Live Review; Parklife Festival 2012

Parklife. The first festival of the Australian summer, apparently. Only the grey skies and drizzle gave this a more British backdrop than anything remotely Antipodean. If Melbourne‘s weather may have made you think of home then the venue certainly did. Sidney Myer Music Bowl is set in the King’s Domain, which is a few tram stops away from Flinders Street Station. An ideal location for the locals and those just arriving in town then.

The rolling hills, cosy alcoves and thick grass underfoot gave the event a decidedly regal setting, even if all sorts of unmitigated chaos was taking place. This could easily have been Blighty, especially when Rizzle Kicks was bouncing around the Sahara Stage with all the enthusiasm of a child overdozing in a sweet shop. For those still streaming in his gloriously riotous set was the ideal start to the day, complete with a refrain stolen from the James Bond theme tune.

The weather remained miserable yet little would put off the punters, even the extortionate prices in the drinks tent. Summer is on its way and this was the first real chance to kick back with mates to some musical refreshment. As it proved seemingly only Australians can get away with the gaudy combination of sunglasses and anoraks. Those who had the forethought for putting on more than two layers or, better still full barnyard animal fancy dress, were inevitably adopting smug grins yet back on the Sahara Stage minimalism was key.

Chiddy Bang only need a drumkit, some ingenious samples and bass heavy beats to provide a mesmerising set. The rhymes came thick and fast, so fast that Chiddy even found time to create his own freestyle based on topics thought up by the front row, those being Germany, moist, Melbourne and the name Josh, obviously.

Next up was Plan B who played true to his soulful back catalogue before gradually bringing in his dark, chilling creation; Ill Manors. With sobering clips from the film playing in the background, ironically the sun finally decided to make an appearance and remained for the title track’s incendiary chorus.

As the expanse of Melbourne’s CBD glistened above and behind, space was at a premium inside the arena which worked out well if you wanted to skip between stages or nip to the toilet. There’s Wiley freestyling over excerpts from Blur’s ‘Parklife’ on the Atoll Stage or Jacques Lu Cont bringing some technicolour remixes to the masses. Explore a bit further and you would find Madam Sing’s Junk, a cosy stage to let your hair down as dictated by the likes of Yasumo and Survivor DJs.

While other festivals pride themselves on organic food outlets, here the nutritional choices were effidently more mainstream. Clearly more attention was paid to a line-up that can easily be described as eclectic. There is a little bit of something for everyone and to prove that guitar music can still excite, Tame Impala are here. However, in their world it’s still 1974 so long hair, retro t-shirts and prog leanings are all in time. Their appearance also coincided with their eagerly awaited new album and while many revelled in the dreamy, woozy soundscapes a downpour brought a premature halt to proceedings.

As the sun began to dip the skies had well and truly opened but thankfully anyone sober enough to realise will have spotted the anoraks being handed out. Those still up for a rave would have found solace in Nero’s live set with enough bass rumblings to set off car alarms on Collins St. Justice’s DJ set swiftly followed with many still left recovering to fully enjoy it. For those seeking solace there was DJ Fresh‘s set underneath the trees at the Kakadu Stage. Even if the name seemed a little unfamiliar the choons certainly were not, especially when he can nonchalantly drop ‘Louder’ aka ‘that one off the Lucozade Lite advert’ and the odd number 1 hit in ‘Hot Right Now’.

Then the hardest decision of all, whose headline set to pick? While The Presets’ blend of pop and house impressed on the Sahara Stage it all seemed a little too soulless. The real entertainment was found just around the corner at the Atoll Stage as Robyn provided the sort of energy we demand from our pop stars these days. As if dancing to her own 80s pop workout suddenly you forgot you were soaking wet through with the likes of Dancing On My Own and With Every Heartbeat proving impossible to resist. Then, almost as if right on cue with the 10pm curfew, the skies opened once more and you could imagine you were back home.

Check Out what other festivals are coming up in our Festivals In Australia Updates. Check Out our past interviews with a few of the Parklife line-up including DJ Fresh and Rizzle Kicks.