Splendour In The Grass Day 2

Saturday, the second day where there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and was already 27 degrees by 11am and plenty of weary heads slowly arising. We grouped together to watch the man has had comparisons to the legend of all legends Jimi Hendrix, his name is Harts and man he took the amphitheatre by storm. People were kicking up dust dancing to those epic guitar solos and bluesy soul that just exudes from the music making machine, Harts. 

We got to hear the massive singles Power' and 'Peculiar' that are off the forthcoming debut album set for release really soon.

The Boo Seeka boys took the Mix Up Stage in the late afternoon and filled it with dancing bodies and smiles. After catching these guys at our home base Miami Marketta we knew we were in for a treat, the type of sound that is created by just two dudes is extremely commendable. The combination of Ben Gumbleton's unique voice, deep base and soulful electronica truly made their set an unforgettable one, hearing tracks like 'Kingdom Leader', 'Deception Bay' and 'Fool'.

We quickly raced over to the Amphitheatre to grab a nice patch of grass to watch the sunset over what was a brilliant day/ to be a brilliant evening and because we were set for sick bands one after the other kicking off with the psych rock kings King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard taking the Amphitheater stage by storm. With 8 albums underneath their belt the Geelong boys always bring something new to their set, After seeing these guys over 5 times now I cannot explain how damn epic they are live, full of energy and the progression of sound they create is actually mind blowing. How they can progress from acoustic instruments to heavy rock to light psychedelica. 'Hot Wax', The River', 'People Vultures' and 'Gamma Knife', the band could've easily of played a 3 hour set and I would've been one happy person. There was literally a whirlwind of people in the mosh pit for King Gizz for legit half and hour, the amount of dust that was created purely from people loosing their shit was insane. Even the legend of punk Iggy Pop reckons King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are wicked.

Gang of Youths, the band that always make an entrance, whether it be their outfits, their dance moves or lead singer, Dave's likely use of swear words to describe anything and everything. Gang Of Youths have well and truly built up quite a huge fan base purely based on their live shows, they are one of the most dedicated bands, utilising every tiny bit of energy left in them. The bass player, made his way off the stage and ran into the audience slapping that bass between fans loosing their shit in the extremely dusty moshpit, luckily he made it out alive. The band cracked out plenty of tracks off their 2014 debut album 'The Positions' with tracks like 'Magnolia', 'Radioface' and 'Restraint and Release'. Gang Of Youths are now known as one of the best live acts in Australia and worldwide, if you missed their set then you fully kooked it! 

Sticky Fingers, the party animals of the Australian music scene well and truly brought the vast majority of Splendour In The Grass goers to the Amphitheatre where Dylan the lead singer of the band looked like a true rockstar with a big ass leopard print fur jacket on, along with massive sunglasses to polish off the look. With a repertoire of excellent tunes it didn't matter what the band played the crowd irrupted in dance and song, playing new track 'Our Town' , 'Gold Snafu', and 'Land Of Pleasure' . Being my 13th time of seeing the band I knew exactly what to expect, these guys really know how to work a stage and their fan base is constantly growing. Even Bootleg Rascal's very own Jimmy got to join the band on a track or two. 

And to finish off the Saturday was one of the most memorable music experiences for a fair few people, a 3 hour set by The Cure. The band all in their 50's were still punk as fuck, the bass player ripping the bass like he just came out of the womb, Robert Smith still rocking that classic white face makeup and red lipstick. Having 17 cracking albums under their belt the band didn't struggle to provide the audience with at least one track they knew and loved. Massive songs like 'Friday I'm In Love', 'Just Like Heaven' , 'Boys Don't Cry' and quite a few more. Robert Smith shared his view on modern societal problems, telling people to embrace who they are and not to follow trends like wearing 'long skirt's' for example. A true performer and rock star, was a pleasure to witness something so special but man I wished they played 'Lovecats', it's one of my favourties. 

Photography - Maria Boyadgis