Falls Festival 2013: four days, three bottles of vodka, zero showers, countless slices of pizza and all in all one unforgettable experience. As a Falls rookie, I had no idea what to expect when embarking on the four day festival adventure… But as I sit here, nursing the worst flu I’ve ever contracted in my life, unable to keep my eyes open for more than two hours at a time, all I can think about is the countdown to next year's festival (and wondering where on Earth I can get a breakfast pizza as amazing as the one I ate every morning for four days, #cleaneating).
After a 10 hour drive and a night spent in the picturesque beachside town of Lorne, my fellow campers and I were faced with the challenge of setting up our campsite with a broken tent and a marquee devoid of instructions, as well as dealing with an overheated car hissing like it was on the verge of exploding in mere seconds. Complications aside, our quirky, shanty-style campsite was prepared.
The first act of the festival for me was the extremely charismatic beatbox extraordinaire Tom Thum, which I enjoyed from the back of the Grand Theatre to avoid the flying balls of spit that I always imagine must be a product of beatboxing. I’d heard great things about this unique performer, and suffice to say he did not disappoint. His ability to secure a genuine connection with his audience, combine humour and immense musical talent into his act made the performance one to remember. Plus he appears to have swallowed an entire band or two; the way he pushes his voice is simply fascinating.
Eccentric Englishmen The Correspondents were up next, showcasing intense energy and proof that Ian Bruce is possibly the only person in the world who can pull off a Victorian-inspired lycra onesie. The real highlight of day one took place later that night in the musical time travelling device that is Tom Loud’s Hot Dub Time Machine. The interactive set involving video mash-ups and song excerpts was a feature of the galaxy themed “Boogie Nights”, making way for a myriad of weird and wonderful costumes. I opted for a hat fashioned out of aluminium foil as I may have forgotten about the theme, but made up for that by getting weirdly, alien-like drunk which seemed more than fitting.
One of the most ingenious ideas of the past few years, Hot Dub combines music and pop culture from the 1950s to present day in an hour and a half of wild fun. It was tonight’s wild fun that set the tone for the festival and might I add the worst hangover of my entire life, complete with aching feet and sore legs from too much crazy dancing. For that I blame the 80s.
After waking up covered in mysterious blue paint and entering full recovery mode (bacon), I made my way down to the festival to enjoy the range of stellar bands of day two, starting with long haired troublemakers The Murlocs. These guys were just as entertaining on stage as they were backstage later that night (aside from their two drunk and sloppy male groupies who almost tricked me into thinking they were in the band). With a unique, 60s slacker-blues style sound, The Murlocs nailed it live with hit tracks "Teepee" and "Space Cadet". Their debut album set to drop early this year is definitely one to look out for.
I caught a brief snippet of The Smith Street Band’s set but left for a nap soon after they started; Will Wagner’s extremely ocker vocals were just too much for me to handle in my fragile state. The oh-so-adorable London Grammar absolutely owned day two with a goosebump-inducing set. Hannah Reid’s angelic vocals were pure perfection, and their humble gratitude instantly made them one of the most likeable bands at the festival.
Solange was next to grace the Valley Stage, sporting a spectacular red silk cropped pant suit and a mane of cornrows. With a distinctive vintage RnB/neo soul sound and that beloved Knowles diva attitude, it begs the question of how the hell one family can have so much talent (seriously, what did their parents feed them as kids?). Sorry Bey, but after Falls, Solange is hands down my favourite Knowles sister.
As the sun set, two of my most anticipated acts loomed nearer. But not before Flight Facilities brought all the groove, absolutely killing it with their fun 70s disco-esque hit singles "Foreign Language", "I Didn’t Believe" and their claim to fame "Crave You", as well as impressive remixes of a number of dance floor anthems.
I had low expectations for MGMT and high expectations for The Roots, which interestingly found me feeling almost the complete opposite about each by the end of the night. Not that The Roots’ midnight set disappointed (hell, they’re The Roots for God’s sake, they can do no wrong), but the bazillion fake encores were a tad ridiculous, and at times their improvisation was a little repetitive. MGMT, however, had me pleasantly surprised. Channelling Jim Morrison, lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden’s vocals were right on par and not overpowered by the poppy, kaleidoscopic guitar that makes their music so iconic. "Electric Feel", "Kids" and "Time to Pretend" were clear standouts, and although I’m not such a huge fan of their latest album, "Your Life is a Lie" was pretty impressive. The delightfully trippy screen graphics accompanying each song are also worth a mention.
After The Roots, I dragged my drunk ass back to our slightly askew, but full of character tent to pass out comfortably. Two days down I was pretty damn wrecked, but it was nothing a little hair of the dog couldn’t fix, and knowing what phenomenal acts the next two days were yet to bring I was more than willing to soldier on.
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(Photo credit to Ben Drogemuller)