Live Review: Falls Festival

Rhys: Falls Festival remains the best way to bring in the new year for music lovers on the island of Tasmania, despite the unpredictable weather that always marrs the Marion Bay site. This year we were treated to rain, extreme weather warnings from BOM and burning sun - the kind caused by a hole in the ozone layer. On the first day it was important to be wearing sunscreen, an emergency poncho, and a jumper, and to alternate between these for most of the scorching, then freezing, always windy day.

The 29th was the best way to kick your booty into gear starting with a night class at the “Twerkshop” on the Field stage, where I moved muscles I didn’t know I had.

Client Liaison are an '80s-revival electro-pop troupe with all the dance moves, the outfits, and the pop synth hooks of a first-class nostalgia runaway train. These guys were a festival favourite that brought people out from under cover to dance wildly in the mud. Perhaps most spectacular wasn’t the catchy tunes or the Regurgitator/Christine Anu mashup, but the final number that brought warm smiles from under the hoods of plastic ponchos as a setting sun finally broke through the clouds to light the field stage, with people turning to hold their arms up to the sun as Client Liaison boomed across the field.

DJ Woody’s ‘history of hip-hop’ AV show was a two-hit punch following the natural splendour of Client Liaison. Using beat juggling and a great sense of timing, the Manc educated the crowd on forty-one years of hip hop over one and a half hours, counting all the way up to Jay Z’s 2009 hit Empire State Of Mind. When I got home I was truly disappointed this entire set wasn’t available on SoundCloud. DJ Woody brought all the nostalgia from an increasingly wild crowd who were treated to film clips and music mashed from many of the most influential hip-hop artists of the past forty years.

The Manchester-born DJ Woody was the perfect precursor to hip-hop royalty Salt N Pepa. The two MCs and DJ Spinderella were helped by a group of dancers to deliver a fresh set. Unfortunately, the two seasoned rappers delivered a flavourless performance, using very little of their hip hop legacy while demanding respect from the crowd of people mostly born in the '90s, who were treated to an endless barrage of current artists like Iggy Azalea with occasional “yeah’s” and “When I say hip you say hop” standard spat from rappers turned hype girls. This fizzle of a set left many punters to wander off early from the first day drawcard in search of other entertainment.

30 December

Catherine: After the frivolities of boogie the night before, the Falls crowd awoke more subdued than if they had been nicely greeted by the intense Tasmanian sun. The diehard festival goers were determined to not let a little thing like gale force winds and torrential rain spoil a party. Armed with nothing more than a plastic poncho or pair of thongs they managed to give Kim Churchill a nice surprise and turn out in force. No one was going to rain on his parade, and no one could. It was as though with every song he let the crowd know, “I’ve got this.” With guitar skills that would rival John Butler, Kim’s beautifully crafted songs and all the joy he could muster thrown into that swoon-inducing voice, he left the audience with that warm fuzzy feeling. Which was good because it was absolutely freezing.

Rhys: Unearthed winners Violet Swells were fantastic, a psychedelic rock band with synth sounds similar to Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips. Faced with the daunting challenge of opening the first day of the festival the band delivered brilliantly, the fuzzy guitars pearling through the early morning.

Catherine: Next to be greeted by a break in the rain was London four-piece and Australian festival virgins Wolf Alice. They took to the stage with enthusiasm, but in this case the wind and some resulting sound issues got the better of them a little. The new wave grunge style had some of the younger punters a little bemused. Salty sweet vocals from Ellie Rowsell (whose guitar was nearly bigger than she was) with rough-as-guts guitars were beyond the capacity of some born in the '90s rather than growing up in them. Wolf Alice, however, is the grunge of the '90s chewed up and spat out as a bright and shiny piece of rocky goodness. Moaning Lisa Smile and their cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game were standout features from their set that perhaps otherwise lacked a little lustre.

The Valley Stage then welcomed a band with one of the biggest hits of 2014. It was clear that most of the Falls crowd decided to not only come out as the sun had decided to stick around for a bit, but they were waiting for Milky Chance to offer them a Stolen Dance. Despite their best efforts, Milky Chance’s indie-pop stylings sounded a little disjointed and insincere until they played the one song everyone knew. The German duo were charming but not engaging.

Rhys: Vance Joy filled the main valley with fans. His band and performance were completely on point, with his signature soft strumming, slow building guitar with heartfelt falsetto combination winning over many punters who were perhaps undecided on his material. A strong songwriter with an afternoon time slot perfectly suited to his sound.

Catherine: Over at the smaller Field Stage, however, Glass Animals packed a smooth and tasty punch with flavours of originality and charisma. From their front man Dave Bayley of the UK group you would never expect that velvety honey dipped voice to come out of what otherwise looks like a nerdy little white guy. Their ever-popular song Gooey describes this outfit perfectly. Limitless potential with effortless production, made for the kind of dance moves that only festival crowds can produce.

Bringing some heart and commitment to the Valley Stage were The Rubens. With promises of new music this year, the band proved they are still the teenage crush of the Australian rock scene.

They brought a grace to the stage that had everyone excited for the evening ahead.

Rhys: As the sun set, the main stage became a lighting spectacular. Lasers and smoke broke through the early night as The Temper Trap delivered a faultless set in front of a bouncing bokeh backdrop. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the Falls Festival up until this point had been the lack of interaction between performers and the audience. In contrast, The Temper Trap were engaging, talking about what they’ve been up to and where they want to be in 2015, treating the audience to a few tracks from an upcoming album. Each song was faultlessly delivered, unlike the last time they played the festival where Dougy Mandagi, the lead singer, had voice trouble. The harmonies were sung strong and the music’s tempo twisted to a livelier festival setting. These guys would have been my pick to bring in the New Year. A drum-heavy, fuzz guitar rendition of The Clash’s Rock The Casbah leads the way into the final number, Sweet Disposition. Instead of dispersing after the set, the crowd grew larger as the half-hour wait for Alt-J began.

Not to be outdone, Alt-J delivered a great visual show and picked their set well for a late night time slot. New songs were dispersed between first album favourites such as Breezeblocks and Taro, while even more lasers and smoke filled the valley. The band was solid and in good spirits, but poor audio and some minor technical mistakes compromised an otherwise fantastic performance. While the old tracks were delivered well the band failed to engage the audience on newer tracks.

31 December (evening)

Catherine: New Year’s Eve is a fickle beast. For many it is just another day, but as part of a festival like Falls it’s an excuse to get even more loose, let your hair down, slap on some glitter, sequins and glow sticks, and dance the night away.

With Paul Kelly’s daughters at his side as backing singers, C.W. Stoneking came to the Field Stage like a suave performer in a 1920s bar in New Orleans. By now the atmosphere at Falls was gaining momentum. The time-warp vibe that the enigmatic blue grass singer provides set the scene for a truly unique night ahead.

Catherine: Seeing John Butler Trio at Falls is a rite of passage that no music lover should miss. He and his band never fail to bring a feeling of unity with every single person there absorbing the music. Always guaranteed for a sing-along and a stomp of your feet, and once the final note has played you feel a little sad as the set is never long enough. Even with seven-or-so-minute tracks like Oceans, there is always room for more John Butler.

Rhys: I don’t like John Butler but even I enjoy this band at festivals, a big crowd sing-along to Zebra, some enthusiastic banter, a guy crowdsurfing in a life raft and a few expert if a bit self-indulgent guitar solos are collectively a recipe for festival success.

La Roux came out in true NYE style, all members sporting fancy suits for the occasion - even the drummer. Their passionate pop with resonating synth had everyone moving, and you were bound to have classics like I’m Not Your Toy and Bulletproof stuck in your head for days. The new tracks went over less well than the earlier hits, but that’s to be expected from a festival crowd.

Rhys: Even though the lights were magic, and her David Bowie/Beetlejuice outfit masterful, La Roux was polished but wasn’t to my taste so I went to see the last part of New York hip hop duo Run The Jewels. They were terrible. The rapping was often a boring list of verbs that felt the artists were reading words off cue cards and the grimy beats felt uninspired, overwrought with sub bass. To top it off, the rappers wished the crowd a great end to 2013, twice. They then started trying to talk about the current issues in Ferguson, but kept getting Michael Brown and Darren Wilson’s names in the wrong order.

Catherine: If ever there was a spectacle to that you would like to see at a festival, it’s the sight of Luke Steele and his band Empire Of The Sun in full glamour, make-up and headdresses with troupe of amazing dancers in full-length leotards stealing the show. By now everyone had united at the Valley stage for the countdown to New Year’s. Despite the rowdy audience, Empire Of The Sun held their own, cranking out the dream-like dance anthems leaving most mesmerised and almost forgetting there was something to count down.

SBTRKT didn’t waste a moment after the exuberance of wishing everyone a happy new year. Straight into New Dorp New York so everyone that was still standing raced to the stage to join in singing and dancing to one of the oddest tracks from the quirky outfit to date. A major highlight was their rendition of Radiohead’s Lotus Flower. It was a beautiful and serene way to welcome in 2015.

After a chaotic and confusing few minutes watching Big Freedia it was off to the Village for 10-minute raves, an awesome DJ set from locals Tyrannosaurus Dex and then the moment of panicked realisation that it is 3am and somehow you have lost everyone. Time to retire to the comfort of your tent to awake slightly worse for wear and a bad case of the post Falls blues.

Rhys: After Empire Of The Sun, we veered out to explore the night. On we walked, past the crazy electro-dance party at Treat Tribe and the hugging groups of the bizarrely costumed people at The Village, until eventually we sat on the hill and watched Big Freedia. From up on the hill we enjoyed the groups of Twerkshop girls on stage and the DJ stylings of local artist Mez; however, the overall Big Freedia sound was a mash-up of awkward noises, lacking in melody with a rhythm of a kid on speed mashing a sound effects board taken from samples of a stroke victim while Loony Tunes SFX were played on two-second loops, fed through autotune.

The festival ended as always, people gathered in small groups to sleep, talk or dance at Treat Tribe. After all the kissing, hugging and cheering to send off another year, we get to thinking about what we can look forward to next year. The festival signified the end of several bands (Bluejuice delivering what may be one of their last performances) and the beginning of promising careers of artists like Vance Joy, Lewes, Violet Swells, Milky Chance and George Ezra.

Yet once all is said and done, Falls Festival Marion Bay is an incredible party with a hell of a view to bring in the next year. Year after year, they deliver an exceptional music festival, and there is arguably no better way to welcome 2015.