Field Day 2012 – Review

What a way to wash all of the regret and not so distant awkward memories from 2011 away (not forgetting the hangover from the night before) than to spend the day with 20,000 other like minded sydney goers all in the name of fun. This was Field Day’s 11th annual New Years day party, held at The Domain, which is a peaceful and leafy location surrounded by the bustling city skyline. Just for this reason you can instantly see why so many choose to spend the first day of the year at this event.

This popular one day festival is renowned for it’s eclectic mix of indie, electro, hip hop dubstep and dance music from both local and international artists. The line-up was definitely something to get excited about this year with the likes of Calvin Harris, Example, Gotye, Crystal Castles, Metronomy and Justice setting to hit stage.

Walking around the venue the crowd was very much a mix of Sydney’s trend led hipsters and cool muso types, with the occasional slightly wacky fancy dress costume – it was clear to see that everyone was loving the good time vibe and chilled out atmosphere.

The event was fairly easy to make your way around with three stages: Centre Field (main stage), Island Stage for those who like more of a dance beat, and the Left Field Stage which held more of the local Aussie bands. There was a wide variety of food and drink stalls, not forgetting a large amount of accessible portaloos – no one likes to get stuck in one of those cues!

The highlights of the day came from DJ Calvin Harris who got things rolling with his recent hit ‘Bounce.’ British born artist Example also got everyone on their feet with ‘You changed the way you kissed me’. The real crowd pleaser came from Aussie’s own Gotye who sent everyone into a frenzy with ‘Somebody that I used to know’ (hit of the summer over here) along with Flight Facilities who gathered a slightly smaller crowd yet got everyone singing along to ‘Crave you’ feat Giselle.

UK’s Metronomy were slightly less well known, but for their fans this was a great set which included the popular ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Radio Ladio.’

To finish off the 11 hour stint all crowds headed to watch Justice hit the main stage with a world debut of their brand new live show for 2012 which included some of their massive hits including ‘D.A.N.C.E’ and ‘Genesis’ – the french duo delivered a quality set and sent the masses off home in high spirits, ready to take on the year ahead.

Another great Field Day style start to the year. Bring on 2012!

By Lucy Gadd