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Emeritus
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Last Active 05-01-20 6:11 am
Joined 02-24-14
Review Comments 157
| St. Jerome's Laneway Festival - 8/2/15
Without a Big Day Out or Soundwave this year, St. Jerome's Laneway stuck out as one
of the only viable options after Southbound's lackluster lineup. With Soundwave's
further downsizing in 2016 and Groovin' the Moo's patchy at best lineup on the horizon,
Laneway is beginning to stand out as one of the biggest and best festivals around.
Here's my general notes and impressions of what I saw in Perth. | | 1 |  | Eagulls
Eagulls
The forecast for the day topped 40 degrees celsius, leading to a question of just how comfortable
Eagulls were with their own performance. Decked out in sweaters and incredibly tight chinos, the
constant smug look of misery permeated their set, resulting in a dark, booming, operatic start to the
day. The lads were light on stage banter, with their admirable progression between tracks taking
precedence over the generic conventions of a live rock performance. The general miserable
atmosphere probably felt exasperated by poor turnout- it's safe to say that those who did attend
however came away sate and exhilarated for the day ahead. | | 2 |  | Perfect Pussy
Say Yes to Love
Perfect Pussy were notably abrasive in a day dominated by the likes of Andy Bull and Benjamin
Booker. Frankly, their set wasn't always impressive or easy on the ears- monitors were constantly
switching on and off, with Perfect Pussy's signature screeching menace not always in peek position.
Regardless, the visceral cuts from Say Yes to Love prove that the crowd today were hungry for
something a little more violent (ignoring the lack of mosh in lieu of poor available shade), with
Perfect Pussy happily delivering. | | 3 |  | Dune Rats
Dune Rats
On record, Dune Rats hardly deliver anything special; surfer punk with the odour of marijuana
lingering in the halls. However, live they prove themselves more than capable of holding an
audiences concentration. Cheap ploys are used to get motivation up- beach balls, toilet paper, stage
banter about wanking and weed. It doesn't matter, because the cheap ploys were pulled off
admirably. Under all that silliness, Dune Rats managed to kickstart the day proper. | | 4 |  | Pond (AUS)
Man, It Feels like Space Again
Many come away from Pond certain they were the highlight of the day; that's debatable to say the
least. They certainly didn't disappoint- the funky, steamrolling riff of "Giant Tortoise" is proof
positive- however the short set and abundance of tracks from their latest effort hardly did the band
much service. When I'm passed a setlist later on, I find it further upsetting to see tracks from Hobo
Rocket and Beard, Wives, Denim sliced from the set to save time. Regardless, a great time was had
by all, if not through persevering with every bad symptom of the festival set possible. | | 5 |  | Royal Blood
Royal Blood
Undoubtedly, Royal Blood were today's favourites; a scan of any line or crowd turned up at least a
handful of punters with a Royal Blood shirt. It's hard to say anyone was disappointed with the
turnout, either. Largely forgoing most stadium rock tropes- pyrotechnics, inane stage banter, inane
soloing- most of their debut was trotted out to great effect. The seismic force of only 2 musicians
seemed to be the key tidbit the crowd drew from the overwhelmingly loud performance on offer.
When the crowd-pleasing "Out of the Black" finally came around, it was both relieving and a little
disconcerting to think Royal Blood wrapped up at the right time. Whether they continue the magic
for album number 2 remains to be seen, as this set proved that Royal Blood not only know what to
say but that they've already said it perfectly. | | 6 |  | Caribou
Our Love
Such is Dan Snaith's modesty that he gets his own band to come out and perform soundcheck; such
is his graciousness that he happily responds and nods to just about any heckle thrown his way.
Content with the way the crowd happily devour every throbbing note, his eager and relieved grin
suits his uplifting electronic rock. The monstrous bass likely bewildered some, and fans remained
divided on which tracks succeeded (Arguably, tracks from Dive go down better than cuts from Our
Love). What can't be argued is the power of the impressively anthemic "Can't Do Without You", a
throbbing monster that had a relatively small field bouncing in euphoric glee. Even the most cynical
punter had to admit that Caribou captivated a wide array of audiences in a way nobody else
managed throughout the day. | | 7 |  | St. Vincent
St. Vincent
It felt unjust that Annie Clark was only given 45 minutes to trot her stuff, especially as she was
billed as a headline act. All ranting on the account aside, she made the most of her 45 available
minutes, strutting into effervescent lights to rip through an exhilarating rendition of "Rattlesnake",
the first cut from her self-titled effort. That particular album was most well-represented today- only
2 tracks from Strange Mercy and 1 from Actor made the cut- but hardly anybody was complaining.
As what is likely her crowning achievement, the barbed stomp of "Regret", the uptempo horns of
"Digital Witness", and the wild guitar acrobatics of "Bring Me Your Loves" stood out above the
somber chills of "Cheerleader". Needless to say, time flew by, and St. Vincent's short set didn't feel
completely satisfying. That being said, she made the most of her brief stage time and took away as
the most impressive act of the day. | | 8 |  | Flying Lotus
You're Dead!
I had trepidations about Flying Lotus and Layer 3, with most reviews turning out a rather middling
impression of Stephen Ellison's live performance. Perth ended up with some half-aborted version of
Layer 3, sandwiching FlyLo between 2 projectors. It hardly lent well to a show that owed more to a
clubbing experience than a performance, with Chance the Rapper, Drake, and Schoolboy Q remixes
taking precedence over any of FlyLo's solo tracks. The final 15 minutes where Captain Murphy
emerged to run through "Dead Man's Tetris" proved a highlight; unfortunately, the constraints of
Layer 3 proved to undermine the overall experience. A bevy of other criticisms could be levied- the
hour long set, the occasional mixing issues- however it's important to note that these are all issues
Ellison's hardly responsible for. Despite numerous flaws, FlyLo proved an exhilarating and satisfying
end to a day of highlights, with "Never Catch Me" capping off the day in wonderful style. | |
brandontaylor
02.14.15 | I was at Laneway Sydney, the only artists of those on the list I saw were St. Vincent (who was fantastic) and FlyLo (who was disappointing, but maybe because by the end of the night I was pretty tired and ready to go home). FKA Twigs was the best of the night though by far. | Phlegm
02.14.15 | why didnt u see the good acts | DaveyBoy
02.14.15 | Nice write-up Arcade. But the Laneway organisers probably don't want you to call it the "biggest" festival. |
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