Live Review: A Day On The Green

The '90s were a great time for Australian music and A Day On The Green today proved that. It was indie-rock heaven with The Meanies, Jebediah, Spiderbait, You Am I and Something For Kate gracing the stage in front of this mainly Gen X crowd.

The setting was perfect; an amphitheatre in the heart of wine country in the Barossa Valley. The festival gods were looking over everyone and blessed us with the most perfect weather, considering a week ago hailstones the size of golf balls hit the state.

Gates opened at 1.30pm and The Meanies hit the stage at 3.30pm, which gave us plenty of time to get intimate with our surroundings (eg. have a tipple). The Meanies boast a punk-rock style with occasional growl from singer Link Meanie (aka Lindsay McLennan), which differed from the upbeat/singalong indie-rock that flowed for the rest of the day. McLennan was entertaining during their short set, throwing himself around the stage like it was 1992 when they had just released their first album.

Jebediah hit the stage next and 2016 celebrates their 21st year as a band. Slightly Odway was their debut album, five tracks from which remain in the band's set today. They sound as good as when they formed in '95, full of great hooks and youthful bravado! The band, whose line-up hasn't changed since day one, were clearly enjoying themselves with the crowd finally up on their feet and dancing along to their hits-laden set.

You definitely get value for money with Spiderbait; all of their songs go for two minutes so you get about 20/25 tracks (even for a shortened festival set). Bonus! Like every band on today's bill, they played the hits, the more recognisable tracks. Vocalist/drummer Kram gets the award for most entertaining on the day. He was in fine form, joking with the crowd in between each song. One highlight occurred when he got the people in the expensive seats (the area directly in front of stage) to lift up their white plastic chairs, because they paid the most for their tickets. He was taking the proverbial out of them, but it was all in the name of good fun. But it was their music that did the talking, with the distortion pedal getting a big workout during Buy Me A Pony, Fuckin' Awesome and (of course) their cover of Black Betty.

You Am I hit the stage and boy did they look sharp! All four members were wearing matching sky blue jackets with black trimming. They kicked off their set with new track Good Advices - complete with two backing singers and a horn section, which suited many new tracks from this year's Porridge & Hotsauce album. You Am I proved the exception to the 'play the hits' rule and the first half of their set featured relatively unknown, downbeat tracks. The crowd were inattentive, just sitting and chatting amongst themselves. You also got a vibe from the band that something was not quite right. This was a shame as they are a great live band.

There were also some surprising inclusions such as the morphing of Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know into XTC's Senses Working Overtime. An odd-but-worthy cover, Nutbush City Limits saw the punters finally giving the band their full attention, doing that dance in the aisles. They then even, bizarrely, threw in a cover of My Girl by The Temptations! Rumble was played as a tribute for recently departed singer Sharon Jones. A slew of strong tracks, including Cathy's Clown, Good Morning and Berlin Chair, concluded You Am I's strange set.

Headline act and much-loved Melbourne band Something For Kate closed the day. After being slightly disappointed by You Am I, the crowd needed SFK to send them home happy and they didn't disappoint. The opening chords Something For Kate's 1997 single Captain (Million Miles An Hour) sounded out over the eager crowd. The hits kept coming thick and fast with Cigarettes And Suitcases, Three Dimensions and Hallways getting everyone singing at the top of their lungs. Singer Paul Dempsey was rather chatty and took the time to congratulate A Day On The Green on their 400th concert - birthday cake was even handed out! - before he launched into Say Something and then a mesmerising version of Pinstripe. A great cover of REM's The One I Love and a resonating version of Electricity concluded what was an amazing day that (unofficially) celebrated Australian music in a great location.