Boogie Nights – December 28
Melbourne-based DJ Legs Akimbo set the mood with chilled sets in between Tom Thum and The Correspondents. Things got moving when ‘time-travelling DJ’ Hot Dub Time Machine treated us to musical gems from the past 60 years, having the swinging/crumping/twerking audience yelling ‘aw shit yeah!’ to every song. Fatboy Slim’s Eat Sleep Rave Repeat ended the set that was the hands down highlight of Boogie Nights, as the pre-Falls party night is known. Japan’s dapper soul-funk legends Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro followed suite and Late Night Tuff Guy kept the blood pumping in the cold until midnight when the crowd dispersed back to their freezing tents faster than you could say ‘motherhuggerit’scold’.
Official Day One – December 29
Typical of a Lorne summer, we woke up in our sauna-tent in the sweaty morning sun, stripping the fleecey layers that we so desperately needed the night before and rolling out to a dry, stale breakfast of Milo cereal: the best and worst festival food, ever.
We were treated to an impressive Welcome to Country performance, then welcomed the country twangs of raucous Sydney seven-piece Little Bastard, whose energy and talent caught unsuspecting punters by surprise and really deserved a more prominent set time. Their friendly “cheers for dancing with us, ya mad dogs” went down a bit better than The Murlocs frontman Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s faint-hearted “cheers cunts”, but then again he did well to last an entire set sounding like Janis Joplin (I mean that as a compliment). Owl Eyes and Bombino provided an ideal festival soundtrack as the remaining punters flooded in to set up their campsites and get to the valley in time for Solange, Queen Bey’s sister, who rocked the stage in a hot pink jumpsuit, her thigh-length hair-whipping putting Willow Smith to shame.
2013 was a busy year for British trip hop trio London Grammar, who seemed genuinely stoked by the huge crowd they pulled for their first Australian appearance. Their excitement came through in an energetic set which warmed us up for Flight Facilities, who proved to be one of the best live acts of the festival. Bringing Owl Eyes frontwoman Brooke Addamo back onstage for her stunning vocals was perfect, as was the epic version of Clair de Lune that ended the set.
The hype plateaued when MGMT played to a divided crowd, having a few wins with crowd-pleasers from Oracular Spectacular between an otherwise “meh” set. The creepy animated king prawn waddling along behind them kept things interesting though so thumbs up there. The night was headlined by one of the biggest and most diversely talented hip hop band of our time, The Roots, who jumped through genres and covers from Kool and the Gang to Guns N’ Roses. The already long set went a bit over time but most people didn’t seem to mind too much, except perhaps Cyril Hahn who had to play to a steadily declining crowd.
Day Two – December 30
I could tell from others around me that it was a slow start for many as the nights before caught up, but we were eased into the day by the hypnotic vocal loops of Oliver Tank and the catchy electro-pop of impressive Tasmanian teenager Asta who is clearly going places. Up in the Grand Theatre, the Perch Creek Family Jugband and Gossling helped draw in an early crowd who stuck around for some midday comic relief.
Back in the valley Chet Faker drew a huge crowd with his stunning vocals and rhythmic synths, melting hearts and getting us dancing in the afternoon sun to hits like I’m Into You, a few new tracks and his sexy cover of No Diggity. Up in the Grand Theatre, Sydney’s RUFUS had the big top packed like sweaty sardines and the valley outside just about empty. The trio have had a great run since releasing their debut album in August and it was awesome to see them getting a crowd that excited so early.
New Year’s Eve Eve was vibing, a sure sign that the real deal the following night was set to be epic. Falls regular Neil Finn had everyone singing along to the classics, playing with guitarist son Liam and followed by the crazily clad Crystal Fighters whose costumes and energy had to be up there with the best over the entire festival. If you’re not sure how you feel about them see them live, it’s big. Things got a bit mental around midnight. “You guys are pretty crazy,” The Wombats’ Matthew Murphy managed as a rogue flare almost started a mini fire on stage and word spread that the wooden sound tent thing had collapsed with people in it. We figured everyone was fine judging by the munted punters who kept on dancing up there. M4sonic in the Grand Theatre battled Chk Chk Chk in the Valley Stage for the post-midnight crowd and the tent soon turned to rave cave as cosmic warriors fist pumped until the wee hours.
Day Three – December 31 – New Year’s Eve
If Hip Hop Yoga didn’t get dusty punters out of their tents bright and early on New Year’s Eve, The Preatures certainly did. The Sydney band not only pulled a more than healthy crowd for the 12pm slot, but had everyone fresh and moving like it was day 1, especially to that awesome song Is This How You Feel. With catchy tunes, a tight set and powerful frontwoman Isabella Manfredi, no one can doubt they’re destined for huge things in 2014. James Vincent McMorrow was an arvo highlight in the Grand Theatre, even lulling some into a restful sleep with his floating vocals.
Winning lineups alternating between the Grand Theatre and Valley Stage including Dustin Tebutt, Twinsy, Big Scary and Johnny Marr made it easy for those who were super keen (or those making the most of the final day of Falls) to hop or roll between the two.
Bonobo was a hands down crowd favourite for the afternoon, pulling the biggest crowd of daylight hours that could almost have been mistaken for the headlining act. Opening with Cirrus, the classic first single of his most recent album The North Borders, he had hearts and bodies won instantly.
Falls veterans Violent Femmes kicked things further into gear, opening their set with Blister in the Sun which had a thousand hands clapping but also ensured that just the hardcore Femmes fans and early buzzers stuck around. Cat Empire followed, always a great live festival act, and had everyone dancing with strangers to an impressively tight set.
New Year’s Eve was headlined by Vampire Weekend, who packed in hits across their three albums like Cousins, Oxford Comma and Diane Young. After a history of mishaps over the years (the last Falls I attended Arctic Monkeys threw us unexpectedly into 2012 15 minutes late) the New Yorkers got it pretty spot on and as a lone firework exploded from someone’s camp behind the stage and faces mashed all around us it was hard to deny the feeling that with a start like this, 2014 was going to be gold. Sydney hip hop group Horrorshow were a top choice for the co-countdowners up in the Grand Theatre after the huge year they’ve had.
Whether it was the weather, the intoxication or the group love going around it felt fuzzily warm and a sizeable crowd stayed out at the Valley for mussive sets by Hermitude and Ego. For those of us refusing to let the festivities end, the Grand Theatre filled up fast and fists pumped to the techno beats of Late Night Tuff Guy and Generik, who ended the loved up night on a perfectly corny high with a pash-encouraging Love is in the Air.
So began the recovery, the withdrawals and the countdown to December 28 2014 when we can do it all again.
BY JESSICA HAMILTON
Photos by Kate Davis
Loved: Seeing in the New Year.
Hated: Having to say goodbye to it all.
Drank: A lot of water on New Year’s Day.
