Headed along to Parklife on the weekend (I know, weird right?) Here's my review on FasterLouder...
Parklife has rolled around once again, back at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl to kick start 2011’s circuit of the touring festival. It may be the metro’s festival event of the year, but surprisingly it does actually offer a great variety of musical offerings. And with none of the internationals allowed to provide sideshows, this served as the only chance to see them. The festival was full of varied happenings; Lykke Li showed how a non-dance act can headline a dance festival, The Streets played up on their last ever show in Melbourne, Death From Above scared the crap out of the festival’s target patronage, and Santigold demonstrated how a two piece horse outfit is the perfect filler for a costume change. This was one mixed bag of acts.
If you wanted to see anyone at any stage with no fuss, squash or bother, first thing in the day was the only time to do so. And there were some nice early offerings. San Fran Disco outshone the oft-talked about Strange Talk first up, if only for the stage differences early on. Both had the synthesized pop down pat, and both had a healthy sized crowd of early comers, but the Sahara Stage (that is, the Bowl itself) made Strange Talk sound like they were playing in a cave (or, The Cave Stage even, which was situated somewhere behind the Bowl’s sails). A cover of Hella Good didn’t help too much – the sound on the lawn was that bad – but it did get the uniformed mass down front jumping about.
Back at the Atoll Stage (the stage for most bands that don’t come to mind when you hear “Parklife”), the token local starlet for this year’s tour, Kimbra, quickly drew a decent crowd for a different kind of dance to what would later be installed for the day. The slinky jazz of Good Intent was a standout in her set, which got things moving nicely and had people bopping along in the afternoon sunshine – happy for whatever warmth they could get. The funk outro on new track Samaritan was another moment to dance, this time with plenty more intensity from Kimbra’s ensemble.
From one Kiwi favourite to the next, The Naked And Famous made drawing a crowd look easy as they led off with All Of This and Punching In A Dream; two perfectly suited tracks to get the sitters standing and singing along to what they knew. The Naked And Famous then changed course a little, and turned a bit gloomier, with the verses of No Way retracting the vibe and even getting a little drowned out by DJs over the hill. They were a hard act to place, as their openers set them up as an excellent Parklife match, then much of the set confused more than a few wanting to dance, with many obviously just waiting out for Young Blood.
Little Dragon had no such back-and-forth, instead turning out to dazzle throughout their entire set. Front woman Yukimi Nagano charmed the crowd with her chilled out demeanour and pleasantries. Clearly happy to be there, the crowd enthusiastically responded in kind. Heavy on percussive tricks, Little Dragon impressed both fans and passers-by with effects boards and indie electronics that wouldn’t be heard anywhere else for the day. Little Dragon’s set also initiated the tree climbing trend for the evening, giving everyone a chance to practice their trash-pegging abilities.
Where Little Dragon dazzled, Death From Above 1979 simply confused. Their backdrop consisted of a tombstone reading “DFA 1979 2001 – 2006”, a note to those none the wiser that the Canadian duo haven’t exactly done much recently aside from reassemble (another note to the fact, Sebastien Grainger announcing, “This is the title track off our new album… That came out six years ago”). “I understand how difficult this must be for you,” Grainger announced about half way through, and for many it certainly was – the number of onlookers holding their ears and walking off was both surprising and amusing. But for those willing to brave the volume and noise (and boy to they make a lot of noise), DFA put on a terrific show, with both Grainger and Jesse Keeler banging about carelessly and many in the crowd surfing away above their fellow DFA faithful. DFA weren’t exactly Parklife material, but they provided a stand out set nonetheless.
Post smashing out rock tunes, it was time to get the proper dance shoes back on and head to Sahara. As the sun set and a large crowd gathered to see Santigold, the cold began to set in, so it was time to dance. And the perfect tutors for such dancing were Santigold’s backup – a pair that only added to the style and amusement of Santigold’s set. Go was an appropriate starting point for both the costume-clad band and crowd alike, before L.E.S. Artistes got people singing along as well as moving. Ever the entertainer, Santigold was full of encouragement for those willing to dance, inviting about 25 extras on stage to help out on Creator, and later, while the band jammed away during a costume change, the stage was led by a two-piece horse dancing away while the backups did their best to lasso the thing. Weird, but funny. But as great as Santigold was to watch, the festival wasn’t exactly making it easy at their biggest stage – some strange decision to have only one immobile camera for the entire Bowl was pretty disappointing. And the Bowl’s sound production: it got louder, but the quality didn’t go up too much with the volume.
Needing no such screens as he stood high above a speaker, Mike Skinner quickly played his entertainment cards too, only with less theatrics and more personality. When Skinner thinks it’s cold, it must be cold. He proposed to the crowd they really only had two options: hug a lot, or just go apeshit. And that they tried to do, even if The Streets beats didn’t exactly provide that many “apeshit” moments. Hung up on the fact that Diplo had been arrested the night before, that the set would be their last ever in Melbourne, and that Mötley Crüe were playing over at Rod Laver, Skinner’s quips between (and during) songs were arguably the most entertaining parts of seeing The Streets live. With lights over the crowd for most of the set, Skinner was watching and commenting on anything that caught his eye (“Is that a goth pashing in the tree?”; “You could be on neighbours”; “Never in my life have I seen a man in a wheelchair crowd surfing”) and the crowd was more than happy to interact. At one point, Skinner had everyone hit the deck, and even if the jump-up result was a little underwhelming, at least he knew he could get people to do whatever crap he wanted them to do. The set ended with a big sing along to Fit But You Know It (with Skinner’s additions of I Love Rock And Roll an ode to Mötley Crüe across the way), a shout out to check if Diplo was alright (he was on the main stage), and finally a rocking Going Through Hell.
For those not willing to endure the sounds of Barbara Streisand any more than they already have to in their day to day life, there was Lykke Li, who headlined the Atoll Stage. “I know this is a dance festival,” Li admitted, “but I’m one of the slow bands tonight”. Li’s set may have been slow at times, but it by no means lacked diversity and intrigue. Beginning in a very dramatic fashion, Li appeared beneath a black veil to thunderous flashing, revealing her theatrics and voice that wouldn’t dwindle for the whole hour. Somewhat appropriately, Dance Dance Dance stood out as Li’s best number, though it wasn’t the kind of dance that’d be happening at the other stages. The gentle number turned to a percussive onslaught as Li joined the right side of stage, which was completely set up with drums and various other things you’d hit. As she moved through her set, Lykke Li had the crowd dancing at times, stationary at times, but all the while mesmerised by her stunning voice and dominant stage presence.
Into the cold night Lykke Li concluded as the giant inflatable duck down in the Bowl finished the festival off with all its novelty value. And that was Parklife away from the decks – maybe not the experience you’d see in the commercials but a musically worthy one all the same.
ty of musical offerings; and with none of the internationals allowed to provide sideshows, this was the only chance to see them. The festival was full of varied happenings. Lykke Li showed how a non-dance act can headline a dance festival, The Streets played up on their last ever show in Melbourne, Death From Above scared the crap out of the festival’s target patronage, and Santogold demonstrated how a two piece horse outfit is the perfect filler for a costume change. This was one mixed bag of acts.
If you wanted to see anyone at any stage with no fuss, squash or bother, first thing in the day was the only time to do so. And there were some nice early offerings. San Fran Disco outshone the talked about Strange Talk first up, if only for the stage differences early on. Both that the synthesized pop down pat, and both had a healthy sized crowd of early comers, but the Sahara Stage (that is, the Bowl itself) made Strange Talk sound like they were playing in a cave (or, The Cave Stage even, which was situated somewhere behind the Bowl’s sails). A cover of Hella Good didn’t help too much – the sound on the lawn was that bad – but it did get the uniformed mass down front jumping about.
Back at the Atoll Stage (the stage for most bands that don’t come to mind when you hear “Parklife”), the token local starlet for this year’s tour, Kimbra, quickly drew a decent crowd for a different kind of dance to what would later be installed for the day. The slinky jazz of Good Intent was a standout in her set, which got things moving nicely and had people bopping along in the afternoon sunshine – happy for whatever warmth they could get. The funk outro on new track Samaritan was another moment to dance, this time with plenty more intensity from Kimbra’s ensemble.
From one Kiwi favourite to the next, The Naked And Famous made drawing a crowd look easy as they led off with All Of This and Punching In A Dream; two perfectly suited tracks to get the sitters standing and singing along to what they knew. The Naked And Famous then changed course a little, and turned a bit gloomier, with the verses of No Way retracting the vibe and even getting a little drowned out by DJs over the hill. They were a hard act to place, as their openers set them up as an excellent Parklife match, then much of the set confused more than a few wanting to dance, with many obviously just waiting out for Young Blood.
Little Dragon had no such back-and-forth, instead just turning out to dazzle throughout their entire set. Front woman Yukimi Nagano charmed the crowd with her chilled out demeanour and pleasantries, she was clearly happy to be there and the crowd responded in kind. Heavy on percussive tricks, Little Dragon impressed both fans and passers-by with effects boards and indie electronics that wouldn’t be heard anywhere else for the day. Little Dragon’s set also initiated the tree climbing trend for the evening, giving everyone a chance to practice their trash-pegging abilities.
Where Little Dragon dazzled, Death From Above 1979 simply confused. Their backdrop consisted of a tombstone reading “DFA 1979 2001 – 2006”, a note to those none the wiser that the Canadian duo haven’t exactly done much recently aside from reassemble (another note to the fact, Sebastien Grainger announcing, “This is the title track off our new album… That came out six years ago”). “I understand how difficult this must be for you,” Grainger announced about half way through, and for many it certainly was – the number of onlookers holding their ears and walking off was both surprising and amusing. But for those willing to brave the volume and noise (and boy to they make a lot of noise), DFA put on an awesome show, with both Grainger and Jesse Keeler banging about carelessly and many in the crowd surfing away above their fellow DFA faithful. DFA weren’t exactly Parklife material, but they provided a stand out set nonetheless.
Post smashing out rock tunes, it was time to get the proper dance shoes back on and head to Sahara. As the sun set and a large crowd gathered to see Santogold, the cold began to set in, so it was time to dance. And the perfect tutors for such dancing were Santogold’s backup – a pair that only added to the style and amusement of Santogold’s set. Go was an appropriate starting point for both the costume-clad band and crowd alike, before L.E.S. Artistes got people singing along as well as moving. Ever the entertainer, Santogold was full of encouragement for those willing to dance, inviting about 25 extras on stage to help out on Creator, and later, while the band jammed away during a costume change, the stage was led by a two-piece horse dancing away while the backups did their best to lasso the thing. Weird, but funny. But as great as Santogold was to watch, the festival wasn’t exactly making it easy at their biggest stage – some strange decision to have only one immobile camera for the entire Bowl was pretty disappointing. And the Bowl’s sound production: it got louder, but the quality didn’t go up too much with the volume.
Needing no such screens as he stood high above a speaker, Mike Skinner quickly played his entertainment cards, too, only with less theatrics and more personality. When Skinner thinks it’s cold, it must be cold. He proposed to the crowd they really only had two options: hug a lot, or just go apeshit. And that they tried to do, even if The Streets beats didn’t exactly provide that many “apeshit” moments. Hung up on the fact that Diplo had been arrested the night before, that the set would be their last ever in Melbourne, and that Mötley Crüe were playing over at Rod Laver, Skinner’s quips between (and during) songs were arguably the most entertaining parts of seeing The Streets live. With lights over the crowd for most of the set, Skinner was watching and commenting on anything that caught his eye (“Is that a goth pashing in the tree?”; “You could be on neighbours”; “Never in my life have I seen a man in a wheelchair crowd surfing”) and the crowd was more than happy to interact. At one point, Skinner had everyone hit the deck, and even if the jump-up result was a little underwhelming, at least he knew he could get people to do whatever crap he wanted them to do. The set ended with a big sing along to Fit But You Know It (with Skinner’s additions of I Love Rock And Roll an ode to Mötley Crüe across the way), a shout out to check if Diplo was alright (he was on the main stage), and finally a rocking Going Through Hell.
For those not willing to endure the sounds of Barbara Streisand any more than they already have to in their day to day life, there was Lykke Li, who headlined the Atoll Stage. “I know this is a dance festival,” Li admitted, “but I’m one of the slow bands tonight”. Li’s set may have been slow at times, but it by no means lacked diversity and intrigue. Beginning in a very dramatic fashion, Li appeared beneath a black veil to thunderous flashing, revealing her theatrics and voice that wouldn’t dwindle for the whole hour. Somewhat appropriately, Dance Dance Dance stood out as Li’s best number, though it wasn’t the kind of dance that’d be happening at the other stages. The gentle number turned to a percussive onslaught as Li joined the right side of stage, which was completely set up with drums and various other things you’d hit. As she moved through her set, Lykke Li had the crowd dancing at times, stationary at times, but all the while mesmerised by her stunning voice and dominant stage presence.
Into the cold night Lykke Li concluded as the giant inflatable duck down in the Bowl finished the festival off with all its novelty value. And that was Parklife away from the decks – maybe not the experience you’d see in the commercials but a musically worthy one all the same.
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Here's Lykke Li doing her thing:
And to the guys dressed as Yip Yip aliens, kudos!
