BLOODY HUGE DAY OUT

Sydney’s Big Day Out (January 25) at Homebush was not one for the faint hearted – a huge day with little breathing room, a high-paced required viewing list, and lots and lots of sweaty young men. Not to mention the swathe of people decked out defiantly in the Australian flag.

Kicking off with The Butterfly Effect boys on the main stage, the crowd was already in full swing at only 1pm. Getting close to the front was a mission, but with a little persuasive smiling I managed to groove my way to the front to the sweet, sweet sounds of 'A Slow Decent'. Crowd favourites were definitely the radio-friendly singles, including 'Gone', but dedicated fans suggested that an overdue live version of 'Phoenix' was by far the highlight of the set. Kudos must also go to the security guys who decided to hose down the crowd – it was much needed relief in such hot, sweaty conditions.

After such a raucous introduction to the day, a slower paced visit to the Local Produce Stage seemed in order, but Something With Numbers had drawn such a huge crowd that it was standing room only for the boys. The crowd was very into it, and single 'Apple Of The Eye' was a definite pleaser.

The lovely lady of London, Miss Lily Allen was up next, and the darkness of the Boiler Room was a much-welcomed escape from an overcast but very warm day. Sticking with album tracks, the crowd was treated to a happy, feel-good set, and there was nought a stationary foot to be seen. A scathing mention of George W Bush introduced one song, followed by an attack on Chris Cester from Jet, who had apparently flicked a lit cigarette at the songstress the night before, who told us she then “threw a glass in his face”. Charming. She then dedicated 'Not Big' (“it’s a song about men with small penises”) to him. Needless to say, the crowd was in hysterics, and the vibe became one of sisterhood solidarity.

Cock-rock was alive and well on the Green Stage, with Leicester lads Kasabian showing us the benefits of a well-manicured ‘tash and tight, tight pants. Lead singer Tom Meighan was a stand out – you don’t get much more rock than this. The crowd was swayed with an extended version of current single 'Shoot The Runner', and had I not had a date with Brandon Flowers, I would have ached for their set to continue – the thirty or so minutes I did see confirmed that this is one act to keep an eye on.

So, with little adieu, Las Vegas’s answer to the boy band, The Killers, took to their gerbera-adorned stage and blasted the crowd with all their tried and true hits. The first three songs were the first three off new album Sam’s Town, and this was followed with the likes of 'Somebody Told Me', 'All These Things That I’ve Done', and massive crowd favourite 'Mr Brightside'. Strangely, the crowd around me knew more of the new stuff than the old stuff, but the set was a nice mix of both.

The sound wasn’t too crash hot unfortunately, so little of the crowd banter made it back to the middle of the arena – the only place where standing room was remotely available. Also, the stage wasn’t high enough – a common complaint for the day, so it was hard to see unless you were seven foot tall or right at the front.

With a heavy heart, the Killers set ended much too quickly, and efforts to see The Streets were dashed by poor mobile phone signals and impossible to find sisters, friends and boyfriends (oh, the joy of festivals!). In the midst of waiting I caught a less than impressive taste of Jet’s foray on the main stage – very disappointing. So, cutting my losses, I headed to the Converse and Green stages for a dose of less-hyped local live stuff – Bob Evans and Something For Kate.

Bob Evans has come a long way since his days with Jebadiah, and the small crowd that assembled were keen to show support for this new direction. Unfortunately, having to battle against Muse on the main stage meant many people missed out on this great set. The message that pop-folk sing-a-longs are still cool definitely came across loud and clear, and a toe-tapping cover of The Beatles’ ‘Ticket To Ride’ was definitely the highlight of this sweet set, as the sun went down on a very tired crowd.

Second, third or forth winds must have kicked in somewhere as Something For Kate took to the Green stage and drew a slightly larger crowd. Their set started off in spectacular fashion with a solo Paul Dempsey taking to the stage and under a single spotlight crooning a heart-wrenching version of The Pretenders’ ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ while in the darkness the rest of the band took their places. A nice mix of new and old filled the set – a great version of 'The Last Minute' from 1998’s Elsewhere for Eight Minutes was a wonderful surprise, but recent single 'Cigarettes and Suitcases' had just as much of an impact on a doting crowd.

A fleeting visit to what has to be the coolest night stage of the Sydney Big Day Out, the Hot House (a massive concrete pit that looked almost post-apocalyptic in the semi-darkness) saw a raging crowd swayed to the too-cool sounds of the next big thing in hip-hop, Lupe Fiasco. The Chicagoan had the crowd in such a frenzy that it was more than hard to tear myself away.

Reward followed, however, in the form of a best-of collection by industrial rockers Tool. Whoever said metal was dead obviously hadn’t asked any Tool fans, and the stadium swelled without a spare seat to be found as the big boys took to the stage. ‘Stinkfist’ kicked off the whole thing, and the crowd went nuts. What followed was nothing short of a hit list – classics like 'Opiate' and 'Sober', tried and true hits like '46 and 2', even newies like 'The Pot' and 'Vicarious' all drew overwhelming support from the crowd. Those up close were treated to a light display to rival the Boiler Room and visuals that would have even the straightest punter feeling a little woozy.

Finding this incredibly hard to top, the day ended here. Leaving, the poptastic sounds of The Violent Femmes floated over the crowd, but with train lines to battle and showers to be had, at the end of such a big day, there’s no place like home!

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