Tone Deaf braved the bogans on Australia Day to go to the Big Day Out at Flemington Racecourse.
Those entering the Big Day Out were greeted by the acrid stench of burning bogan skin as the tops came off and the hotpants went on, ensuring the crowd was a blazing shade of crimson by late afternoon. Entering the site, Tone Deaf is greeted by a massive crowd surrounding the Green Stage to witness The Temper Trap play the ‘hit’ – Sweet Disposition- the saturation point single that has sound tracked every sports footage montage and become beloved of Nova FM listeners over the last year. The crowd disperses measurably and The Decemberists are enjoyed with plenty of personal space, their lush pop a perfect antidote to the testosterone fuelled crowd. Colin Meloy has a better handle on the intricacies of Australia’s National Day than most of the crowd and performers, wearing a t-shirt with an Aboriginal flag on it. Over in the Hot Produce tent Wagons play to a small but incredibly enthusiastic crowd, with Henry Wagons wearing a grubby pair of jeans that look like he’d been doing a spot of gardening that morning. The Horrors, in the bright sunlight of the Essential Stage look completely out of place but run through an amazing set largely consisting of tracks from Primary Colours. Faris Badawan wears a Hawaiian shirt under his leather biker jacket in the only nod to colour and the summer heat in the band, but stalks the stage giving a primal urgency to the songs, with Mirror’s Image and Who Can Say? prompting hands to be raised in adulation. Dizzee Rascal may be no rocket scientist but he’s smart enough to have cornered the market in commercial grime pop and draws one of the largest crowds of the afternoon to the Blue Stage. With both on the bill, an obligatory special guest appearance by Calvin Harris on the duo’s Dance Wiv Me does it for the kids.He’s followed on the adjacent Orange Stage by Lily Allen who proves she is a bogan by wearing an Australian flag dress on stage and then proceeds to tell the crowd that she’s gotten the shits – quite literally. Apparently she’s had bad diarrhoea for the last two days and needed to share the fact with them. Nonetheless, classy girl or not, her summery pop schmalz is perfect to soundtrack the afternoon.
It’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for Jet. Last time they played on the Green Stage they topped the Triple J Hottest 100 and were seemingly invincible. Nowadays they’re back there and times and the public’s taste for their meat n’ potatoes rock have changed – their last two albums stiffing in the charts. Perhaps with nothing to prove these days they seem like they’re having fun on stage and glad to be home. Nic Cester sprays the crowd with water while Mark Wilson seems to have been drinking at the fountain of eternal youth – his short hair and beanpole physique make him look 12. Over at the Essential Stage Ladyhawke plies her pop charm and seems less scared of being on stage when hiding behind her guitar. New song Danny and Jenny demonstrates that she and her crack songwriting team have still got more hits in them, although it is likely to have Kim and Marty Wilde after her because it bears an uncanny resemblance to Kids In America. The Mars Volta noodle away their prog rock on the Blue Stage inspiring bearded 20 and 30 something blokes to play air guitar while Muse take it to another level headlining the same stage. Prog rock tendencies and a seemingly never ending quest to be more like Queen than Queen, Muse still attract a huge crowd, and their songwriting smarts are evident as almost everyone in the throng sing along to the chorus of Black Holes & Revelations. The Big Day Out is very much now an event for teenagers and those in their early 20s and might not have the discerning crowd it had when initially expanding around Australia. Despite the disconcerting undertones of Aussie bogan nationalism rather than patriotism shown by the youthful and naive crowd, it’s become a rite of passage for many and while it may have become very corporate and commercial in recent years, if it makes rock n’ roll in its many permutations a part of life for da yoof, then let them have it.
