Live Review: Big Day Out

Punters were down early, making the most of Perth's very last Big Day Out. Brisbane lads Violent Soho were responsible for the first circle pit of the day with young guns and ladies thrashing about to the boisterous grungy-rock tunes from the quartet's successful 2013 record, Hungry Ghost, and older classics Jesus Stole My Girlfriend and Eat Your Parents. Popular tunes Dope Calypso and Covered In Chrome saw phones, hats and sunglasses go flying. And who could forget bassist Luke Henery's sexy g-banger to conclude a ripper set?

Loon Lake kicked things off to a great start, rousing the early-bird crowd nicely whilst simultaneously leading the day's subconscious message that, apparently, wearing shorts on stage is okay now. Meanwhile Canberra DJ duo Peking Duk were dropping electro bangers and enticing the Boiler Room dance-floor goers with free T-shirts.

Despite a few technical issues to begin with, South Carolina's Toro Y Moi got the small but appreciative crowd at the Red Stage jiving with his delicious instrumental numbers filled with funky grooves and synth bliss. Meanwhile, over on the JBL Stage, Melbourne rockers Kingswood were doing what they do best. But, even with their fresh single Suckerpunch, and frontman Fergus Linacre's friendly banter between songs, the five-piece seemed to lack their usual ferocious energy on stage.

Back at the Red Stage, one of Australia's true gems, The Drones were up next, sounding beautifully ugly as always albeit to an undeservedly small crowd. “Although, there is a Perth band playing at the moment,” Liddiard said. “I mean it's not like we're a Perth band or anything…” The band in question of course was Tame Impala, who drew the first real big crowd of the day to the Orange Stage. It seems that touring the world has done nothing but good for the local lads, as they sounded better than ever, with Kevin Parker's vocals being the real standout. Primus immediately followed, kicking arse in their own reliable fashion despite Les Claypool's voice being far too low in the mix for most of the set.

LA party-starters Grouplove drew one of the biggest crowds of the day with vocalist and keyboardist Hannah Hooper's skeleton onesie a highlight. Itchin' On A Photograph and popular tune, Ways To Go, got everyone bouncing, and the super new Shark Attack was very timely with Hooper bantering about shark culling. Sydney indie-dance lads RÜFÜS were tearing up the Boiler Room but it was worth heading over to the Headspace Stage to catch French experimental electronic lad The Algorithm. Alongside his partner-in-crime, UK drummer Mike Malyan, the duo combined dubstep, drum'n'bass, progressive metal and djent, even entertaining the crowd with a remix of Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

Back at the JBL Stage, the blokes you can trust, Cosmic Psychos were ripping through a ferocious set of punk-rock and beer jokes, showing no signs of age letting them down. Everyone knew what to expect from The Hives, but damn if they don't nail it every time they visit our shores. Taking pride in blowing every other band out of the water, frontman Pete Almqvist commanded the stage with an arrogance not many can pull off. Though an overly extended section in Tick Tick Boom bordered on tedious, they could pretty much do no wrong. More of a kick in the teeth to Blur fans rather than an adequate substitute, Beady Eye were a stark contrast to The Hives' showmanship. Liam Gallagher and co have long been the masters of not doing much on stage, but even then struggled to make it work with the daytime slot, Gallagher's shorts not helping in the slightest. Though it must be noted that Liam's voice is the best it's been in a long time.

Back on the Red Stage, MC Mac Miller got the crowd pumped up with Loud, but his set seemed quite tame even with his DJ revving up the frontline fans. Flosstradamus made up for it in the Boiler Room, dropping fat, trappy beats and basslines for the kids. Japanese lads Bo Ningen polarised and entertained the focused crowd with their acid punk and raucously strange stage behaviour. Refreshing and delightfully original, everyone wanted more.

In what was easily the finest performance of the night, Arcade Fire brought the party and managed to make the crowd of thousands not just move, but really dance. Drawing mostly from current album, Reflector, their truly wonderful stage show enchanted absolutely everyone who witnessed it. Sydney's man of the moment Flume appeared to have the Boiler Room pumping but as soon as Snoop Dogg hit the Red Stage, the tent emptied. While the sight of smiling white teens singing “n***a turn that shit up” to Snoop's set was an odd one, old school tunes P.I.M.P and I Wanna F*ck You even having some security guards grinding.

Swedish heavy-metal band Ghost had their small audience mesmerised. Dressed as a satanic pope, the band's frontman and his hooded-berobed buddies truly entertained – theatrical, somewhat orchestral and quite scary at times.

Following Ghost, Deftones conquered in true form and Pearl Jam proved just why they are still so beloved with a two-hour set that never let up. Dedicating Hunters & Collectors' Throw Your Arms Around Me to an unsuspecting young couple, Eddie Vedder charmed the pants off the day's biggest crowd as they brought the house down like it was nothing. It was a grand finale for what was, sadly, Perth's very last Big Day Out.