Summadayze Festival

The Sidney Myer Music Bowl in full effect…

Summadayze has well and truly become an iconic feature on Melbourne’s summer social calendar, especially in dance music circles. And the New Years’ Day scheduling is clever in that it appeals to those that choose to have a quiet New Year’s Eve. And also those that choose to have a not-so-quiet New Years’ Eve! This year’s festival, once again impeccably and professionally organized by Future Entertainment, kicked off in sweltering conditions, which at one point reached 34 degrees Celsius. But this was no deterrent to the crowd, which packed out the beautiful Sidney Myer Music Bowl main stage, as well as the various side stages.

The most amazing thing about Summadayze is just how consistent it has been over the years. Admittedly, it was this reviewer’s first taste of the festival for about eight years, but things have not changed significantly since then (in a good way).

You have got to hand it to the guys at Future Entertainment. With a total of ten different stage options catering for every conceivable dance music taste, revellers could not argue lack of options. In fact, perhaps a better argument would be that there were too many options. From bopping away to Radioslave and Sasha in the Scarlet area, to cruising to the sounds of Dirty Laundry in the Pure Blonde Dome and jamming to Skream in the Indigo area, the festival felt like Ibiza on a small scale.

There is no doubt that the music bowl, and its surrounds, is a perfect venue for a dance music festival. The most appealing area was at the back of the main stage which was perfectly shaded by a couple of gum trees and featured a few lush-green hills. From this area, through to the top of the main stage, was a plethora of food stands (including some decidedly healthy options), as well as bars with no queues. Future Entertainment clearly has every detail covered from its many years of experience of holding the festival. But let’s not forget the main stage where, admittedly, most of the action was happening. With most of the crowd packed into the bowl, the area was bursting with energy and atmosphere.

This year’s array of artists was particularly exciting. From the ultra-cool Snoop Dogg, to the experienced talent of Moby, the energy of Scissor Sisters, to the legend that is Grandmaster Flash, one wonders how it was that Future Entertainment managed to gather so much talent in the one spot at the one time.

Grandmaster Flash kicked things along with his mish-mashing of his 70’s, 80’s and 90’s classic tunes. Scissor Sisters got people’s hearts racing and sweat streaming with their collection of songs, with “Filthy Gorgeous” and “Tits on the Radio”, being particularly captivating.

But it surely all was a precursor for the main man, Snoop Dogg. Dogg has had a run in with Australian authorities in the past, yet this does not appear to have fazed him. In fact, if anything, he looks quite comfortable in Australia and let the crowd know at various stages of his love for the country and its people. Great marketing by the Dogg! “Young Wild & Free” was his finale, and an apt tune to direct at the Australian authorities, and the Immigration Minister, who made his life hard a few years back.

Moby followed on after Dogg had left to thunderous applause, and quickly had a similar impact but with a completely different genre of music through his DJ set. Calvin Harris and Pendulum finished off the action at the main stage in style, which is more than you could have said for the crowd who by this time were looking a little worse for wear.

The best thing about Summadayze is that you know for sure that it will be returning in exactly twelve months time. Punch it into your diaries now and let the countdown begin…

 

Summadayze 2012 Highlights Video: http://vimeo.com/34941105

Pictures: Laurence French, Julian Smith, Ducan Barns.