The heat was certainly turned up for the kick-off of to the Perth summer festival season. The 35 degree public holiday certainly bought out the semi-clothed, fake tanned, Perth-dwellers in their masses, ready to enjoy some of the best beats around.
The brilliant Parklife road show showed no signs of slowing down on their third stop of their national tour, keeping the momentum going for the last leg of their commitments.
The 25,000 strong crowd were a rowdy bunch, shaking off their winter hibernation blues; they defiantly let their hair down. They were possibly a little too rowdy as there were quite a few arrests on the day.
Although they were on quite early in the day, English hip hop duo, Rizzle Kicks, were one of the crowd favourites of the day. Their party vibes infected the crowd and made it impossible not to move to their music.
They remixed popular television and movie themes, such as James Bond and Harry Potter tunes, and the crowd amped up when they played ‘Mamma Do The Hump’, and ‘Down With The Trumpets’, their current hit song.
Tame Impala played their psychelicious rock to their home crowd, and certainly impressed the audience. Playing old favourites like, ‘Sundown Syndrome’ and ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’, and with their new album Lonerism dangling for a release (and Tone Deaf’s current Album of the Week), they played their new single ‘Elephant’, which is already a hit with fans.
Their guitar riffs are not easily rivalled and these kids have some serious skills that just prove why they are so popular, especially in their live sets.
One of the major drawcards of the day – rapper Plan B – failed to captivate the crowd as much as some of the other performers did. Although he performed a decent set with high energy, many punters seemed to leave his set and head for the Atoll stage to see electro pop duo Chairlift perform a more chilled set in the shade of the tent.
It seemed many of the festival-goers were seeking refuge from the sun’s rays under shade, regardless of who was playing, although they were impressed with what they saw and even those sitting down bopped along.
American hip hop outfit, Chiddy Bang certainly brought a bang to the day. Pulling a huge crowad, after a slow start they smashed out their well-known tunes, ‘Ray Charles’ and ‘The Opposite of Adults’, which the mosh pit livened up for.
The sun was setting when Labrith took to the Kakadu stage. The back of the stage was adorned with a giant neon sign emblazoned in the artist’s name, and there was no questioning his presence. The tent was hot and sweaty with the band drawing a massive crowd, and everyone seemed to be in quite the party mood.
The super-cool performer wore his sunglasses for the entire set, and finished with his most well-known song ‘Earthquake’, with the mass of bodies moving almost causing their own earthquake in the tent.
Nero was a definite highlight of the day, not only was his live music set impressive, but his giant stacked stereos stage prop was pretty awe inspiring. With the lasers flashing to the beats of his music, and smoke machines pumping, it was an insane stage show.
The bass was so heavy you could feel it in your chest, playing such tracks as ‘Crush On You’, and ‘Promises’, this was one live set you wouldn’t forget in a hurry.
Festival favourites, Passion Pit, never fail to pump up the crowd. Playing new music from their recently released album, Gossamer and mixing it up with old tunes, their vocal abilities were brilliant live. The mosh pit got very rowdy, and it was clear to see that they were happy to see people enjoying their set.
Eccentric Swedish singer Robyn worked the stage in a co-ordinated shorts and top combo, hyping up the crowd with her unique dance moves and amazing vocal abilities. Accompanied by her full backing band, all wearing lab coats, she is one of those performers that you can’t help but enjoy.
Being pretty much a music veteran, Robyn was full of energy, and her live performance didn’t disappoint as she showcased her enviable vocal abilities that have made her so famous.
Catching the end of The Presets set topped off the day. The highly anticipated performance went off spectacularly. The lasers were beaming while they executed their flawless set – they got the crowd together, clapping to the beat of their songs.
Even though there were quite a few sunburnt bodies in the crowd, and a few who would certainly have sore heads tomorrow, overall it seemed that most had a good time with a superb way to jump start the festival season, with Parklife 2012 certainly one to remember.
Don’t forget to check out our extensive photo gallery of all the action from Parklife 2012: Perth.
