The Mint Chicks

The first act I saw of the day was the Black Kids – who, to be fair, I’d only heard one song from (which I don’t like). The band was tight; but when the singer asked the crowd in his drawly accent “are you having an alright time?” I responded “yeah, I guess so”. I will say that the lead singers voice was pretty unique, reminding one of an early Bowie.

Afterwards we had a wander around the grounds in the pleasant sun with partial cloud and a southerly breeze (bliss), and saw a bit of P Money’s set in the Boiler Room. He had some good classic hip hop tunes mixed in with longer renditions of his own songs. Went and watched the Ting Tings in the Beer-Corral and I think the word that best describes this duo is lacklustre. Catchy songs, but live they don’t translate.

We decided to wait to get up front for TVOTR, and with the new stricter security systems they have in place, we waited a long time to get into the D. It WAS made all the more enjoyable by Pendulum though, who seriously play the most fun DnB I’ve heard in ages! When the literal green-light was given for the crowd to enter the D, I was almost crushed by the desperate mob who had to hustle herd-like through the turnstiles to get in. But when we finally entered, it was pure comfort the whole way, actually to the point of having too much room! After their set we caught reliable rockers the Datsuns, who I think if you’ve seen once, you’ve seen a thousand times (not in a bad way – they are steady).

The Mint Chicks

Next up, the irrepressible Mint Chicks, who remain one of my favourite bands of all time after the performance they gave – despite the sound mix being weirdly muddled. It was the first time I had seen them play minus Micheal Logie, and although I did notice his absence, they still have “it”. Songs from the new album “Screens” sounded great – and in general MC fashion, their set did not lack controversy. When told to end their set, Kody announced their last song “Enemies” which they got a minute into…before the Black Seeds on the stage next to them literally started playing over the top of them, forcing them to stop.

The Arctic Monkeys were next on the list, and their songs sounded great, but I wish I had of seen them play at the Powerstation the night before. I think they struggled to exude enough energy for the whole stadium; which I imagine must be quite difficult!

We sat in the stands for Neil Young, who is without a doubt a rock legend. He still has all the moves, his voice was fantastic and his songs were as classic as ever; but after an afternoon of dance, he totally bummed me out! I found myself thinking of all my lost loves and all the bad things I’d ever done…and decided I’d better leave. Apparently the second half of his set got more upbeat, however I’d already ditched Neil for the Prodigy…

I had no idea how much I would enjoy the Prodigy. The energy and intensity of their MC’s Maxim and Keith reminded me of a wild, caged dog. They make you want to scream and dance at the same time. They played all of their old hits, and nothing from Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. I really thought they might be a bit tragic by now, they ended up being my favourite act of the day.

I’m already looking forward to what acts 2010 will draw to the BDO.