So it’s true, my massive Splendour weekend is officially, finally over. That’s four days of dirt, grime, warm beer, condom balloons and a bunch of fuckin’ awesome music. My head (and legs) are still reeling from it all.. At this point, you should know that I’m most definitely heading into word diarrhea mode, so.. beware.
It all started on Thursday morning for me. Woke to news that it was rainy and mucky up in Woodford so gumboots (and snorkel gear) were highly recommended. Spent a good part of the morning running around Queen St Mall on a big gumboot hunt; bumping into many-a Splendourite on a similar mission. Turns out Brisbane was running desperately low on their gumboot supply, and the only ones left seemed to be dodgy little girls’ multi-coloured polka-dotted ones in Target. Nasty. Definitely worth seeing buff Aussie blokes trying to squeeze their feet into girl-sized boots tho. Post-gumboot shopping saw us + said Splendourites hitting up Woolies to stock up on food and water to last us the next few days in the country. Of course we only pick the most sensible foods like Red Rock Deli chips and a seemingly endless supply of canned tuna.
Finally it was time to catch the train up to Caboolture; the first leg of our Splendour adventure. An uneventful hour later, we arrive safe and sound in Caboolture, which by this point, is already packed with Splendourites hailing from all over. We find out that there’s a huge traffic gridlock up near the festival ground, so we end up waiting about two hours for a shuttle to come, and then another three-and-a-half hours to slowly crawl up the road to Woodfordia (a trip that would normally take about twenty minutes). Butt-numbingness aside, we eventually reach the camping site and check into the glorious Tent City. No, Julian Casablancas. I don’t care if you mock us. Tent city is AWESOME. How else can I get away with not having to pitch my own tent, have a decent shower and free tea and coffee in the morning while I charge my mobile?!
The next three days pretty much went by in a blur. Waking up to blue skies (yay, Weather Gods – for being nice and giving us amazing weather all weekend), we lathered on some sunblock, shimmied into our little denim shorts & shiny new gumboots, and trekked up the treacherous gravelled slopes from the Tent City campsite to the festival grounds. We stood for hours in the sun, sipping on warm beer and dancing like mad men. In the evenings, we would sit together and eat giant sausages, polished off with Yemeni dessert wraps. Then we would huddle by the bonfires while we admire huge fingers, fish, spines and heads that dominated the festival site (all art installations, don’t worry). After the last major gigs of the night we would retreat to Tipi Forest to get freaky with some strobe lights and synthetic beats. Or, to Guzman Y Gomez for margaritas and latin hip-hop. It wouldn’t be anything short of 3AM before we would drag our weary feet back to our tents, fighting the urge to NOT take a hot shower before taking that precious five hour snooze before the next day starts.
Having such an amazing line-up, there was bound to be some heart-breaking clashes. I absolutely do not regret any of the picks I made tho. Standouts definitely have to be Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Angus & Julia Stone, Two Door Cinema Club and, quite surprisingly (for myself at least), Scissor Sisters. I cannot stress this enough: Jónsi BLEW MY MIND. I stood there completely gobsmacked, probably looking like a fool with my mouth hanging open the entire time. I was standing in a crowd of at least 5,000 people, everyone just standing there in silence, quietly listening. That was a fucking spiritual experience, right there. I would’ve shed a tear if I hadn’t been dehydrated and a little high on bratwurst and sauerkraut.
I would also like to say a huge thank-you to the 32,000 people at Splendour for being so damn amazing. This was the first festival I’ve been to where there wasn’t any douchebaggery. Even better, the venue was large enough for all 32,000 people to have a decent dancing space. Everyone was just lovely and friendly, and it was just fantastic to be able to dance and have a ball with a complete stranger standing next to you. A friend and I lost our cameras midway through the festival, but we both got it back in perfect condition. Splendour 2010 crowd, you are splendtacular.
While I’m really supposed to be working in preparation for a presentation I have tomorrow, I find myself continuously getting distracted by my Splendour playlist (still going strong on iTunes!) and all the amazing reviews and pictures that are coming up on hot spots like The Vine and Radar Radio. I can’t seem to get out of my post-Splendour funk! As I am typing this, I am wondering how long I can leave my Splendour band on before it starts smelling/being disgusting…
Here’s to Splendour in the Grass 2010, for being the most fucking amazing music festival I’ve been to. Ever.
Credit to Splendour in the Grass for all photos.
