After the chaos of last year’s inaugural Harvest Festival at Werribee Park, Melbourne punters could have been forgiven some anxiety as they headed out to the festival this year. The weather was perfect – but would the festival infrastructure have improved from 2011?
The answer, happily, was yes – indeed, save for some sound bleed issues between stages, Harvest 2012 was close to being the perfect music festival experience.
Plenty of shade, easy access to refreshments, grass to loll upon, and a distinct lack of the aggressive vibe that can be detected at the Big Day Out, ensured punters had a relaxed and engaging day, regardless of whether one was there for just a couple of hours or the long haul.
While first and foremost a music festival, Harvest this year featured a strong ‘supporting act’ of second-tier entertainment, ranging from comedy and carnival-esque sideshows to visual art and circus.
In Le Boudoir, transgressive male burlesque act Briefs impressed with their skilful take on traditional circus acts, while the Campfire Stage, under the watchful eye of MC Xavier Michelides, generated plenty of fun for festival-goers looking for laughs. David Quirk’s dry humour didn’t quite gel with the crowd, but the hirsute Ryan Coffey and his loop-pedal generated songs, was definitely a hit.
Artworks glittered in the branches of trees or puzzled ducks on the lake, upon whose shores two ‘rival’ brass bands met and battled. A giant frozen soap bubble rendered out of plastic shimmered strikingly in the sunshine.
And so to the bands.
The Dandy Warhols rolled solidly through their hits, but for a band whose shtick – whose very essence at the peak of their careers – was about youth, partying and drugs, the years had condemned them and they lacked some of the lustre of their heyday. Courtney Taylor-Taylor looked worn and less than enthused, and some sound issues marred the oomph of tracks that needed a lot of power behind them, such as ‘Horse Pills’. Still, tracks such as ‘Bohemian Like You’ and ‘Get Off’ are never going to go down badly on a sunny day, and special credit must go to keyboardist and bassist Zia McCabe, who has lost none of her party panache.
Despite being on the shadeless dustbowl of The Windmill Stage while the sun was burning brightly, Cake, who haven’t toured Australia for seven years, fervently whipped out hits that you forgot you knew. Listening to them was like seeing an old friend you’d lost touch with and forgot you loved. Cake were tight in a way that musicians who have only played together for years can be: the fat bass hooks, insightful lyrics and ska-style trumpet that made them famous in the 90s were out in full force, and new songs still wielded power through skilful use of audience participation.
Though jetlagged – and complaining about it vociferously – Beirut gave a tight, engaging performance, though their energy levels seemed to suffer towards the end of their set.
The highlight of the festival, however, was Iceland’s Sigur Rós, who took to the Great Lawn Stage as dusk was falling and played a set dominated by their hits, rather than – as might have been expected – their latest album, Valtari. When they did visit the album, however, with the track ‘Varúð’, its aching ambience and epic thunder suited the occasion perfectly. Also memorable was a brand new track, ‘Brennisteinn’ (‘Brimstone’); a far more muscular song than fans may be used to, and a fascinating glimpse at the band’s future direction.
The night ended with an impressive display of festival logistics, as an army of buses smoothly and efficiently whisked punters away, either back to the city or to Werribee train station. A hassle-free ending to a memorable day.
Harvest Festival, Melbourne
11 November
