Live Review: Sydney City Limits

Walking up to Sydney City Limits, there's a slight twinge of panic - they are some big lines. Nonetheless, they move quickly and the security staff are efficient at getting everyone through. There's quite a large crowd considering how early it is, while the sounds of Bad//Dreems welcomes everyone through the gates.

Mallrat pulls a very solid crowd for so early on and they seem happy to be dancing in the hot sun along to her happy and equally warm tunes. Stella Donnelly is prompt, arriving to stage right on time and to a cheer from the growing crowd, starting with a new track. She shares her gratitude to Mallrat who's playing at the same time the stage over. Her voice fills the tent easily. A hush befalls the crowd during Mechanical Bull until a cheer erupts at the end.

Wandering around the festival, it's obvious that the set times have been well chosen from the get-go, with a huge number of punters opting to arrive early enough to see the opening acts. Considering that Adelaide wunderkind Tkay Maidza was a last minute addition, due to the cancellation of Young Thug, she brings a large crowd to the Harbour Stage.

Sigrid, full name Sigrid Solbakk Raabe, draws most of the crowd that's on their way out of Donnelly's set. Her voice and vibe are reminiscent of a more rock-influenced Florence & The Machine in places. She shares her love for Australia, particularly favouring her encounter with a koala and kangaroo during her time here. Raabe and her band are a fun addition to the line-up and certainly were a good pick to get the party going early on.

The Head & The Heart start up at the Big Top stage, competing with Sigrid for airwave space and crowd. The tent is looking pretty full just a song in, with more and more people flocking to as their folk harmonies drift out over the parklands. The crowd singalong at the end was particularly touching.

Allday draws the largest crowd of the day yet. He's a couple of songs in when Mallrat comes up to join him. "Make some news for the future of Australian music right there," he says before she walks off stage. Meanwhile, the crowd is already building in anticipation for The Libertines.

Winston Surfshirt actually start their set five mins early, which is also a credit to the stage techs who have been nailing the changeovers all day. The set highlight might just be their cover of Outkast's Roses. There's a cool change that sets in, along with some wind, which sends some punters scrambling to protect themselves from a mini dust tornado.

Sydney City Limits seem to have the balance pretty right and that shows within the crowd demographic and behaviour. There's folks old and young, and some even very young, with the odd stroller and baby carrier making its way through the crowd, most likely on their way to or from Sydney Kiddie Limits (adorable, right?). People seem just as happy pulling up a piece of grass and napping in the shade as they do enjoying the multiple stages.

It's quite a feat to have The Libertines here, given that ten years ago they self-imploded. It's also kind of odd to see them in a slot in the middle of the day, given that also fifteen years ago they probably would have been headlining. Nonetheless, they pull a decent crowd after all this time and sound pretty good too.

This is Car Seat Headrest's second Australian festival in as many years after visiting for last year's Laneway circuit. Their sound is big from the start, easily drowning out the closing moments of Winston Surfshirt across the field. It's getting easier and easier to draw similarities between Will Toledo's and Brandon Flowers' voices. The crowd is certainly happy to join in, and it grows right towards the end of the set as the heavens begin to open and people look for shelter from the brief shower.

By the start of Thundercat's set, there are a few people getting around sthat are looking a little worse for wear and it seems that even the light sprinkle won't wash away the damage. Thankfully, the sun has started to ease a little (no really, how did we have a 22-degree day on Tuesday and today is 32. Why universe, why?). Thundercat opens with an instrumental before stepping up to the mic for his second track. It's a set that seems to be one big sultry, funky jam and is a perfect fit for the mid-afternoon lull.

Alex Lahey amps up the crowd with a few hard strums of her guitar and then rips into I Love You Like A Brother. Lahey's set time was one of the few heavily affected by the departure of Young Thug from the line-up. "If you're looking for Gang Of Youths, you're in the wrong place," she jokes about the change before kicking into B-Grade University. It's a shame she had to compete with the likes of Gang Of Youths, because honestly while it was a good-sized crowd, it was a set that deserved more people along to it.

Gang Of Youths might just be Australia's favourite sons right now and that certainly shows with how fervently the crowd joins in on their set. A touching moment comes when frontman David Le'aupepe gets the crowd to take over the final verse of The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows. "Are you having fun? If you are, you can check us out on MySpace or Bebo," he jokes before heading into Let Me Down Easy. Of course, as can pretty much be guaranteed, the crowd flocks in closer when the opening bars of Magnolia kick in. "It's the most important city in the world for us," he says of Sydney before they wrap the set with a huge version of Say Yes To Life.

The crowd for Vance Joy had formed before Gang Of Youths had even started to wrap up. Of course, his voice could be heard all throughout the parklands, particularly for We're Going Home. There's a sea of people on shoulders for Riptide (as expected), and he closes out his set with Lay It On Me.

Even if you aren't particularly close to the stage, it's very easy to see Future, glowing in a neon orange hoodie. He plays one song and then disappears from the stage, his DJ soon following. Waiting, waiting, waiting and he still doesn't reappear to centre stage, seemingly with technical issues. About 15 minutes pass and he returns to the stage with a full group of dancers, including one guy to hype up the crowd, telling them to "give it up for Future" a lot.

Ocean Alley have the Big Top stage overflowing, their sound drifting between dreamy low fi surf rock and a harder psych/funk edge. Yellow Mellow gets a huge singalong. 

Grace Jones may not be on stage on time but the bubbles filling it in her place are at least a fun alternative. By 7.45pm, Jones still hasn't taken to the stage for her 7.30pm set and there's no longer movement from techs adjusting things. At 7.50pm, Jones still hasn't appeared. At 7.54pm, Jones appears atop a platform, striking a pose and then pulling a mask over her face, her cape flicking in the wind. Goddammit, it was worth the wait! The crowd immediately start to dance along. Unfortunately, even with the delay, she finishes right on time which is a huge shame, because even a minute more would have been worth it.

Beck's set is awash with colours. The harmonies are pretty much flawless throughout and it's a refreshing set from a consummate professional. "I just want to take this night in with you," he tells the crowd. "Anything could happen tonight. Such a beautiful night." Much like the man himself, Beck's set is an eclectic mix of his back catalogue, shifting from harmonic country to his more rockier edge. The crowd is more than happy to dance at Beck's encouragement for Up All Night. He takes his time introducing each member of his band, each with their own solo or sample from a classic track, and he gets dangerously close to running over time doing so. They wrap up but it seems like they were only just getting started.

Justice come straight out after the close of Beck's set, their Marshall amp covered stage dropped into darkness for the opening bars. Finally, the lights flash as the first drop comes in. It's an impressive set, and light show, and a perfect close to the Harbour stage. The VIP section seems to think so too with quite a few tables being danced on.

Tash Sultana's set is literally overflowing and by the look of it she could have easily played the main stage. The one-woman band pulls out all the stops and the crowd eat it up, cheering on command. To be honest, more festival sets should have trumpet involved in them because this one is great. Over the past year, Sultana has gone from a middle of the day slot at Laneway to a headlining act. Her set at Sydney City Limits proves exactly why.

Phoenix seem to have caught a case of the "Grace Jones'" and are also late to the stage. The lights drop at 9.10pm and they run out. With a synthy pop, they're out and charging, the crowd happily bopping along. There's an influx of Justice's crowd who literally run to join in. It's a fun end to a huge day.

Overall, Sydney City Limits' inaugural run was a successful one. Punters seem happy, as did the acts. Here's to another big one next year!