Festival Review: Splendour In The Grass 2015 – Day 2
Day two was dawning on North Byron Parklands and it seems as though the gods were smiling down on us as the skies split and blue was seen for the first time. The Splendour we all know and love was finally here!
The weather matched the tunes and the bright blue sky beamed as UK boys Circa Waves took us through their debut album Young Chasers. While the crowd was expelling energy through vigorous dance moves Circa Waves obviously hadn’t adjusted to the harsh Australian winter and all four of them proceeded to go bright red in the face and sweat profusely. It was first single T-Shirt Weather that really made an impact because if being in a crowd thousand or so people screaming IT’S GONNA BE OK doesn’t bring you out of your mud funk then nothing will. Circa Waves definitely started our Saturday off right.
On our trudge over to the Mix Up Stage to catch Canberra trio Safia it really started to sink in how bad the mud was. Sticky, stinky and everywhere it divided people into two groups; the ones taking dainty baby steps to try and avoid but ultimately still being covered head to toe and the people who had cast off their identities and become one with the mud. To be honest the second lot looked happier. All mud related problems seemed to mysteriously disappear as Safia lead singer Ben Woolner belted out the first of his many trademark glowing falsettos. Not content with just being an ethereal voice Woolner certainly knows how to milk the crowd and coerced a humungous reaction out of the crowd before launching into Listen To Soul, Listen To Blues. Springing for some choice confetti cannons at the end of their set made sure that Safia’s set was one of the highlights of the festival and, to think, these guys haven’t even released their debut album yet.
Elation turned to impatience as the minutes ticked closer to London young guns Years and Years appearance. Materialising 30 minutes late to their 45 minute slot lead singer Olly Alexander apologised profusely and explained that there had been some sort of mix up with their gear. It was hard to stay mad with someone who looked like the most adorable Slim Shady ever. The crew did a pretty good job at condensing their set and left us on a high with an insane rendition of their super charged hit King.
The night started off banging with ultimate sass Qween Azalia Banks slaying a packed Mix Up Stage harder than she slays the haters. Looking pristine AF in a matching two piece, it was totally worth trying to stamp in the mud to hear thousands of people screaming “I guess that cunts gettin’ eaten”.
We legged it over to the Amphitheatre just in time for honorary Aussies The Wombats to say hi to all their adoring fans. Plying the audience with lashings of their old hits as well as a couple tunes for the fantastic new album Glitterbug good vibes was thick in the stadium. The trio just looked so comfortable on that stage, Australia has really embraced the boys with all we’ve got and in turn they consistently deliver high octane out-of-this-world performances. Lets Dance To Joy Division crowned their set leaving the audience both satiated and wanting more.
You might have already heard a ton about Florence and The Machine’s transcendent set and it, indeed, was a spectral. Dressed in all white Flo flounced around the stage like a bona fide God and somehow still managed to maintain perfect vocal quality during it all. Her disciples were more than willing to worship as she caressed faces and even pulled one lucky wedding dress clad man up for some impromptu dance moves. It all became clear why people had trudged through mud and pain for two days during closer Dog Days Are Over. It’s not often that you get to experience intense musical euphoria in a crowd that big. Amen.
