We rocked up late and left early, I'm not sure how the 35'c day turned into an 18'c day but we made the most of our chilly time at the Sydney College of the Arts in Rozelle. We started off getting a great spot for Cloud Control. I love these guys, lead singer Alister Wright always has a huge smile on his face and he absolutely loves marching in time with the music. Cloud control have a flowy hummable sheen to their sound that make them impossible to hate but sometimes flirt with the boring side of life. However, boring they were not at Laneway! They played their Triple J Like a Version hit Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi to an entertained crowd as well as great tracks from Debut album Bliss Release like Nothing in the Water and Ghosts. Another 'Hang on, I know this song!' moment amongst the crowd occurred when they morphed their first hit Gold Canary into The Butthole Surfers Pepper before sliding back into Gold Canary, I was impressed! They had a few heavy songs they bashed out with enthusiasm and I have a feeling there might be a newer louder sound to the next album I hope will be coming out this year some time.
After Cloud Control I went to find the facilities and had a run in with a security guard who got in my face then poked me! The Loos weren't where my map said they were and when I asked him and he pointed in an arbitrary direction which I though was passed the exit gate he was guarding, I leaned in to take a look through the gate and he freaken shoved my shoulder with his stubby index finger and told me to go follow the signs. I fired up and yelled 'I'm only looking for the toilets that are meant to be here, you don't have to be so rude! Jerk!'. When I finally found them the girl in front was complaining about the rude security guard at the exit gate, I informed them of my unsavory experience with the pushy ogre and we jabbered in outrage!
We then moved on and found a sheltered spot to the side for Two Door Cinema Club. I was so excited to see these guys and as hoped they didn't disappoint! These high energy Indie darlings pulled a huge and enthusiastic crowd considering they were compeating against Warpaint also playing that time slot. Undercover Martin had the whole crowd jumping and my favourite Something Good Can Work was absolutly amazing. So much so that the nerdy guy a few people over danced some huge geeky moves so big I thought he was going to take someones eye out with one of his shimmying shoulders. These guys put out such a good vibe with such movement to their sound it's hard not to dance in time to the music! Loved it!
Up next and on the main stage were Yeysayer. Unfortunately I was left a little disappointed by these guys. I'm not sure why they just didn't retain my attention. I found myself people watching and checking my watch. Madder Red had the crowd wooing in tune to the chorus and Ambling Alp and One were a few of the more engaging tracks played as the rain started to sprinkle down.
What I had been waiting for all day was Foals, and they were up next. They were amazing, my pick of the day! They opened with Blue Blood from their latest record Total Life Forever and also played some of the tracks I love like Miami and number 98 in the hottest 100, Spanish Sahara. I was spellbound by these guys! Lead singer Yannis Philippakis is so freaken talented! With a set of drum sticks he bashed away on a single drum for the last few tracks but it was more than that, his musicality is phenomenal. His complicated drum rhythms and passion left the crowd and myself amazed. He was truely an entertaining head turner and I was bummed when it ended! At one point I could smell that someone close was smoking some wacky tobacky and I had a look around but couldn't see who it was. About 5 minutes later I saw some hippie dude fall backwards into a garden over a barrier he was sitting on, I looked over and all I could see were feet sticking up out of the garden. I joked maybe he was smoking said tobacky. Sure enough, after he picked himself up and dusted himself off, with everyone around him having a good giggle, I realised he had a very suspciouse rolled cigarette he had managed to hang onto! So funny!
Like I said it was freezng and after Foals, we decided that was enough, I'm sure Cut Copy were great but we didnt see them. I plan to check them out again at the upcoming Groovin The Moo Festival which I'll be attending in Maitland. Cant wait for that one, the line up is amazing!
