WHY YOU SHOULD GO TO BIG DAY OUT

Written by Michael Bird

                                                        

Sure it’s more or less moot at this point, as tickets for Big Day Out 2011 sold out in about 30 seconds, but it’s worth reminding ourselves why Big Day Out remains the Australian festival despite competition from Splendour, Falls, et al.

Where else would you hear:

Australian bands like Silverchair, Grinspoon and Powderfinger time and time again. Even when they’re not touring so much or jet out of the country for most of the year, there are some Aussie bands who have become regulars on the main stages (eventually), and you could pretty much trace the evolution of a band like Powderfinger by taking a look at their BDO shows. You could also trace the evolution of Daniel John’s hair, which is just as interesting. Outside of grassroots festivals, it’s hard to find an event in Australia that continues to showcase Australian rock like Big Day Out.

Political hoo-ha that everyone actually cares about. The infamous flag ban of 2007 ignited debate right across the social spectrum, with political heavyweights getting into it almost as much as the topless steroid guy who debated freedom of expression with you in line at the port-a-loos. Jet performed their set against an Australian Flag backdrop, and while not many people were offended by the flag, Jet’s music remains highly offensive to this day. 

Cedric’s sheep rant. Their truncated 2001 set is well worth checking out on its own merits (seriously, check it out on Youtube, Arc Arsenal is fucking insane), but perhaps the most memorable part of At the Drive-In’s Sydney performance was front man Cedric Bixler-Zavala insulting first the press gallery and then a large portion of the crowd in a bizarre anti-mosh rant. Taking issue with the amount of crowd-surfing that was going on, Bixler gesticulated, made some vaguely racist comments and then bleated like a sheep before the whole band left the stage. Tellingly, teenager Jessica Michalik was killed in the Limp Bizkit mosh later that day, in perhaps the darkest moment for the festival, adding a touch of prophecy to At the Drive In’s set.

 
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Rage Against the Machine telling everyone to calm down before playing ‘Killing In The Name’. Besides giving birth to a very practical form of performance oxymoron, Rage made headlines due to the number and behaviour of punters at their 2008 main stage set. The band halted temporarily midway through to give the crowd time to calm down and security time to catch the naked guy who had climbed onto the roof of one of the tents and was trampolining around joyously. Only one of these things happened, and you can guess which. There were complaints the next day about event logistics, crowd control and the like, but the 40,000 middle fingers up in the air at the climax of Killing In The Name were an emphatic stamp of approval for one of the monsters of modern rock. 

Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave singing a duet.  True story, as ridiculous as it might sound. Cave brought Minogue out to sing ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ during his 1996 show. The pairing was too much for some Bad Seeds fans, while others were delighted. Big Day Out has seen more than a few strange collaborations, perhaps none more so than Drew Barrymore, Fabrizio Moretti and friends joining the Flaming Lips on stage in 2004 decked out in animal costumes. Both good fun and a warning about what drugs can do to the mind.

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And outside of Big Day Out, where else would you see:

Courtney Love’s swimsuit area. I know, it’s not something you want to talk about. Hole were, for some reason, pretty big in 1999, and Love celebrated during their Big Day Out performance by making out with a random fan and eventually creating a temporary nudist colony on stage. She might have been pre-empting The Darkness’ front man Justin Hawkin’s call for female nudity at the 2004 BDO, but still…jeez.

Kamahl crowd surfing. Enough. Said.

A stage full of people dancing with Iggy Pop. 2006 was the year of dirty rock at Big Day Out, with The White Stripes and Iggy Pop headlining. Taking the opposite tack to Jack and Meg’s minimalist stage show, Iggy invited the crowd on stage for his closing number, panicking security and sending fans completely mental. Crowd participation is normally a pretty big feature at BDO, which is half the reason why The Arcade Fire seemed to have such a good time, and why Bjork said she was glad to have played in Melbourne in 2008 after cancelling for the Sydney leg.; “You all are very special dancers, heeheehee”, she said. Or something. Who knows with that woman.

Personally, the best show I ever saw was Brand New at Big Day Out 2008. A lot of bands thrive on the festival atmosphere, like BDO favourites of late Muse, but Brand New aren’t one of them. Singer Jesse Lacey spent a fair amount of time apologising for how long it took to set up and get going, admitting that the band had never adjusted to playing at weird times of day to a bunch of people who don’t know their music, and that they’d all really rather go watch other bands instead. Their set was perfect though, and there is definitely something unique about a festival crowd. Brand New managed to pull a lot of people to their stage during their set, purely by being loud and demanding attention, and it’s only at a festival like Big Day Out that you can have that many people find something they didn’t expect to in a bunch of bands they’re experiencing for the first time.