Some fashion notes first. Sportswear’s in, but so is looking antithetically disposed for sporting activity. Appropriate, given that everyone was limbered up to hit Bendigo’s Prince of Wales Showground for a day of collective freak-on. The numbers in attendance early on quickly made it apparent this is no minor country shindig.
In the Moolin Rouge tent Andy Bull and band (featuring Deep Sea Arcade, Dappled Cities and Hungry Kids of Hungry alumni) got things off to an animated start, adding a rollicking rock extension to last year’s triumphant return to relevance Keep On Running. Over on the main stage, Brisbane’s Jungle Giants were at home in the festival setting. They’re probably due for higher billing, but the foursome nevertheless made a premature climax out of the early timeslot.
While Allday‘s unassuming brat-next-door shtick filtered boom bap into the Moolin Rouge, Kingswood cranked the dial in front of a generous main stage crowd. The louder the Melbourne foursome’s classic-cum-stoner rock gets, the better it sounds. Loon Lake are the guys in your music class who you figured didn’t really care about music. Then one day they let slip a batch of memorable, albeit limited, pop-rock tunes. It’s translucent and fair dinkum.
Illy mightn’t be your bag (which is to say, it sure isn’t mine) but his magnetic stage presence was fascinating in itself. Throwing a collection of noughties mainstream R&B and rock riffs next to his unvarnished flow, masses of punters were ready and willing get those hands in the air when prompted.
Meanwhile, Thundamentals came across like a pop group as much as a hip hop posse. They’ve a knack for using rap to extrapolate an issue then tie it together with an emphasised chorus melody. It almost makes you wonder if employing rap is enough to warrant the hip hop tag. The rhymes were effortless and pleasant, but it didn’t come with the bite of a hip hop show.
Vance Joy‘s set involved a lot of waiting around for that song. He’s not quite Mr Charisma, which elongated the perceived waiting time. But when he jangled the opening ukulele chords of last year’s surprise hit, throngs of smiling faces and swaying waists appeared, singing in unfettered unison.
You wouldn’t have picked it even a year ago, but Violent Soho are the toast of the festival-going masses – guitar lovers or otherwise. The four-piece attracted the biggest, loudest crowd of the day. Covered In Chrome got a bellowing response, but they’re hardly a one-hit phenomenon. Filthy guitars said fuck you to ennui on Jesus Stole My Girlfriend and Neighbour Neighbour and it was all gobbled up like a 4am buffet of sodium-rich munchies.
Architecture In Helsinki reminded everyone that pop and eccentricity remain the best of friends, while buzzed about electronic producer Wave Racer looked slightly lonely presiding over the darkened tent. The Sydney teen had nothing to protect him from the predictable (yet not unwelcome) depths of dub step and bassy house. We danced accordingly but the 45 minute set had no real peak, suggesting he mightn’t be ready for this level of responsibility.
Dizzee Rascal and his two side-kick MCs punched through a number of the UK rap-star’s catalogue of hits. These range from iconic (Fix Up Look Sharp) toinnocuous-yet-danceable (Bassline Junkie) and vapid radio filler (We Don’t Play Around). Then there’s Bonkers, which surely guarantees Rascal high festival billing for another ten years. As per usual, it made a mess of the heretofore civilised dancing throng.
Assuaging the reliance on bass drops that dominated much of the day’s back end was Canadian manual-driving electronic stalwarts Holy Fuck. The foursome’s tripped-out industrial/kraut transmitted the levitating highs of an acid trip. The best way to combat a cold, damp Bendigo night is freakish, convulsive bodily exertion, and Holy Fuck were the perfect conductors.
Even though the lineup looked slightly unglamorous on paper, Groovin’ The Moo 2014 was a very approachable day’s entertainment. Most folks exhibited genuine interest in the music on offer and a concordant commitment to enjoying it as much they damn well could.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Loved: Jake Stone’s DJing in the Moolin Rouge.
Hated: A no pass-outs rule (and a stubborn security guard) preventing me from seeing the two headliners.
Drank: Uh, mid strength beer?
