Cults (photo by Patrick Chng)
Yuck (photo by Patrick Chng)
Chairlift (photo by Patrick Chng)
Austra (photo by Patrick Chng)
Girls (photo by Patrick Chng)
Having sat out on the last one, I was determined not to miss this year's Laneway Festival. This year's line-up is definitely way better. I mean how awesome it is to have artistes like Feist, M83, Yuck, The Horrors, Cults, Laura Marling, Toro Y Moi, Austra, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Girls, Anna Calvi, Twin Shadow, The Drums and Chairlift all on the same bill? It almost reads like a indie hipster's dream list...
The crowd started streaming in as early as 1pm, all geared up to catch the first band on the line-up:
Cults. Their brand of retro-sounding girl-group vibes seems perfect to kick off the festival at 1:50pm. You can tell by the audience's reaction especially on their more popular songs like "Go Outside". Up next was
Yuck, whose live performance was almost as note-perfect as their studio versions. However, the band's rapport with the crowd was sorely lacking (perhaps they were tired from the touring). With their driving 90's-influenced alternative rock sound I was expecting a more balls-out performance, but sadly that wasn't the case. Things got better when
Chairlift came on. Originally not on the festival's line-up (Chairlift replaced WU LYF's slot), this Brooklyn outfit was highly impressive with their indie-electronic tunes. It also helped that singer Caroline Polachek's voice was almost immaculate, and coupled with the band's tight backing, Chairlift's performance was definitely one of the highlights for this year's Laneway.
Speaking of this festival, it was quite a far cry from last year's wet and rainy one. The sun was out in full force and concert-goers were baked mercilessly. There were little bouts of drizzle every now and then, but overall the heat was tremendous. In the light of this weather,
Austra's style of dark electronics seemed out of place (it could have gotten a better reception had they were slotted for the evening), but front-woman Katie Stelmanis put up a good show. Along with her backing band, Austra worked their electro-goth beats like witches on acid. Next was
Girls from San Francisco, whose visual stage set-up was filled full of flowers. Singer/guitarist Christopher Owens began the set with a solo rendition of "I Will Always Love You", the Dolly Parton song made famous by the recently-deceased Whitney Houston. In Owen's frail voice, it became a fitting indie tribute and even got the whole crowd singing the chorus, which was utterly magical. Despite being plagued by technical problems, the band managed to put up a good show, and ended things off in a manic feedback-drenched showdown.
The Drums (photo by Patrick Chng)
Anna Calvi (photo by Nina Sandejas c/o Chugg Entertainment)
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (photo by Patrick Chng)
Twin Shadow (photo by Patrick Chng)
Laura Marling (photo by Patrick Chng)
Following immediately right after Girls,
The Drums continued the momentum with their energetic set. Musically, the boys were tight and on fire, and singer Jonathan Pierce sounded more consistent and bearable now compared to the previous gig they did here at St. James last year. Still I wish he could have taken more effort in singing properly rather than focusing so much on dancing, but the indie crowd loved it nonetheless.
Anna Calvi was up next, and by this time the sky was already dimming. Calvi's style of alternative blues was refreshing and fitting for the evening, and those who heard her for the first time was highly impressed by her delivery and her guitar skills. So was
Twin Shadow's set that came on next after Anna Calvi. Inspired by the dancier side of the '80s, the modern new wave sound of George Lewis Jr. sure whipped the crowd into a dancing mood. Lewis even gave away his guitar to a delighted girl in the audience (having spotted wearing the same type of hat as Lewis), much to the latter's joy. The only flaw I felt was that Lewis sounded a bit thin, but for showmanship and energy, you gotta give him full marks.
Laura Marling and her band came on next at about 8pm. Her brand of classic folk was a huge contrast to the hip indie sounds of the rest, but surprisingly the crowd reaction was highly charged for her set (I reckon she has quite a number of fans here locally?). Marling was on form belting out some fine folk, but to the close-minded indie kids, it signaled a time to go get dinner. Which was a shame 'coz Marling really performed well. With full bellies, the kids were back for New Yorkers
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, who had a awkward start with some technical glitches. Going through the best of their material taken off both their studio albums, the Pains were obviously a crowd's fave. Unfortunately, the mix of their music was pretty unbearable (with a killing treble range), and singer/guitarist Kip Berman didn't help things either by singing horribly. Which made me wonder how many of these hip indie bands can actually sing live (same case with The Vaccines and The Drums). But do the indie kids care? I doubt it.
Toro Y Moi (photo by Aloysius Lim c/o Chugg Entertainment)
The Horrors (photo by Nina Sandejas c/o Chugg Entertainment)
Feist (photo by Nina Sandejas c/o Chugg Entertainment)
The night got off to a groovy start with
Toro Y Moi's chillwave electronica. In its live band settings, the songs now took on a more indie-band sound, but still made danceable because of it's funky vibes. Main person's Chaz Bundick's vocals might not have come out as strong as on his studio output, but overall it was still pretty enjoyable. The mood of the festival took a dive musically when Canadian indie superstar
Feist, whose style of music was an odd fit coming right after Toro Y Moi's set. Nonetheless, there were many fans that night coming to watch her belt out her spooky, mountain blues, and many were hypnotized by her excellent delivery. I especially love how her band members would move according to the slow groove, and with solid appropriate lighting, made Feist's performance one of the best that night. Running down the list, up next was
The Horrors. Much has been said about this UK band with their cutting-edge sound that's a fusion of post-punk, krautrock, shoegaze and garage, but sadly for this festival their performance was boring as hell. Seriously, The Horrors may have managed to nick every cool idea from the '70s and '80s bands, but they have forgotten the most important thing: the melody. I wonder if such a band exists here in the local context, would they even make it to the Baybeats finals?
M83 (photo by Aloysius Lim c/o Chugg Entertainment)
Thankfully, the final act made it all worthwhile to stay till the end.
M83 really lived up to its hype and delivered beyond everyone's dream. Beginning with the opener "Intro" (off their recent album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming), it was indeed a magical moment with the raising of hands in the air. Add in the psychedelic wash of lights, the euphoria is simply hard to pin down in words. You can tell that the band themselves (especially head honcho Anthony Gonzalez) were also having the time of their lives, headbanging to the club-like "Couleurs", slow-rocking on the incredible version of "We Own The Sky", and getting everyone chanting on their engaging anthem, "Midnight City". M83 was indeed a fitting act to close Laneway 2012.
Kudos goes out to Chugg Entertainment for organising and bringing in the artistes for this Laneway Festival. With two stages set side by side, the showtimes ran like clockwork and delays were kept to a minimum. So all thanks to those who worked round the clock to bring us such a good time. Here's looking to Laneway 2013! - KiDG
