If you park anywhere in St Kilda you can follow the bass throb to Listen Out. Wandering along Jacka Boulevard we must duck out of the way of a skateboarder who holds his GoPro in the air to film some fast panning footage from the outside of Listen Out's temporary fencing. A crowd assembles on the hill overlooking Catani Gardens, raising occasional cheers when daredevil fence jumpers make a break for it and security guards give chase.
As we enter the festival site, Malaa lures us over to 909 Stage with his piano-led selection. It's an upbeat, banging house vibe and when Chuck Roberts declares, "Let there be HOUSE!" (from one of the most sampled speeches in history), there's some wild dancing going on. Maala must be sweltering up there in that black balaclava! And when Maala sneaks in another well-known snippet, "You want this party started, right!?" It's a rhetorical question.
Over on 3rd Base stage, Alice Ivy wears an absolutely sick T-shirt that reads: "Peter Andre 3000." Was it just last year at this very festival that we first experienced the wonder that is this Annika Schmarsel (that's Alice Ivy for those who have snoozed on this incredibly inspired performer). Yes, it was! It is a shame that loop artists, whether or not they started doing what they do before Tash Sultana, tend to get grouped in the same category as her these days. (At any rate, both aforementioned artists are utterly badass.) Schmarsel's genuine enthusiasm and impressively quick instrument switches make her super-fun to watch. A group of mates engage in some kind of dance-off during this set and the dude with a buzz cut everywhere except for the crown of his head, from which a bouquet of dreadlocks sprouts, easily takes out this competition.
As the breeze picks up and the temperature drops, those who chose to bare a lot rather than a little flesh start to shiver - betcha they sell out of Listen Out hoodies at the merch! There's also a lotta dust flying around. This festival is a user-friendly, navigable size.
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On Atari Stage, Safia bring more chilled vibes and their singles (particularly Make Them Wheels Roll, although many punters can't hit the high notes — ouch!) summon mass singalongs. Ben Woolner's vocals truly are magnificent and it's great to mix up DJs and solo artists with a full band for textural variety.
Oh, that's right! The Listen Out VIP toilet queues move at a snail's pace! Wouldn't it be sensible to label one row of cubicles the Powder Room? While we wait, the Summer Heights High themesong gets a spin. Is that Getter's intro tape, perhaps?
There's a pleasing amount of vintage threads on bods this year, which makes for cute AF festival outfits. But sadly, some revellers still favour Oompa Loompa spray tans - have we learnt nothing from Snog Marry Avoid?. Also questionable is fishnet fashion, on tops and bottoms - just imagine the tan grids! Winner of best dressed today must go to the gent sporting an all-over print collared shirt in cream hue featuring alternating images of Toadfish Rebecchi's head, a panel van and Ramsay Street sign - we salute you even though your ponytail is a little too close to the Neighbours character immortalised on your shirt for comfort.
Back at 3rd Base, we admire Nyxen, who brings bleepy goodness while somehow managing to instil some funk. This Sydneysider absolutely brings it in her stylish oversized shades and the sweet Sweet Disposition remix she drops is exactly what is required for a sunset slot. Dancers sing along blissfully with this smash hit by The Temper Trap as nature throws up the most glorious art exhibition in the sky, showing off this beachside festival site to perfection. Punters are smiling, dancing and flirting during Nyxen's set - job done. There's some dish-plate sized pupils in this area and one munter even indulges in a spinal roll in the middle of the dancefloor. And props to Nyxen for including fun lyrics to help festivalgoers pick up on the dancefloor: "Baby, just to have you to myself..." Nyxen is all smiles up there, she's well aware she's rocking it. Would definitely rush out to see her again.
On Atari Stage, "self-made nigga" Bryson Tiller spits rhymes about a string of luxury brands over minimal beats that sadly float away on the breeze. Tiller sports a black "Louisville Vs Everybody" hoody (Louisville Cardinals reprazent) and tells us it's their first show in Australia so we're instructed to "make some noise". All goes silent, there's some technical difficulties and then everything stalls. We can hear Green Velvet over on 909 Stage so hightail it over, timing it perfectly for the noodle-smoking La La Land: "Somethin' 'bout those little pills/Unreal/The thrills/They yield/Until/They kill/A million brain cells" - manifesto for the munted. The man himself, Green Velvet (Curtis Jones to his nearest and dearest), is beaming up there; he knows he's the shit. Who else could pull off a fluoro green mohawk!?
In comes Flash ("Cameras ready, prepare to flash!") and we're airborne; it's limbs akimbo. Then Catani Gardens lifts off for Lazer Beams with its how-low-can-you-go bass and pew-pew laser-beam sound effects. The way Jones dances to his own squelchy beats is infectious; the shapes he pulls perfectly illustrating each track and helping us hear it through his ears. We can't believe our luck when a remix of Yazoo's Don't Go barnstorms the mix, complete with Green Velvet spinning around repeatedly with a maniacal smile on his dial to demonstrate the following repeated lyrics: "I turned around when I heard the sound/I turned around when I heard the sound..." — he's having a blast up there.
Merrymakers break through barriers into a fenced-off section around a tree. Security guards don't intervene until a dude on shoulders tries to scale the majestic tree. Hardrive ft Barbara Tucker's Deep Inside ("Deep, deep down inside!") is a genius inclusion, steeped in soul and boasting a sexy pace to inspire our dance moves. With Green Velvet manning the decks, the promise of "longer hours on the dancefloor" would win any election. The Chicago native easily secures Set Of The Day.
It's always gross seeing dudes pissing within the crowd and there are many sightings of this unacceptable behaviour on this day.
What So Not definitely takes out the award for Most Elaborate Stage Set at Listen Out this year; there's some kind of life-size horse rearing up through the stage (and of course laser beams of various colours shoot from its eyes) plus camo netting aplenty. "It's good to be home, Listen Out!" the internationally touring Sydney producer who goes by the name of Chris Emerson in everyday life enthuses. The vibe is high here at Atari Stage and we're stoked to see What So Not's "Remember To Vote" message on the cyc, but it's almost Pnau o'clock so we scoot over to 909 Stage.
Pnau appear later than scheduled, which is extra shitty when you're at a festival happily watching an act but drag yourself away to prioritise another who then keeps you waiting and staring at an empty stage. When the eventually appear, lead singer Nick Littlemore tells us he hopes we're "properly lubricated" by this stage of the night. He wears some kind of long black smock and looks like a shaman up there. Littlemore complains he can't hear himself, Pnau open with their new single Into The Sky and it sounds rough. Wild Strawberries strikes a chord with the festivalheads, but Peter Mayes also seems dissatisfied with volume levels as he touches the speakers to feel the vibration but then shakes his head, dissatisfied. Littlemore introduces Kira Divine, who guests on Chameleon, to the stage and she's here all the way from the States. Pnau utilise a live drummer and extra samples/keys player alongside Mayes, Divine and Littlemore (who often plays a peculiar woodwind instrument). With You Forever's divine "I love you" chorus perfectly channels our euphoria and reminds us of the pivotal part Littlemore also plays in Empire Of The Sun.
Newsflash: if you ask someone to take a photo of you and your friends, it's actually not compulsory. That person is perfectly entitled to decline in favour of dancing and watching the band so there's no need to glare rudely when you don't get the response you expected.
As we pass Atari Stage, What So Not thanks the crowd and then we score Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley in between sets — what a cracking sonic palette cleanser!
Closing 3rd Base is One Puf (yep, with one 'f') and we immediately feel as if we've had one puff of an embalming fluid-laced joint too many. These are the kinds of sounds that would make sense at 6am after three days of continuous partying. But for 8.36pm? Not so much. So we mosey on over to investigate Future.
There's much sweeping and towelling down of the stage in preparation for the American rapper whose real name is Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn. The sound of a phone call being made takes over the speakers and then it's as if some kind of alien takeover interrupts. An old school, "Are you ready for FU-TUUUUUUUURE!?" intro turns into a demand: "Make some muthafucking NOOOOOOIIIISE!" It sounds like Future is rapping from some kind of underground sewer, so we're drawn to 909 Stage once more.
Overheard en route: "When we walked in there was a girl wearing a diaper."
It's bloody excellent to see the massive, red Listen Out-themed columns are numbered to assist with finding friends/reporting issues and the rotunda proves a popular meeting point for lost souls.
The playful rolling bass of Duke Dumont (aka Adam George Dyment — see what he did there?) doesn't disappoint. Watermat's Bullit is exactly what we fancy dancing to right now — what an on-point selection! The only thing that could improve on this vibe would be if the actual smoke cannons from Amnesia in Ibiza were on site, detonating to punctuate the blasting beats. There's a gazillion gyrating bodies on friends' shoulders and all celebrate the coming summer festival season. Dumont's own I Got U ("As long as I got you, baby!") ft Jax Jones, complete with debilitating steel drums, gets a strong reaction from the punters and it's all hands in the air. Judging from the jubilant, gurning faces in the crowd, Listen Out's after-parties are gonna be well attended tonight. Now when's Green Velvet's sideshow again? The Prince on Thursday night. Done deal.
