Parklife – Kippax Lake, Sydney – Sunday October 2nd, 2011
Gem: As I waited at the entrance for Carls to turn up I was entertained by a delightful young fella who had been given a 1 hour time out from the entrance staff to sober up. He kept repeatedly telling me how much he was looking for Kanye West, I didn’t have the heart to tell him he was at the wrong festival.
Carls: My walk to meet Gem had the soundtrack of kids testing each other on their fake ID details. When one of the girls got her fake star sign wrong it was probably a bad sign.
Gem: The weather was freezing with occasional showers. Inside the festival it became apparent that the awful weather had failed to stop the girls wearing bum-check-exposing short shorts and the guys taking their shirts off or wearing a singlet at best. Anything for the love of fake tan, showing off those biceps, or a new tattoo. In contrast I was wearing leggings, denim skirt, long sleeve t-shirt, hoody and daggy raincoat. And the thoughts “I wish I brought a scarf” still crossed my mind several times shortly after entering the festival. Luckily I also had ribena (aka smuggled in vodka) to keep me warm (on the inside).
Carls: So many purple people. Flexing and shivering at the same time is not a good look. Orange fake tan had an extra dimension with all the goosebumps. I must have had a brain freeze from the cold as I forgot to hide my ribena before hitting up security at the entrance. My sweet and innocent face (or maybe lax security) saved the day as it and me made it in. Win!
Strange Talk
Gem: Strange Talk aren’t bad; they just aren’t doing anything that hasn’t already been done. The electro-pop band from Melbourne sound like Midnight Juggers, Phoenix, and Passion Pit all rolled into one. They were a good start to the day though and it wasn’t long before I found myself dancing to their songs “Climbing Walls”, “Eskimo Boy” and a cover of the Gwen Stefani song “Keep On Dancing”.
Carls: I had sung along to “Eskimo Boy” lots of times having no idea it was about Eskimos. You learn something new every day. I don’t know about feeling Hella Good just yet but the Gwen cover was much appreciated.
Kimbra
Gem: Pretty dress.
Carls: Agreed, pretty dress. If I ever have a child I will not be calling her Nebraska Jones. Sorry, Kimbra. It’s cold.
Death From Above 1979
Carls: Do these guys still hate each other? They are like good vs evil in their black and white get ups. We were nice and close to the stage and it felt like there were about 12 people watching. Maybe there was, maybe I was too cold to pay attention. One of the 12 threw a couple of shoes at Sebastien and even though he was the one wearing white he was pretty pissed. Hearing “Romantic Rights” and “Blood On Our Hands” made the cold worth it.
Gem: Even though DFA haven’t released anything since their one-and-only album release in 2004 titled “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine” we were still very excited to see them. They were pretty much the reason why we decided to go to Parklife. They performed their gritty dance-punk-rock songs to a small but energetic crowd and before long a mosh pit forms in front of the stage. From start to finish I enjoyed every minute of the set, hopefully the reunion lasts.
Carls: I’m now starting to feel pretty toasty from ribena and DFA 1979 dancing. Happy times.
Example
Gem: Example turned out to be very popular, we attempted to get closer to the stage so we could actually hear but eventually just gave up and headed back to the Atoll stage for Crystal Fighters.
Carls: Popular indeed. All of a sudden there are people here.
Crystal Fighters
Gem: Wikipedia describes Crystal Fighters as an English electronic band with Spanish influences. From where I was standing the lead singer sounded Jamaican or maybe this is some strange English accent I’m not aware of? The music was fairly infectious with lots of hippy acoustic guitars, folk loving vocals, and drums banging summer-vibing beats, even without the sun out it felt sunny. Unfortunately the sound was a bit off with chick’s vocals way too quiet. And then they did the “Aussie Aussie Aussie” chant. Twice. Completely unnecessary.
Carls: Really not what I was expecting. I hadn’t even seen any hippies yet. Gem and I discussed Crystal Fighters vs Crystal Castles. Crystal Castles win hands down, mainly because I have never heard them do an “Aussie Aussie Aussie” chant.
Santigold
Gem: Early on it in the set Carls pointed out that Santigold sounded like MIA. From that point on I couldn’t get that fact out of my head. Absolutely love her outfits though and the egyptian theme, very nice!
Carls: I’ve seen Santigold before and really enjoyed her. I don’t know if it was the two female dancers behind her but this time it was just too MIA for me.
Digitalism
Gem: At the start of their set, Digitalism played many songs from their somewhat disappointing new album “I Love You Dude”. The songs sounded good, making me think I really need to give that album another chance. They then let rip with some older songs including “Pogo” and “I Want I Want”. The crowd goes wild and epic dance offs were had by all.
Carls: These guys killed it. Even their new stuff which I’m not all that keen on sounded fantastic. Great visuals and we danced the whole time.
The Streets
Carls: Things get a bit hazy here. The Streets at Sydney Livid was one of my top festival acts of all time so I had high hopes. Mike Skinner has aged (haven’t we all) and has lost some of his cheeky larrikin-ness. I wasn’t all that into his latest album but he still sounds great.
Gem: It was the first time I’d ever seen The Streets and apparently it was also my last chance as The Streets are reportedly calling it quits after the tour of the current album. Mike Skinner’s charisma and banter with the audience had me from the start. Mike jokes with the crowd: “I know you are not use to this weather so leave if you want to. I won’t be offended”. Throughout the set he also playfully jokes around with his band and constantly climbs up and jumps off speakers. Musically he sounded good, helped out by the band. The band really helped to give the performance that extra bit of oomph, particularly in the slower songs like “Dry Your Eyes Mate”. For me The Streets were one of the day’s highlights, with songs like “Don’t Mug Yourself” and “Fit But You Know It” being particularly memorable.
Gossip
Carls: Beth still has her clothes on (except for her shoes, her feet must be cold) when we arrive. Her voice is insane.
Gem: Beth is pacing up and down the stage and it’s hard to take your eyes off her. Her presence is captivating. She belts out the hits. A festival goer somehow manages to make it on stage with a sign that says “DYKE WHORE / Equal Rights. God Hates Your Soul”. It’s confusing. Is the message one of love from a fan or a message of hate or even a political message?! I decide to stop worrying about it and have another sip of my ribena spiked coke.
Duck Sauce
Gem: Duck Sauce put on by far the most uninspiring DJ set I have ever seen. I was confused when I heard that they were the headline act. I thought by seeing them I would be less confused but no. The crowd looked bored throughout the set or maybe the last pill drop of the festival hadn’t kicked in yet. The sound was way too quiet for most of the day at all the stages and it was particularly noticeable during Duck Sauce. Not even “Barbra Streisand” could save the set. A terrible end to what was quite an enjoyable festival despite the weather.
Carls: I hate “Barbara Streisand” yet I was praying for them to play it, if only to put me out of my misery. If someone can please enlighten me on the attraction of Duck Sauce I’d be eternally grateful. Gem and I watched in awe at Field Day as the crowd swelled in size by about a gazillion and people lost their shit when they played “Barbara Streisand” but today it barely raised a whimper around us. What a downer.
