Dan Condon: Sick Tunes, Big Day Out 2014

17 January 2014 | 4:12 pm | Dan Condon

Five Big Day Out bands you have to see this year.

I'm off to the Big Day Out this weekend for what must be the tenth time (not including the five dates I did with the festival in 2009 – yeah, that's right, five nights of Neil Young) and even though my mates stopped coming with me a long time ago, I'm still excited.

I've raved about Violent Soho enough (best band on the bill IMO), you already know everything you need to about Arcade Fire, if you haven't seen The Hives or The Drones by now then you're already dead to me, I don't actually like Pearl Jam and I'd never willingly expose you to Major Lazer. But, please, you absolutely must not miss these acts:

DZ DEATHRAYS:

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Of course you already know who DZ Deathrays are, but I've never given them any love on this blog and I think it's important that I do so this week for three very distinct reasons.

Firstly, the band are playing painfully early at Big Day Out this year, but this is not an excuse for you not to see them. Just man up and get there in time. Besides, the bar/coffee/food/toilet lines are miniscule at this time so sort all that stuff out then.

Secondly, they've just wrapped up their second album. I thought the first one, Bloodstreams, was a ball-tearingly good chunk of party-friendly rock'n'roll and while I have absolutely no idea what the hell this second one will sound like, I'm excited to find out and BDO might just be the place to do that.

Thirdly, they're great!

MUDHONEY:

One of my first ever gigs as a music critic was covering a Mudhoney show and it was around that time that I realised I was doomed to a life of no money, people bitching about what you've written – good or bad – and countless amazingly thrilling live music experiences that I'd walk over coals to feel if I had to.

Mudhoney are the kings of grunge, in my opinion. Fuck Pearl Jam, these are the guys you need to be watching at the festival if you want to hear the best band out of Seattle who are still going at it. Mark Arm, at 51 years of age, is still a formidable frontman, Steve Turner is a rock guitar genius, Guy Maddison (who'll forever be known as “the new guy”) was in Lubricated Goat and Dan Peters was in some band called Nirvana, so go and learn a thing or two, would ya?

COSMIC PSYCHOS:

The best movie of last year was the Cosmic Psychos documentary Bloke You Can Trust, mainly because Ross Knight's story is a pretty incredible one and partly because it shed much needed light on one of the most influential bands to come out of the Australian underground rock'n'roll scene.

Always blisteringly loud and rambunctious as fuck, these guys will hopefully school plenty of youngsters in their ways when they hit the festival around the country this year. They're one of those bands who have never received the credit they deserve in their home country (even though they're incredibly highly regarded in certain circles); maybe it's time for a resurgence?

SNOOP DOGG:

Despite the fact I had a really, really ordinary interview with him late last year, not to mention the pretty ordinary records he's dropped over the past few years, I urge anyone who is yet to see a Snoop Dogg show to give him some time.

It has been a couple of years since I saw him, but every time I have he has not let me down. Hit after hit, incredible stage presence, plenty of that ridiculous hype man stuff that is so lame but that everyone secretly loves. He's a perfect festival act and he knows it; plus he has the back catalogue to command your respect.

I'd also recommend you see Ghost, but they directly clash at the Gold Coast event and I really think Snoop is the better choice.

CSS:

Don't throw on one of CSS's records expecting some kind of mind blowing musical journey; they write fun, cute idiosyncratic cuts of electro-driven indie pop that are custom built for the live stage, surely. Don't get me wrong, their albums are good and would probably be the kind of thing I'd play at a dinner party if I had any friends, but something tells me this Brazilian group are going to be far more interesting in person.

I absolutely hated the new rave scene that the band have mostly been associated with, so the fact that they managed to win me over despite this supposed musical link goes a long way, I reckon. Their Planta record from last year had some good tunes; Into The Sun is probably the best of 'em. I feel very sorry for the band having to go up against Arcade Fire this weekend though.