RISING's Day Tripper transformed central Melbourne into a musical playground over the weekend.
There’s nothing quite like walking down Swanston Street with a visceral buzz, seeing crowds spill out of Melbourne Town Hall while others line up for Max Watt’s, people drinking, smoking, yelling across the street at each other. Melbourne’s CBD can be a little bit depressing on a drizzly grey winter afternoon – Day Tripper turned it into a day party.
The eight-hour festival sprawled across four Swanston Street venues, delivering 27 acts that showcased everything from Brooklyn shoegaze to Ugandan electronica. Day Tripper proved that Melbourne’s appetite for genre-bending entertainment remains insatiable, with punters moving seamlessly between venues throughout the afternoon and evening. The venues were packed – Little Ugly Girls at Max Watt’s was chockas as early as 2pm – that should say it all, really. Note – nobody brought more passion throughout the entire day than Linda Johnston, she’s renowned as one of this country’s most fiery singers for good reason.
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
View this post on Instagram
Brooklyn’s DIIV was the undisputed highlight, commanding the Melbourne Town Hall stage with their signature wall of reverb-drenched guitars. The band’s performance of tracks from Frog in Boiling Water created an atmospheric cocoon that had the historic venue’s ornate interior vibrating with dreamy intensity. They’re an interesting band – it was hard not to be distracted by the repetitious, pared back lyrics on a screen that was otherwise banal lo-fi visuals. But they just sound so damn perfect live – Zachary Cole Smith’s haunting vocals cut through layers of feedback, demonstrating why the quartet has graduated to arena support slots for the likes of Depeche Mode. They sound that good live.
BKTHERULA also brought raw energy to proceedings, the Atlanta rapper’s genre-blending hip-hop creating one of the day’s most electrifying moments. Her distinctive blend of trap and plugg had the Town Hall crowd completely engaged, temporarily recreating the crazy atmosphere that Max Watt’s had basked in pretty much all day.
Watt’s provided the perfectly intimate setting for Chapter Music’s farewell celebration, with the independent label’s 33-year legacy honoured through performances by Andras & Oscar, Tenniscoats and more. The venue’s smaller capacity created an appropriately personal atmosphere for such a significant milestone – it’s hard to think of a more diverse day of music, let alone celebrating the same record label. They will be sorely missed.
Night Trade’s laneway activation was the cherry on top – the beats were heavy, the drinks flowing, and the overall atmosphere had Melbourne written all over it (in the case of the walls, quite literally).
For more information about RISING, head here.
