Tired Lion

Over at The Amphitheatre, triple j Unearthed competition winners and Perth-based buzz act Tired Lion do a commendable job of teasing out the energy from their early-afternoon slot, carrying an air of casually cool yet still excitable confidence usually reserved for more established acts – and later in the day, at that. It works a treat to kick-start the audience’s energy, though, as they respond with gusto to the band’s infectious vigour, especially when well-known cuts such as Suck and I Don’t Think You Like Me are offered up to be ravenously devoured. Somewhat fittingly, they even take a detour to recreate their brilliant Like A Version cover of Violent Soho’s Saramona Said, replete with Smashing Pumpkins interlude. Expect this band to be evening-slot superstars in no time.

Harts

Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist Harts kicks off this year’s proceedings at the GW McLennan tent, boasting probably the largest crowd for a 12.30pm timeslot that we have ever seen. A matter of minutes into his resoundingly successful set, it becomes crystal-clear why that is the case: Harts – Darren Hart to his mama bear – is a consummate performer, radiating larrikin-like charm as he makes his bone-shaking guitar and keyboard lines sing both angelically and filthily across the tent, but never substituting technical proficiency for showmanship. Rather, backed only by a drummer, his effortless instrumental switches, throwaway banter, manic gyrations and affable disposition only serve to lift up an already aurally impressive showing, never more obvious than when he hits the stratospheric heights of cuts such as Love Is In Bloom and recent single Breakthrough.

Gengahr

Gengahr make the most of their debut trip Down Under with an assured outing that belies their relatively nascent status; despite only having come together a couple of years ago, the London four-piece packs a powerful, mature punch in the flesh, with their accessible, occasionally ethereal, alt-rock styling easily inducing the crowd into a trancelike sway as they seamlessly navigate the ins and outs, and ups and downs, of their set. Well-known cuts such as She’s A Witch and the more-recent Heroine stand out from the pack – little wonder, really – but it’s difficult to find fault with anything the UK outfit puts forth today, undoubtedly having grown their parish in the process.

Marmozets

Marmozets take on the Amphitheatre with full fierce force. Mecca Macintyre is an incredible frontwoman, dancing and screaming like a banshee (in the best way). She wakes everyone up and gets everyone half-joshing to Led Zeppelin-esque riffs, oh, and Black Sabbath, because why not make that your end-of-song breakdown?

Jenny Lewis

It’s always an unmitigated delight walking to the GW McLennan Tent for the first time at any Splendour and seeing the great man remembered. Atop the large stage US songstress Jenny Lewis cuts a figure of sartorial elegance in her custom white suit – in direct contrast to the muddy throng before her – and she leads her band through a cross-section of her entire career to date, songs by her much-missed old outfit Rilo Kiley such as With Arms Outstretched and Portions For Foxes nestling comfortably alongside newer tunes from her solo oeuvre such as Just One Of The Guys and She’s Not Me. She climaxes a strong set with a rousing rendition of Rilo Kiley’s A Better Son/Daughter which triumphs despite (or perhaps because of) its weighty subject matter. Unflappably classy.

DZ Deathrays

Literal seconds into DZ Deathrays’ blistering performance at The Amphitheatre, it is obvious that the Queensland lads are not only a more than capable replacement for exeunt Welsh outfit Catfish & The Bottlemen but, arguably, are actually a superior choice for this setting. With pounding percussion and chunky, chunky riffs to spare, Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley – ably backed by touring guitarist Lachlan Ewbank – deliver a near-flawless stream of their fist-pumping, heart-pounding, raw-as-balls rawk tunes, never remotely hinting that they were a last-minute addition to the bill. They get the party started with the raucously debaucherous Reflective Skull, and refuse to relent until the final note rings out across the sweaty, satiated pit, over the hills and out into the afternoon air.

Client Liaison

Client Liaison bring the dirty ‘80s vibes, mullets and powder pink suits. They’ve got dancers, yes, but they’ve also got smooth moves themselves, almost making you forget the last time you saw someone dance like that: at your aunt’s wedding. They give us the Feeling, and we walk away all warm and fuzzy like, the way you feel after rewatching Pretty In Pink.  

San Cisco

Try as they might, West Australian indie-pop outfit San Cisco just cannot quite escape the shadow of their infuriating breakthrough single, Awkward. Sure, maybe now the two-chord ditty is essentially buried somewhere in the middle – rather than at the end – of the band’s set, which is largely focused on the more mature offerings found on second full-length Gracetown, but it still generates one of the biggest responses offered up for the prodigious group, even in the face of newer faves such as opener About You. Don’t get us wrong – the voluminous crowd in attendance hangs on every word and note emanating from the stage – but, like any creative souls, the band are both helped and hindered by their early work – so it’s nice to see them so willing to keep their eyes and ears moving forward, even if they still finish up with throwback hit Fred Astaire.

Harvey Sutherland

Harvey Sutherland is a groovy guy. Switching between jamming on a synth and cueing tracks on his laptop, the producer creates an improvisational feel to his performance as he hits us with all the tasty basslines in his catalogue. There are live remixes running wild with noodling solos and funky originals spinning on into the night like starships. What begins as disco daydream soon sees the sun down in a truly stylish fashion.

#1 Dads

Tom Iansek may be putting his #1 Dads project to rest, but he's certainly not showing any less commitment to these songs. Things really kick off with Nominal, before Iansek moves to the keys to make room for Tom Snowdon as he croons through the gentle Return To. The guests keep coming as Airling floats through God Can Promise and Ainsley Willis strums through the beautifully languid, So Soldier. It's a family affair for Randy Robinson and Cassidy with the two songstresses onstage, before it's back to just Iansek and the band for Sister and the suburban Camberwell. The set finishes with a cover of FKA's Two Weeks, and it's clear that Iansek always been the star of this show.

Seekae

Sydney-bred Splendour vets Seekae have, at this stage, pretty much perfected their performance game, the three enigmatic figures in front of us – individually, Alex Cameron, George Nicholas and John Hassel – evidently well and truly at home when surrounded by their instruments and an adoring audience. It’s an expansive, enlightening set, too, as the band give sufficient airtime to new goods taken from recent full-length The Worry, still finding time to dig deep into their back catalogue to bust out perennial favourites (seriously, Void still sounds as fresh as the day they wrote it, despite being six years old[!] now). The diversity elicits a simply massive response from the ebullient, grooving audience; it’s a show for new and old fans alike, in that regard, and a successful one at that, even if some folks in the crowd thought bringing a bunch of sparklers into a closed-in tent would be a good idea.

The Rubens

The Rubens are soaking up the temporary clear-sky vibes, kicking up the dirt with their big guitar riffs and organ sounds, as lead singer Sam Margin surfs through the crowd on an inflatable boat. They breeze through their rock and roll tunes before easing into My Gun, which, while still sounding like an average Black Keys song, elicits a massive singalong from the audience. Their new single Hallelujah is a rousing finish, the band seeming ready to turn things up even more on their next album.

Johnny Marr

Hearing Johnny Marr and his band tear into Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before sends fans of The Smiths – of whom there are clearly many – into frenzies of delight from the get-go. His voice sure ain’t Morrissey but that’s probably the point, his own lungs strong enough to make you wonder why he spent so much time on the vocal sidelines anyway. And despite the strength of his solo tunes like Easy Money and Generate! Generate! – plus even a cool version of Electronic’s Getting Away With It – it’s his generous helping of Smiths songs that make people the happiest, the warm familiarity of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again and slinky closer How Soon Is Now? helping us to forget our surroundings for the sweetest of brief interludes.
 

Everything Everything

If, in the early hours of this evening, you are wondering where all the energy has gone, it’s because Everything Everything are presently soaking it all up from every soul in the full-to-bursting Mix Up Tent and effortlessly throwing it right back out at us tenfold. The affable Mancunian art-rockers have only had a little while to hone their most recent material, from their acclaimed new full-length Get To Heaven, but you wouldn’t know it to hear them tonight; fresh cuts sit comfortably next to old favourites (despite the admitted discrepancy in accessibility – being fair, this is also a band that has rather intelligently widened their appeal over the past couple of records). It’s a rapid-fire display of cocksure revelry right to the dying moments of triumphant closer Distant Past. They’re welcome back anytime.

Death Cab For Cutie

Veteran indie kings Death Cab For Cutie are greeted in true style back at The Amphitheatre, the immediate pit and packed surrounding hills erupting with glee at the opening strains of classic cut The New Year. It’s a bit of a fake-out, set-wise, as they only return to the well of their acclaimed 2003 full-length Transatlanticism once more during their performance, to round out proceedings with the beloved, epic title track from that album; otherwise, we’re mostly treated to pitch-perfect recitals from Plans (2005) and onwards – early highlights include that record’s Crooked Teeth, as well as Black Sun, from this year’s Kintsugi. The absence of guitarist Chris Walla hasn’t seemed to slow Death Cab down any, either, the rejigged touring line-up making older songs such as Soul Meets Body as full-bodied and infectious as ever. Easily one of the day’s standout performances.

Spiritualized

Jason Pierce don’t play by no rulebook, hence it’s no real surprise when he leads his cosmic band Spiritualized into new track Here It Comes (The Road, Let’s Go) to open proceedings, before barrelling into the entirely appropriate Lord Let It Rain On Me. They concoct their trademark dense sonic soundscapes – with bright lights aplenty as is their wont – though cracking tunes like Electricity and the sexually-charged She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit), but there’s also a druggy gospel tinge to proceedings throughout tracks like Shine A Light, Soul On Fire and Walking With Jesus. As they finish with the anthemic Come Together it just feels a shame that no one told all these kiddies running around munted that they should check out this band.

Of Monsters And Men

Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men are sounding mightily anthemic in the amphitheatre. Tracks from their debut album My Head Is An Animal like Mountain Sound and King And Lionheart sound every bit as expansive and epic as their song titles suggest. Their new material is somehow even more stadium-ready, but perhaps lacks a little charm in comparison. Nonetheless, Crystals is a huge moment, and there's similarly nothing small about Little Talks, which closes the set on a euphoric high.

Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams gets the job of closing out the GW McLennan Tent amidst a tropical deluge, the already drenched faithful gathered inside the tent deciding that we might as well meet the end of days with a bang! The tousled singer – typically contrary in a Misfits shirt – has a full band in tow and they prove to be a tight unit from the get-go but it’s always clear who’s calling the shots, Gimme Something Good and Let It Ride giving way to an awesome rocking arrangement of To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High). The backdrop behind them is all huge oversize Fender amps and vintage arcade games – like Crazy Horse for the mallrat generation – and he throws in the once more entirely apt Dirty Rain (I assume they just throw all their rain songs in the set once you’re playing in a monsoon, what else can you do?), before moving on to Stay With Me and going all Tom Petty on New York, New York. He’s as enigmatic as ever and it’s hard to get a handle on his mindset, but it matters naught as he pumps out tunes like Kim, This House Is Not For Sale, Peaceful Valley and the rollicking Shakedown On 9th Street which closes the show and brings us all quickly back to most horrific reality.

Peking Duk

The hour grows late, the rain has returned; it could be utterly disastrous to attempt to wrangle the restless masses at this stage, but – unsurprisingly, it has to be said – Aussie electro-heroes Peking Duk prove just the antidote to reinvigorate those suffering the early onset of, as they say in the medical community, “being festivalled out”. The pair of deck-smiths has enjoyed a meteoric rise these past 18 months or so and, watching them tonight, it is apparent why they have swiftly developed into one of the country’s premier electronic acts, deserving of every syllable of praise that has been thrown their way. Showmen of the highest order, Peking Duk never seem content to rest on their laurels – newest banger Say My Name is an undeniable groove armada – though they’re also quite happy to pay homage to the greats of yesteryear, as when unironically dropping a track like The Sugar Hill Gang’s Apache (Jump On It) because, let’s face it, everyone loves that song. It’s an admirable, savvy performance – and the perfect way to warm the body and soul before commencing the muddy, damp march back to our campsites for the night.

Mark Ronson

We head to Mark Ronson as the rain continues to pelt down. His set is a revolving door of guest vocalists, from openers Theophilus London, to Keyone Starr for I Can’t Lose, to Daniel Merriweather, to Miike Snow, to Andrew Wyatt, to our very own Kevin Parker. For Parker’s tuned they’re joined by the dapper Kirin J Callinan on guitar, who flicks his guitar up into the air — and always catches it. We’re out of breath from singing along and dancing in the mud (must improve cardio skills). The culmination of a magical evening? Uptown Funk featuring Keyone Starr and Theopilus London on vocals, with the rest of Ronson’s merry band of guests coming out to croon about the funk they’re giving to us. It’s now Saturday night, we are in the spot, don’t believe me just watch.

[The Music Team = Bryget Chrisfield, Hannah Story, Mitch Knox, Roshan Clerke and Steve Bell]

one out of three ain't bad, but you can do better! read all our 2015 splendour reviews:

day two

day three