Sydney Big Day Out 2007

I wrote up this over the long weekend, but never got around to reviewing and posting it.

It was great to return to the BDO after missing the last couple of years. This year’s line up appealed to me more than any over the last few years, and overall is the best that I’ve attended. My schedule was full to the point where there were plenty of bands that I wanted to see but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts and I was unwilling to sacrifice seeing those I did for those that I didn’t.

So after arriving just before midday and getting straight through the entrance it was a case of joining the masses in the queue for the wristband required to purchase alcoholic beverages. As it turns out, the subsequent bar queues combined with the tight schedule meant it was a pretty dry event anyway. And seeing as you could only buy 2 drinks per person there was little point in taking turns in the queue! By the time you get out to the toilets, then to the bar, queue for 20 minutes then get back to the stage it’s been 30-40 minutes and you’ve missed a full set or close to it. After a food and drink break at 5.30 all I had from then until the end of the night were a coke and water.

So the first band on the schedule was The Butterfly Effect on one of the main stages. And a fantastic start to the day they were…in my opinion worthy of a later time, but that’s a tough call with the quality of most of the bands to come. They put on a great show and I really enjoyed their set. I was fairly close to the stage inside the D Barrier.

Immediately following them was Evermore on the adjoining stage. It was a fairly tough stretch to make to go from TBE’s heavier sound. By the second song they had got the crowd right into their set though. The enthusiasm of the drummer and keyboard player in particular was impressive, and they finished on a high with Running.

It was then time to catch up with some friends who’d opted for Trivium over TBE. It’s tough arranging to meet up with the volume of the music, the fact that you had to try many times to get a phone connection, and that SMS’ were taking ages to get through. We lay up on the grass at the back while My Chemical Romance did their thing for the emo kiddies.

We then headed back into the D for Eskimo Joe. They were great, although I was a bit surprised that in such a short set they’d throw in a U2 song (New Years Day) given that they’ve got plenty of their own good material…it went down well though. Solid.

John Butler Trio came on next. We caught a couple of their songs before ducking over for a quick pit stop, drink and food. They were off to a good start, but unfortunately a band had to be sacrificed, and seeing as it was dinner time they were it.

We made it back just before The Killers kicked off. Unfortunately we wasted some of their set trying to get back into the D, which was full and had been closed off, but you don’t know when it will open up again so we hung around there (they had a red/green light system to get in). After a while I headed back to watch the rest of The Killers while the others stayed in “line” (read disorganised crush) for the D. So the stage was unsighted for part of the show, but what I caught was as good as I had hoped/expected. Personally I have a preference for some of their music that didn't get released as singles but that's ok, I like their pop stuff too! The only thing was that the sound seemed a little light on. They came good though, played all the crowd favourites and everyone responded enthusiastically. Good stuff.

Jet was next. I’d seen their first BDO appearance 3 years ago shortly after Get Born was released and was very impressed. With another album out since then they had more to offer this time. I did miss part of this show though, but what I saw was fairly good. Still think I enjoyed their show last time a bit more.

By the time Muse came on we were in position on the Tool side of the arena just a few people back from the D – a great spot. I was particularly impressed with Muse, who turned in the “punching above their weight” performance of the day for mine. They played a fair bit off Black Holes and Revelations, and it came across harder and edgier than on the album. They had a spectacular light / video show, and a really big sound. Much better than I anticipated, and I really enjoyed their set.

So it was then time for the headliners, Tool to come on stage. As expected, they put on a fantastic show of great depth. Being near the front behind the D, there were of course heaps of their fans all around, and this enthusiasm really lifted the vibe. There was plenty from 10,000 Days, as well a good mix of older stuff, much of which I know even though I haven’t necessarily followed them all that closely. Towards the end of their show I moved to the back half of the arena as I was interested in catching the Violent Femmes, who were playing on one of the outside stages immediately after Tool. After being a lot closer for most of their show I really noticed how washed out the sound was even just halfway back. It must have been terrible for the people in the seats at the far end of the arena.

I made it to the Violent Femmes by the time they started, and found another really tough stretch to make from the intensity of Tool to VF’s acoustic sound on a much smaller set up. They looked like they’d seem better days, but came good a couple of songs in. I was a bit tired by that stage, but a fair proportion of the crowd were right into it. I think playing Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, etc. early in the set helped, as it really lifted the show from there.

One aspect that I missed out on this year was the entertainment provided by the crowd. Usually when you’re waiting around there’s heaps of amusement provided just watching what various people in the crowd are up to, which is a big part of the fun on the day. Without much of a break later in the day I only got a small opportunity to catch this side of things, although I did catch part of the ground tile skating championships taking place in one section of the crowd! Sadly nothing to match the award winning performance by SlothyBoy in the “eating dirt whilst perform an air kick” category a few years ago…priceless ;)

Overall I’d say that Muse, The Killers and The Butterfly Effect were the highlights for me.

I got back on the train almost exactly 12 hours after I arrived, and in that time would have spent a maximum of 45 minutes sitting down. There was plenty of push and shove involved in trying to get into the D during The Killers, as well as being near the front (just behind the D) during Tool. The legs were shot, as they’d also be put through hill reps earlier in the day to go with more than their fair share of cross training. I’ve never been so glad to get to bed and had a big sleep in the next morning before driving back to Port later in the day.