__Harvest Presents ‘The Gathering’ @ Werribee Mansion, Victoria (12/11/2011)
_
The initiative behind Harvest Festival is
not just to create (another) music festival, but also to bring the atmosphere
of a multi-day European music festival and compress it into
a one-day event of art culture and awe-inspiring, musical brilliance.
The inaugural event was held on the outskirts of Melbourne at Werribee Mansion, surely the most original festival venue from recent memory. While the location was the subject of much debate throughout the music community (public transport being the key factor), hats off to the team at Soundwave Touring for taking a chance on it, with the mansion proving to be the finest festival venue this reviewer has attended.
We’re already off to a good start. So what about the music? An unfortunate delay in plans caused me to miss Kevin Devine and This Town Needs Guns, but from all accounts I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback on these performances. TV On The Radio kicked off the day for this reviewer on the Great Lawn stage. Earlier this year, the bands bassist Gerard Smith passed away and the future of TV On The Radio looked uncertain to say the least. Today, TV On The Radio took to the stage not only in strength but also in full form, performing a set that excelled in both quality and energy that resulted in them drawing an impressive crowd.
Walking across to the Big Red Tractor stage (and browsing some art stalls along the way) it was time for Seekae, who had drawn a rather impressive crowd. After so much hype and strong word of mouth, I felt that they were underwhelming to say the least. Blame it on the time-slot, the lack of lighting or the stage they were playing on but Seekae really failed to hit the mark for me, at least on this particular occasion.
Heading back to the Great Lawn, Bright Eyes were about to hit the stage and the excitement in the air was palpable to say the least, with what looked like 99% of the crowd occupying the Great Lawn. After rave reception from their Melbourne sideshow earlier in the week, Bright Eyes were one of the picks of the day as Conor Oberst led his band of merry men (and women) through one incredible set full of highlights including Arc of Time, I Believe In Symmetry (which was dedicated to the scientists in the crowd) and Another Travelin’ Song. Closing with Road To Joy, Bright Eyes proved a treat, even distracting through one of the days major pitfalls – the keg had run dry, with beer now completely sold out throughout the festival.
Complaints ran rampant that the food and drink situation was logistically a disaster. But after one look at those lines, it’s your own choice to spend the better part of forty-five minutes standing around for a minimal amount of alcohol. And then there was the toilets situation, with the men’s area being an absolute mess of dirt, urine and plastic urinals. One could have mistaken them for one of the many installation art pieces throughout the site.
Enough of the negatives, let’s get back to the many positives of the day. The National were finally back in Australia after Falls Festival appearances earlier in the year, with a vast majority of the crowd cramming into the lawn to see them. Opening with Anyone’s Ghost, the first thing I noticed was how powerfully gloomy Matt Beringer’s vocals were. I felt a little bit disappointed at first, High Violet is one of the finest albums of recent times and the live performance didn’t seem to capture the quality and sincerity of the album. Maybe it was jet lag, or maybe just the style of a live National performance but when you’re trying to entertain 12,000+ people who have no beer and a lack of toilets, the pressure is on.
In what was the only clash of the day, Mogwai were scheduled to perform thirty minutes into The National’s set, so it was a relief that they played key tracks early on. Bloodbuzz Ohio sounded just as extraordinary live as you would imagine it to be; brooding and fierce, it was a standout moment of the day. Walking across to the Windmill Stage for Mogwai, Afraid of Everyone drifted through the air from The National’s set as we found a spot on what appeared to be a farm paddock.
Now picture this; you’re standing in a field, a mansion is situated just a few hundred metres away. Mogwai take to the stage and begin an hour long set of dazed and confused instrumental rock that is unlike anything else you have heard all day, let alone all year. Slowly, the sun sets in the background as mind melting tracks such as Ithica 27o9, How To Be A Werewolf and set highlight Hunted By A Freak bring on the night. Pretty much the perfect way to watch Mogwai perform, yes?
Back at the Great Lawn, the unbelievable has finally become reality as Portishead make their long awaited return to Australia for their first performance in 14 years along. For those playing at home, joining the band was Radiohead’s touring member Clive Deamer. There were of course conditions for their inclusion, one of which was the need to be the only band performing on site at the time to allow for full ambience. A lot to ask for? Yes. Was it worth it? Without a doubt.
In what was simply a haunting performance, Beth Gibbons was front and centre, her captivating voice juxtaposing with the setting of the mansion. The stunning set had its clear highlights, which included Mysterons and Glory Box, while the hypnotic Chase The Tear (which has just received a limited 12” vinyl release) was a grand addition. Machine Gun gave us all a laugh, which featured giant visuals of Tony Abbott shoting red lasers from his eyes. Closing with We Carry On, I really couldn’t (and still can’t) find a flaw in Portishead’s set. This was truly one of those performances that “you’ll be telling the grandkids about in fifty years time.”
With The Flaming Lips set pushed back, the fear of being stranded in Werribee for the night loomed for those who lived a fare distance from the festival. Though with a reputation for putting on one of the most extravagant and trippy shows in music, who in their right mind would say no to Wayne Coyne and co.? Those faithful who stayed were rewarded as such. With the set slightly delayed, Coyne makes an ‘early’ appearance on stage to warn those in the front row “…Who have probably been taking drugs and smoking weed all day” that the Flaming Lips show contains intense strobe lighting and bizarre visuals. They weren’t kidding.
When the show begins, the band emerges from the drug trip induced light show of a women’s shining crotch. Completely absurd, they jump into a cover of Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf (perhaps celebrating the bands reunion?) and catapult the iconic giant balloons into the crowd, while Wayne enters his signature bubble to traverse over the top of the audience. Streamers, on stage dancers, giant balloons and more made appearances early in the show, but I can’t help but feel the slightly delayed performance meant that the band had to make some quick adjustments to their set list. But you know what, who cares? The smile on my face during The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song was evidence enough that I was having the time of my life. Hats off to The Flaming Lips, I can now cross them off my ‘Bands to see before I die list.’
At the end of the night, we all make our way towards the exit to board a fleet of buses and the last train home. Despite a few minor hiccups (toilets, beer, limited last train services) the positives outweighed the negatives, with Harvest – The Gathering being considered a resounding success. The team who put together the festival deserve applause for cutting out all the commercial expectations of today’s festivals to create one of the finest days of music I’ve experienced in a long time.
I think it’s fair to say that after The Gathering, I've come to the conclusion that music festivals are good for the soul.
Luke Sutton
Check out all of our photos from the day here!
The inaugural event was held on the outskirts of Melbourne at Werribee Mansion, surely the most original festival venue from recent memory. While the location was the subject of much debate throughout the music community (public transport being the key factor), hats off to the team at Soundwave Touring for taking a chance on it, with the mansion proving to be the finest festival venue this reviewer has attended.
We’re already off to a good start. So what about the music? An unfortunate delay in plans caused me to miss Kevin Devine and This Town Needs Guns, but from all accounts I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback on these performances. TV On The Radio kicked off the day for this reviewer on the Great Lawn stage. Earlier this year, the bands bassist Gerard Smith passed away and the future of TV On The Radio looked uncertain to say the least. Today, TV On The Radio took to the stage not only in strength but also in full form, performing a set that excelled in both quality and energy that resulted in them drawing an impressive crowd.
Walking across to the Big Red Tractor stage (and browsing some art stalls along the way) it was time for Seekae, who had drawn a rather impressive crowd. After so much hype and strong word of mouth, I felt that they were underwhelming to say the least. Blame it on the time-slot, the lack of lighting or the stage they were playing on but Seekae really failed to hit the mark for me, at least on this particular occasion.
Heading back to the Great Lawn, Bright Eyes were about to hit the stage and the excitement in the air was palpable to say the least, with what looked like 99% of the crowd occupying the Great Lawn. After rave reception from their Melbourne sideshow earlier in the week, Bright Eyes were one of the picks of the day as Conor Oberst led his band of merry men (and women) through one incredible set full of highlights including Arc of Time, I Believe In Symmetry (which was dedicated to the scientists in the crowd) and Another Travelin’ Song. Closing with Road To Joy, Bright Eyes proved a treat, even distracting through one of the days major pitfalls – the keg had run dry, with beer now completely sold out throughout the festival.
Complaints ran rampant that the food and drink situation was logistically a disaster. But after one look at those lines, it’s your own choice to spend the better part of forty-five minutes standing around for a minimal amount of alcohol. And then there was the toilets situation, with the men’s area being an absolute mess of dirt, urine and plastic urinals. One could have mistaken them for one of the many installation art pieces throughout the site.
Enough of the negatives, let’s get back to the many positives of the day. The National were finally back in Australia after Falls Festival appearances earlier in the year, with a vast majority of the crowd cramming into the lawn to see them. Opening with Anyone’s Ghost, the first thing I noticed was how powerfully gloomy Matt Beringer’s vocals were. I felt a little bit disappointed at first, High Violet is one of the finest albums of recent times and the live performance didn’t seem to capture the quality and sincerity of the album. Maybe it was jet lag, or maybe just the style of a live National performance but when you’re trying to entertain 12,000+ people who have no beer and a lack of toilets, the pressure is on.
In what was the only clash of the day, Mogwai were scheduled to perform thirty minutes into The National’s set, so it was a relief that they played key tracks early on. Bloodbuzz Ohio sounded just as extraordinary live as you would imagine it to be; brooding and fierce, it was a standout moment of the day. Walking across to the Windmill Stage for Mogwai, Afraid of Everyone drifted through the air from The National’s set as we found a spot on what appeared to be a farm paddock.
Now picture this; you’re standing in a field, a mansion is situated just a few hundred metres away. Mogwai take to the stage and begin an hour long set of dazed and confused instrumental rock that is unlike anything else you have heard all day, let alone all year. Slowly, the sun sets in the background as mind melting tracks such as Ithica 27o9, How To Be A Werewolf and set highlight Hunted By A Freak bring on the night. Pretty much the perfect way to watch Mogwai perform, yes?
Back at the Great Lawn, the unbelievable has finally become reality as Portishead make their long awaited return to Australia for their first performance in 14 years along. For those playing at home, joining the band was Radiohead’s touring member Clive Deamer. There were of course conditions for their inclusion, one of which was the need to be the only band performing on site at the time to allow for full ambience. A lot to ask for? Yes. Was it worth it? Without a doubt.
In what was simply a haunting performance, Beth Gibbons was front and centre, her captivating voice juxtaposing with the setting of the mansion. The stunning set had its clear highlights, which included Mysterons and Glory Box, while the hypnotic Chase The Tear (which has just received a limited 12” vinyl release) was a grand addition. Machine Gun gave us all a laugh, which featured giant visuals of Tony Abbott shoting red lasers from his eyes. Closing with We Carry On, I really couldn’t (and still can’t) find a flaw in Portishead’s set. This was truly one of those performances that “you’ll be telling the grandkids about in fifty years time.”
With The Flaming Lips set pushed back, the fear of being stranded in Werribee for the night loomed for those who lived a fare distance from the festival. Though with a reputation for putting on one of the most extravagant and trippy shows in music, who in their right mind would say no to Wayne Coyne and co.? Those faithful who stayed were rewarded as such. With the set slightly delayed, Coyne makes an ‘early’ appearance on stage to warn those in the front row “…Who have probably been taking drugs and smoking weed all day” that the Flaming Lips show contains intense strobe lighting and bizarre visuals. They weren’t kidding.
When the show begins, the band emerges from the drug trip induced light show of a women’s shining crotch. Completely absurd, they jump into a cover of Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf (perhaps celebrating the bands reunion?) and catapult the iconic giant balloons into the crowd, while Wayne enters his signature bubble to traverse over the top of the audience. Streamers, on stage dancers, giant balloons and more made appearances early in the show, but I can’t help but feel the slightly delayed performance meant that the band had to make some quick adjustments to their set list. But you know what, who cares? The smile on my face during The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song was evidence enough that I was having the time of my life. Hats off to The Flaming Lips, I can now cross them off my ‘Bands to see before I die list.’
At the end of the night, we all make our way towards the exit to board a fleet of buses and the last train home. Despite a few minor hiccups (toilets, beer, limited last train services) the positives outweighed the negatives, with Harvest – The Gathering being considered a resounding success. The team who put together the festival deserve applause for cutting out all the commercial expectations of today’s festivals to create one of the finest days of music I’ve experienced in a long time.
I think it’s fair to say that after The Gathering, I've come to the conclusion that music festivals are good for the soul.
Luke Sutton
Check out all of our photos from the day here!