Good Vibrations Festival 2007 - 11.2.2007
Author: Patricia Escalon
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Tickets were a cinch. Scalpers were trying their best against a law-abiding crowd of Queenslanders who refused ten dollar discounts on the entry price.
Despite our late arrival, we were welcomed by Cicada's Wham! /drum n' bass/ Depeche Mode/Blondie rendition of Things You Say. We parted the sea of breasts on display, male and female, to reach the Good Vibrations stage, where Cicada was performing.
There were clusters of bubbly, happy girls in matching outfits, from striped pink and blank tank tops with pink hotpants, to green and gold Aussie flag bikinis. The boys had spray painted their singlets in group colours. Their reasons soon became evident: it was extremely easy to lose one another in the crowd.
While Cicada was playing the first of the wheelie bin climbers toppled a bin over. Not that he needed it, because the Good Vibes stage was high enough that it was visible from almost any angle.
I missed most of Nightmares on Wax, because of the enormously long toilet queue. I peeped into the Roots stage, only to find their dark hip hop and the dank, cavernous depths of the stage unappealing.
Our next stop, the B-Live stage was opulent with its custom made Bacardi bar running down one wall, its wooden floorboards and wrought-iron chandelier. The wooden floorboards were perfect for dancing and Ursula 1000 was making the most of it.
His initial mix of techno with funk, anthems, hip hop and trance was very refreshing. Yet the crowd was not into it, preferring to flirt. Reading their mood, he threw in a bit of 80s Prince with house. He really hit the spot with his Highway to Hell mix.
We left B-Live for the chill zone of the bamboo grove, where people were sprawled on the ground chatting to their friends.
At the Chinese Laundry stage, Desyn Masiello had house, anthem and deep psychedelic beats going. DJ Dan took over, laying his scratchy trance tracks all over the plastic dance floor, driving the crowds away, until he turned back to anthems.
Outside, Sneaky Sound System warmed up the crowd for Snoop Dogg. Their easy rapport with the audience had them dancing along to their early U2 sound. At this point, the festival was chockers.
We snuck off to DJ Yoda's cinematic soundscape at B-Live. His mix of TV showtunes, old disco, fifties rock, swing, jazz, classical, samba, dub, hip hop and house was sucking in the crowd.
However, Snoop Dogg had pre-eminence. We scuttled off, to dance and sway at his command. His charisma imbued the old Doggy classics with fresh electricity.
Back at the Chinese Laundry, Timo Maas was spinning out droplets of trance and techno, layered with Goa, giving the beat a dreamlike quality with a crisp sound. By now, the crowd was introspective and less social than in the afternoon.
In the Roots stage, London Elektricity was belting out an unimpressive melange of hip hop and house, scaring the audience away.
Outside on the Good Vibrations stage, the Beastie Boys were doing weird things to music, but the crowd was buying it, hook, line and sinker.
We finished off the evening at the B-Live stage, where Kraak & Smaak's funky dance anthems with a touch of R n' B were pleasing the dancers. They were succeeded by Dirty Laundry, who mesmerised everyone with the lead singer's deep chocolatey voice and their catchy hip hop/reggae hybrid.
Despite a few glitches, the friendly, easy-going festival goers made this into an enjoyable Sunday. Tags