St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 31.01.14
One would think the organizers of Laneway 2014 had access to some kind of crystal ball or perhaps their very own psychic; plucking Triple J Hottest 100 Winner, Vance Joy, NME Award nominees, Haim, AND Grammy-Award winning, Lorde, for the festival bill. Arriving at the Brisbane RNA Showground’s the crowds were unquestionably high in ‘hipsters’; denim outfits and moustaches filled Fortitude Valley like never before.
Playing off their 2013 break out record Pedestrian Verse, Frightened Rabbit managed to score themselves a decent crowd and with lead singer Scott Hutchinson’s Scottish twang rather enchanting at best, a few sing-alongs were to be had. A set-list filled with ‘Holy’, ‘The Modern Leper’ and ‘Old Old Fashioned’, it wasn’t until hit ‘The Woodpile’ with its four guitars and guitar patterns that I was convinced; this bearded Scottish folky-five piece are definitely one to watch.
“Wow… this is the biggest crowd I’ve ever played to,” said Vance Joy, who potentially racked up the biggest crowd of the day at the Alexandria St Stage. Freshly crowned Hottest 100 winner left ‘Riptide’ in his back pocket until the end and took the opportunity to showcase other songs ‘Red Eye’, ‘Perfect Teeth’ and ‘All I Ever Wanted’- all fine but perhaps more suited to a more intimate venue. Whether it’s his shy personality or the similarity of every song’s arrangement, his performance was somewhat lack-luster and needed more oomph to spice things up. Picking up the pace with ‘Emmy Lou’ and ‘Play With Fire’ saw the crowd engage in a sing along, but it wasn’t until the ukulele came out that the intent and electricity that this reviewer had been looking for finally surfaced. With a few thousand people singing every word, the set ended on the high that you’d expect, thank goodness he had ‘Riptide’ up his sleeve!
Shooting across to the Carpark Stage and finding Daughter with a packed out, adoring crowd, left me bewildered; they’re not the sort of band I’d envisaged at a festival, with songs I’d always thought suit intimate venues to a tee. Nonetheless, I’ll gladly admit I was wrong! The London three-piece blew everyone away with massive sing-along ‘Youth’ and finished off with crowd-favourite, ‘Homeland.’ It seemed singer Elana Tonra was as surprised and overwhelmed as I with the crowd’s response, thanking the crowd profusely- I only wish I’d gotten there sooner!
Back to the Alexandria Stage, Vance’s acoustic setting was long gone but the crowds certainly weren’t; Australia has certainly taken to Glasgow synth trio Chvrches, with all three singles appearing in Triple J’s Hottest 100. Vocalist Lauren Mayberry, aka ‘Lozza’ as the group discovered to be her ‘Australian’ name, delivered powerhouse vocals for such a tiny thing, amidst an array of fist pumps, tambourine expertise and the occasional leg kick. It was, however, the men on either side of her, Iain Cook (keys/guitar/bass) and Martin Doherty (synths/samplers) that provided the energy the crowd was craving, both musically and visually, ripping into some killer dance moves! Favourites ‘Lies’, ‘Recover’, ‘Gun’ and a Doherty sung ‘Under The Tide’ kept the crowd dancing throughout the set, but it was ‘The Mother We Share’ that bought it home- quite possibly the best song of the festival!
Before long, twilight hit along with Haim, in all their fist-pumping, head-banging, guitar-shredding glory. Sisters Alana, Este and Danielle Haim bought an unexpected rock element to the table, enthusiastically picking up the pace with kick-ass charisma, crazy guitar solos, crowd interaction and that celebrated bass-face… oh, that bass face! The f-word ridden set showcased countless hair-whipping, as well as hits ‘Falling’, ‘Don’t Save Me’, ‘Forever’, ‘My Song 5’, a sneaky cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Yeah’ and of course, a crowd-screaming and total killer rendition of ‘The Wire.’ To polish off the already amazing set, the girls joined drummer, Dash Hutton, in a drum circle that took everything to the next level. I’ll tell you one thing, these girls sure know how to work an audience; they’re talented, they’re confident, they’re edgy, they rock.
Glued to my spot, along with everyone else, awaiting the most talked about performance of the festival, Lorde. It’s not every week a Grammy award winner dominating the entertainment industry stops by Fortitude Valley to share some songs with us; the seventeen year old had a lot to live up to, especially after a killer set from Haim. Drifting onto stage through the shadows, Ella Yelich-O’Connor’s velvet pipes rose out of the darkness along with a spotlight casting shadows of her wavy locks in every direction. With two silver-suited men confined to the shadows manning the synths, samplers, drum kits and an impressive light show, Lorde and her trademark body-jerk-dance-moves were quite literally left to shine. I was, however, left feeling rather underwhelmed. Yes, the instrumentation was just as it is on the record, yes, her vocals were spot on, and yes, her hair tossing and body twitching were just as predicted… but her minimalistic approach struggled to connect with the crowd, tested the audience’s patience, and the novelty soon wore off. Don’t get me wrong, she soared through the hits ‘Tennis Court’, ‘Glory and Gore’, an unexpected mid-set ‘Royals’ and ‘Team’ with phenomenal vocals before ending the set with newbie ‘Ribs’, apparently written for Laneway festival; but sadly it was all a bit underwhelming and lacking a little magic. Perhaps we’d set the bar a little too high, perhaps after a day of pretty incredible bands her minimalistic approach of singing over her hit records felt a little unsatisfying? Nonetheless, Laneway boasted some impressive acts and couldn’t have been more ‘with the times’ if it tried.
– Charlotte Boumford
