Well, I’ve just got back from over east again and I when to the greatest festival in Australia, the world or even the universal. Golden Plains was just so great and so much fun. I wanted to go to this one for a while now but finally got to it this year and it’s the tenth birthday so that’s really cool, the line-ups always look so great!
Something I didn’t know until getting there is it’s all on one stage so you never miss a band/artist because at almost all festivals have at least two or three stages and you miss some band because of clashes of two bands/artists playing the same time. It would actually be when the time table (below) was released a few weeks before the date and surprising the changeover is really quick too.
It does say it on the bottom of the poster and another thing is it’s BYO, is there another festival in the whole wide world that’s BYO? No I don’t think so? But I might be wrong?
I got to see everyone I wanted to but did miss a few things because of one reason or another. So here’s my little list to start with of who I got to see and maybe it’s the best to just OK, I don’t think anything was bad all weekend but I didn’t see it all: Eddy Current Suppression Ring, HTRK, The Necks, John Grant, Built To Spill, Sleater-Kinney, Violent Femmes, Black Cab, Friendship, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Songhoy Blues, C.W. Stoneking, Royal Headache, U.S. Girls, Natalie Prass, Gold Class, Buzzcocks and that’s it sorry if I did miss something but I did need some sleep not that it was very good. I’ve not been camping in a very longtime so restless night in a tent is more likely what I should call it really.
So for anyone who doesn’t know Golden Plains is a two day fest over a long weekend just outside of small town in country Victoria of Meredith, about 2 hours or something outside of Melbourne. I arriving Saturday morning by bus, well I did and few others too but it seem so meanly people drive from all over the place. I set up camp next a couple from Geelong who had a camper van and was super friendly, well everyone was really. One of the most friendly fest I’ve ever been too, everyone was just so happy being there. In between the bands/artists DJ’s played and everyone just danced around, I was dancing so much, it was so wicked! I’ll save Eddy (just above) until the very end of this post, so here’s a little bit about everyone else.
HTRK or as more than a few people ask me “How do you say that?” while looking at my t-shirt and the answer is Hate Rock. Oh and I got a new t-shirt too because that one is falling apart. I love this band so much, one of my all-time faves. Playing 10AM in the morning opening the second day and I was thinking this was a bad idea until it happen, it was so perfect for Sunday morning. Opening the set with a cover of the late, great Rowland S. Howard and playing something from everything but a few more songs from the Work (Work, Work) album which is a good call. The Necks played next at a bit passed 11AM and played only one very long new song, it’s the only jazz of the weekend but it did all add up to a great Sunday morning.
John Grant ( just above) is my big new discovery of the weekend, I knew the name but never listen to his music and oh my god he’s so great, the greatest motherfucker you’ll ever meet and personal note to self I’ve going to all of his albums now. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Built To Spill, Sleater-Kinney, Violent Femmes all played great sets Sunday leading up to Eddy’s late night set and are some pretty support acts to the main event, I don’t mean that in a mean nasty way.
Spill was so noisily, that’s The Smiths cover to ended the set was so perfect. Kuti’s 80 was so funky, Sleater-Kinney are just guitar rocks gods, Femmes are just Violent. Black Cab and Friendship both played after midnight or was it closer to 1AM in the end? The night before and the music remind me of just going to 90’s raves. Songhoy Blues played sometime early Sunday and I was really digging them before clashing under a tree for a midday nap before the big night.
C.W. Stoneking and Royal Headache both played the Sat night and I was up the back for them so maybe should have been a bit close like most of these other artists/bands but they still played a cool set. I enjoy both U.S. Girls and Natalie Prass who played much early the same day. Gold Class opened the whole show which is always a pretty hard set but did really well at it and I really have to check them out more.
Buzzcocks I did see but maybe didn’t enjoy as much as all of the above maybe I like Aussie punk better than English but did those classic tracks everyone knows and it’s pretty great seeing those old punks who somehow survived and still going even with beards beer guts and bald heads now.
Eddy Current Suppression Ring was the highlight overall. So that’s the singer Brendan above in the top photo standing on some shoulders in the middle of crowd singing Precious Rose and right at the top of the page in the YouTube clip is Rush To Relax. Edit: I just found myself watching Eddy on the fence, that’s me (just above) in the white t-shirt if you wanna know? They have got straight to the top of my best live bands list. I never seen them before and it’s been five years since they played a show anywhere. When the last album came out they came over here touring once for one show in the west and I wanted to go but now my ex said “Not this time, how about we can go see them next time?” I still remember those words because well, almost six years later she long gone and I finally get to see Eddy! Was it worth the wait? YES! Totally so, I guess everybody who knows and loves this band has been waiting too but I do hope it’s the restart of them and it’s not another six years again before we see them again.
a1000mistakes 