Live Review: Day Three - Splendour In The Grass 2018

Day three. The struggle is real. The hangover is real. But like true Splendour veterans, we went hard on the last day. 

Midday on the Sunday; it's a pretty cruddy timeslot, particularly when you're due to start your set and the security won’t let anyone in to the Amphitheatre till two minutes after it starts, but hey, Amyl & The Sniffers started anyway. They played fast and loose and when lead singer, Amy Taylor, entered with a champagne bottle and a glass, we got the feeling this could go anywhere, or at the very least, we could get a mimosa. The Sunday church of Amyl is off the chain. "Wake the fuck up, Splendour!” declared Amy as the band launched into another two minute tunefrom their EP. There was a small but active early crowd, including some that know all the words to the punky-garage rock. Mind you, it's not that hard. Repeated choruses about munchies or “Walking to the Westgate” are pretty easy to learn. A call from the crowd to do a shoey was sadly accepted by guitarist, Declan Martens. Here’s hoping THAT trend is on its last legs. Taylor took the opportunity to open the champagne, spray the front row, take a swig and continue the set.

Ziggy Ramo wasn’t afraid to get emotional and equally political during his midday set at the Mix Up tent. It became immediately apparent that Ramo was a storyteller who had something to say; highlighting a range of important issues around being an Indigenous Australian, the unequal treatment of women and marriage equality through his songs. Ramo differs from others in his zone with his smooth rhymes and bombastic choruses, ending on an energetic number that had us bouncing to our next set of the day.

That morning at Splendour, people seemed to be happier than they have been the last few days, maybe due to such an incredible lineup ahead on the very final day of Australia’s most prominent festival. Angie McMahon delivered an emotionally beautiful hangover cure, re-energising the audience with blissful and sombre melodies. With a vocal style similar to that of Florence + The Machine, the audience were treated to one of the sweetest sets of the festival. Playing her Fleetwood Mac cover of Silver Springs and then closing with her track Slow Mover, it’s exactly the kind of performance you wanted to kick off your final day at Splendour.

It takes a special kind of artist to pull enough people from their tents and third day hangover misery at 1pm to fill the front Amphitheatre mosh pit. But there was a lot of hype about this wee English lad named Yungblud and we were totally on board. Northern rock is alive and well as Dominic Harrison tore through a blistering set of politically charged protest songs. In now a somewhat cliche move, the crowd started chanting shoey and a boot is launched onto the stage. To his credit Harrison handled it like a pro, pouring his beer into the crowdfunded shoe, down the neck of his guitar and into his mouth. With an important message and a manic stage presence, Harrison and his trademark pink socks are here to stay. 

In between sets at the Mix Up tent, DJs were keeping the punters peaked and Ebony Boadu was certainly doing that, dropping a smooth range of R&B bangers at the Mix Up tent before we get to witness the evolution of Eves Karydas (aka Hannah Karydas), who had played Splendour previously under the name of Eves The Behaviour. She may have changed names, but has retained her glittering pop sensibilities. With an unfortunate mix in the sound, the first few tracks were a little unbalanced, but Karydas’ singing is not. Her vocal danced over the musical backing from a drummer and synth player, spinning around the stage clearly enjoying herself. The crowd reacted with recognition when she performed her older tracks, like Electrical, but her latest song There For You and a debut performance of Hush, a new cut to come from a debut album she’s hoping to drop later in the year. Her set was a nice way to warm into the third day of the festival and a well-timed cover of Kylie Minogue's Can’t Get You Out Of My Head kept the crowd engaged and smiling, no matter how their body might have felt. “I like Splendour because it coincides with my birthday!" effused Karydas, followed by a sweet rendition of Happy Birthday. Sweet vibes for a Sunday.

Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allison, was bringing bedroom indie rock to GW McLennan. The endearing songstress hailing from Nashville had a band in tow, delivering sharp lyrics and bright guitar led tracks. Your Dog is a stand out, while a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire, although not bad, didn’t really add anything to the set. Nonetheless, Soccer Mommy’s chill but kinda sad songs laced with pop hooks went down well with the crowd.

Just a few years ago, they opened up the festival, and now, with a huge crowd accompanying them, Skegss were back at what they do best. Running out to Waka Flocka Flame’s Hard In Da Paint, the boys then opened up with the ultimate festival theme song Spring Has Sprung. The crushing weight of the crowd pushing up against the security barrier was almost overwhelming. They played Fun, Wake The Fuck Up and LSD and literally lit up the entire hillside in a massive singalong. Having the crowd beat their heads together for Slayer, it was hard to believe the crowd are left standing for a special surprise visit from Alex The Astronaut to join them for new song Road Trip and all-time classic New York California. As bassist Toby Cregan took the vocal reigns and crowd surfed to the repetitive track, it was a wonder that he kept his head intact with the raging crowd. And after closing with Got On My Skateboard and Up In The Clouds, the set felt too short lived, but then again, every Skegss set leaves a crowd hungering more.

For a rapper from Chicago that's still making a name for himself, TOWKIO attracted a pretty decent crowd to the Mix Up tent. His energy on stage was infectious and before long the crowd had doubled. "We should be blessed to be breathing right now," he announced before he sang Heaven Only Knows, a track he collaborated with Chance The Rapper on. Hands in the air, big drops, crowd participation; he knew how to get a reaction. Hate To Love prompted dancing aplenty before finishing with his stand-out track, Symphony. On a day that is destined to finish with a big hip hop act, his set was the perfect warm-up.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever saw the GW McLennan tent alive with a yearning for the days of The Cure and REM with a bright set of guitar-laden and ear-worming rock songs. With three mic stands overlooking the crowd for the three singer-songwriters that front the band, ego didn't exist as their cohesive chemistry shone though. A refreshing breath of pristine, uncluttered rock music, it is no wonder Hope Downs is one of the most rated albums of 2018 so far.

Antony & Cleopatra, a London-based club duo, probably had the biggest crowd seen at Tiny Dancer all festival. Their short set was wall to wall with dancefloor-ready bangers, with stellar vocals shared between the pair. Anita Blay bounced around onstage, amping up the crowd during glitchy house laden tracks Twitch and The Islands. The pair cracked out their Motez collab The Future, much to everyone’s delight, while Dust literally saw the crowd shrouded in the stuff as they danced up a storm.

"We're so happy to be back with you. You look beautiful!" Middle Kids are taking over the world but they know where their bread is buttered. Jetlag be damned as the group belted out favourites from their debut album, Lost Friends, received well by a mostly chilled crowd in the sun on the Amphitheatre hill. Singer Hannah Joy's voice sounded a bit strained after a hectic schedule, but it didn’t stop her rocking out along with their very animated bass player, Tim Fitz. Never Start completed a beautiful homecoming set, worthy of the afternoon sun in the Amphitheatre.

They say Brisbane’s Mallrat is everyone’s best friend, and the second she walked onto the Mix Up Stage, it instantly felt like you’ve known her forever. Playing Tokyo Drift and Texas, the entire tent was full of people dancing, looking like they’re having the time of their lives. Playing a cover of OutKast’s Hey Ya!, and then closing with Uninvited, the crowd was left in awe of their new best friend.

Things were a little more subdued at the Amphitheatre when Ben Howard took to the stage. Nine musicians in total were required to produce his lush, complex soundscapes, including multiple stringed instruments and synths. Being a man of very few words, Howard hid behind his guitar or sat with a sampler for Towing The Line. While his music is enviably beautiful and the sundown set was well executed, the fact that he stuck to newer, more atmospheric tracks meant crowd interest waned. Finally, I Forget Where We Were was played but with Howard’s reputation of not pandering to the crowd’s needs, a good singalong was not on the cards. He walked off to a call for an encore that was not received - but it is this elusiveness that keeps the man oh so intriguing.

A big graphic spectrum hit the backdrop of the Mix Up Stage as Crooked Colours took to the stage. Similar to that of Glass Animals and Tame Impala, the band played a perfect mixture of electronic and psych. They played well-known tracks like Plymouth, and even delivered some new and tasty tracks yet-to-be-released. Like many other artists at the Mix Up, they delivered perfect dance tracks that anyone can groove along to.

If there's an artist that attracts both indie and commercial fans, it's Dean Lewis. The artist gains more and more fans with each release, so Splendour is a logical place for him. The folky acoustic vibes are easy to listen to after a long weekend. Playing all his big tracks and a bunch of unreleased tracks, there’s lots to look forward to, when he releases an album. Mallrat jumped on stage to perform her track, Better, a strange choice as the crossover of fans was probably minimal. Final track, Waves, prompted a massive singalong.

It is PNAU’s world and we are just living in it. As Nick Littlemore took to the stage in a LED coat and colourful mask, we know we were going to be in for a trip - destination unknown. And though we mightn't have known where we were going, Littlemore was going to make sure as hell we had a damn good time. Joined by vocalist Kira Divine, the Amphitheatre transformed into a unified mass of energy, cutting shapes as we revisited classic tracks like Baby and Wild Strawberries before being treated to a brand new song, release date pending. Can we call Chameleon a mass singalong if no one knows the actual words? We're not sure, but whatever it was, Splendour just witnessed a band in their absolute element. 

Sampa The Great was humble but damn entertaining at Mix Up tent. Entertainment wasn’t the only thing on the agenda, as she explained that tonight’s performance was special as it included her family – with Sampa’s sister made a guest appearance to sing Inner Voice. Despite an unusually smaller crowd, Sampa and family put on a show to remember. Her set included favourites FEMALE and Rhymes To The East, as well as outright celebrations of Black Girl Magick. Bye River was a standout, including a call and response that saw everyone involved have a cathartic moment.

Hockey Dad, the duo from Wollongong, have been pacing themselves. Playing at seven on the last night of Splendour is a long time coming when you're itching to play and that's exactly how Hockey Dad seemed — impatient! The sizeable crowd under (and outside) the GW McLennan tent have had their share of entertainment, but a lot of them have saved their energy for this. Starting with Disappoint Me, the crowd seemed slightly subdued. Maybe the lack of sleep, vitamins and parents have come to a head. In I Need A Woman, the mosh circles began, with scores of punters go slamming into each other, but thankfully there was a scramble to help when people went down. As is customary at this festival, it seems that guests are almost mandatory. In this case, Australian rock god, Tim Rogers, jumped up. The mostly pubescent crowd seem unmoved however, and even when he performs You Am I's classic, Purple Sneakers, there are very few people recollecting it. After performing My Stride, drummer Billy Fleming declared, "Now we're kicking it!" It was a well-paced set, despite their impatience to play, and definitely would have left many in the crowd bruised and battered.

One thing that seemed completely out of place was the fact that Elderbrook, an incredibly talented musician/producer, was placed in the Tiny Dancer tent instead of the Amphitheatre. Opening up with Woman, there were so many people questioning how on earth he’s able to manoeuvre around pads, synths and drum machines so fluently and still put out an incredible stage presence. One thing’s for certain – someone needs to put him on a bigger stage.

Oh, MGMT. The narrative around the duo is well-known but tonight they proved that they are more than a couple of college kids who stumbled across a couple of hits. Finding their groove in a more streamlined pop sound, the band were joined on stage by the creature from the Little Dark Age album cover. On their Instagram account they say the creature is troubled and has a dark secret. Splendour leaned in close and we had it whispered in our ears. Electric Feel and Kids were clearly what the majority of the crowd came to see but with Little Dark Age a step in a new direction, we were buckling up our seatbelts, ready for the ride. 

Jensen Interceptor was laying down a groovy, feel good mix at Tiny Dancer that saw those walking past be drawn in momentarily for a boogie. Mixing well-known tracks with a unique spin, you can see why the Sydney DJ is starting to blow up in the European club scene.

One of the most brutal decisions of Sunday night was deciding where to be at 8.30pm, and to those who made it to the GW McLennan stage, they made the right choice as Brisbane’s Ball Park Music took the stage as their own. The crowd were incredibly friendly, and for the first time possibly all festival, there isn’t a single person who’s shoving or pushing to get to the front row – instead it was a big circle of music enthusiasts, simply there to enjoy and dance around. Dropping it down to a softer note with Coming Down, frontman Sam Cromack danced around and sang with the audience. Things stay sweet with The Perfect Life Does Not Exist, and as confetti is launched, everything was brought back to an immensely exciting level. And then just as the crowd thought things couldn’t get any better, they’re partying again with Sad Rude Future Dude, Fence Sitter and Hands Off My Body. Dropping back to an acoustic, Sam led the band into Exactly How You Are, and then finished huge with the crowd singing along to She Only Loves Me When I’m There. 

Much has been made of the regular Australian tours of The Wombats, but seriously, are we complaining about overseas acts coming too often now? In what is surely one of their biggest headlines to date and with another successful album released, the band continue to perform at their peak. Cheetah Tongue started the set, and what followed was a series of hits from all of their four albums. The crowd were particularly vocal during Kill The Director and Techno Fan and despite lead singer Matthew Murphy seeming somewhat blasé at the start, he was genuinely gracious of the crowd support, because the Amphitheatre was packed to the rafters. This is not just a pre-Kendrick bump either, there were many there just to see the Liverpudlians play. Impressive wombat-inspired visuals accompanied every song, but you’d be excused for hoping they'd move around a bit more on stage, while the set was probably a bit predictable. Let’s Dance To Joy Division and Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) prompted a huge response, but ending on Greek Tragedy was a little surprisingly. The dancing wombats and the crazy dancing cheerleader looking suspiciously like former triple j host Alex Dyson jumped around the stage to finish an overall fun set that doesn’t confirm the thoughts that Australia are sick of The Wombats yet.

James Bay drew a crowd at GW McLennan, despite probably 80% of the festival-goers already being in the Amphitheatre waiting for Kendrick Lamar. Opening with a brand new track was a strong move, but the crowd took it in their stride, and he rewarded us by playing a set of upbeat hits, including Pink Lemonade, Wild Love and Just For Tonight. Guitar solos were rife, but enjoyable, particularly when Bay broke from his behind the mic position to join in. Let It Go was played mid-set, which resulted in a heartfelt singalong. Bay chose to cover Bonnie Tyler’s Simply The Best, which provided a triumphant moment, while Hold Back The River joyfully closed the set and resulted in mass singalong.

Less than half of the Mix Up Tent is packed, but brutal clashes didn't stop a small, yet vibrant, crowd enjoying a crazy end to the festival. Girltalk put on a performance worthy of being dubbed a killer afterparty, before the party itself has even finished. Bringing an entire entourage onto the stage for specific tracks to jump and dance around, the audience skipping the headlining set clearly enjoyed themselves amongst a smaller crowd.

Crammed in like a sardine tin, the energy in the Amphitheatre was electric and palpable. And it was for one man, and one man only — Kendrick Lamar. Introduced to the crowd through a Kung Fu Kenny clip, while there was a lot of hype surrounding his set, we don't think anybody was expecting what was to come. There is no one in the world who can do what he is doing and as we were to soon find out he is damn. good at doing it. Avoiding typical rap cliches, the show was understated in its perfection. Nothing but Lamar, a mic and a series of tongue-in-cheek, homemade, arthouse flicks featuring himself. Oh, and the occasional samurai. For all of his critical and commercial success, Lamar was definitely the most political artist to have graced the top of the bill in a long time and his influence dispersing across the world is no more evident than when he cuts the music during HUMBLE., stops rapping, and the massive crowd carried the entire verse verbatim. As Lamar stared down his subjects and inspected his work, the effect is beyond powerful.