Splendour in the Grass, day two! Again, we aren’t feeling too shabby which is a little suspcious… we head into Splendour fairly early (well, before midday) and eat some Turkish pizza for breakfast while listening to monks chant, as you do. We check back with the happy campers, just in time to watch the group next to them getting raided by the booze cops. I wonder what they do with all the grog they’ve taken - big massive party at the end? We have a wander around the festival, checking out some ‘So you think you can dance’ breakdancing lessons, and contemplate getting a massage.
We head to the Mix-up tent where we catch the last of ELF’s set for our first dance of the day. Then it’s Slot Machine, and these guys are wicked! They are Byron locals; one of their members is a friend of a friend of the dude we are staying with, and told us to go see them. So we did, and how much fun are they! According to their bio, their gigs inspire group sex… hmm, I didn’t see any of that although you could hear them from the camping ground - who knows what was going on inside those tents! They were sassy, reminded me a bit of Peaches. Another awesome start to the day!
I was keen to see Van She, I’ve seen them twice this year with mixed results. Again, the crowd was very young and Van She were good. But I do think they are better suited to a smaller venue - they’d really kick butt in a club. But they are still quite enjoyable, and I really like their music. They end with Kelly, which is their most well-known single. With some time to kill we hit a few bars, check out the happy herbs tent, do some more people-watching and fashion-policing, and generally just relax and take in the Splendour vibe. What I love about this festival is how laidback it is - it doesn’t have the frenetic pace of the Big Day Out, or the idiots who just come to get pissed.
Time for The Grates, again! Their set starts with the theme to Batman (the 60s TV series), and out comes Patience in her Bat Girl outfit, complete with purple vinyl and a winged cape. The Grates don’t disappoint again, everyone is having a phat old time. My friend describes their gigs as like going to birthday parties, and it does feels that way! Patience rewards the enthused crowd with the label of ‘best Splendour crowd ever’.
A bit of Van She Tech (good stuff) before one of my must-sees take to the stage: New Young Pony Club. A band on the Modular label, these guys have a really defined, unique sound. But this doesn’t quite come across during their performance - I feel like any good band could’ve done what they did. Ty Bulmer has a lot of stage presence, and she works the stage well to ensure everyone gets to experience her vibe. She tries to wake the crowd up, reminding them ‘we flew 42 hours to be here!’ On the whole it’s pretty good, but they don’t blow me away. I want to be blown away dammit!
Then it was time for the Icelandic group, Sigur Ros. Up until now I wasn’t really aware of them - I had heard of them but didn’t know much. I was curious to see what they were like. And I am so, so glad I experienced them because they were amazing, astonishing, incredible and the absolute highlight of the Splendour in the Grass festival. Witnessing their performance was an absolute privilege and they moved me more than words can say. Such haunting beauty, soaring vocals, a majestic mesh of string and wind instruments, perfect arrangements.
Vocalist and lead guitarist Jonsi Birgisson is a revelation. His voice is more than angelic, it’s surreal. He often plays the guitar with a bow. The other members of the band - Kjarton Sveinsson, George Holm and Orri Pall Dyrason are incredible also - the love for their music is so clear on their faces. Sigur Ros’s style of music is pretty much indescribable; they sound like what nature might sound like. Iceland must be a very beautiful and special place. I can’t understand a word of the lyrics (it’s in Icelandic or according to some sources, a variation called Hopelandic I think?), but it doesn’t matter - you can feel what is being sung. My eyes are closed for a lot of the performance, and I even cry a little bit too. When my eyes are open, I see people holding each other close, lost for words, tears in their eyes, totally mesmorised by one of the most special performances any of us will ever see in our lives. I’m sure this all sounds very cliche. But a band that can cast such a spell over a massive festival crowd, move me to tears, is something very special. If something horrible happened and you were only allowed to see one band ever again, then please see Sigur Ros.
After that, we didn’t want to see Wolfmother or The Presets - we didn’t want to ruin the moment. My friend Nat and I walked around, talked, reflected on what we’d just seen, then headed to Tipi Forest for the awesome Olli Wisdom. Nothing like a bit of trance to wind-up a festival… A catch-up with the camper friends, then the walk home into town. Nat said to me afterwards, ‘The thing about Splendour that’s different to other festivals is that there is always a surprise, always something that makes you go, “wow”.’ So, despite the blisters on my feet, the lack of sleep, the bus being massively late and almost missing my flight home, I didn’t care. Sigur Ros were my surprise, my wow.
Photo courtesy of kumakae - check more out on Flickr.
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