It was my first Homebake and overall I give it a 6.5/10.
The sound was very disappointing. All festival organisers should take some advice from the sound guys at the Harvest festival, who in my opinion win sound engineers of the year. Okay I've had my first whinge, so lets get to the good bits.
I chose to arrive a little later, so the first act I saw was CW Stoneking around at the Dome stage. The sound here was great and he really impressed me with his brand of blues. The crowd enjoyed it and I wish I had of seen more at the Dome stage, because it was out of the way and had a clear sound. Oh well, next time. I really wanted to see Gurrumul, but I had to rush to a friends aid and I heard he was brilliant. So I hope someone brings him back to another festival.
I then made my way over to watch some comedy and was promptly and rudely told to "Sit Down!" by some punters, who happened to be one of the organisers. Well, screw you and your comedy then. It was a good idea, but the tent was too small. We went back a few hours later and it was packed and we couldn't see a thing. Again I hear the "Sit Down!", so again. Screw you and your comedy!
I never got to the cinemas and who the hell wants to see a movie at a music festival. I feel they could of put some up on the main stage and I would of watched them gladly.
I sat down and checked a bit of Architecture in Helsinki.
Not my thing really, but was pleasantly surprised and really got into them. They seemed to get the sound right and proved to me they are a great festival band to see.
I managed to catch a bit of Kimbra after waiting 20 minutes for her drummer to get the computer going. She was pretty good, but the sound was pretty crap. It was a bit washy in the Big Top with the sounds of Architecture leaking in. The crowd seemed to love her, but she didn't touch a nerve with me. I went and lined up for the toilets instead. Twenty minutes later I was relieved and went and checked out Noah Taylor & the Sloppy Boys who are really quite good, but again did nothing for me. Nothing new here. Just some guttural Nick Cave inspired rock.
I went and check Drapht and watched the crowd throw their arms in the air and wave them side to side, but the party stuff just didn't do it for me. It lacks a little soul for my liking. I watched a security guard try and escort someone from the festival for throwing the festival guide into the crowd and thought it was time to go back to the Rowland S. Howard stage where I was really surprised by New Zealanders Unknown Mortal Orchestra who had a great stage presence and had a great vibe. They had quite a few fans in there with them and all were singing along. When they played their familiar song Funny Friends the crowd erupted. They proved themselves here and were a warm welcome to the line up.
I checked a bit of The Jezabels on the main stage, but from where I stood it sounded bloody awful. So I went and had a bite to eat and moved on. I then walked over to the Big Top and waited for Icehouse to perform Flowers. It seemed like all the oldies were here for Icehouse and when I looked around there were a lot of folks reminiscing. "I remember seeing em in 85"... Iva Davies proved he's still got it and I was really impressed. They played through the album and faces lit up with joy all around me. They ended with Great Southern Land and we all loved it. It really was a brilliant set.
Next I walked over to the Main Stage and saw Goyte and again the sound was really rather bad. I noticed he had a few technical difficulties and it seemed that Kimbra ran off stage in disgust after their duet together. The crowd rushed forward for Somebody I used to Know, but for me it was just alright. I am not sure if Goyte comes across on the big stage, because after him Pnau just smashed the main stage to pieces. I have never seen them before and they were the highlight for me. The sound was pretty good and the show really worked. They covered a lot of the new stuff from the new album and played the oldies. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands. I am not sure whether peoples drugs were kicking in then or... whatever the reason. Pnau outshone all the other acts I saw, including Cut Copy who were still damn good.
Cut Copy were an act that a lot of people ended their night on and by the looks from their faces they were extremely happy about it. The boys certainly showed why they are Grammy nominated and proved to be a shining example of how to put together a live show. It just went from song to song with such a positive vibe. The boys really seemed grateful and I give them my runners up award.
I should have left after Cut Copy, but I thought I better see Grinderman, but boy what a downer. I have never really seen the point of Nick Cave, so this review is certainly biased. I'm more a Drones fan myself, but I am sure by the way a few folks were gyrating, that a lot had come to finish their night with Grinderman. They did what you expected them to do and they certainly had a presence up on stage. The old blokes proved they can rock out harder than the young ones, but I still reckon Pnau sounded clearer and better up on the main stage. Grinderman was a great way to disperse the crowd as I saw half the festival leave at that point. After 10 minutes I was done and was still a pretty damn happy boy.
All in all it was a great day. Yes there were lines to the dunnys and yes they ran out of beer way too early. My two main gripes were the sound and the dodgy recycling stations. The bastards added a dollar to every drink you purchased and you then had to line up to get your dollar back. I didn't enjoy seeing people scrounge around all day for bottles and cans. I got told by three people they had made over a $150 for the day picking cans and bottles out of the bins. Maybe next time, they'll think about this differently. Credits for more alcohol purchases or for the merchandise tent I would suggest are more appropriate.
I must congratulate Joe Segreto and the team though for putting on a diverse line up and really good show for the young and the old. It proved to be a great start to the summer, just get the damn sound in order!
Peace,
Mack