As the temperature slowly climbed to 43 degrees, crowds flocked towards Sydney Showground. BDO’s solid line-up attracted a sold out crowd for their 100th show; nothing could stop festivalgoers from making the most of their ticket.
The day kick started at 11 on the smaller stages, while Sugar Army opened on the Orange Stage at 11:30. Bluejuice’s interaction with their audience on the Blue Stage kept the crowd growing, their yellow onesies probably not very suited to the weather. No matter, they continued to jump around like maniacs, as did a lot of their audience.
Indie band Kisschasy hit the Green Stage at 1, their popularity pulling in a decent crowd, most of whom seemed to know all the lyrics. Back at the main stages, Karnivool played, their heavy rock sounds carrying across the showground. Mastodon then hit up the Blue Stage, however their following was not nearly as strong as Karnivool’s. More people stood waiting for Kasabian to hit the stage than watching the American metal band.
Eskimo Joe followed Kasabian’s act, drawing a different crowd. That didn’t mean they were any less popular though. Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods managed to fill the ‘D’ for the first time of the day, fans singing their hearts to “Chase That Feelin’”.
Then the rain and the wind hit, bringing with it a very welcome temperature drop to all those present at BDO. While the hoses and misting tent had been trying their hardest to cool down crowds, the southerly brought the most relief. Thankfully the rain didn’t last long, and crowds hung around for Dizzee Rascal, what was one of the most energetic sets of the day. The sun came and went for the next hour or so, before finally disappearing beneath the blanket of clouds.
Lily Allen’s performance brought with it her first ever stage invader, but it didn’t worry her in the slightest, it merely halted her singing to hush her laughter. Allen even had the paramedics singing along to “It’s Not Fair”.
The Hot Produce stage had its fair share of smaller acts, the crowds here never growing very large. The Scare only brought about 100 people into the small arena. Re-grouped Wollongong based band Tumbleweed had a slightly large audience, but neither band seemed to mind whether they had an audience or not.
The Mars Volta hit up the Blue Stage with their dramatic yet mellow appearance at 7, while Jet entertained with their well known Aussie hits to crowds over at the Green Stage at 7:10. The Mars Volta then gave way to Powderfinger at the main stages, as Jet passed over to LadyHawke. The mess crowds had been dropping in both areas was piling up, but it didn’t seem to bother either audiences.
After LadyHawke was Aussie classics Grinspoon pumping out more well known favourites, then finally at 9:10, Muse hit the Blue Stage bringing along their world-famous light, backdrop, theatrical and musical act for the biggest crowd all day. Nearly every seat at the main stage was taken as the headlining act reached every one of the 53,000 in-awe people. Their set ended much too soon with an impressive fireworks display, and the ‘D’ slowly emptied for the last time as the dance stages remained pumping. To many punter’s surprise… there was no surprise, with the night ending all too soon in many opinions.
BDO’s 100th show was incredible, well worth the sunstroke and exhaustion. If organisers continue to bring such incredible names to Australia, the event will hopefully continue on for another 100 shows.
Review: Alexandra Penn
Photos: Cameron Evans
All pictures shown below are taken with a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS USM lens kindly provided by RentACam. Check these guys out for any camera, lens or accessory hire. Awesome prices, awesome service and awesome gear! Special thanks to Miro at RentACam for his efforts.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }