andrewdewaard.com

big day out 2005 - ie the best concert ive ever been too

12:00 - the donnas
these fiesty little females started the day off with their girly garage rock, which was actually quite impressive, their guitarist is really good (i think i read somewhere that she can play a kiss solo that ace frehley himself cant even play live), but basically they only have two really great songs: “take it off” and “fall behind me”

1:00 - rjd2
due to some technical difficulties, rjd2’s set was kinda disappointing, but his dj skills still impressed, playing favourites such as “final frontier” and “the horror”

2:00 - the hives
probably the funniest set of the day, the main dude of the hives is a cheeky bastard and its hilarious: “now every one say ‘thank you hives!’ ” in this tiny version you cant see the impeccably dressed hives in their matching white suits, but i think this technicolour pic still captures the feeling of the day…

3:00 - the music
still suffering from a lead singer that sounds too much like geddy lee…

4:00 - kid koala
a scratch-filled reinvisioning of louie armstrong, a remix of seven nation army i actually approve of (walking down richmond last year and hearing a terrible dance version of 7na coming out of the phoenix made me wanna hurl) and other turntable acrobatics made sweating in the aptly named “hot house” well worth it

5:00 - le tigre
the only band i cant really describe, some sort of feminist electro pop punk rock choreographed dance routine riot girl thing, it was … the good kind of bizarre

5:30 - slipknot
a part of me wishes i wasnt needing a break from all the sunshine at this point and maybe i would have risked my life in the slipknot moshpit, but i was happy to watch these masked freaks and their army of fans (like literally, army, the kids all dress the same, obey their every command and smack each other around). you can see them all raising their fists in solidarity here…

6:30 - system of a down
meh.

7:00 - the polyphonic spree
i really encourage anyone and everyone to try and see the polyphonic spree live in concert if they can, its unlike any other live show youve seen. i kept thinking it was like worship or something. this group of 20 people in colourful robes playing all kinds of different instruments singing about sunshine and smiles and everything else happy and joyful. again, the good kind of bizarre.

7:30 - the streets
unfortunately i had to leave the polyphonic spree early (as is the case with these kind of shows, i also had to miss rise against for kid koala), but luckily it was to see everybody’s favourite uk mc, mike skinner. i thought it would be him and a dj but all the music was actually made by a drummer, a bass player, and a guy on keyboard, so that was impressive. i’d say the strength of the streets is the precision in the way he raps, which is kind of lacking in the live show, but still good nonetheless. “put on yer mittens for these sub-zero conditions”

8:30 - beastie boys
“i’m a mother fucking nick at night with/classics rerunning that you know all right” exactly what you want in a show: the classics, the best of the new, some obscure favourites, 4 screens, a “lounge band” interlude where they played some instrumental songs, an extremely talented dj, and 3 mcs who have more energy than most artists half their age.

10:00 - the chemical brothers
ending the night was the incomparable (uncomparable?) chemical brothers, managing to get every single person on their feet (i bet even the slipknot kids were like, ah shit, these guys can put down a beat). you know those bands that youve been a fan of for soo long and continue to put out great album after great album (which the chemical brothers just did with ‘push the button’ incedently) and you just cant wait to see them live? well the chemical brothers were one of the 3 remaining bands on my list (with sonic youth and bjork) and they were well worth the wait. im not much of a dancer (to put it mildly), but damn was i cuttin a metaphoric rug for their whole set. ending their set with my favourite tune of theirs, electrobank, and an encore of ‘the private psychedlic reel’, the chemical brothers wrapped up my big day out of 12 solid hours of amazing music.