The Good Old Days

I’d like to take you all to a time when music meant something, when The Killers would never be announced as headlining an Urban Grooves festival or Franz Ferdinand a House music festival, when people went to festivals to watch bands play music and drugs were used to enhance the experience, not define it.

These are the stories of The Good Old Days.


A V. Good Time on the Esplanade

In the final summer days to bring a sweat to every Perth music lovers’ brow, a festival celebrated the end of a remarkable season of festivals, events and late nights. This festival, bringing together some of the world’s most famous alternative rockers, was V Festival.

Among these perspiring music lovers was Perth’s own near-deaf delinquent, Ryan Williams (myself, me), surrounded by a haze of anticipation, excitement and smoke not hailing from any of the stages but all too familiar to anyone often on paddock grass when speakers play a role.

The day began with the agonizing wait for one of my greatest childhood influences, Canadian alt-pop ensemble, Hot Hot Heat. The wait however was well rewarded, as the band stole the stage with one of the most energetic sets I have ever seen spanning all the greats of their new and old albums and making it easy to not miss a word (though to my less than sober knowledge I think I missed about three), and to make my day even better I got a picture of lead singer, Steve Bays, pointing at me during ‘Bandages’.

After an incredible performance by HHH I set out towards the bar for every modern Australian youth’s sustenance of choice, alcohol. And Like Popeye on Spinach I was off again to be immersed in the tunes of Cut Copy, stand in awe of an admirable set by The Rakes, take a long awaited journey with Modest Mouse and an survive extremely wet and exhausting experience with Queens of the Stone Age.

After I escaped the QOTSA pit I made my way throughout the exhilarating atmosphere of thousands of people savoring their last taste of summer festivals for 2008, finally ending the night on Duran Duran’s outstanding 80’s tune, ‘Girls on Film’, after which I ventured home exhausted yet beyond content, to a well deserved bed.


No Time For Ear Plugs!

Some time ago, on one of Perth’s relentlessly bright summer Sundays, three young music lovers donned their sunglasses of choice and ventured out toward a showground boasting nine stages, and a host of impressive performers from around the world to experience the Big Day Out.

I, joined by my friends Paul and Tracy, had long been counting the days until the arrival and performance of bands setting new horizons for alternative music. Upon arriving at Claremont Showgrounds our trio stepped into an expeditious set by Cut Off Your Hands setting a high standard for the day to come. Catching our breath the newly dubbed Drp! Team (pronounced derp!) made our way to an exhilarating set by Battles, pondering the always-apparent conundrum, “Are there lyrics to all of it or is he just making noises?” So far I can still only really figure out Atlas, but that’s easy enough.

To see an astonishing day into the haze of unsorted memories and photos that was the night was Texas’ Dylan-esque quartet, Spoon. The band more than welcome in my admiring eyes were being scorned however by an impatient flock of Karnivool folk, shouting “Bring on Karnivool” from the beginning of the set. Being too impatient to wait for a metal band that hosted a gig in town once a month at the expense of a great band that hadn’t been in Perth for two years seemed to me to be something only someone with the attention span of a small fish could accomplish, none-the-less this seemed to be a common trait among the audience.

I rarely find a set in which I can sing word for word and dance start to finish without missing a beat, but Spoon delivered just that. A young man with long brown hair and myself seemed to be the only ones enjoying ourselves at the expense of the ever-impatient Karnies, but this never bothered us as we sung our way through an immensely satisfying set.

In the dying light of the now falling summer sun, Spoon front-man, Britt Daniel, applauded his audience of two, looking down to us and jesting, “It’s nice to see so many folks singing along!” And finishing on my favorite song of the time, Finer Feelings, Spoon saw the sun set on an incredible Big Day Out.