The excitement of another Splendour In The Grass has come and gone. As Splendour 2016 begins to recede into our collective rearview mirror, those of us who had only our FOMO to cling to can breathe a sigh of relief.
Sure, we missed out on some sets from legendary bands like The Cure, but we also didn’t have to line up for half an hour to grab a beer. Fair trade, right…?
To cut through some of the lingering FOMO (or perhaps just add to it), we’ve gone ahead and looked at the highlights (and the… less luminous light sources) of Splendour In The Grass 2016.
Hit: Brilliant Headliners
Saturday night headliners The Cure proved why they have been one of the biggest bands in the world for a long time, and their hit-filled epic set was musically flawless.
Likewise, Sigur Ros were incredible closing out the Mix Up tent, and Violent Soho performed a brilliant set to a rapt audience – their excellent cover of Nirvana’s ‘Breed’ kicked in, it was just icing on the cake.
Shit: Bus Disasters
For the poor people trying to catch a bus, this one was definitely an enormous stuff up on the part of the organisers. Not sure how they got that so wrong, but on Friday night those trying to leave had waits of up to three or four hours, and too few staff keeping everyone in line.
A slightly better run and free trips on Saturday helped, but there were a few on social media refusing to return and demanding full refunds. With accounts of people sleeping by the roadside or being reduced to tears of distress, it’s not unreasonable to see why.
Hit: Security
There didn’t seem to be an overbearing amount security on site; they popped up when needed, with very occasional removal, but then quickly blended back into the background – a nice change from the often heavy-handed approach at other festivals.
Shit: Underwhelming Headliners
The long-awaited Avalanches set left people very divided, with moments like an ill-advised mashup of mega-hit ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’ with Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ leaving people a bit miffed.
Not quite as disappointing were The Strokes, but they were still a little underwhelming. While they played a hit-filled set, it kicked off half an hour late with no explanation, and the band seemed more than a little disinterested in the massive crowd.
Hit: Side Stages
Apart from the big names, they quality across the board was amazing. No matter which stage you went to, at whatever time, there was something great happening. The early sets on the side stages were a great way to discover some new music, with the likes of singer/songwriter LANKS and producer/DJ Planéte seeing packed tents for their sets.
Shit: Set Times
As always with Splendour, there was just a bit too much happening. Anyone deciding to see a full set, especially on the side stages, was pushed and shoved for the first half as late arrivals tried to get a good spot, only to have the second half disrupted as another group left early to go see another act elsewhere.
Hit: Sunny Skies
Deluges last year turned the grounds into an absolute quagmire and put a dampener (literally) on a lot of the outdoor stages. This year, the festival flourished under mostly clear skies.
Shit: More Drug Arrests
While pill testing wasn’t an option, the drug dogs were definitely out in force this year, and arrests skyrocketed from under 90 last year to over 300 this year. It’d be great to see better solutions in place to create a safe environment than simply upping the number of arrests.
Hit: Pokemon? No
The latest craze was almost non-existent, a nice reprieve from the constant coverage back at home.
Shit: Traffic
The poor campers trying to leave on Monday… It wasn’t the organisers’ fault, as there was a three car accident on the highway Monday morning that almost stopped traffic. Nevertheless, waiting eight or nine hours to leave got a few people annoyed, especially those with flights to catch and rentals to return.
Hit: Alex Lahey
The relative newcomer and her band totally nailed their half hour set to open the festival – she’s on track for big things.
Shit: Triple J Merch
The dreaded ‘Tune Rag’ and legionnaire’s hat combo. Okay triple j, you’ve had your fun, and proved that you have the power to make people wear anything, but that’ll do.
Hit: Dr. Karl
triple j kicked a goal, however, with the good doctor. Everyone’s favourite science geek blew some minds early on Saturday, and perhaps made a few hungover people feel even worse as he trawled the campsites to grill some very ginger punters.
Shit: Massive Lines
Sure, it’s unavoidable at festivals, but there were some pretty epic queues. The bar at the Amphitheatre, almost all the drink ticket windows, and the toilets next to the Mix Up tent seem to extend for miles. On Sunday, even the stall offering free glitter face painting had a pretty long queue – is there a collective noun for a group of people taking selfies and saying ‘like’ a lot?
Hit: The Food
Both inside the festival grounds, and in the camping areas, the diversity of choice and quality of food was really good, the staff generally all smiles. Over three days, it really makes a difference.
Shit: Corporate Takeovers
Obviously any commercial operation needs to make money, but why is there a make-up manufacturer there with a giant make-up tent at Splendour of all places? Talk about looking out of place.
Hit AND Shit: Dreller
Closing out our list is the London-based Australian Dreller, who put on a great show for a Splendour crowd that sadly was almost non-existent. Despite the lack of crowd and the short set, it was an impressive outing, so fingers crossed he comes back to play a tour soon.
The Verdict?
Despite a couple of underwhelming acts, minor annoyances, and truly disastrous transport issues, we’d have to say Splendour was yet another absolute hit. Sunny skies, a pleasant atmosphere and brilliant performances from emerging acts and headliners alike meant that most people had an absolute ball. The ridiculous waits for buses were without a doubt shit – and Splendour well and truly stepped in it this year – but were ultimately a single black eye on an otherwise fantastic weekend.
Hit: Splendour 2016
