Parklife 08
Moore Park, Sun 5 Oct
Neither clouds nor cold nor threat of rain could stay the crowds from going wild at Parklife 08.
By Jonathon Valenzuela
This year's
Parklife posed the age-old question of whether it is possible to have a
great festival with grey clouds covering the day like a big wet blanket. Judging by the
massive turnout, the answer is a resounding yes. Not even chilly winds could
prevent the crowd from wearing the bare minimum to preserve decency as they
danced themselves silly to a huge lineup of DJs and bands.
The day
kicked off with a Sydney-based triple threat in the form of Anna Lunoe,
KillaQueenz and Ro Sham Bo. Despite playing at the very beginning of the
festival, Anna Lunoe still managed to draw a crowd of people ready to get the
day started. The KillaQueenz were on fire, spitting lyrics and jumping around
the stage with their dance duo, one of whom combined a booty clap with the splits
while the crowd roared approval. Ro Sham Bo were somewhat subdued, yet still
managed to throw down a great set covering the numerous genres in their
arsenal.
Over on the
local stage, Tennis were tight for their first festival appearance, and were
followed by Queensland electro-popsters BMX, who show a great amount of promise
despite a fairly raw performance marred by sound issues.
Back at the
Fire stage one of the true stars of the day was emerging in the form of Kato.
While most DJs are content to remain behind the decks, Kato ran to the front of
the stage in between mixes to dance like crazy and spur the crowd on. His set
was as flawless as his dance moves.
After a
brief stop for rest and refreshment (note: lie, cheat, steal or murder to get
into the VIP toilets next year), it was time to head to the Earth stage to
watch XXXChange get busy on the turntables. For the man who did the production
for Spank Rock his set seemed a little heavy on the blog-house front, yet he
maintained the energy and his projected visuals were like YouTube with ADD.
A
breakneck run to the other side of the festival meant making it in time for
Diplo. Whether it is the bass or the song selection, Diplo's set had a massive
amount of bounce to it, and it is nice to see a DJ who is prepared to drink red
wine direct from the bottle during his set. Exhaustion threatened at this
point, but thankfully the VIP area was within earshot of Goldfrapp. The
soothing vocals of frontwoman Alison Goldfrapp and mellow electronic stylings
of the band provided a nice change of pace from a day focused on frenetic
beats.
Finally, Dizzee
Rascal closed out the night to a packed crowd, whipping them into a frenzy with
tracks including 'Fix Up Look Sharp', 'Flex' and 'Stand Up Tall'.
You've read what we think. Now tell us what you think.