The Big Day Out 2014 tour kicked off its Australian tour as around 35,000 punters flocked to Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast this past Sunday.
But one particular festival-goer at the Auckland leg that launched the festival three days prior had a particularly memorable brush with fame.
New Zealand music-lover Sherif Hassan headed to the Auckland Big Day Out’s new Western Springs site to catch co-headliners Arcade Fire and Pearl Jam, but only after having his nose broken during an impromptu game of basketball with members from both bands.
In an interview with Triple J, Hassan explains how he was invited to shoot hoops with Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament at an Auckland park over the weekend, but the friendly match quickly got a little heated.
“He’s aggressive, I’ll tell you that much,” Hassan told Triple J Drive host Lindsey ‘The Doctor’ McDougall of Jeff Ament. “He’s aggressive, I’ll tell you that much. He broke my nose… [it was] worth it.”
“He broke my nose. It was actually the last play of the game – the one time I decided to play proper defence. All I heard was Win going off about how the rules are rubbish down here, and throwing balls around and chucking a bit of a hissy fit,” recalls the Pearl Jam.
Speaking about the incident, Win Butler told Triple J Breakfast hosts Matt Okine and Alex Dyson that Ament “was on our team” in a 5 v 5 match “against a bunch of locals…and then Jeff broke someone’s nose and they put him on the guest list,” says the 6”5′ tall b-ball fanatic Butler.
The un-lucky basketballer says the broken nose was “worth it” when Jeff Ament reversed organised the VIP passes to the Auckland festival as compensation for the injury.
“[Ament] got us all tickets to the Auckland BDO and hooked us up with backstage passes. I got to meet Lorde, Major Lazer and Mac Miller,” says Hassan, who even got to his photo taken with the 17-year-old singing sensation.
“Lorde was just chilling backstage, it was weird seeing her in person,” he recalls. “It was awesome. We got to the front of stage for Pearl Jam, and Eddie Vedder gave me a shout out.”
Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire, Beady Eye, The Hives, and the rest of the Big Day Out 2014 lineup hits Melbourne this Friday as the festival continues its national run around the country – taking in Sydney on Australia Day this Sunday before hitting Adelaide and Perth, where the Big Day Out has had a last-minute change of venue and will now be hosted at Arena Joondalup.
Moral of the story? If you’re looking to rub shoulders with the big names on the Big Day Out Bill, start hanging around basketball courts (and put the ambulance on your speed-dial).
(Image: Chris Dornan. Source: Big Day Out 2014 Gold Coast gallery)
Big Day Out 2014 Dates, Tickets
View full Big Day Out 2014 timetables & maps here.
Friday 17th January ~ Western Springs, Auckland*
Sunday 19th January ~ Metricon Stadium & Carrara Parklands, Gold Coast
Friday 24th January ~ Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Sunday 26th January ~ Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Friday 31st January ~ Bonython Park, Adelaide**
Sunday 2nd February ~ Arena Joondalup, Perth*
**Subject to council approval
Tickets and info at www.bigdayout.com
