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- From: carol@ee.uts.edu.au (Carol Gibson)
- Newsgroups: aus.music,alt.music.alternative
- Subject: Big Day Out, Sydney
- Date: 26 Jan 93 21:52:00 GMT
- Organization: University of Technology, Sydney
- Lines: 70
- Distribution: aus
- Message-ID: <carol.728085120@ee.uts.EDU.AU>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: rossi.ee.uts.edu.au
-
- I took myself off to the Big Day Out again this year. In
- an overall comparisoan to last year - there were more bands, and
- more international acts, but way, way too many people. Last year
- there were a comfortable 10,000 people and 3 stages. This year
- there was an unmanageable 22,000 people and 4 stages. There were
- also 15 minute queues to buy beer and 20 minute queues to get into
- the girls loos....
-
- Now for a round up of the bands I saw:
- Armoured Angel - I guess I missed something here. They just looked
- like 3 guys with too much hair trying to sound really heavy
- and evil, not to mention totally tuneless. But the people
- around me sure seemed to like them.
- Mudhoney - they played on the main stage, which was an outdoor stadium
- stage. The sound was abysmal. From the back of the feild
- you could barely hear them - the people in the grandstand
- must have wondered when the band was going to start. I went
- up the front for a while - lots of enthusiastic moshing
- happening, but a hopeless sound. The only songs I enjoyed were
- the ones I could already sing to myself.
- Carter USM - Now I must confess to being rather a Carter fan - so I
- threw myself headlong into this and had a wild time. My only
- gripe? 45 minutes was NOT enough!
- Tumbleweed - rated by several of my friends as the act of the day, by
- the time I got there the Horden seemed to have well overfilled
- it's capacity (which is 5000 I think) and I could only squeeze
- in down the back for a while and listen. They played most of
- the songs off there 2 EPs and one album, they seemed to be
- very tight, and from what I could tell from the screen image I
- see, were putting on a good show.
- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - great. Just great. Nick was on at the main
- outdoor stage, and this time the sound was perfect - clear,
- and loud enough to fill the stadium. They did a fair few songs
- off the latest album, with all the old favorites thrown in as
- well. Nick Cave puts on an incredible show. I was damn impressed.
- Helmet - I knew nothing about Helmet, except that lots of people in
- America consider them god's answer to Nirvana. I liked Helmet -
- I enjoyed the intricate drum patterns and the powerful sounds.
- I'd see them again given the chance...
- Beasts of Bourbon - the Beasts were the Beasts. Tex was Tex. I was bored.
- Sonic Youth - dissapointing to say the least. I love Sonic Youth, but
- left after half the set. The mix was the worst of the day - all
- skull numbing bass, and precious little else. Each song ended
- with a drawn out bass note that set your teeth grinding. I
- tried various areas in the stadium and could find no place where
- the sound was good. I decided to wait till I got home and play
- my Sonic Youth albums instead.
- Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - bloody incredible! As the last act of
- long day I was dragging my feet when I got there, and dancing
- by the time they finished. Michael had been at the Aboriginal
- commemoration all day, so turned up on stage wearing a land rights
- t-shirt, waving an aboriginal flag, wishing us "happy invasion
- day" and telling us that "much respect" was due to our indigenious
- peoples. As a left-wing, issue centred rap act, Disposable Heroes
- are renowned for having a lot to say, and saying it well. Apart
- from Michael having a mesmerising voice, his lyrics are clever
- and thought provoking - like "Hipocrisy is the greatest luxury,
- Raise the double standard!". I liked their cover of "California,
- Uberalis" which is on their album. At one stage in the show they
- tore up a caricature of Bush, to much laughter, and then a
- caricature of Bruce Ruxton, to tumultuous applause. Rap is a
- powerful medium for transmitting ideas, and I might say, it was
- great to see some true rap, filled with well-thought out, humanist
- ideas and a great backing band, rather than the sexist trite
- that seems to typify the mainstream.
-
-
- On the whole a great day. But I think next year I'll catch up with the bands
- at the seperate shows, and avoid the crowds of the Big Day Out.
-
-