Make way, make way, fresh Splendour meat coming through!
It's 2017 and I'm finally walking the hallowed grounds of Splendour In The Grass. I've been quietly embarrassed about working in the music industry and never having made the pilgrimage, but the truth is I've been out of the country the last two years around this time. Before that? Sorry man, I have no excuse; I was just a shit person. But Splendour is the Coachella or the Glastonbury of Australia and given those two are such tricky events to get to, I really made it my mission to at least go to Splendour this year, since it's in my own bloody backyard.
Unfortunately this morning, we woke up to the tragic news of Chester Bennington's suicide. Linkin Park were one of my favourite bands growing up so my spirits are dampened, maybe even bone-dry, at the thought of losing yet another talented musician to suicide. Hopefully we'll see a few tributes to the enigmatic singer today - maybe the purple Prince tree will be illuminated half and half for Chester?
Anyhow. Let it be known that it's fuckin' bone-chillingly freezing this year. It's stunning blue skies, but that wind cuts through. My thoughts are with everyone with bare legs who're gonna have to brace the winds after sundown (yes, this includes me. My thoughts are with me.)
Things that made me smile as a Splendour first-timer:
- The shuttle attendants have "Splendid Bus Attendant" written on their hi-vis. Cute.
- Rubbish collectors already working hard before midday. Seriously, it shouldn't be hard not to litter but it's nice to see work being done throughout the day so there's not a literal mountain of rubbish to pick up after the festival is done.
- The hill up to the amphitheatre - holy god. My glutes!
- The black-suited dude with a pterodactyl skeleton marionette. Shoutout to you, my friend.
- The pirate band outside the Captain Morgan's bar. Why is the rum gone, etc, etc.
- I'm wearing precautionary gumboots today and I'm already feeling the chafe. Will update tomorrow (whoa, I'm full of complaints aren't I?)
The shining skies really are beautiful, though. No clouds in sight so hopefully we're not privy to any rain (and mud!) but people are really kicking up dust. Nearly every second person has a lanyard pass of some sort (ie. lots of people working) but punters on the whole are super respectable, here for a good time and down for anything. It's past 2pm and there's literally no litter on the ground - amazing. Compliments are abound too: a girl I didn't even catch a glimpse of tells me I look beautiful (d'aww) and I see a dude non-ironically and totally genuinely compliment the world's worst mullet as they pass each other. There are dudes in faux fur coats looking real Macklemore and ladies in glitter body paint wearing naught but shorts. A dude in a blue bandana is sitting looking REALLY worse for wear (head in hands, eyes closed, the world doing cartwheels around him probably) and a stranger gets down on her knees to ask if he's ok then going to get him a cup of water. It's this camaraderie that's surprising me at Splendour - as a first timer at such a major festival, I expected less community than this, but it's super refreshing and heart warming, so no complaints here.
We check out the science tent for a bit where Tom Gordon, science communicator for USYD, took us through the Science Of Music. We made a beat using quick-spinning faraway stars, a melody with two spinning tubes, a harmony with people jumping and making noises and to top it all off - the lead instrument from the Star Trek theme song - a Theremin. Sounded like shit but hey - we made our own Splendour music! Anyway, it's cool to have educational downtime tents so you're not just drinking yourself silly - though you can if you want, no judgement.
As the sun sets and people start to rug up, we stumble upon the World Stage and the wonder of Dustin Thomas who literally plays guitar and a mixture of scatting, singing and beatboxing, with his mate on the calabash. Add him to your Spotify playlist. Over at the Amphitheatre, Tash Sultana has pulled a huge crowd for her rootsy, diverse sound. Vance Joy's also pulled a full Amphitheatre for his heartfelt tunes, clad in his usual long sleeve shirt and jeans. He's brought a horn section with him too! HAIM's the highlight for me today though, playing a solid hour of super fun tunes and really showing off their musical dynamism and charm. They end with a fucking epic drum battle - four drummers! - and they manage to get my frozen legs and sore back moving for a good hour so props to them.
Day one, wrapped! Back at you tomorrow to see if my icy bones have splintered yet.
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