All of our favourite moments from Laneway Festival Sydney
The Laneway Music Festival blew out Sydney on the 4th of February with a firecracker of a day. With Callan Park, a gem of a...
The Laneway Music Festival blew out Sydney on the 4th of February with a firecracker of a day. With Callan Park, a gem of a location, packed to the reeds along the shore, the heat and humidity kept everyone enjoying the day, but all seemed to be moving at a slower pace so as not to melt into a puddle in the dust. Laneway organisers kept it all under control with easy availability of fluids and ice to keep the punters alive.
While the sun was still high in the sky and the crowd were still shuffling in, Camp Cope, Julia Jacklin and Nao played to appreciative audiences, the latter delivering a sweet set of soul and funk as she danced barefoot across the stage in her brightly-coloured gear. She may call her music ‘wonky funk’, but it had people up and grooving along.
Whitney were up next, a band formed in Chicago by drummer/lead singer Julien Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakcek after the demise of the Smith Westerns in 2014, and they proved to be a surprise package of pop and indie rock with a delightful and playful stage presence. I’m not sure what the highlight was: their cover of NRBQ’s ‘Magnet’, with a great trumpet solo, or what I believe was a lighthearted tongue kiss between the pair on centre stage. Either way, definitely a band to watch.
Glass Animals tearing up the stage before Tame Impala
King Gizzard And The Wizard Lizard raised the temperature a few degrees with one of the loudest sets of the afternoon. ‘People Vultures’ shook the trees and any local birdlife headed towards the other side of the bay before ‘Nuclear Fusion’ came to life, and after the finishing notes of ‘Robot Stop’, ice was poured on the stage to keep it from flowing like lava into the crowd.
Car Seat Headrest played at the Spinning Stage and it was a tough gig in the courtyard with the sun absolutely tortuous on the crowd, making it hard to really slip into the indie grooves. One punter asked another during their set if they had seen White Lung earlier, and the other dude shook his head no and asked if they were good. The raving White Lung fan said, “Imagine you just missed Nick Cave live for the first time, it was that awesome”. Well, there you go, you’ve been told.
Callan Park is such a fabulous place to sip a cocktail and commune with your other festival critters over some tasty chicken or other festival nibbles, and it appeared that the liquid treats were being drained extra quickly in the heat.
Sampa The Great played during the peak of the heat
It seemed like most of the festival’s inhabitants were at the Garden Stage for Tash Sultana, who offered ‘Jungle’ and other songs that showcase her beat-boxing, tape-looping and increasingly-improved guitar work. Sure, it will be a splendid day when she finally has a full band around her onstage, but this performance was full of fun and had plenty of people up on shoulders. Sultana’s joy was infectious and without a doubt she has won some new fans recently.
Nick Murphy (previously known of course as Chet Faker) delivered a set that definitely hit a home run with the huge crowd for the last set at the Garden. His electronic grooves were able to move some of the sweat from one person to another, and he pretty much rocked – which was definitely what was needed to get everyone through to the ensuing closing acts.
Tame Impala sounded clear, but the volume early on in the set was a bit variable unfortunately. Thankfully, Kevin Parker wears his psychedelic roots like a badge of honour and the music and the visuals took everyone on a journey away from the sauna-like conditions.
The core of the crowd stuck around for the closing sets from Jagwar Ma and Floating Points but, like the birds migrating, many weary punters were wandering off in small groups into the streets of the Inner West with a happy, glowing, Laneway smile.