The Big Day Out - a review of sorts

Ok so I attended the Big Day Out (BDO) on Friday.

I was underwhelmed - I'm not sure if this is due; to my having attended 11 or 12 of the things previously, if it was a reflection on my age and music tastes (not much of appeal this yr for Bob), or maybe a bit of both plus a touch of not feeling 100% on the day.

It must have been the second biggest crowd wise BDO and whilst the crowds were unavoidable, the place handled the numbers better than it has in the past - no doubt a reflection on the promoters planning and the small but significant changes to the stadium and thus venue area over the years.

Anyway, there were a lot of people (45,000 tickets sold + comps + workers etc), from the moment we arrived at the gates it was a day of queueing, I reckon almost three quarters of my day was spent in queues with the rest spent at where ever I was queueing for - I don't like huge crowds nor queues.

I was disappointed by the lack of 'emo' kids on display, I had expected to be surrounded by the polite young things but alas it was like all other BDO's, a crowd made up of all the differing tribes associated with youth and those not so young. I do like the way that the BDO is one of them events that still attracts a good number of older folks.

Anyways, the day itself is all about music and I did see some acts:

I didn't think much of The Vines, so not my sort of band
Hot Chip, fuck me a wanna be new New Order who butched Everythings Gone Green, sorry but I can see the appeal but these guys were arse
Peaches, a 'raunchy' stage show doesn't hide the fact your day has been and gone musically lady
David Kilgour, more suited to a smaller venue but very pleasant
Luciano, disappointed, expected dancehall madness got rootsy styles - guttered. Maybe cause his DJ was denied entry into NZ
4 Corners, think it was them, on the Hip Hop stage, quite good but didn't hold me long
The Turnaround Crew, laidback styles to drink and sun one self to, cool
John Cooper Clarke, who was the only act I had made the effort to see and didn't disappoint, he wasn't brilliant but he was very entertaining and his performance was, well, special

Acts I saw from afar (read from the comfort of the Immortals Lounge thus sound was well patchy to put it mildly)
My Chemical Romance, couldn't hear to to my location and the low volume, but the crowd didn't go as mental as I had hoped, maybe cause it was so early in the day and also very hot whilst they played
Blindspott, hate their style of music but they got a real good crowd response which is cool
Scribe, oh dear.... small crowd and well I do believe his day has been and gone, especially from other reports I've heard
Jet, nothing these guys could would impress me, rubbish band
Muse, don't like this band but I can see why many do

Highlights of the Day - John Cooper Clarke @ Lilyworld, a nice enclosed bar area a bunch of cool to crazy performers.... good place to drink, chill and sun oneself in
- Frujus, yep I managed a fruju at one point as I wondered a round, possibly the only part ofthe day I had a big dopey grin on me face

Lowlight - the fact not one act made me stop dead in my tracks and go, "wow". First BDO this hasn't happened

I left earlyish and managed to get home in less than half an hour - huge bonus result!

Things that I'd like to see changed:

The venue, unfortunately I can't think fo one place that could host the event any better... maybe North Shore Stadium but not without a lot of work (investment). The palce works, it holds the people but as a venue that requires a lot of moving between stages and areas its not ideal, far too many bottle necks and areas that just become a pain in the arse to get through

The lineups, the BDO has increasingly got more and more mainstream and musically dull. I'd like to see a more balanced lineup, more acts that are on the up and fewer repeat bookings and the 'dance' acts need some serious addressing

Prices - everything inside the venue is simply over priced. Service is non existant

So that was the Big Day Out 07... after the obligatory three months of promotion and hype it is a day that simply doesn't live up to the build up.

Rather than a festival of fun it seems to be some sort of endurance test that only the young and fit can really endure.

I didn't enjoy this BDO as I have many in the past, it was more than the music and here I don't discount my mood - I had been sick that week and I felt run down on the day, which is so not the place to be at my point of life when confronted with such a long day.

I did have fun, more so for them I bumped into and hangout with. I saw a few faces I seem to only see at the BDO aso had our annual catchup.

So that was that, if giving a grade I'd say the BDO 07 gets a C+, could try harder, could do better but still relevant (even if not so much for me).

Cheers to the promoters, the huge number of people who work on or perform at the BDO. A massive undertaking that each and every year they make just a little bit more user friendly.