On the Victorian labour day long weekend Ambascamba and Gemdilem headed to Meredith for the Golden Plains festival. The festival is by far one of Australia’s favourite music festivals and it’s easy to see why. Golden Plains is one of those festivals where anything and everything might happen. This year was no different with mud, crazy Israeli rockers, gum boots, pink flamingos, rain, peach schnapps, reformed 90s bands, crowd surfing, and doing the nutbush.
Saturday
Ambascamba: Gemdilem picks me up from the airport with a car fully loaded with everything we could possibly need for the weekend, plus several things we probably won’t need. Jumbo box of Le Snaks, homemade Golden Plains mix cd, and more than two litres of vodka leftover from Meredith. Good to go.
Ambascamba: The weather gradually deteriorates between Tullamarine and Meredith, but once the tent is up and our pockets are stocked with booze we’re festival-ready and spirits are high.
Gemdilem: We managed to set up our tent between rain showers. With gum boots and fluro yellow wet weather gear on we made it to the stage (the one and only stage) in time to hear Royal Headache perform “Eloise”. Killer song which sounds even better live. It felt good to be back at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre.
Gemdilem: We decided to make what can only be described as a fabulous rule – every time we go back to the tent we have to have a shot of peach schnapps. It was that awful cheap schnapps that seemed to only get worse with time, not better. We also had a massive supply of beers and vodka. We were definitely well prepared. By far one of the most magically awesome aspects of Meredith and Golden Plains festival is that bringing your own booze is allowed, as long as it’s not in glass you can bring it in!
Ambascamba: Clairy Baby Brown and the Bangin Rackettes aren’t quite the Kitty, Daisy and Lewis I was hoping for, but they put on an entertaining set nonetheless. They could probably do with swapping one or two of the dancers for horn players, but that’s just me.
Ambascamba: After the first couple of bands we head back to the tent to replenish supplies, and decide we need to improve our living situation with an undercover area. We pull off an incredible feat of engineering and inventive knot-tying to cover the tent and half the car in a huge tarp. Chez Festival Ladies is complete!
Gemdilem: Monotonix (from Israel) were the out-of-control highlight of the festival. Ignoring the main stage they set up their gear on the ground in front of the stage. The lead singer, with a heavily bandaged leg (broken at their Florida show), kicked things off straight away with some crowd surfing. It was on. One song in and they moved their gear into the mosh. Crowded around the band we felt like we were part of the performance, helping to hold up guitar leads. They continued to play, cause a ruckus, crowd surf, and whip the crowd into a frenzy. There was even some crowd surfing drumming before security decided to end the set early claiming safety concerns. It’s hard to describe everything that went on and to give you a real feel of the atmosphere in the mosh pit during Monotonix’s performance, perhaps a few photos will help. P.S. How good are their short shorts?!
Ambascamba: Monotonix are the absolute undisputed highlight of Golden Plains. Israeli moustachioed genius in short shorts and long socks. I’m practically sitting on the drummer for several songs, until I extract myself from the crowd to check out the view from further up the hill. Incredible.
Gemdilem: The Big Pink were like the weather – wet and soppy. It was nice to see a chick drummer but seriously what was with the lead singers white muscle singlet? Someone needs to have words with him. They ended their flat performance with “Dominoes” which had the whole crowd loving them and I have to say it is a really fun song. Now if only they could make the rest of their set like that.
Ambascamba: I spent most of The Big Pink not really liking them, and then they played Dominoes and all of a sudden I was utterly on their side, singing along like a banshee. I blame the schnapps rule.
Ambascamba: We make a special effort to visit Pink Flamingo bar since we managed to miss it at Meredith last year. There’s something truly delightful about sipping a bright pink cocktail while you’re standing ankle-deep in mud.
Gemdilem: Pavement were fabulous. Seeing a band come back from the grave and reunited is always special. As they played I remembered everything I had missed about this epic indie lo-fi rock band from the 90s. I stood on the hill with a near perfect view of the stage and surrounded by other Pavement fans. We sang along to “Stereo”, “Cut Your Hair”, and “Stop Breathin’”. I made new friends. It was beautiful and a festival highlight. The only downer was that they didn’t play “Shady Lane”.
Ambascamba: I seem to remember really liking Pavement.
Gemdilem: I wish I could remember more about Dinosaur Jr’s set. Sadly the combination of schnapps and beers had taken hold. I do remember they played “Pieces” and “Over It”. I do remember the long white hair, the hidden faces, the guitar solos and mumbled words. And I do remember being in the second row, losing my shit, and having a great time. How good is grunge!
Ambascamba: All I remember of Dinosaur Jr is wondering why I couldn’t hear Gandalf’s vocals. I also remember mixing a vodka coke with the vodka:coke ratio completely back to front.
Gemdilem: And then it was time to call it a night. And off to bed we went. Slowly. Very slowly. Mud, drunkeness and darkness make walking back to the tent difficult. At the tent I set off the car alarm by climbing on the roof of the car to get water. It’s all about hydration and it made sense at the time!
Ambascamba: Afterwards we drag our sorry drunken arses through the mud back to the tent. I prove I am a good friend by wrapping Gemdilem and her Doritos in a doona before passing out myself.
Sunday
Gemdilem: I woke up, surprisingly, without my gumboots still on (thanks Ambascamba?). I felt terrible though, stupid hangover. It’s the schnapps fault. We decide that the schnapps rule doesn’t apply on Sunday.
Ambascamba: I’m not feeling all that spectacular on Sunday morning, but Gemdilem is clearly worse. I make my way to the Supernatural Amphitheatre for a breakfast wrap and check out Super Wild Horses. “What Started the Noise” is a great song, and if I wasn’t feeling so hungover I would probably dance. But I am, so I don’t.
Ambascamba: After a while the penetrating vocals gets to be too much for my fragile head and I mosey back to check on Gemdilem.
Gemdilem: I spend most of the morning lying on the grassy hill in front of the stage enjoying the sunshine (the only time it actually stopped raining all weekend). When lying on the grass in the sun with your eyes closed hoping not to vomit Jack Ladder doesn’t sound that bad and his sad, gloomy songs match my mood.
Ambascamba: Jeffrey Lewis (sans Junkyard) does a frenetic rap about killing mosquitoes that nearly breaks my head, but is very impressive. I like him.
Gemdilem: Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard momentarily snapped me back into reality. He managed to win over the crowd with his melodic songs and soft vocals. His witty and catchy songs, like “The last time I did acid I went insane”, will no doubt be stuck in our heads for a while.
Ambascamba: Wooden Shjips turn out to not be Scandinavian after all, which is a bit of a blow, but they make up for it by being enormous nerds.
Gemdilem: By 2pm I was back in the land in the living and managed to make it to Pink Flamingo bar for some much needed pink coloured drinks and shelter from the rain. It was around this time that we were informed that a severe storm was heading our way with possible hailstorms. It got an almighty cheer from the crowd. We decided to re-tarp the tent.
Ambascamba: By the time Nashville Pussy come on I’ve managed to finish off a beer or two, and their cock rock is just what I need to psych me up good and proper for the day. Love it.
Gemdilem: Nashville Pussy play heavy rock songs with a lot of rude words in them. How could you not love them?! After declaring that their favourite Southern rock band was Ike and Tina Turner they played “Nutbush City Limits”. The crowd of course joined in and suddenly everyone was nutbushing, mud and gumboots and all.
Gemdilem: I enjoyed aspects of Dirty Projectors. Their songs “Cannibal Resource” and “Temecula Sunrise” are truly great songs which sound amazing live. Through the rest of their set I struggled to stay interested, luckily there was a guy in a giant ball crowd surfing to keep me entertained. Why has no one ever done this before?
Gemdilem: It was still raining and getting heavier. By now everything had turned to mud. There was no point fighting it. Many festival goers embraced it and turned it into their very own adventure park. With mats, blow up boats, bikes, and anything else they could find they took it in turns to slip and slide their way down the hills of the amphitheatre.
Gemdilem: I’ve heard many a times it said – Tame Impala are so young yet so talented. And it’s true. I have never seen a bad performance from this three piece psychedelic rock band. They played all their hits, like “Desire Be, Desire Go”, “Half Full Glass of Wine” and “Remember Me”, as well as some of their new songs (which will appear on their new album to be released later this year). The new songs are sounding awesome already. Such a great band.
Ambascamba: Calexico rule. They’re like El Bronx, although obviously not as awesome coz they don’t have outfits and they don’t have Matt, but they make up for it with some extra horns and plenty of Espanol.
Gemdilem: Calexico were an unexpected highlight. Having only heard a couple of their songs I was not expecting the varied songs with influences coming from the traditional Latin sounds of mariachi, as well as indie rock, jazz, and country music. Very enjoyable.
Ambascamba: Tex has brought his A-game and some of his best moves ever, and I spend the entire Cruel Sea set happily in lust with him.
Ambascamba: As the Cruel Sea finish the skies open up big time so we escape to the cosy protection of Pink Flamingo one last time.
Gemdilem: The Cruel Sea seemed like a weird choice of band for Golden Plains and with them on at 10pm just before the dance music takes over it seemed like a weird timeslot. Nevertheless they belted out tunes like “Honeymoon is Over” and “Better Get a Lawyer” and it really was Tex at his best. Just maybe the wrong time or the wrong place.
Gemdilem: Despite really liking their album “Dystopia” I always fail to enjoy a live performance from the Midnight Juggernauts. The blend of pretty lights and everyone around me dancing has me totally caught up in the moment and I begin to feel the love. They had me ready to take back all my words about them being the worst live dance music act ever. Then somewhere they lost their way, maybe it’s me. So I head back to the tent.
Gemdilem: Our beautiful fluro wet weather gear kept us dry through the worst of it and luckily the storm had largely avoided Meredith (no hailstorms!). Unfortunately our tent wasn’t so lucky. We arrive back at the tent to find a sea of water inside. We later discovered that a broken pole was to blame. I guess that’s what you get for buying a cheap tent from Kmart.
Gemdilem: Monday arrives and the reality that Golden Plains is over for another year. We shake off the mud from our gumboots and pack up the car. Thanks for a great weekend, I know I’ll be back next year!