Live Review: Laneway Festival

In spite of strange weather, ranging from rain and gale-force winds to cloudless skies and burning sun and back again, a flood of ponchos and umbrellas ventured to Rozelle for what appeared to be a new and slightly improved Laneway. A wider variety of food was available including the food trucks that have been making the rounds of Sydney's late night scene and what was welcome news to everyone, reduced beer prices.

Kings Of Convenience kicked off the Laneway proceedings in the first time slot on the Park Stage (rumoured to have been on so early to ensure only their true fans showed up). They played a back catalogue of their hits that had the crowd as excited to be there as the band was, bringing a fun and welcome start to the rainy day. Before ending their set with I'd Rather Dance With You, one half of the duo, Erlend Øye, egged on the audience to compete in a dance competition as he judged from the stage. He then decided to participate himself and jumped into the circle to show Australia how they do it in Norway.

With a new drummer in tow, Melbourne band Twerps played a slick set to a large crowd that was more consistent than previous gigs. Meanwhile, The Men's set felt less planned than an improvised 40-minute jam session as they swapped between singers and went off on tangents of different melodies that was engaging to watch.

Real Estate brought a little sunshine to the rainy day with their afternoon set of hazy surf-rock sounds. Later on, Poliça and Alpine both drew crowds with their ethereal electro-pop music, filling out the floor with infectious tunes and dancing.

Of Monster & Men sang beautiful harmonies together over sweet melodies. The punters waiting to see the Icelandic pop act were comparative to something one would expect to see at a larger festival due to the addition of a new Park Stage and what looked like a subsequent increase in crowd numbers. Though it meant that more people could attend, not being able to get even remotely close to the entrance to the stage area, let alone see the band, didn't feel like Laneway at all. This was a recurring issue throughout the day at performances of other acts with massive drawing power like alt-J, which put an additional dampener on the festival. Though it was almost impossible to see, their music was enough for the many lying on the grass of the hills of Sydney College Of The Arts.

The delicateness of alt-J's experimental and introverted pop was not lost in the wide spaces of the Park Stage. With one of the biggest crowds of the day, they produced beautiful harmonies and fluid rhythms and melodies. Contrastingly, Cloud Nothings pummelled through their crashing sound, which was refreshing after a long line of soft-pop acts.

There is no other way to describe Pond than just fun to watch. Tame Impala's semi-alter ego was electrifying to watch as they threw energy around the stage with the audience responding in equal measure. Pond didn't just stick to their most recent album, with Bette Davis (Will Come Down From The Heavens To Save Us) a highlight of the set.

Arriving on stage early to give their fans as much as they could, Japandroids commanded the crowd with their perfectly constructed chaos. Brian King (guitar/vocals) and David Prowse (drum/vocals) attacked songs with a ferocity that more than compensates for the absence of the additional guitar parts on their records. The audience had been clearly waiting for this moment for a long time as they completely lost their shit and sang back to Japandroids word for word. Finishing off with their ode to California, a cover of The Gun Club's For The Love Of Ivy, they left the Courtyard Stage a sweaty mess and were definitely the highlight of the festival.

Bat For Lashes can only ever be crazy good with a stunning performance to round off the night at the Park Stage. In a shimmering red dress and cape, lead singer Natasha Khan enchantingly moved around the stage with fluid dance moves and her ethereal voice, while the rest of the group replied to her singing with chanting harmonies. Her ability to hold an entire crowd with just the sound of her voice and light piano for Laura was incredible to watch as was everything she did. Though they may have been hitting up Divine Fits, the many festivalgoers who left straight after Laura had ended missed out on something special as she finished off the set with Daniel.

The night ended in the clusterfuck it always does with thousands of revellers trying to make the trek from the public transport-isolated Rozelle back to the city, jostling for buses and cabs, but it was most certainly worth it.