Your Big Day In!

Just over a week ago I created on Spotify the music festival I’d want to attend at this point in time.

It didn’t include all of my favourite bands or artists and quite frankly contained some shocking admissions on my behalf. In the following days I’d reach for the vinyl of a band I snubbed feeling as if I were suddenly unworthy of their sweet tunes. In my defence I was searching for a very specific mood that reflected how I felt as I looked out at the sun illuminating the autumn hues as my isolation began to sink in. I wanted a day that began with a laid back vibe and would end with everyone dancing. If you missed my Big Day In! you can read the original blog here, listen to me discuss it with Wil Anderson on FOFOP here or just go straight to the playlist here. Here, here!

I threw out the suggestion that if anyone sent me their music festivals I’d not only have a listen but highlight my favourites so far. So without further ado I’ve picked these two set lists as they had what I considered the best flow from artist to artist. Then at the bottom Tom Gleeson wrote me a piece on how his perfect festival would play out. Let’s get to it.

Sean Kelly’s Big Day In!

Sean has his festival playing at Davies Park in Brisbane inspired by his Livid Festival Days. Here’s the line up:

5.00pm: The Stone Roses

6.00pm: LCD Soundsystem

7.00pm: The Brian Jonestown Massacre

8.00pm: Nirvana

9.00pm: REM

10.30pm: Radiohead

Sean has gone large with his show. What I like the most about Sean’s suggestions is that each band plays a cover for whoever follows next with Radiohead bringing it full circle by covering The Stone Roses. I love a great cover and this is an inspired idea. I might have to use it (steal it!) for whenever I do my next playlist. He also noted that all the bands at my festival are in the audience and chilling out watching this show. Does that mean I get to sit with Elvis Costello, Neil Finn, David Bowie and Bjork? Absolutely! Check out Sean’s BDI here.

Jaala Ashworth’s Big Day In!

Jaala gave me a starting time of 2pm but from there it is pretty loose with bands playing as long as they want. It takes place at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens on her birthday. What luck! This is how it plays out:

2pm Welcome to Country.

Thelma Plum

The Whitlams

Ben Lee

G Flip

The Living End

Grinspoon

Silverchair

Gang of Youths

Powderfinger

Crowded House

Jaala has added not only artwork for her festival (which I used for this blog…thank you JA) but also some sweet specificity. It is an 18+ show with no sniffer dogs or police searches. Already I feel like this is going to be a great day. There’s two stages side by side so not much of a lull between acts. There’s only one food available: nachos! You do score a myriad choice of toppings though so grab those corn chips and pile away. There are no dark spirits available and anyone who requests a Bundy and coke is immediately removed from the venue. Harsh! There’s some nice surprises in this including Thelma Plum bringing Paul Kelly onstage to sing the song they wrote together, “Made For You”. Later Thelma adds backing vocals to the Whitlams for “You Gotta Love This City”. Ben Lee brings the happy but isn’t allowed to play any songs post 2005. Double harsh! By the time Gang of Youths appear somehow everyone is super high and Jaala is swooning over “the sexiest front man in the world” David Le’aupepe. Bernard Fanning gets some solo time in the Powderfinger set before G Flip joins Crowded House on drums to honour the late, great Paul Hester. Sorry, there seems to be some dust in my eye…while I clean that out you can listen to Jaala’s BDI here.

Tom Gleeson’s Big Day In!

There’s no playlist to link for you but I’ll make space for the Adelaide Fringe Best Comedy Show winner of 2020 (Gleeson hasn’t won any other awards bigger than that, right?) to explain his festival. Take it away Mr Gleeeee:

My festival is held at the Sunbury site in 1976. The year soon becomes irrelevant. The location makes it easy to get to from my house in Romsey in country Victoria.

It’s a single stage set up like Meredith and the bands share drum kits and amplifiers for quick turn arounds. Each band plays 20 minute sets so no one outstays their welcome. It’s like a big benefit gig but only for the benefit of the audience.

As the sun sets Led Zeppelin opens. They play Good Times, Bad Times to get everyone excited. Then they play a 15 minute version of How Many More Times. Just a 2 song set so they stick to time. The crowd is reeling. If they’re the opening act, who else could be on?

The Beatles!

They reunite but just to piss off everyone slightly, they only play songs from their respective solo careers. They open with Live or Let Die followed by My Sweet Lord, straight into Ringo singing I am the Greatest, finishing with Lennon’s Whatever Gets You Through The Night. 70’s Beatles is better than 60’s Beatles. How do you top that?

The Rolling Stones walk out. They play an Exile power set list. Rocks Off/Rip This Joint/Tumbling Dice/Shine a Light. People are beside themselves. How could this get any better? What the fuck is going on? It’s only half past seven!

The Dirty Three arrive by a helicopter that has travelled through a wormhole from 1995 Fitzroy. They play their entire first self-titled album in order and completely blow out their stage time to an hour and forty five minutes. The Sunbury bogans weren’t sure about this but when they see Zeppelin, Beatles and Stones all side-of-stage with their mouths agape, they know they’ve seen something special. How do you top this?

Creedence!

Proud Mary followed by Who’ll Stop The Rain, Down on the Corner and an extended version of Born on the Bayou. The director of The Big Chill is in the audience thinking, “This could make a great soundtrack!”Everyone sings every single word.

Night’s done by 9:30pm. I drive home to Romsey. There’s no RBT.

It’s a top night out!

Holy shit! If that doesn’t win him another of this little gold guy thingees, I don’t know what will! Even I’m excited by the lack of RBT and I don’t drive.

So there you have it. Great inspiration all round and I’m keen to hear more so please contact me at this site or via my official Facebook page. Give me your craziest line-ups, your angriest shows, your “sweating through my white shirt while gurning like an arsehole” festival…I’m up for all of them. I just want to hear what you’re into while we spend these days apart.

Good creative work by everyone!

Justin Hamilton

15th of April

Lining up to get in