What a f*kn amazing weekend of absolute goodness. The lineup was always ridiculous, however it truly transformed into one of the best festivals ive ever been to. I won't dive into the boring details of each and every set, cause that would take way too long. Instead ill post my top ten songs i heard, in no particular order, cause its hard to split a lot of them. All in all, each day was packed full of impressive/incredible/mindblowing acts, and not one disappointment.
1. LCD Soundsytem - Pow Pow
Fuck me, LCD were the highlight, they teared the place a new one. This song was insane, the base after the chorus was like nothing i'd ever felt, seriously cardiac arrest style noise/sound/whatever you call it. The whole set was intense, James Murphy is a legend, and it hurts thinking about the fact theyll never be here again, they made Splendour.
2. Foals - Red Socks Pugie
Foals-ripped-it-apart. After waiting for - what is it? - 4 years?? for them to come out, they certainly didnt disappoint. It was awesome hearing both CDs, which almost made the wait worth it. Total Life Forever, Cassius, Balloons, Miami, Blood, Red Socks Pugie, Two Steps Twice, Spanish Sahara - it was all sick. Red Socks Pugie was the highlight, ive always loved this song and thought it would be epic live, and it was, the whole mix-up tent lost their shit.
3. Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn
A great dose of british(irish)indie. These guys blew me away. They sounded great, but not just 'put on the cd' great, they played around with the songs, threw in some surprises, and despite their early (2pm) set-time they generally killed it. The tent was rammed for the whole set, and stayed rammed for the day. Undercover Martyn - they dragged out the intro chords a few times then let it rip, the crowd sang every word, and moved to every beat. Memorable.
4. Delphic - Counterpoint
After seeing Delphic earlier in the year at OAF, i knew they would be great, but with the big tent, and a rammed crowd, they f*cking killed it. Counterpoint was one of the stand outs. Their long songs and synthy chords really produced something special, and the crowd loved every second of it. These guys are going to be back soon, i get the feeling the like it here.
5. Miike Snow - Animal
Firstly, i know, its a bit cliche, but what can i say, these guys really knew how to get it grooving. The whole set was awesome. And of course this song was great, everyone knew it would be, and to be honest i was a little blown away at how great these guys were.
6. British India - God is Dead, Meet The Kids
As one of my highlights from Falls a couple of years back i was a little disappointed to see British India hit the stage at the early time of 2pm on the first day. However this thought was quickly done with once i saw the thousands upon thousand of people that had congregated in the amphitheatre to see these guys rock out with their cocks out. They blew it apart, the crowd went nuts. They played a wicked beastie boys cover (Fight For Your Right), and God Is Dead, Meet the Kids was the highlight, cause i love that song, and apparently so does splendour.
7. Paul Kelly - Careless
Australia's very own Bob Dylan! Apprehensive at his set time of 8.30pm on the Saturday, once again i punched myself in the face when i saw the crowd Paul had pulled in the upper tent stage. His voice is mesmerising, his songs have stories, everyone was hugging each other, singing along, and whispers of set of the festival were heard among many punters. RARARARRESPECT PK.
8. The Strokes - Last Nite
Closing the main stage on the second night, The Strokes were nothing short of holy shit amazing. I dont know how many people that amphitheatre holds, but f*ck me it was packed. Lines to get in were cut off due to over crowding, and the roar when they came on stage was deafening. There were numerous highlights, 'Someday' made peoples' hips move like nothing ive ever seen, and the moshpit for 'Last Nite' was f*cking mindblowing - get me back there (when i recover)
9. Florence & and The Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
This chick is mesmerising. Situated up on the hill of the amphitheatre i watched in oar as she had the
whole crowd in the palm of her hand, and listening to every note she sang. Her voice is as good as you've heard it is, and i enjoyed every second of her set. She played her new track 'Strangeness and Charm' amongst a slew of the slower ballads, but it was tracks like 'Kiss With a Fist', 'Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)' and 'Dog Days' made the crowd go crazy. There's something about her red her.
10. The Vines - Get Free
Wow!!! They can still rock a crowd after all these years. They sounded amazing. They played all their classics and the crowd was going absolutely crazy. Get Free was played towards the end, and as expected it was the shit. On a side note, their cover of "Ms Jackson - Outkast" was amazing, i think the whole crowd agreed as well.
So there you have it, thats ten highlights amongst a myriad of amazing moments. Side notes must go to:
Hot Chip - Of course they were a highlight, they always are, just cause there not in the top ten, dont think that they shouldn't be, maybe the should, ok they're number 11, they fucking rock.
Passion Pit - Who were incredible and surprisingly sounded great live. That guys voice actually is that high.
Jonsi - I didnt get a change to catch him play, but i heard he was mindblowing. I'd expect nothing less from the man that heads up Sigur Ros - next time, i promise.
Woodfordia - I thought the venue was great, while despite problems getting in, and some mud, we had a group of happy campers who happened to stumble upon possibly the best camping spot on the map. WORDDDD.
Goldfrapp - wow, Alison can do her thang.
Till next year.
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