On a damp and gloomy April Saturday, the 2016 Groovin the Moo festival arrived at the Prince of Wales showgrounds in Bendigo. Having sold out for the 7th year in a row, the line up featured a list of current triple j favourites aimed a catering to a diverse range of tastes.
The crowd streaming in had clearly googled ‘festival outfit’ and either chose the flowers and glitter of Coachella, or the gumboots and denim of Glastonbury. Apart from the general clichés there were all sorts of dress ups, including cows, sheriffs, army men, and an impressive Depp-like Hunter S Thompson, fly squat included.
Melbourne’s Harts took to the main stage as the rain poured down. Joined by a drummer, the singer using keyboards, loops and backing tracks to fill out their sound. At times sounding like The Black Keys, the well document influence of Prince was at the forefront of the duo’s sound.
As a guitarist Harts is exceptional, evoking huge cheers with his guitar behind his head mid solo. Hendrix posturing aside, the crowd were vocal during popular tracks such as ‘Breakthrough’ and Red & Blue,’ as he worked the crowd like a veteran showman, and was an early highlight.
Just after 1pm the sun had finally started breaking through, greeting Emma Louise as she took to the main stage. Looking and sounding like a young Annie Lennox, the crowd responded enthusiastically, happily swaying along recent single ‘Talk Baby Talk.’ Those not already up front rushed the stage as ‘Jungle’ began, phones aloft recording her most popular song to date.
The soulful and beautiful electronic sounds of Sydney’s Vallis Alps perfectly suited the Moolin Rouge tent. Singer Parissa Tosif’s beautiful vocals the focal point for songs that were part stripped back piano, part sparse driving electro beats. With a limited back catalogue, the new songs were warmly received by the audience, yet it was the instantly recognisable opening of ‘Young’ that evoked the biggest cheer, the crowd singing along whilst frantically snapchatting the moment.
Drapht and band, including a horn section, took to the main stage launching into an energetic and entertaining hit filled set. The Hip Hop veteran knows how to work a crowd, a sea of arms waving up and down in time during ‘Down’. New song ‘Feeling Kind of Bad’ kept the crowd moving with an upbeat rock groove, hits like ‘Dancin’ John Doe’ and ‘Jimmy Ricard’ prompting screams from the now capacity crowd, a sea of people moving along as one as the set closed with ‘Rapunzel.’
Ms Mr singer Lizzy Plapinger was greeted to wolf whistles as the band took to the stage with her signature fiery red hair. The New York duo were expanded to a four piece, and their synth heavy, deep bottom end sound giving those up front mild heart palpitations.
The instantly recognisable husky vocal tones were out front of what was the happiest band of the day, their huge smiles matching enthusiastic dancing on stage. Dedicating ‘Thinking of You’ to “All the arseholes in the world”, upbeat numbers such as ‘How Does It Feel’ kept the crowd dancing, whilst new single ‘Wrong Victory’ had a slower, grooving bass line showing the party bands softer side. The ever present sea of phone screens greeted their biggest hit ‘Hurricane’ to close the set.
Whilst the seriously impressive In Hearts Wake shook the foundations of the Moolin Rouge tent, SAFIA were on main stage in front of a huge crowd. With a debut album yet to be released, the trio were still one of the most anticipated acts on the day.
Their recognisable brand of drum heavy electro, led by the distinct falsetto vocals Ben Woolner, mesmerised fans with a flawless live set. Those less familiar did begin to wander, perhaps the vocal acrobatics a little repetitive for those less educated on the SAFIA sound.
After a thoroughly disappointing set from late addition Jarryd James, cheering fans and the setting sun welcomed Ohio’s Twenty One Pilots to the stage.
‘Stressed Out’ got the capacity crowd jumping, and the intensity never really abated from there. Frontman Tyler Joseph led the ‘yeh yeh yeh’ sing along in ‘We Don’t Believe What’s On TV’, the noise from the crowd immense. Drummer Josh Dunn was all arms and showmanship, jumping on and off his kit, playing trumpet mid song, doing backflips off the piano.
Amidst a frantic light show, billowing smoke machines and confetti cannons, ‘Guns for Hands’ closed their set, the duo both ending the song on top of the crowd playing drums. Even those not familiar with the bands’ genre spanning music were whipped into an ecstatic frenzy by the end, having witnessed one of the best sets of the day.
Boy & Bear began their set with a simple “G’day” from singer Dave Hosking. One of Australia’s most beloved bands at the moment, the Sydney five-piece played a captivating set of hits from their three albums.
‘Part Time Believer’ off their debut was the first big sing-along, as was ‘A Thousand Faces’ and ‘Feeding Line,’ the latter clearly a crowd favourite. ‘Southern Sun’ got the girls (and guys) on shoulders, phones out.
Their brand of music is never going cause mania in the crowd, raising one of many questions about the days scheduling, yet as they finished last song ‘Walk the Wire,’ the crowd were loudly vocal in their appreciation of what was a musically flawless set.
Looking tiny behind her signature AW letters at the front of her desk, headliner Alison Wonderland came out to huge cheers and was the act many had been waiting for all day. An extended DJ set from the talented artist featuring her hits, including ‘I Want U’, ‘Run’, as well as her remixes of Duke Dumont and Justin Bieber, and countless other samples and sounds, even The Spice Girls ‘Wannabe.’
The high energy set kept the crowd dancing from beginning to end. Wonderland was running around the stage when she could, using the microphone to add some vocals, and rev up the crowd. At times standing on the desk, or straddling the ‘AW’ sign, clearly enjoying the high energy music as much as the crowd. Closing with a heartfelt plea for people to reach out when they are down, she introduced ‘U Don’t Know’, the crowd dancing wildly to her biggest, and most personal, hit.
As the oval floodlights came up to reveal the mess that had been made, the guitar wielding electronic duo Ratatat were still entertaining a heaving Moolin Rouge stage. Whilst many joined in, others began the slow wander out of the showgrounds, weary, their outfits a little worse for wear, but happy after an excellent day of live music.
Check out the full gallery from the day here.
