After a series of delays following Friday’s news that three acts, “1 UK & 2 US bands”, would be replacing Blur on the Big Day Out 2014 lineup, the details that festival enthusiasts have been waiting for is finally here.
Following Blur’s shock cancellation of their first visit in 17 years, blaming “shifting goalposts” and “very challenging organisers” for pulling out of the Big Day Out just eight weeks from kick-off, festival promoter AJ Maddah revealed that the festival team had cast a “fairly wide net” across a long list of American and British ‘targets’, no matter the cost.
The secured replacement bands were to be announced late last week, until negotiations with contracts (owing to the American Thanksgiving holiday) delayed the announcement, but now the three bands filling in Blur’s shoes will be Beady Eye, The Hives, and The Deftones.
The Liam Gallagher-led Beady Eye will be making their Australian debut with the Big Day Out tour, arriving off the back of their sophomore release BE.
Having missed Australia on their previous world tour (and on the last Oasis tour), drummer Chris Sharrock told Tone Deaf earlier this year of their intentions to head Down Under. Not only that, they’ll coming with a couple of Oasis songs up their sleeves – they’ve been rehearsing “Morning Glory” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” – and with new touring bassist and former Kasabian member Jay Mehler.
Alt-metal heroes Deftones were in Australia earlier this year for a headline tour promoting their latest release, Koi No Yokan, a visit that was marred by the tragic news of the band’s former bassist, Chi Cheng, passing away at the age of 40, making long-term fill-in – Sergio Vega – a permanent replacement in the lineup. Regardless, the quartet continue to deliver a crushing brand of cathartic, inventive riffage in their live show.
Rounding out the new additions to the Big Day Out 2014 lineup is everybody’s favourite rock Swedes, The Hives. And as anyone who caught their high-energy live show at this year’s Falls and Southbound festivals will tell you, there’s no live performance quite like them.
Beady Eye, The Hives, and Deftones join the likes of festival headliners Pearl Jam and Arcade Fire on 2014 edition of the bill, along with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Major Lazer, Tame Impala, Flume, and more, with a number of artists on the lineup playing official Big Day Out sideshows next January.
Meanwhile, those not satisfied with the three new bands on the bill still wanting a refund will be “reimburse[d] every cent including postage,” in the words of AJ Maddah, with instructions available at the Big Day Out website.
Maddah has already rejected the idea that the Blur cancellation and subsequent costs of booking replacement bands would have any serious effect on the festival’s plans, “[It] will not put the event or any of the stakeholders in any difficulty,” explained Maddah.
“If anything, it’s galvanised us to work even harder and put on a better show. We’re already planning 2015. We’re going to have a great show this year; it’s looking good.”
In related news, the Big Day Out 2014 lineup recently received a boost with the addition of four new bands to each date of its five legs in the winners of a competition to play the newly-minted stage name in honour of Australian youth mental health foundation, headspace.
Meanwhile, the powers that be over at Perth’s Claremont Council are furious that the Big Day Out have snubbed them in an application to extend to an 11pm curfew for the 2014 edition of the festival at Claremont Showgrounds, going over the council’s head by directly applying with the WA Department of Environment Regulation.
Big Day Out 2014 Lineup
Beady Eye
The Hives
Deftones
Joining the already announced lineup of:
Pearl Jam * Arcade Fire * Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Lion)
Major Lazer * Steve Angello * Flume * The Lumineers * Primus * Tame Impala
Visat Chino * Bliss N Eso (Not Playing Adelaide) * 360 (Adelaide Only) * CSS
The Drones * Mac Miller * Flosstradamus * Ghost * Grouplove * The Naked And Famous
Dillon Francis * Toro Y Moi * Bluejuice * Portugal. The Man* Mudhoney * Pez
Kerser * The 1975 * Northlane * Big Gigantic * Cosmic Psycos * Loon Lake * Kingswood
Bo Ningen * RÜFÜS * The Algorithm * DZ Deathrays * Peking Duk * Violent Soho
The Jungle Giants * All The Colours * Ben Morris
Big Day Out 2014 Dates, Tickets
Friday 17th January ~ Western Springs, Auckland*
Sunday 19th January ~ Metricon Stadium & Carrara Parklands, Gold Coast
Friday 24th January ~ Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Sunday 26th January ~ Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Friday 31st January ~ Bonython Park, Adelaide**
Sunday 2nd February ~ Claremont Showgrounds, Perth**
*For New Zealand Big Day Out 2014 lineup and ticketing details, please refer towww.bigdayout.com and choose AUCKLAND
**Subject to council approval
Tickets and info at www.bigdayout.com
