Got there around 10:30 ish after downing a few frosties and some bourbon in the car on the way down. Find out I have to wait for the missus' friend to arrive as I have her ticket. She arrives an hour later and it's another half hour before we're in.
I miss out on Wolf & Cub, excellent start to the day. The line for the wristbands was an absolute bitch. I was in line for twenty or so minutes and I thought I had the sh*ts, I heard reports of people waiting an hour or more. I can understand the need for such "precise" (some fat Tongan bloke who would see one I.D per every 5 seconds) checking of identification, but that was just bs. IMO the system at Homebake was much more efficient. The wristband/I.D'ers stand adjacent to turnstyles,check and apply in a few seconds. No lining up required.
So after rewarding my quest with two $5 Draughts the Green and Essential stages looked the goods. Caught the end of The Grates, they weren't the worst band on the bill, but not exactly my thing. The Greenhornes were awesome, an excellent start to the day. Youth Group definetly proved they are alot better than that one song being slaughtered all over Channel Ten. One of my favourite acts for the day.
The missus and friend decided that Magic Dirt was a better option that watching her boyfriend and mates suck piss, and who was going to argue. That inflateable TED Alpine bar became HQ for the rest of the day, I've lost count of how many times those promo girls asked if I wanted some bubbles.
Got bored, decided to look for some more mates who were over at Gerling..Interesting set indeed. It was decided that more beers were needed for Mudvayne to drown it all out. Surprisingly they weren't too bad, it must be the lack of make up..A decent spot for Wolfmother was found a few rows back from the end of the D, IMO I'd be right in saying they were definetly one of "the" bands most punters came to see. I thought their set was better at Homebake and thus a much better show....
The TED bar was used untill the start of KOL, I can't remember a whole lot of KOL, but they were definetly awesome. TLE were awesome as always, but their live shows all seem to blend in to one nowadays. Everyone knows every line to every song and has seen them live a thousand times.
A few mates decided to get into D in time for TWS, not a huge fan so I dragged another mate away on a quest for more beer and some decent food. Found another mate who had managed to escape the peer pressure of Franz/TWS and a Portugese/Brazillian chicken place was found...Heaven..Oporto at the BDO...
Cut Copy were surprisingly good live. I assumed like most dance/Rock acts they'd pretty much just stand there tripping..These guys were the definate surprise act of the day, quite enjoyable.
After chanting Mars with a few other pissed punters for an eternity, "the experience" finally came on and produced a hypnotic set. After flogging De-Loused over the last few years and Frances this year, my first TMV show was definetly one I'll never forget. In the studio you really lose track of the percussion and drums. I forget the name of their drummer, but he alone was awesome to watch.
The New Normal has been in my car for months, Cog was the #1 band I was looking forward to the most..The best set of the day..I can't say much more than that.
I had a feeling that Mars had screwed the schedule up so a shorter Shihad set was expected. I saw them six times last year, but I still enjoyed it as much as my first. If anyone remembers a stupid young bastard somehow dropping his phone in the mosh during TGE, being on his hands and knees looking for it (successfully...without one scratch) all abuse cam be sent to my PM Inbox.
Surprisingly I wasn't that sunburnt or as drunk as I thought I would be after something ridiclous like 15 or more hours of drinking and still remember most of it. Despite a lacklustre set and any real decent overseas acts, it was a fantastic day.
