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I had planned to make the pilgrimage to Golden Plains festival in 2008 but was always hindered by the ticketing system (a ballot process which favours those who’ve attended previous years), the high ticket cost (in the hundreds) and the Labour Day weekend date, which invariably clashes with something each year.
The line-ups have always been nothing short of brilliant and last year’s Golden Plains line up was a pleasure for the electronic music community and I knew that in 2014 that I had to see this festival for myself. Within a day, ticket allocations for 2014 sold out and for months my Facebook page was littered with those in search of tickets. Little did I know that an illustrious Golden Ticket was soon to come my way…
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When I arrived at the site, I smiled immediately. So many festivals these days harp on about how they’re some sort of art and freedom-driven communal celebration of life, when in reality they’re just a drug-fuelled paddock bash that got out of hand. Golden Plains is the opposite of this. The festival is genuinely about letting good people have a good time and steering clear of commercialism. While tickets definitely seem expensive for two days of fun, the line-up is a full justification with a healthy selection of world-class acts. In addition, punters are given access to full BYO, well-priced grass roots food stands and permanent on site facilities including showers and composting toilets. I was impressed (and barely spent $150 the whole time I was there).
Saturday lunch we constructed the tent and munched on celery and squashed avocado. Jumpers and layers were shucked of as the uber-balmy weekend began. We made our way to the stage with cold tinnies. Gold Panda was the first act on my hit list. He set the mood with a live Maschine set, combining smooth basslines and dreamy marimbas woven through a warm house set. Getting sine-waves just right might challenge many UK bass producers, yet to Gold Panda, it’s clearly too easy.
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After dancing and playing in the heat for a few too many hours, I decided to nap. This proved a terrible idea. Every 10 minutes I was woken to some form of screaming, shouting, running, laughing, nang expulsion, or my friends’ wondering where I’d gone. Clearly it was awake time and not sleepy nap time. After an outfit change and beer from the esky, it was stage time once more.
Charles Bradley’s set was arguably the best at the festival (see Cut Copy). He ignited the crowd with soulful lyrics and wild dance moves and moved us with his speech about love and peace. ‘Why Is It So Hard’ was supernatural to watch. West coast beatsmith Flying Lotus followed and has definitely levelled up his live show since his last Australian tour and brought a cutting edge visual suite; projections layered over a micro LED super screen. He was followed by a DJ set from JPS, head honcho of Melbourne’s The Operatives crew. FlyLo fans settled easily into the beats and 808 jams.
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An aim of my night was to make it to see Spacey Space’s closing set (I think the last time I saw him was 2009 during a fateful Halloween spent between Korova Milk Bar and Revolver). However unfortunately I was out cold in my sleeping bag before he started. Serendipitously I was woken in the wee hours by some deliciously low-slung house. I checked my watch and it was 5 minutes till close, alas, I was not going to make it to the stage in time. “Rest for tomorrow,” I told myself... “You’ll see Cut Copy tomorrow”, I told myself…
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Sunday reared its head and I couldn’t believe that the fun times were almost over. I think I’m far to acclimatised to four day festivals and non-stop music. I pulledon my long pink silk sun dress and headed to the stage. Perhaps I’ve also been spoiled by other festivals with multiple stages and big brand-name sound systems, but the one thing I thought could have been done better was the sound. If you’re going to have a big crowd interacting with only one stage and so many trees around the place, a relay PA system could work well. While the acoustics of the festival was the only noticeable flaw, I’m positive they will improve (and it’s an easy area to sharpen, anyhow).
Finally Sunday night arrived. Fat Freddy’s Drop set the right tone of soulful groove, while Public Enemy got the crowd excited for a raucous night. However I’d seen both acts before, so instead decided to light my mouth on fire with every bit of chilli sauce I could find at the food stands (definitely head to the Gumbo Kithcen & Taco Truck if you get the chance). With delicious fire mouth – I was ready to dance.
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Cut Copy were my absolute favourites of the festival. The band has re-branded themselves well with their latest album ‘Free Your Mind’. They’ve ditched the pastel shirts and altered their performance formula. Seeing this band evolve over time has been a complete pleasure. Their stage craft was spot on and you could feel the electricity everywhere. Strobed lights highlighted the frenzy with Dan Whitford singing while standing on the kick drum and Ben Browning running out to the crowd to during his guitar solo. I don’t think anyone has seen them quite like this before. While the crowd went crazy for 2007/08 hits ‘Hearts on Fire’, ‘Lights and Music’ and ‘Out there on the Ice’, there was also a big response to newer material ‘Need you Now’ and ‘Free Your Mind’. A few of us were a bit sad that they didn’t play ‘Saturdays’, but I suppose it’s time for us to move on.
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Later I wiled out to CDR Australia founder and Warp Records artist Mark Pritchard, who created serious movement on the dancefloor with his Serato matched jungle riddims. Then the final instalment of the night was Melbourne’s stalwart of desert house and C-Grade/Animals Dancing Don, Tornado Wallace. The all vinyl set was an interesting one, touching on Turkish disco, Australian rave (Gapirri Mix of ‘Djapana’ by Yothu Yindi) and the well-awaited and as yet unreleased ‘Kookaburra Track’ (a forthcoming record by Coober Pedy University Band coming out on Animals Dancing's first release!) The closing melody of Doobie Brothers’ ‘Long Train Running,’ made for smiles and sing alongs; such a happy end to a long weekend of delight.