma Louise on the Field stage. The crowd was reasonable but very subdued; most opting to lounge on the lush grass conserving their energy for the long festival ahead. She’s such a little lady, she looked barely capable of reaching around her acoustic guitar but she pumped out a great range of folky summer tunes. When the tiny songstress introduced her hit ‘Jungle’, she got a few up on their feet and the track had great resonance in the wild leafy surrounds.
Whether you road trip it along the Great Ocean Road to Lorne or take a camper van around Tassie, The Falls Festival has always been a favourite for people who like to get a little more than just overpriced beer and a dusty greyhound track.
As one of the oldest and most prestigious festivals in the country, I was excited to see what Falls could offer. We opted for the three day ticket, wrangled some camping gear and picked a pozy between the Valley (main) and Field stages, right in the thick of it.
Day one was essentially an orientation day. We checked out the markets, worked out where the closest toilets were and came to terms with the fact that Tassie’s extreme UV means that any bare skin not caked in multiple layers of SPF30+ will crisp up to crimson in minutes. At 8:30pm, when the sun was still quite high in the sky, The Village opened up to offer people a range of crazy sideshow shenanigans to get us all in the festival spirit.
Day two was time for the real festival to begin, with Emma Louise on the Field stage. The crowd was reasonable but very subdued; most opting to lounge on the lush grass conserving their energy for the long festival ahead. She’s such a little lady, she looked barely capable of reaching around her acoustic guitar but she pumped out a great range of folky summer tunes. When the tiny songstress introduced her hit ‘Jungle’, she got a few up on their feet and the track had great resonance in the wild leafy surrounds.
_Next up was Kimbra on the spectacular Valley stage. We lay
on the lush grass, worth of Hindu cows and soaked up to amazing ocean vista.
She put on a flawless set with ‘Settle Down’ taking up residence in my head until the next day.
The crowd were spread up the hill and sight of them dancing in the sun would
have been pretty special from behind the mic.
Back to the Field stage, the raw rock’n’roll of The Jim Jones Revue was just about to begin. These guys are seasoned performers and had everyone kicking off their shoes and stomping around on the grass. This was my first Jim Jones experience and it couldn’t have been a better introduction. Along with my vitamin D overdose, I knew I’d also be leaving Falls with an intense and belated love of this band. The Grates were the next act to tick off the timetable and there was even more dancing to get done. Since first seeing this band in a divey Brisbane venue six years ago, these guys have never disappointed me in the live stakes; they are a pocket party. Patience did her energizer bunny on ecstasy routine and it was great to see that the tracks off their new release were as popular with the audience as their older numbers. It seemed like a strange timetabling decision to put Aloe Blacc up late in the afternoon on the main stage considering he has only really had one hit song in Australia, but one should not doubt The Falls organizers. This guy was a real showman, carrying the crowds’ attention and giving them a great set. Aloe Blacc was certainly the surprise standout of the festival. |
_ It’s been
nearly 15 years since we first heard classic pop tracks ‘Polyester Girl’, ‘The
Song Formerly Known As’
and ‘Black Bugs’,
and Regurgitator decided
to take us all back in time by playing UNIT in full. Even squeezing back into their silver
lycra suits for the show, the guys fed off the nostalgic excitement of the
audience and the irony of ‘I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff’
was not lost on anyone.
The headliners were up next and the Valley stage was completely full. The Arctic Monkeys have such an impressive catalogue of tracks to choose from now that their set proved to be a veritable best of. Along with past classics like ‘Briantstorm’ and new crowd favourite ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair,’ Arctic Monkeys round out the set by throwing in a handful of promising new tracks as well. The boys donned leathers and looked every part the proper rock band.
Day two and after a restless sleep we slapped on more sun cream and ambled over to the Field stage for Lanie Lane. This rockabilly crooner proved that she wouldn’t be on the small stage for much longer, pulling a great crowd and belting out tracks off her brilliant debut. Despite claiming she’d been a bit sick, her vocals were solid and powerful, especially for the stand out track ‘Ain’t Hungry’.
After first seeing Grouplove at Splendour in July with around 200 people, I was not surprised to see a huge crowd flock to the main stage for their Falls set. This band of eclectic hippies played their take on easy to digest Pixies tunes with gusto. Their were a few sound issues, however this didn’t deter the crowd or the band and there was a lot of love between the two. Their astronomic growth in the past six months is owed in no small part to Triple J and the band made a special mention and thanks to the station for their support.
The headliners were up next and the Valley stage was completely full. The Arctic Monkeys have such an impressive catalogue of tracks to choose from now that their set proved to be a veritable best of. Along with past classics like ‘Briantstorm’ and new crowd favourite ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair,’ Arctic Monkeys round out the set by throwing in a handful of promising new tracks as well. The boys donned leathers and looked every part the proper rock band.
Day two and after a restless sleep we slapped on more sun cream and ambled over to the Field stage for Lanie Lane. This rockabilly crooner proved that she wouldn’t be on the small stage for much longer, pulling a great crowd and belting out tracks off her brilliant debut. Despite claiming she’d been a bit sick, her vocals were solid and powerful, especially for the stand out track ‘Ain’t Hungry’.
After first seeing Grouplove at Splendour in July with around 200 people, I was not surprised to see a huge crowd flock to the main stage for their Falls set. This band of eclectic hippies played their take on easy to digest Pixies tunes with gusto. Their were a few sound issues, however this didn’t deter the crowd or the band and there was a lot of love between the two. Their astronomic growth in the past six months is owed in no small part to Triple J and the band made a special mention and thanks to the station for their support.
_ With their debut album United in Isolation on many people’s Top Ten lists for 2011, Papa Vs Pretty were up next on the Field stage. They played a tight and controlled set and the amount of sound the three of them manage to pump out is reminiscent of early Silverchair. Aside from one new track, ‘Rollercoaster’, the boys stuck to tracks of their LP and had the crowd in a frenzy.
Time to stroll back to the Valley stage and take a well earned rest on the grass to watch Tim Finn. I’ve always found Tim to be arrogant to the point of nausea but despite a few self indulgent moments Tim managed to get through a tonne of Split Endz, Crowded House and solo hits. He even set his ego aside for long enough to hand over the mic to Missy Higgins to sing ‘Stuff and Nonsense’ which sounded pretty special. All in all it was a solid set filled with nostalgic hits. The John Butler Trio took to the stage next for a typical JBT festival set. The crowd were treated to tracks new and (very) old including ‘Pick Apart’, ‘Zebra’ and ‘Treat Yo Mama’ but Butler then descended into one of his decadent, long-winded guitar solos. Lasting well over five minutes, it was a tough ask for a crowd of tired, drunk and sunburnt NYE revelers and he lost the love at that point. But if JBT brought the tone down a few notches then The Kooks were set to pump us back up again. Churning through hit after hit of brilliant British pop, they managed to make everyone forget their sore feet and boogie into the New Year. |
_
The countdown was well timed and broke into ‘Naïve’ after a big group hug. It was an incredibly memorable experience and I don’t think many will forget where they were for NYE 2011.
For several days after the festival it was easy to spot weary Falls Festival punters touring around the many beautiful Tasmanian attractions, proving that people use Marion Bay as a launch pad for their trip which I couldn’t recommend enough. If the festival does indeed disappear from the calendar next year it will be a serious blow to not only the Australian festival circuit but to Tassie tourism generally.
Kirsty Visman
Photos - 30th December
Photos - 31st December
The countdown was well timed and broke into ‘Naïve’ after a big group hug. It was an incredibly memorable experience and I don’t think many will forget where they were for NYE 2011.
For several days after the festival it was easy to spot weary Falls Festival punters touring around the many beautiful Tasmanian attractions, proving that people use Marion Bay as a launch pad for their trip which I couldn’t recommend enough. If the festival does indeed disappear from the calendar next year it will be a serious blow to not only the Australian festival circuit but to Tassie tourism generally.
Kirsty Visman
Photos - 30th December
Photos - 31st December