Live Review: St Jerome's Laneway Festival

2016 marked Perth's eighth annual Laneway Festival with its most eclectic line-up yet. On paper this years’ line-up seemed a bit scattered, with no real headliner or stand out artist, but as the day chugged and the sun toasted the sold-out crowd the surprises kept rolling along nicely.

Toronto noise-punk outfit Metz took the Mistletone stage at the early slot of 12.40pm blasting out an impressively heavy set of old songs and new, apologising for sonically assaulting the already sizeable audience so early in the day.

DIIV followed delivered a typically reverb-soaked and somewhat tedious set showcasing tracks of the recently released Is The Is Are. DMA's continue to tocuh teh heartstrings of everyone who isn't old enough to remember Oasis, with a sloppiness that is unusually endearing - you can't beat great songs and they certainly have several. At 3pm, arguably the peak of the delirious heat, LA punks FIDLAR (Fuck It Dog Life’s A Risk) took the Ferris Bueller Stage to a huge crowd and easily the most energetic mosh of the day, despite the heat. A well-balanced show of songs from their two albums, and even threw in a Weezer cover (Undone - The Sweater Song) while amusingly passing it off as their own.

With triple j and ARIA accolades under their belt, Melbourne’s Big Scary took the Ferris Wheel Stage to a more toned down mood as the mid-afternoon sun continued to swelter the festival revellers. Treating the audience to a couple of new songs in Flutism and Lone Bird, the catchy lazy grooves of this duo’s keyboard and percussive creations was perfect for the laid back Freo vibes that emanated around the grounds.

The punk vibes continued with a surprisingly soulful edge as the late addition Royal Headache manned the Mistletone stage from 4pm, shredding through songs off of their brilliant sophomore effort, High, in a high energy set from artist and audience alike.

Fresh off his incredible, acclaimed The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam EP, LA bass virtuoso, Thundercat, stunned at the Future Classic stage, presenting his mind-bending improvisational jazz-fusion to a perhaps more beat-oriented crowd, and was met with a huge response for it.

Violent Soho are fast becoming veterans of the Aussie festival circuit, with a sound reminiscent of the grungey, glory days of rock. Killer hooks, endless enthusiasm, a load of touring under their belt, and songs such as Like Soda and Covered In Chrome, the boys from Brisbane are a tightly wound festival firestarter that soon had the crowd shouting 'Hell, fuck yeah!' and moshing like it was the '90s all over again. They got festivities well and truly underway on the Ferris Bueller stage, as the sun set behind the Norfolk pines, igniting the sky in majestic pastels of red and orange. 'You guys got really good weed here, ay?' frontman, Luke Boerdam, astutely commented.

Over to the Mistletone Stage, where most of the more eclectic acts hung out, saw New York trio Battles rev up the pace with a stylist, almost military-like mayhem of synth infused sampler mash. Over knife edge grinding bass, this mix traversed the extreme line between robot tunes and Rock. Tracks such as Futura and Atlas created a high end friction of biting instrumental tones that robbed the senses other than sound of their purpose.

Back at the Ferris Wheel, Vancouverite Grimes gave the festival’s best-on-ground performance, to an adoring and tightly-packed audience.  Dressed in Minnie Mouse-styled sportswear, Grimes' energetic stage presence was cute, yet musically mature, with hit songs Genesis early in the routine, setting the crowd wild.  Her vocals soared cleanly over the electric backing tracks, while her two dancers and vocalist flanked the stage.  Frequently Grimes showed she was more than just a mere pop princess by meddling with the sounds via her synths, guitar and effects up on a centre-stage podium.  The lighting show added intensity to this flamboyant recital that concentrated on tracks from the latest release Art Angles, while the classic hit, Oblivion, towards the end of the set reminded why this talented Canadian gets all this merited attention.

Over on the Mistletone stage Baltimore’s Beach House had a late start, but eventually graced the stage, as minimal and enigmatic as always, letting their beautiful, haunting music speak for itself. Led by the velvety vocals and droning keyboards of Victoria Legrand and reverb-washed slide guitar riffs of Alex Scally they create such a rich sound of mournful melodies. In almost complete darkness they played, with a minimal backdrop of scattered, sparkling white lights, as if they were floating in space, with only Legrand’s shining silhouette visible. Their intoxicating music captured the crowd and took them on a journey through the stars with them. Having released two distinct albums last year, they played some of the highlights, but with only a short set they made sure to delve into their deep catalogue, with flawless renditions of Silver Soul and Myth and an epic finale of 10 Mile Stereo.

A quite hop next door to the Bueller stage, Scottish electronic act Chvrches had a hard act to follow, yet this synthesiser-centric, arpeggiated three-piece had the audience swooning to the captivating charms of frontwoman Lauren Mayberry’s rich vocals. Opening with Never Ending Circle off last year's Every Open Eye release, the sentimental and catchy nature of their electronic melodies had the evening air filled with singing-along fans and dancing excitement for the entirety of the show. 

Finishing the night off on the Mistletone stage Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring put on an amazing show, coaxing the more discerning and curious punters away from Flume. It was a mesmerising stage show with a colourful curtain of lights, and producer Corin Roddick’s beat triggered lanterns, as vocalist and manic pixie Megan James cavorted around the strobing stage in a quirky outfit, covered with a transparent coat. On songs such as Fineshrine the production was impeccable, a really big sound, loud, glitchy electro beats and driving bass with James’ powerful vocals soaring above. A fine finale for another great Laneway.

A clear favourite of this local crowd was without a doubt Australia’s own Flume.  Standing behind a white-cubed illuminated dais, with thick smoke playing havoc with the photo pit, Flume worked up the crowd with his maelstrom of glitched, sample-packed, bass-heavy tunes, of which everyone knew word for word.  Holdin’ On and Hyper Paradise, raised the roof (or sky) in this case, while the introduction of Perth’s own KUČKA  helping out Californian rapper, Vince Staples with the new track, Smoke And Retribution was the highlight of this looped up broken beat act.

Perhaps in complete contrast to the dreamy Beach House, Hudson Mohawke closed the night on the Future Classic stage delivering one of the most energetic shows of the day in terms of electronic acts. Mohawke’s defining horn-sampled trap beats sent the massive crowd down the strip into a dabbing frenzy, and impressed by pulling it off with a live band consisting of himself, a keys player and drummer.

And there it was, another quality St. Jerome's Laneway Festival experience. It was a scorcher of a day, but it sure seemed like the best place on earth to spend it.

Originally published in X-Press Magazine