The sound waves from Splendour In The Grass 2014 will be felt for a while, especially on a national scale as some of the weekend's greatest performances came from locals who took full advantage of the massive platform. Special anniversary performances from OutKast and Spiderbait, an emotional set from The Jezabels, and sets from Violent Soho and Phantogram, amongst others, really kicked things up a notch for Splendour, giving punters one of the best additions of the annual event. Chris was on ground to run around the festival and witness just some of these great performances; here are 10 of his favourites. Unfortunately, he is but one person, so much talked about sets from the likes of Childish Gambino, Hilltop Hoods, Tune-Yards, REMi and Angus & Julia Stone are not included.
1. OutKast (Ampitheatre, Friday)
Photo taken by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review
As long as the dreaded medley style wasn't employed, this was always going to be a highlight. OutKast are THE most imaginative and original hip-hop acts in history, but they don't just rely on their left-field sound to fuel a fire which has been burning for 20 years now; Andre 3000 and Big Boi are both truly elite emcees in a league of their very own, respected to the highest degree and consistently referred to as one of the most acclaimed hip-hop acts of all time. At their only Australian performance on their 20th year anniversary reunion tour, OutKast showcased all these accolades, completely justifying everything we've come to know about them and satisfying both casual and dedicated fans with a set list that incorporated the best from Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik to the hits from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and everything in between. They even gave a nod to their origins by bringing along members of the Dungeon Family to make up their band, with the biggest surprise being Sleepy's Theme crooner Sleepy Brown who joined for hits like "The Way You Move" and "So Fresh, So Clean".
2. Foals (Ampitheatre, Saturday)
Last year's Q Awards named Foals as the 'Best Live Act', so when the UK band replaced Two Door Cinema Club for Splendour's Saturday, no one had anything to complain about. Replacements are often a bit of a let down, especially after a band as loved as Two Door cancels just over a week before the event. Foals brought more energy then I would assume Two Door Cinema Club ever could, demonstrating to the massive crowd the reason that they have been considered the 'best live act', with a non-stop display of rock bravado, building instrumentals up and crashing them upon the crowd along with high-flying frontman Yannis Philippakis, who didn't even notice the large 'no stage diving' signs. Early tracks like "Cassius" were left out of the set list, but when "Spanish Sahara", "Inhaler" and "Two Steps Twice" sound even better live than on record, it's impossible to be disappointed with what was an incredible performance and one which clearly shifts the band from a mid-card indie rock act to arena-worthy headliners
3. Spiderbait (Ampitheatre, Friday)
I almost forgot just how unstoppable Spiderbait can be; almost. This was a nice, heavy, and confronting reminder of the band's iconic status in Australian rock history. Celebrating 25 years of the band, Kram would often get nostalgic on stage, cussing a lot and praising us, the festival, and his fellow band mates; he even brought his daughter out on stage at the end because he was just feeling so much love from the crowd. Music wise, Spiderbait are a lot harder than one would think, giving us moments where spasmodic jump-fests were in order, and then soothing us down with sweet melodies. As an added bonus, the band even brought out Dan Sultan to partake in an axe battle with Damian Whitty during "I'm Not Your Slave", to which both guitarists absolutely slayed the song's ending. Bassist and vocalist Janet English stole most of the shine with a powerful performance of "Calypso", but it was of course the ending, progressive version of "Black Betty", that really drove the crowd wild.
4. Violent Soho (Ampitheatre, Saturday)
Steadily moving higher and higher above the ranks comes these Aussie treasures who managed to outshine pretty much the entire Splendour In The Grass line up with one of their best performances yet. They can out-metal the hardest of them, they can put any indie-rock band to shame, and inspired some of the sweetest, most melodic sing-a-longs of the weekend. You can sway to catchy tracks like "Fur Eyes" or you can go crazy to thrashers like the opening "Dope Calypso", whatever you want out of a rocking festival set, these guys can deliver ten fold. Special shout out to Luke who brought his kid out on stage (who of course was equipped with giant, noise-cancelling ear phones) to stare in awe over the sea of people worshiping his dad and the rest of this exceptionally tight band.
5. The Jezabels (Ampitheatre, Saturday)
Hayley Mary was quite clearly overwhelmed by just how much the crowd gave back to The Jezabels during their stunning performance, breaking down in tears on stage but remaining focused enough to help the loved band triumph with a sound and live show completely fitting for the Amphitheatre and it's enormous scene. You need but go back through the several Splendour-related hashtags to see how many people needed to capture "Endless Summer" on their phones because it was just one of those moments you needed in your life for a long time; equally stunning was "The End", with Heather's sweet vocals sweeping across across the huge crowd and making spirits soar.
6. Future Islands (GW McLennan Tent, Saturday)
Photo taken by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review
It's hard to pinpoint Future Islands' sound, with elements of post-punk, indie pop, dance-rock, and metal all coming together and - surprisingly - melting into one big, clean sound that's absolutely incredible to hear live. The pace was set at super speed, with flashes of metal crashing through frontman Samuel T. Herring's intriguing vocals and the majority sound of indie pop. He lies somewhere in the same circle as Ellery Roberts in terms of vocal style, but this is only when he briefly lets his howling and growling busts through the smooth, pop-friendly vocals. Not to mention his dreamy dance moves; which could rival the fun of Friendly Fires frontman Ed MacFarlane.
7. City and Colour (Ampitheatre, Saturday)
Photo taken by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review
Dallas Green's voice is every bit as beautiful and soothing as you expect from listening to him on record. With his moniker City and Colour and a very tight band, Dallas gave us a brilliant set list which showed off his warmth, his musicianship, and his proficiency as a storyteller perfectly. Highlights came when the band left Dallas solo on stage with nothing but a guitar and harmonica, but it was the set-closer of "The Girl" that really did it, diving a little deeper into the hearts and minds of punters for a moment that was truly one of the most magical of the entire weekend.
8. Sam Smith (Mix-Up Stage, Sunday)
Photo taken by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review
The UK chart-topping crooner may appear as a pop star to some, but Sam Smith's success comes for a very good reason; this man is a true talent, and one which translates his recordings exceptionally well. Putting an more soulful spin on the soul-drenched "Do I Wanna Know" by Arctic Monkeys perked everyone's interest and saw the Mix-Up Tent crowd grow to a ridiculous level, but it was the magnetic force of "Stay With Me" that really brought the whole festival running while the sun slowly set. It was a pretty huge moment for everyone there, let alone Sam Smith and his excellent band.
9. Ball Park Music (Ampitheatre, Friday)
Along with Violent Soho and The Peatures, Ball Park Music were another band that proved they were ready to move far beyond the mid-card. After putting out of our favourite records of the year, the boys had a platter of sweet sounding indie-rock they could choose from, and they made some very pleasing decisions. The setlist was a crowd pleasure, showing off their versatility as well as Sam Cromack's adaptable vocal style. Though, the most talked about moment was the ending of their set, where they absolutely nailed a cover of Bohemian Rhapsody and pretty much stunned everyone in the immediate area.
10. Phantogram (Mix-Up Stage, Sunday)
Despite the very rude and obnoxious crowd at the Mix-Up Stage, Phantogram fought threw the initially lukewarm reception and really got everyone into them by the closing few songs. It's a real testament to how likeable and addictive this band's complex sound is that one minute a crowd member was throwing a slurpee at Sarah Barthel and then the next minute he was dangerously nodding his head to sweet beats like "When I'm Small" and "Fall In Love" and yelling out "This is fucking awesome!". Sarah is a very softly spoken and seemingly shy person, but her singing voice is massive, and filled the whole tent while Josh Carter was in the background fiddling with the many instruments he travelled between throughout the set, constantly switching up the sound to make it as perfect and engaging as could be.
11. Mt Warning (GW McLennan Tent, Sunday)
Photo taken by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review
Mt Warning were impressive throughout their entire set, playing the GW McLennan stage fairly early on the Sunday and drawing in a growing crowd with pulsating, slow-burning rock and roll with Mickey Bee's powerful vocals gliding over the gorgeous effect-driven instrumentals and echoing well outside of the tent. For a relatively new and lesser known band, they have now played standout sets at both Laneway and Splendour In The Grass; I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of them when summer festival season starts.
12. Nicolas Jaar (Red Bull Music Academy, Sunday)
The chaos this young DJs popularity caused was quite amusing; security had to block off access from one side of the parklands (where the Ampitheatre was) to the other half (where RBMA was) simply because EVERYONE was trying their damn hardest to get into RBMA once they heard just how deep the bass was, how soulful the samples were, and how much rhythm Nicolas Jaar pumped through those speakers during his two hour set, closing Splendour In The Grass for many and taking us out dancing as hard as we could. Security weren't overcrowding the relatively small pop-up space which RBMA called home for the weekend, making the set all that much more enjoyable. Coming straight from closing the Mix-Up Stage earlier as part of Darkside, Jaar traded slow-burning progressive house and gave us nothing but the best in a fusion of house, funk, and soul that took you to another place entirely. Shout outs to EatArtTruck as well, for staying open the whole way from Jaar's set; I quite enjoyed dancing with a juicy pork bun in hand. This set is a memory that stands out as one of the most joyful moments of Splendour In The Grass.
Specials mentions must be made to The Presets, Ben Howard, Jordan Rakei, The Preatures, Buraka Som Sistema, and DZ Deathrays
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Headline photo by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review. iPhone photos taken by Chris Singh
