Last weekend was the weekend that housed Future Music, Playground Weekender and my birthday. Lots to have happening on the first weekend of March and since i am anti-Future Music Festival (hello..its screams out pills, bogans, skanks and crappy music!) I thought that going to Playground would probably be a billion times better.
It wasn't anywhere where near a billion times better, but I found Playground a big big big disappointment.
Firstly: it took forever to get to the destination (by car and ferry and a bit of waiting around) which ended up looking like a large blank area that probably takes in those horrible year 7 school camps..like that one i had to go to TWICE in my highschool career near the Tea Gardens, you know, the one with the scaled-down pseudo-Ayre's Rock at the front where they serve you shredded chicken and powdered mash potato. But I must say the surrounding water and the cliffs in Wiseman's Ferry were quite pretty, minus what looked like a body floating in the water which ended up being a very large log with branches that looked like limbs of a stiff corpse.
We hopped off the ferry and arrived at the muddy entrance to be welcomed by an array of erratic people running around dressed in costume, some girls in hot pink mini skirts with peroxide hair on roller skates (I cringed), there was Jesus, a native American, A man coloured head to toe in green paint, and plenty of forgettable costumes that probably costed a bomb to put together at the fancy dress tent. I was only looking forward to seeing my friends, Reptiles, play at the World Bar stage followed by Dappled Cities (Fly) at the Playground Main Stage. When Reptiles got on stage and let out their garage rock/grunge sound all of the bogans and overly metro kids dispersed to the other tents leaving just a few of us who welcomed bands at this festival that weren't all electro crap.
Dappled Cities saved the day and although the size of the crowd was pathetic there was still a great atmosphere while they were on stage. They played a tight set with a new drummer who has taken the place of Hugh. Tim's sweat patch on his back was the shape of a butterfly..oh how cute! And Dappled Dave's eyes were bluer than usual, perhaps that was because he was facing lovely blue sky. But that's where the chumminess and beauty ended. When they finished their set the double black and the feel of the festival hit me. The atmosphere of the whole festival was pot-induced laziness, bogan, unhygenic and irritating. Trying to not sound like a city-snob, it was pretty hard being there with no mobile phone coverage.
I got my breath back and my sanity back when I left Wiseman's Ferry and I shivered at the thought of staying there overnight in a small tent with drunk weirdos running around the place in their creepy costumes. Good thing I went home and ended up going to work the next day. The only downside was missing a great lineup on Sunday but I don't know if I could have handled the blankets of marijuana weaving between the crowds, the wet grass and the piss heads for another day.
At LEAST the sun was out which made the experience slightly pleasant.
2 comments:
Haha, next year i think i'll take you to golden plains with me or something.
Sounds like the rubbish Playground Weekender lineup filtered out all of the music nerd camping festival goers, leaving only those who want to go for the "vibe" (shitty costumes, too much weed, and other contrived, faux-bohemian bullshit).
It's the second year in a row that the festival has completely bombed. I doubt you'll get the option of returning again next year.
Holy crap zo...I had no idea it was your birthday! But happy belated birthday lil one!
Good thing Dappled were there for ya. As it could just as be another poor festival stamped fail all over it.
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