The Victorian incarnation of the 2015-16 Falls Festival will go down in history as a huge feat. After bushfires in Lorne, the impossible was somehow made possible and Falls relocated to the Mount Duneed Estate near Torquay. Whether you convoyed into that wide brilliant camping field, or walked up the asphalt hill alongside the strip of grape vines to enter the festival, it was bloody victorious.
We started on Tuesday, the most resplendent daytime of the week. I’m talking about the kind where you lie on the grass under the sun and fall asleep. It was below 30 degrees, and we all let UV rays beat down on our backs. Hiatus Kaiyote showcased their dreamy, neo-funk goodness in the late afternoon. Frontwoman Nai Palm looked like a mythical goddess, dressed in black and with a gold helmet adorned with cat ears. The Melbourne outfit played mainly newer tracks, including Breathing Underwater, which was recently nominated for a Grammy, and closed with the synth-heavy funk of By Fire.
Leon Bridges arrived in the early evening with his scandalously romantic voice. He is basically this era’s Sam Cooke. It was his first time in the country and he made sure to pass on a few pieces of love advice. At nightfall, Paul Kelly took to the stage and made everyone’s night by playing How To Make Gravy. Hilltop Hoods were full of charm and charisma. After opening with Chase That Feeling, a huge domino-like fall pervaded the crowd, leading the pair ofMCs to cut off the beginning of the next song and tell everyone to “take care of each other”. Needless to say, Nosebleed Section was a huge moment. The Wombats closed out that blessed Tuesday. Matthew Murphy was in rare form, yelling “I wanna see someone slut drop.” They played a jam-packed set of newbies and oldies dating as far back as 2006. Early high school memories had never resonated so crystal clear.
By Wednesday, it was starting to become sauna city. Hanging out in tents or undercover with an iced coffee (or a tinnie) was the place to be. Mac Demarco commanded a zealous crowd late afternoon. Smokers were ready to light up during Ode To Viceroy. Local gal Courtney Barnett graced the stage after Mac. Having toured all year, she played song after song from her debut LP, only stopping to ask how everyone was doing. Psych-kings King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard made the Grand Stage their own, accompanied by a dizzying slide show, swiftly enticing the crowd undercover.
At sunset, Melbourne Ska Orchestra gave a performance that’ll be tough to forget. Frontman Nicky Bomba had everyone eating from the palm of his hand. “I want you to turn around and when I count to four you’ve got to dance harder than you ever have before.” Nobody failed to satisfy this request. In commemoration of the death of The Specials’ John Bradbury, the 30-piece played a hugely sentimental cover of A Message To You Rudy. Bloc Partyhad returned to our shores with a new look lineup. As well as delivering all the festival bangers, the London outfit tried out a few new tracks. British EDM duo Disclosure played a heated dance set to finish the night, which kept the late night partiers happy.
Oh boy, it had only reached 9am on Thursday when the notion of collapsing in ocean water was far too appealing to do anything other than queue desperately for the bus to Torquay. Kurt Vile copped the 40 degree peak of the day, but Vile’s familiar voice soothed the climatic severity. His summer anthem Wakin On A Pretty Day was like a breath of fresh air.British sweethearts The Maccabees playedan excellent set beginning with the infectious single of the year Marks To Prove It, and some old classics from 2009’s Wall Of Arms. Guitarist Felix White’s wild grin and frivolous dancing nominated him as the most stoked bloke in the arena.
The outrageously groovy Toro Y Moi packed out the Grand Stage with his rich, colourful soundscapes just as that godforsaken sun began to subside. The fact there were limited hours of 2015 left gradually started to dawn on the masses, and by the time Foals arrived onstage it had fully sunk in. “There is no other place we would rather be right now than here,” said frontman Yannis Philippakis. Sure enough, he climbed the crowd barrier more than once to stand amid the hands of those dying to grab a piece of him. There was no other song more fitting to bring in the New Year than the lose-your-fucking-mind anthem Two Steps Twice. Before leaving us, Philippakis encouraged us allto “Be brave, be daring, be wild.”
BY JESS ZANONI
Photo By Ian Laidlaw
Loved: The repeated bliss from the sprinklers.
Hated: Being completely dry approximately ten seconds after walking away from a sprinkler.
Drank: Slurpees.
