Random Concert Memories Part II (2000-2002)
The concert ramblings continue…
The 2000 Big Day Out was the classic example of the BDO Paradox, watching mega-bands on the big stage meant you were missing simultaneous huge DJ acts in the boiler room. So on this particular year I chose to watch Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; which meant I missed out on Basment Jaxx and Chemical Brothers.
Red Hot Chili Peppers:
The Blood Sugar Sex Magick album was huge in Australia in the early Nineties, and was the first album I ever owned (I got a walkman for my 14th birthday including this album…plus the Wayne’s World soundtrack(!?)). It was amazing finally seeing these guys on stage almost a decade later. The crowd went nuts, but they seemed to be a lot more energized for the Blood Sugar stuff (Give it Away, Under the Bridge etc) then the more recent stuff. The beauty with the Big Day Out, is that the bands are on stage for just under an hour – so only have time to play their best stuff (and possibly win over new fans) and give the “filler” shit a rest.
Atari Teenage Riot:
I knew fuck all about this band, and still don’t, but watched a bit of their act while lining up for beers. They were on early in the day, and there was a mosh pit of about half a dozen people jamming along. After one of their songs the lead singer seemed all inspired and yelled into the microphone ”Fuck the Conglomerates! Down with Corporations!” in an attempt to rouse everybody into some kind of social rebellion.
It didn’t work.
2001 big Day Out
Limp Bizkit were supposed to headline the BDO at Adelaide in 2001, but after a young girl was crushed to death at the Sydney concert, they pulled out of the tour. This kind of threw logistics into a spin, and on the actual day there were no less than three differing time schedules for the band start times (the BDO posters, the BDO schedule and the Advertiser’s print out all had different times for acts) which caused me to miss several bands because I had the wrong information. I was also gutted at the time that Limp Bizkit weren’t playing as I was a bit of a fan, but I’ve now long since stopped following them. Powderfinger got to headline the BDO after Limp Bizkit dropped out, a band that had become hugely successful after providing the soundtrack to the film Two Hands.
Rammstein:
I was off getting beers when this German heavy metal band hit the stage. An excited colleague grabbed me when I returned:
I cursed myself for missing it.
Avalanches
An electronic music group from Melbourne, their 2000 album Since I left You was nominated for nine ARIAs winning six, and were an amazing act live. It’s taken a decade for them to release a second album, but apparently it is finished and they are waiting to clear the samples they have used. This could take some time, the first album used over 3,500 samples. Far out.
Sonic Animation
An Australian Techno group that performed in the Boiler Room, and broke up after the 2006 BDO. They were accompanied by dancers in big furry suits (who were apparently fans chosen from the web site), which was quite a feat considering the sweltering heat in the room. Also an impressive feat: watching the singer perform Theophilus Thistler a song consisting mostly of tongue twisters. That song (including the furry dancers):
While watching one of the first bands at noon, a chick standing next to me dropped to the ground and had an epileptic fit – this was when I knew it was going to be a long day. The day’s temperature was supposed to peak at 41 degrees, the crowds getting so hot that the fire brigade was actually on standby to hose everybody down at regular intervals. I wisely applied suntan liberally to my body from one of the free stations, I had covered most of my exposed flesh and had got to under my sunglasses when I spotted a work mate and walked off to see him, absentmindedly forgetting to apply suntan to my forehead. We went and watched the main acts. For two hours. At the hottest part of the day.
My forehead BAKED.
And for the next two weeks my forehead skin peeled off in large grotesque chunks that simply horrified my poor mother.
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were not very well know in 2002 (in Australia anyway) and so appeared very early in the day, on the smallest of the stages. My workmate was into them, so I went and watched them with him. Four years later, they would be headlining the entire tour.
Gerling
Yet another Aussie band I was into (but lost touch with in recent years). I first saw them at Heaven night club when they were supporting Regurgitator. The band consisted of three dudes running around the stage wearing backpacks, and at one point the bass player eyeballed everybody in the crowd, then proceeded to climb a light tower up into the roof. They played surprisingly good songs for such a bunch of weirdoes.
The concert ramblings conclude tomorrow…
2000: Big Day Out
The 2000 Big Day Out was the classic example of the BDO Paradox, watching mega-bands on the big stage meant you were missing simultaneous huge DJ acts in the boiler room. So on this particular year I chose to watch Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; which meant I missed out on Basment Jaxx and Chemical Brothers.
Red Hot Chili Peppers:
The Blood Sugar Sex Magick album was huge in Australia in the early Nineties, and was the first album I ever owned (I got a walkman for my 14th birthday including this album…plus the Wayne’s World soundtrack(!?)). It was amazing finally seeing these guys on stage almost a decade later. The crowd went nuts, but they seemed to be a lot more energized for the Blood Sugar stuff (Give it Away, Under the Bridge etc) then the more recent stuff. The beauty with the Big Day Out, is that the bands are on stage for just under an hour – so only have time to play their best stuff (and possibly win over new fans) and give the “filler” shit a rest.
Atari Teenage Riot:
I knew fuck all about this band, and still don’t, but watched a bit of their act while lining up for beers. They were on early in the day, and there was a mosh pit of about half a dozen people jamming along. After one of their songs the lead singer seemed all inspired and yelled into the microphone ”Fuck the Conglomerates! Down with Corporations!” in an attempt to rouse everybody into some kind of social rebellion.
It didn’t work.
2001 big Day Out
Limp Bizkit were supposed to headline the BDO at Adelaide in 2001, but after a young girl was crushed to death at the Sydney concert, they pulled out of the tour. This kind of threw logistics into a spin, and on the actual day there were no less than three differing time schedules for the band start times (the BDO posters, the BDO schedule and the Advertiser’s print out all had different times for acts) which caused me to miss several bands because I had the wrong information. I was also gutted at the time that Limp Bizkit weren’t playing as I was a bit of a fan, but I’ve now long since stopped following them. Powderfinger got to headline the BDO after Limp Bizkit dropped out, a band that had become hugely successful after providing the soundtrack to the film Two Hands.
Rammstein:
I was off getting beers when this German heavy metal band hit the stage. An excited colleague grabbed me when I returned:
Man! How cool was it when the singer lit himself on fire and then flew onto the stage with a flying fox!?”
I cursed myself for missing it.
Avalanches
An electronic music group from Melbourne, their 2000 album Since I left You was nominated for nine ARIAs winning six, and were an amazing act live. It’s taken a decade for them to release a second album, but apparently it is finished and they are waiting to clear the samples they have used. This could take some time, the first album used over 3,500 samples. Far out.
Sonic Animation
An Australian Techno group that performed in the Boiler Room, and broke up after the 2006 BDO. They were accompanied by dancers in big furry suits (who were apparently fans chosen from the web site), which was quite a feat considering the sweltering heat in the room. Also an impressive feat: watching the singer perform Theophilus Thistler a song consisting mostly of tongue twisters. That song (including the furry dancers):
2002 BIG DAY OUT
While watching one of the first bands at noon, a chick standing next to me dropped to the ground and had an epileptic fit – this was when I knew it was going to be a long day. The day’s temperature was supposed to peak at 41 degrees, the crowds getting so hot that the fire brigade was actually on standby to hose everybody down at regular intervals. I wisely applied suntan liberally to my body from one of the free stations, I had covered most of my exposed flesh and had got to under my sunglasses when I spotted a work mate and walked off to see him, absentmindedly forgetting to apply suntan to my forehead. We went and watched the main acts. For two hours. At the hottest part of the day.
My forehead BAKED.
And for the next two weeks my forehead skin peeled off in large grotesque chunks that simply horrified my poor mother.
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were not very well know in 2002 (in Australia anyway) and so appeared very early in the day, on the smallest of the stages. My workmate was into them, so I went and watched them with him. Four years later, they would be headlining the entire tour.
Gerling
Yet another Aussie band I was into (but lost touch with in recent years). I first saw them at Heaven night club when they were supporting Regurgitator. The band consisted of three dudes running around the stage wearing backpacks, and at one point the bass player eyeballed everybody in the crowd, then proceeded to climb a light tower up into the roof. They played surprisingly good songs for such a bunch of weirdoes.
The concert ramblings conclude tomorrow…
posted by Beef at Sunday, May 10, 2009
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