Review by Billy Geary
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First impressions are forever important in almost every aspect of life. Upon walking through the gates at Werribee Park at around midday for the start of the highly anticipated Harvest Festival, the first impressions were good, very good. The choice of location couldn’t have been better; the picturesque parklands featured some beautiful gardens and space aplenty for the 15,000 people in attendance. When not factoring the slightly problematic issue of Werribee being a good hours drive from Melbourne, it’s an absolute mystery why Harvest was the first music festival to utilise the venue.
Touted as a peaceful gathering of music and arts lovers alike, Harvest more than lived up to its claims. The significant lack of southern-cross brandishing folk competing for bogan of the year was welcomed by all, with the sight of police chilling out and dancing to the music along with punters perhaps the best indication of the festivals succuss. |
First stop was The Great Lawn where hip-hop meets jazz ensemble group the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble were kicking a sizable crowd into life. Meanwhile, on the slightly out of the way Windmill Stage, British math rockers This Town Needs Guns put together an excellent set of their jangly alternative rock. Plenty of interaction with the crowd and guitar wizardry won over a decent crowd, with cuts like ‘Chinchilla’ going down well in the warm sun.
Back at The Great Lawn, soul superstars The Family Stone provided the perfect backdrop to brave what were quite extensive queues in the search for some lunch. Nostalgia was the key word with ‘Dance To The Music’ and ‘Everyday People’ making the hour long wait for food and toilet stops somewhat bearable. With the quite overly warm sun taking its toll, shade was needed desperately and the well covered Big Tractor Stage where electronic trio PVT threatened to tear the roof off. Their 45-minute set mixed old with the new, with ‘Timeless’ and ‘Windows’ getting the whole tent moving.
Once again back to The Great Lawn, this time with the always incredible TV On The Radio playing to a growing crowd. The New York natives looked right at home on the larger stage throughout their set, with their upbeat and left of centre style of pop music serving as the perfect soundtrack to the summer-like afternoon. A quick dash back to the Windmill Stage saw Clap Your Hands Say Yeah treating a modest crowd to a great set of infectious pop rock.
Elsewhere, the hotly anticipated Bright Eyes worked through their catalogue of heartfelt indie-folk anthems to a huge crowd at main stage. Front man Conor Oberst was an absolute joy to watch, alternating between guitar and piano effortlessly whilst conveying bucket loads of emotion in his vocals. It is little wonder that Bright Eyes are one of the biggest bands in their genre at the present time. Tracks like ‘First Day of My Life’ and ‘Lua’ induced mass sing-alongs, while others broke down into tears such was the beauty of the band’s music. Scottish post-rockers Mogwai powered through their set at the Windmill Stage, playing at the perfect time as the sun began to set over Werribee Park. Shifting between soaring climaxes and peaceful lows, Mogwai put on one of the best sets of the day, with penultimate track ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ leaving punters gobsmacked.
Finally, with a clear sky and stars abound, the collective roar from what seemed like everyone in attendance at Harvest resonated throughout The Great Lawn as Portishead walked out onstage. The following 75 minutes can only be described as the most hauntingly beautiful display of music this reviewer has ever seen. Vocalist Beth Gibbons is unmatched, looking like she would break down any second, conveying the pain in her voice like no other. Cuts like ‘Glory Box’ and ‘Sour Times’ were completely and utterly moving, aided by an array of video projections on giant screens behind the band. The more upbeat ‘Machine Gun’ and ‘Silence’ went down equally well, with the band not missing a beat. An encore of an absolutely stunning rendition of ‘Roads’ and finally ‘We Carry On’ rounded out a simply incredible set from a more than worthy headliner, leaving punters seemingly emotionally spent.
Rounding out the night on a considerably lighter note were perennial oddballs The Flaming Lips, entering the Windmill stage through a giant vagina was only the beginning as the band and crowd ended the night on a giant high. A cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Sweet Leaf’ was punctuated by Wayne Coyne crowd surfing in a giant bubble traversing as much of the area as possible amidst confetti explosions and the release of dozens of oversized balloons. It was the perfect end to what can only be described as a wonderful festival and, as the chorus of ‘Do You Realise?’ rang out through Werribee Park, Harvest’s debut showing was over.
Despite the obvious underestimation of food and toilet facilities, Harvest was a complete success and, after only its first show, cemented its place in the Australian festival calendar. Once the few glaring issues are repaired in regards to facilities, Harvest will undoubtedly become a mainstay on the festival calendar. Harvest made an excellent first impression, heightened by Portishead finding a completely new meaning for emotion and what is now the best festival location in Melbourne.
Review by Billy Geary
For the full Harvest Arts Programme, including a city by city breakdown, go to www.harvestfestival.com.au
Harvest Dates and Tickets
Saturday November 12 – Harvest Presents “The Gathering”, Melbourne, Werribee Park
Sunday November 13 – Harvest, Sydney, Parramatta Park
Saturday November 19 – Harvest, Brisbane, Botanical Gardens
Tickets: $150 incl GST + Booking Fees via www.harvestfestival.com.au, Oztix www.oztix.com.au & Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au
Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes @ Harvest Presents ‘The Gathering’, Sydney – November 13th, 2011 | Photo Gallery
