The final installment of Parklife 2012 in the beautiful surrounds of Adelaide’s Botanic Park was always going to be a special affair but there were a few unique surprises in store for the 10,000 young music-lovers. Basking in perfect festival temperatures and clear blue skies, attendees were styled in fine attire and ready for a day of partying to the freshest in indie, dance, dubstep and hip-hop from over 35 international and local acts.
Artists and fans alike were delighted when several of the bands teamed up for impromptu collaborations / stage invasions, crowd favourites Chairlift joining Tame Impala for a sparkling version of ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’ just as the golden sun set in the trees was a magic moment. As a special treat for Adelaide fans, Chiddy Bang teamed up with Labrinth for his huge hit ‘Earthquake’, featuring drumming, electric guitars and ever-impressive freestyling from Chiddy.
Wiley drew an energetic crowd (and a stage bomb from Caroline Chairlift!) to the Atoll stage as he ran through his best-known tracks and aptly threw in a special rendition of Blur’s ‘Parklife’, which had the crowd singing along as he freestyled his way through. Fellow UK artist Plan B showed us why he’s one of the worlds most highly praised hip hop artists with a brilliant show that smoothly transitioned from his Strickland Banks hits like ‘She Said’ to huge tracks off his new iLL Manors including ‘Lost My Way’ and the absolute and unexpected highlight was his unique mash-up which fused Ben E King’s classic ‘Stand By Me’ with a dupstep take on Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose’ and finishing with Dr Dre’s ‘Forget About Dre’.
Passion Pit held a thronging crowd in the palm of their hands, keeping them in their thrall with moments of magic, including exploding confetti cannons during ‘Sleepyhead’ and ‘Little Secrets’. Followed by the cheeky and joyful Robyn, decked out in a bright orange skirt and a black jacket that appeared ready for her to pull off and show off the green hot pants she allowed glimpses of, from underneath her skirt!
Sealing the tour and on-stage shenanigans came courtesy of almost-the-entire-Parklife-line-up’s stage invasion of Rusko’s closing set, involving Modestep, Passion Pit, Nero, Jack Beats, Benga, Wiley, Rizzle Kicks, The Bondi Hipsters… and countless others.
Farewell Parklife 2012, you were simply wonderful!
WATCH PARKLIFE MID-TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Parklife dates and venues:
Parklife Brisbane | Saturday 29th September at Riverstage and Botanic Gardens
Parklife Sydney | Sunday 30th September at Centennial Park
Parklife Perth | Monday 1st October at Wellington Square
Parklife Melbourne | Saturday 6th October at Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Kings Domain
Parklife Adelaide | Sunday 7th October at Botanic Park, Botanic Gardens of Adelaide