the first festival on ren's great big last nz summer of music* was rhythm and vines. i was a little concerned that it might be just a tiny bit young and glow-stickish for my tastes. despite an average middle day where i didn't find heaps that really excited me, i did discover some great new music and had an excellent time.
highlights:
mystery jets: a fresh new take on brit-pop. funky, synthy, and some good crowd banter. totally refreshing, will seek more of their stuff out.
miami horror: does 80s synth pop better than the 80s did. plus their keys player is a babe. was mildly disturbed to discover that one of my top moments of the festival was a cover of simon and garfunkel's "you can call me al." am i showing my age? probably. do i care? not remotely.
chromeo: intelligent, interesting, diverse sound, excellent crowd. made enjoyable partly by watching others love it so much. despite being plagued by atrocious sound to start with, consummate performers and quite a treat.
n*e*r*d: the two frontmen seemed to just be going through the motions (and pharell really overdid the cheesiness to the point that it really irritated me) but the backing band was genuinely excellent - much funkier, rockier than i expected. some superb musical moments. surprisingly good.
barb: it's so refreshing to just watch talented musicians experiment. bonus points for constant switcheroonies. liam finn is just so fantastic.
shihad: john toogood never gets old. by my calculations, this was the 12th time i've seen them. never owed a shihad album, nor paid for a shihad headline gig -- but have seen them at every orientation / big day out / r&v / classic kiwi festival. in my opinion they haven't written anything very memorable in the last few years, but that doesn't matter cos their back catalogue is fantastic and their live show is just always superb. 'home again' the standout.
the naked and famous: we all know i hate their first single. the more i hear them, the more convinced i am that i hate it because they can do so much better. these guys are superb and are creating such depth of sound at the moment.
lowlights:
justice, chase and status: booooooooring.
a great three days, full of party, sunshine, excellent company and exciting sounds. now i am really looking forward to part two of ren's great big last nz summer of music*- big day out.
(* may or may not be an actual thing)
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