Melbourne is known for a lot of things. Good music and bad weather are two of these. Luckily, when combined, the former well and truly outweighs the latter as punters of Melbourne’s Parklife 2012 partied all day and into the night, in a wet but completely happy crowd of garbage-bag poncho-wearing goodness.
Five stages were spread across the grounds of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, upon which a massive selection of bands and DJs did whatever they could to keep everyone dancing.
Parklife resembled some kind of nightclub, albeit one that took place in the daytime, and outside. One with killer vibes, plenty of lovely people, dancing, some rain here and there, singing, dancing, drinks, dancing, some very messy people, and more dancing.
Those who made it through the gates in time to catch the opening set on the main stage were greeted by a girl who likes to peep down rabbit holes; the party-loving DJ lass known as Alison Wonderland.
Flume pulled an impressively sized, but not unexpected, crowd at the Atoll stage, kicking off the day atop of the hill. The audience frolicked through some bubbles, as excited by the floating balls of air as a pack of small children. By the time the friendly synth sounds of St. Lucia hit the stage, the fun loving atmosphere of the festival was well and truly set.
The first dose of hip-hop for the day came in the form of Aussie group Hermitude, who rocked the hell out of the main stage, sending the mass of onlookers into a craze during their biggest hit ‘Speak Of The Devil.’
Meanwhile, massive babe CharlieXCX pranced and danced her way through her poppy set, the incredibly talented 19-year-old well and truly proving her place on the lineup.
Enthusiastic Brighton boys, Rizzle Kicks, ignited punters to dance on top of their chairs for the entirety of their catchy and upbeat set. The hip hop duo pumped out KC & The Sunshine Band’s crowd favourite ‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’ as well as incorporating sounds to the likes of the Harry Potter theme into their impressive and likeable set – a set that appeared surprisingly early in the afternoon.
Rapper/producer combo Chiddy Bang led a swarm of fervent fans through the hip hop tracks off their new album Breakfast, as well as older tracks such as the ever so popular ‘Opposite Of Adults’. Midway through their performance the duo asked for a selection of topics from the crowd, from which they created a freestyle rap. Pretty amazing?
However, surprisingly, something was missing from the Plan B set, the highly esteemed hip hop artist being slightly less than impressive. Loyal fans still found their fun, but many others went astray in seek of something else to maintain their mood.
For a slightly different sound, punters made their way to where Tame Impala were playing their trippy, slightly mellow, epiphany-laced pop. The Perth band have made a huge name for themselves of late, which was evident by the size of their crowd who sang and swayed to the psychedelic rock tunes.
Nero packed a huge set of amps and speakers onto the main stage, the timing of his light show spectacle was impeccable, beaming out just as the sun began to lower. With bass so heavy you could feel the vibration through the grass, Nero certainly made their mark on the night.
Following their lead, with another collection of strobes and bright neons, Justice combined lights and smoke in a way that made the stage almost disappear.
Lighter electro group Passion Pit, saw fans singing their way through the set of catchy pop songs, mostly from their latest album Gossamer. During older favourite ‘Sleepyhead’, streamers were blown out of guns and into the air, which found their way draping across the roof of the stage as Passion Pit closed with another earlier hit ‘Little Secrets’. They provided the perfect break from all the trance, synth and hip hop tunes that had previously been pumping out all day.
Swedish dance pop icon Robyn finished off the night at the Atoll stage, her impressive aerobic routines adding to her already exciting performance.
Across at the Kakadu stage, Softwar, Benga, Modestep, Labrinth and Rusko all flaunted some killer sounds and stand out moments amongst the collection of other DJ beats that filled the Kakadu airwaves. And two additional stages offered tunes from a massive collection of DJs, mostly residents from Melbourne’s biggest nightclubs.
The anticipation for headliners, The Presets, was palpable, the crowd already in full dancing swing before they even hit the stage.
Appearing in a haze of blue smoke amongst strobe lights on a black stage, the electro duo emerged in front of the thriving crowd. The Sidney Myer Music Bowl was more packed than it had been all day and night. A beach ball was thrown around the crowd on the hillside, whilst many raving girls made their way onto the shoulders of willing boys.
11 digital screens appeared behind the electro group, adding to the already intense lightshow. They performed all their hits such as ‘This Boy’s In Love’, ‘My People’, newest addition ‘Ghosts’, and even reappeared on stage for an unexpected encore – many punters had already began to leave!
Parklife was a unique experience of dancing and drinking, a day of floating blown up condoms, and a day of hell of a lot of good music. It provided the very foundations an amazing festival should: good people, good music, and good fun. Rain? What rain? The weather was insignificant.
Be sure to check out our extensive Parklife Melbourne photo gallery for all the action from the day.
