Walking into Laneway festival reminded me of something Martin Novosel (Head of Boundary Sounds in Sydney) once told me about his theory on popularity. He said that if you go into any high school and take a look around, there are two kinds of people. Those that invest their time an energy trying to fit in on the ladder of popularity and those spend their time investing in their own personal interests, namely, the nerds and musicians of the school.
However, by the time they're in their 20's, those that try and fit into the rungs of popularity - will only ever find their successes in the eyes of those that surround them - this will lead a life of uneasiness. On the other hand, those that invested their energy into passions, suffering the slings and arrows of high-school popularity, will find themselves enjoying success merited on their individuality.
The crowd at Laneway felt like a congregation of the later group of people. They seemed to be a crowd of people that all did their own thing in life and just happened to congregate at the same place, at the same time. I has just arrived in the Disneyland for the alternative.
Maybe it was because it was on a Friday, maybe it was the weather.. but whatever it was the crowd was ULTRA chilled. I flash back and split-screen the image in my mind as to what I would typically see at Big Day Out or Splendor vs. Laneway and the comparison is stark.
We walked into our first musical encounter with local Brisbane crew the Last Dinosaurs pop away and it was cool to look over and see Chris Ruddock dancing away by himself, while everyone was just kind of standing there and soaking it in. I joined him to make two of us and smiled at the anticipation that today was going to be a great day.
The first highlight of the day was getting to see Daniel Johnston perform (pictured above). Upon the suggestion of my local librarian, Yo, I went and looked him up on youtube and found this. I'm not too sure why he shook so severely or had to read every word of the lyrics that he had down - but it was worth it. I could see the indie kids paying their respect with flicks of their one lengthened curl bouncing up and down, almost in unison, and I unreservedly joined them.
The second highlight was most definitely Florence and the Machine. Dammmn. Chick got lungs. It was amazing to watch such a sexy woman get up there and silence the crowd with holy a cappella like a baby to a teet. She seemed so naturally humbled by the show and the crowd participation, I hope she stays like that.
The third and final highlight of the night was Radioclit, who took out the final set of the night. More specifically, the real highlight was their timely dropping of the 'Venga Bus' tune remixed with a slow reggae jam and a giant dreadlocked Jamaican on stage yelling 'Briiiiisbaaan' periodically over the top (pictured picking his mate up). The song seemed to part the remaining dregs of the crowd like moses split that sea. Maybe the song reminded them of high school, a time when they weren't as cool as they were now.
