Reviewed onFriday December 2 – Saturday December 3 (photo by Brianna Elton)
Too often the phrase ‘family-friendly music festival’ feels like a negation in terms, proving about as appealing as decaf coffee or sugar-free Coke. After all, the drawcards that appeal to baby boomers are completely different to those that entice the 20-something crowd, and by mediating between opposing age brackets, festival organisers often end up simply watering down the pleasures for all involved.
The key to the Fairgrounds magic comes from the decision to embrace rather than ignore contrast – and rest assured, it is a kind of magic that brings together an age-diverse field full of punters lapping up a stately, reserved set from Rodriguez before moshing away to a showing from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard.
In the spirit of that contrast, audiences flocked to see the eminently loveable Julien Baker read a children’s story to an adoring crowd in the kids’ tent before heading over to catch a triumphant Australian festival return from Japandroids, who are among the finest peddlers of alt-rock about and a band perfectly suited to the manic charms of the festival.
Sounding every inch Patricia Highsmith’s line about an angel flung out of space, Bec Sandridge dropped a shimmering set of ’80s-inspired choruses, while elsewhere Angel Olsen leisurely laid down pristine hit after pristine hit. “Y’all are looking fine,” Olsen drawled, and even the blistering heat couldn’t undo the energy of all those determined to dance up front.
Nevertheless, a hiccup did appear later that day with the decision to host Baker’s set on the much smaller Newtown Social Club stage. Only two songs in, the audience seemed ready to erupt into riot, with dedicated fans loudly cursing at those whose chatter was beginning to drown out Baker’s tunes, and the strange vibe affected what was otherwise a thundering set.
But such a quibble is minor when compared to the sheer range of delights Fairgrounds had to offer. In its second year, the festival has already become one of Australia’s premier live music events, a reminder that ‘something for everyone’ doesn’t just have to be an empty cliché. After all, there aren’t many places you can watch a band as perfect as The Drones play a song as good as ‘The Miller’s Daughter’ while the sun sets, flanked on one side by a 16-year-old desperately shimmying away and on the other by a wide-eyed baby, clad in oversized headphones and staring up at Gareth Liddiard with something like devotion.
