Think of those parties Lionel Richie used to host in videos like ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Dancing on the Ceiling.’ Now picture them with a Sci-Fi theme and set on a Caribbean beach under a blanket of stars. That’s where Claudia Lewis takes me…and I’m having the goddamn time of my life.
The air in this song is the first thing I noticed. The drum thuds through the headphones like a punch in the chest and is given seconds to resonate and echo as a result of the cavernous church setting it was recorded in. Every sound breathes and is given time to expand and settle as if it is falling down upon you like misty rain. The echo of Evans Kati’s guitar floats like chimes in the wind. As a contradiction to all the soaring purity, the gravelly vocals of Ellery Roberts come to the forefront of the recording defying interpretation for the most part until the band unite with the communal call to arms of the title, chanting it with the passion of The Stretford End on match day. As the song reaches fever pitch the vocals cut away to allow a gorgeous shimmering guitar to take centre stage and carry us on the calming post-storm sea, drifting home, life-affirmingly satisfied in some kind of victory.
St Jerome’s Laneway Festival announced it’s 2012 lineup on Monday. Personally the build up and anticipation usually breeds more frustration than excitement so I’m glad the curtain has finally been drawn on what we have in store for us. Besides, before even knowing who would be playing next year I’d accepted that I’d be attending. That got me thinking about why there is no other festival I feel as attached to.
Having first attended the Melbourne event back in ’07 I’ve seen the festival go through a number of changes brought about by both its popularity and ambition. Now in its 3rd year at the Footscray site it seems to have found its optimum size, although there will always be part of me that cherishes the unique Caledonian Lane setting where it all started out. There was something special about seeing some of the world’s freshest and most exciting bands in a narrow Melbourne back alley shoulder to shoulder with 500 other people. However times change, and the demand quickly became greater than one little dive bar could handle. While St Jerome’s itself is long gone the festival it has spawned is reaching further and wider than surely even Jerry could have ever envisaged.
The way we were.
While it is by no means the largest festival in Australia what Laneway has done is differentiate itself in terms of acts and setting. On top of this it’s boutique size is a major part of its appeal. These points of difference enabled it to tap into an audience that was at times in the past starved of artists and opened the gates to the types of bands who once upon a time would have ruled out the trip to this corner of the world because it was financially non-viable. Laneway created a platform for them.
Some may disagree or think me naive but one of the underlying attractions of this festival is that it’s staging doesn’t reek of something that is overtly based on financial opportunism. Even if it is, what’s important is that It seems to come from an honest place in that whoever puts this event together is doing it as much for themselves as they are the punters. It’s a passion I can relate to. What they’ve provided in this country is a lifeline for the tragics and I get the impression it’s because they’re just as much tragics as the rest of us. Jerome’s maintains a credibility that comes from the sincerity they convey in presenting a group of acts to us which even for the most invested music lover usually contains unknowns and surprises. For me this is perhaps the most exciting aspect of music fandom – discovering your new favourite song and then telling anyone who’ll listen about how it is going to change their life.
Laneway leads the pack when it comes to pushing its audience and rarely are we presented with an act that has played previously. Whereas other festivals will offer up tried and true artists with firmly established fan bases the acts we receive for Laneway have often only become part of our music consciousness in the last 12 months. This again illustrates the passion they have for this art form in the sense that like myself and countless others they have an insatiable thirst for new music. Bringing ‘breaking’ acts to our distant shores is clearly one of the most attractive aspects of Laneway for fans. As music nerds compile their year-ending best-of lists there is no doubt very regularly a handful of featured bands that have already booked-in their appearance to play the Laneway circuit. The opportunity to see a band in Australia for the first time is usually tough to pass up especially for the fact some of them are still relatively unknown to a broader mainstream audience and it may be one of the few chances to see them play in a smaller intimate setting.
Melbourne Laneway in its current incarnation.
For me Laneway is a fans festival because it is a festival made by fans. The love put into the recruitment of bands for this event is plain to see and only seems to grow stronger each year. There are never token acts and each band has its place and reason for being there. In plain terms, these guys are fans like you and I and are out to impress. Sharing music is important because of the huge role it plays in our own personal identity and the connections that are made when we cross paths with others who share our tastes. Laneway is the only festival I’ve been to that brings me that feeling of being amongst like-minded people whose passion is to discuss and immerse themselves in the music they’ve been listening to.
I actually envy the feeling that must come on lineup announcement morning as a years hard work is presented to the masses. I can only imagine it to be akin to the painstaking efforts put into making a mix tape for someone you have a crush on and then passing it to them, full of pride but heart in mouth. Some of my favourite bands today were discovered at Laneway. By listening and falling in love with them like that object of affection who ‘gets it’ I hope I have held up my end of the bargain. Watching in awe as The Walkmen blasted ‘The Rat’ down that narrow little lane in 2007 has to be one of my most chill-inducing music memories. And that’s why I go back. A sincerely mutual love of the music and the chance to stumble across my new favourite band. Pretty simple in the end.
Here I go. My first attempt at a blog. Please take from this what you will and leave what you won’t.
jimmyfandangle 