Splendour In the Grass, the annual festival where young and old descend upon the North Byron Parklands to experience a weekend of arts, food, and most importantly, music. Leading into the weekend, northern New South Wales experienced a few days of rain, which in turn softened the parklands turf hours before punters began their festivities. With this in mind, no amount of mud or rain would dampen the spirits of those in attendance. Other than the weather, the weekend was looking bright, with a solid line-up and the ‘Splendour-vibe’ on our side, who could complain.

FRIDAY

Arriving at the grounds, it was clear the mud was not going away. Those clever thinkers had their gumboots on, while those fashionistas struggled in their sneakers and boots. Nonetheless the skies were clear and the distant sound of a band in the amphitheater set the scene for the first day of festivities.

First up was the youthful producer, Japanese Wallpaper. The young producer scored a good deal opening the Tiny Dancer stage for the weekend, a stage which would showcase some great talent over the course of the weekend. Winning triple j unearthed high last year, the producer has created quite a strong following, and this showed in the size of the crowd. No doubt was he enjoying himself, the producer could not wipe the smile off his face.

Last minute inserts, DZ Deathrays, played a rough chaotic set, creating pandemonium down in the mosh. It was clear that everyone’s legs were fresh being the first day, DZ Deathrays were a perfect warm-up to get loose and find your feet.

The sun was beginning to set at this stage, the anticipation of the ‘first night’ was settling in. Who perfect than to take us into the evening than the ever so popular Western Australian’s, San Cisco. Coming off the bat of their huge American tour, San Cisco have refined their set to find the perfect balance of new and old. At times, lead singer Jordi was taking it all in as the crowd did most of the work to hits Awkward, Run, and Too Much Time Together. The band has come a long way since their Awkward days, now their filling what is arguably the biggest stage in the Australian festival circuit.

With the night well and truly settled in, the amphitheater was beginning to fill as early 2000 rockers Death Cab For Cutie were about to take the stage. Having never seen Death Cab before, I was intrigued into how their set would unfold. After a few songs in, it was clear that these guys have been performing for quite some time. The entire set was crisp with the right amount of ups and downs. The set brought me back to when I would watch TV shows like The O.C or One Tree Hill. Although the amphitheater at Splendour was no Bait Shop at Newport Beach; the setting provided a trip down memory lane, let’s hope Marissa isn’t lost in the Tipi Forrest.

As the last acts for the night began to settle in, rain descended down on the festival. This rain wouldn’t dampen the mood, as the night was still yet to feature Peking Duk and Mark Ronson. As both acts partially clashed, decisions needed to be made. For me, I went and embraced the outdoor rain and settled in for Mark Ronson over at the amphitheater. The stage was lit with massive screens and a live band with Mark propped above everyone. The tunes were huge, one hit after another. The show wasn’t a life changer, but nonetheless was a fun experience, I really enjoyed it. Music was easy to move to, the lighting was cool, it was all round fun. I think the rain made it that much more fun. Everything that shouldn’t work, worked in Mark’s favor: Rain, and Mud. The crowd grew larger half-way through as everyone was finished with Peking Duk which was cool. What more can I say. Fun. Fun. Fun.

SATURDAY

Long-haired legends Dune Rats took the amphitheatre stage by storm, bringing out the big guns from the very beginning with crowd favourite ‘DR DR’. In typical Dunies style, their reckless enthusiasm managed to get the audience off the hill and into the mosh. Before long, the bottom of the amphitheatre was transformed into a sea of flailing limbs, as the almost cult-like crowd chanted each line of ode to action adventurer himself, ‘Superman’, without fault. But more importantly, it’s not as though this reception merely occurred for one hit single. Looking around, it seemed as though each Dune Rats track was a bonafide hit. Everything from frenzied drug anthem ‘Dali Lama Big Banana Marijuana’, to consoling track ‘Lola’ sent the audience into complete euphoria.

In saying this, it was their on-stage antics that really set this band aside from the rest, making for a pleasantly filthy experience. Dunies managed to get together a human Dune Rat, placed them inside a giant rat ball, and sent it flying over the heads of a heaving crowd. In true Dunies spirit, they spat on each other, sprayed water over adoring fans, and screamed into the microphone with crazed grins. But let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be a Dune Rats set if things didn’t get at least a little bit weird. Regardless of your prior opinions of dropkick heroes, after Splendour, it’s near impossible to doubt the ever-growing talent and potential of this incredible band. Dunies may never have the biggest crowd around, but it’s clear that whatever they’re doing, they’re doing damn well.

Making it to the barrier is always a treat in itself, but when it’s for Aussie rock band The Smith Street Band you know things are going to get a little crazy. Right from the get-go it was obvious that today there were no breaks on the ferocious, politically-charged train that was Wil Wagner and Co.

The band blasted straight into some favourites off their latest 10”, such as ‘Don’t F*ck With Our Dreams’ and ‘Ducks Fly Together’, sending the sardine-like mass into fits of uncontrollable mania. There was mud flying everywhere and crowd surfers came by the dozens, but what type of show would be complete without them? The rest of their set was a bit of a mixed bag, featuring a few golden oldies like ‘Sunshine and Technology’, which were perfectly complemented by some new tracks.

The only break that fans could somewhat-manage during this psychotic set was when the band unfurled a banner that read “Real Australian’s Say Welcome”, before dedicating politically-driven track ‘Wipe That Sh*t Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face’ to Asylum Seekers. However, even then the crowd couldn’t help but break into absolute ecstasy. Their set was a truly unbelievable sight to witness, and undoubtably many bands would kill to achieve what Melbourne’s punk poets have over the past few years. If their Splendour set was anything to judge by, we’ll be seeing much more of these guys for many years to come.

Over at the Red Bull stage, Melbourne MC Baro was beginning to take the stage. The Red Bull stage was fitted out with a bar and some outdoor seating, a cool space. With this, I was kind of surprised that the crowd was so small, after all it was a Saturday night. When Baro took to the stage, the crowd was probably 30 strong. Although, this never really made it awkward, the crowd that was there were vibin’ pretty hard. As the set continued, more punters dropped by to check out the set. Near the end of the set, close to 150 punters were witnessing the young MC, a great turn out. It goes hand in hand when you see a young MC blending Jazz and RnB that you think of the Los Angeles collective Odd Future. But with Baro I really believe that he will take his own lane in the future, a lot of potential on the cards, it’ll just take time.

It’s been a whopping seven years since our favourite Liverpool trio The Wombats made their debut appearance at Splendour; but they’re finally back, and we’ve never been happier.

“This isn’t your standard Saturday night…,” was the opening greeting from English indie rockers, and they certainly weren’t lying. The amphitheater was packed to the brim, and even if you are The Wombats, looking out over a crowd that size doesn’t occur all that often. Old fan favourites such as ‘Your Body is a Weapon’ and ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’ echoed throughout the amphitheatre, giving the ever-growing crowd some momentum to power through the cold with some serious grooving.

Although The Wombats’ freshest EP ‘Glitterbug’ was only released a couple of months ago, these tracks already feel like old favorites. There’s something incredibly special about the way in which these songs are played live. They perfectly emulate the intense emotion and passion displayed throughout ‘Glitterbug’, and hearing them played live makes you truly appreciate the band in all it’s element. Already, these songs feel far rawer and moving when heard live, proving that these guys truly are the masters of live performance.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the boys decided to end the night off with a couple of spicy riffs of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killin In The Name Of’. When did The Wombats become so badass? I have no clue, but I am definitely jumping on that band wagon.

SUNDAY

Sunday, the last day of the festival, everyone was trying to making the most of it, but were also pretty darn hungover/tired by this stage. Without a doubt everyone gave it their best shot to have a blast, who cares about the mud at this point.

I thought I would check out local Brisbane lads, Last Dinosaurs, who were playing over at the amphitheatre late in the afternoon. Playing their indie-pop tunes was a great way to start the day. Highlight no doubly was Zoom which lifted the spirits of all those in the amphitheatre feeling a bit worse for wear. With their album set to be released next month, things are looking bright. If you have never seen them live, check them out, the stringy pop and catchy chorus will leave the worse dancer in a two-step, great fun!

Back over at the Tiny Dancer stage, another local artist, UV Boi, was preparing for his DJ Set. The tent was about three-quarters full, an impressive turn out for the teenage producer. Playing a mix of electronic infused hip-hop, reminded me a lot of Flying Lotus. UV Boi will put a smile on anyone’s face; he is a likeable guy who is in his element between the discs watching the crowd react to whatever he drops. Cool Dude. Brisbane lad too.

The amphitheatre was pretty much full by around 8:45 ready for Tame Impala to come on at 9. The Western Australian’s haven’t played an Australian gig for quite some time, and now off the back of their recent release “Currents” the hype was high in the crowd to get a glimpse of the now global psychedelic rockers. Playing a range of new and old material, the band did not shy away from long songs with massive riffs. Highlights were Let It Happen, Elephant, Feels Like We’re Only Going Backwards, and The Moment. The band overall has really refined their live show, the sound was great and the pace of the show helped the crowd really connect and catch a breather if needed. With only an hour on their hands, this was not nearly enough time for the band to be welcomed back to their homeland. Let’s hope for some more shows in the future.

To finish my Splendour weekend, I made the trek to the other side of the festival to leave all my energy with Los Angeles MC Earl Sweatshirt. I was mentally and physically preparing for a moshing war, quite like his previous shows in Australia and overseas. I was ready. After his DJ spun some tunes for a solid 15 minutes, the crowd was losing their buzz; we wanted to see Earl jump out with this bag of energy. Earl appeared from the shadows with mic in hand, the crowd cheered. Three songs in, there was minimal movement from the crowd. I don’t think this was Earl’s lack of energy, his rhymes are so well crafted that when you’re watching him you’re trying to take it all in, poetry in motion. Earl played most off his newest release, raps that are quite deep, hard to ‘vibe’ to like his earlier material. Without a doubt, I think I enjoyed this kind of show better than his previous, the venue just wasn't right. The space was too big; all the energy was just zapped. Put Earl in room with a low ceiling and 100 fans with the brief to just rap and have fun, right there would be a good thing to witness. It is obvious that Earl is moving in his own direction, and we as listeners need to respect his work, it should be an exciting time, not a time to get nostalgic. But hey, I could be wrong, what do I know…

Splendour in the Grass lived up to expectations; the weekend was filled with great music and a great crowd. I have been to a few festivals here in Australia, and this festival has had the best crowd to date. The crowd seems to care for the person next to them, no one is looking for trouble, and this is credit to the festival and the energy every artist brings. Let’s see what happens next year, the countdown is on.

-Paul Audley & Antonia Hickey

Photo Cred: Splendour In The Grass & Bianca Holderness