2016 Laneway Festival @ Brisbane Showgrounds Review

Laneway Festival, Brisbane © Lachlan Douglas

Another year, another Laneway showcasing an eclectic mix of some of the best talent internationally and home grown.


Where better to start the day than with the breezy indie-rock stylings of Ali Barter who brought a breath of fresh air to the Never Let It Rest stage. The appreciative audience battled through the humidity with the sweet sincerity of songs like new single ‘Far Away’ helping you forget.

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Over on the Future Classic Stage, Banoffee were setting the scene with their bliss pop, Martha Brown delivering the goods note perfect, bringing tracks like ‘Body Suit’ to life commanding attention with her split pig-tails and ultra baggy uniform.

A quick stop over at the Mistletone stage revealed a crowd losing it to High Tension as Karina Utomo leaned over the barrier to scream into the bubbling moshpit. As the dry ice poured out among the black-attired band, I was reminded of the Henry Rollins quote: “like a bunch of dead guys having a cookout on stage”. This was contrasted over on the Good Better Best Stage with Slum Sociable playing their polite jazz-hop to a gently swaying crowd.

Blank RealmBlank Realm - Image © Lachlan Douglas

The sloppy indie rock of Blank Realm was a welcome change of pace as the band ripped through tracks like ‘River Of Longing’ bringing to mind Brisbane’s finest exports The Go-Betweens, its reverb-soaked flanging embracing '80s nostalgia.

East India YouthEast India Youth - Image © Lachlan Douglas

East India Youth was an early highlight, showcasing tracks from his two critically acclaimed albums. Dressed as though ready to start his day at the office, tie-pin and all, his multi-instrumental talents were an impressive sight to behold. The set turned up the intensity as it progressed, leading from the blissful, elegant ambience of tracks like ‘Dripping Down’ to the more direct approach on songs from ‘Culture Of Volume’.

Majical CloudzMajical Clouds - Image © Lachlan Douglas

The laidback electro-pop of Majical Cloudz was a welcome respite to avoid peaking to soon, as Devon Welsh delivered his downbeat crooning over the luscious textures of Matthew Otto. The stark, bleak emotion of Welsh’s vocals seemed a fitting soundtrack to the grey clouds that were amassing in the sky.

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It took the tight, stoner grunge of Canada’s Metz to shake things up again. The band opened with their debut album opener ‘Headache’, which set the tone and got the crowd moving from the get-go. Metz tore through their set, focusing mostly on their 'II' album with songs like ‘Acetate’ and ‘Spit You Out’ brining to mind early Nirvana and Kyuss, but channelling it into their own distinct sound.

Royal HeadacheRoyal Headache - Image © Lachlan Douglas

Royal Headache kept up the pace, frontman Shogun confessing this was the first gig in the band’s career they had played sober, but not letting that stop him prowling around the stage like a hyperactive problem child. Their songs, mostly taken from the 2015’s excellent ‘High’, encapsulate the best part of '70s punk. The tracks are over before they’ve barely started and as expected, it came into its own when performed on stage.

ShamirShamir - Image © Lachlan Douglas

A quick journey over to catch the disco revival of Shamir mixed things up again as Shamir Bailey’s unmistakable high-pitched voice combined with his music that embraces cowbell as though it’s an endangered species. ‘On The Regular’ popped up unexpectedly mid-set turning the crowd into a dancing frenzy as its unforgettable hook unified the crowd into a dancing legion.

FidlarFidlar - Image © Lachlan Douglas

Meanwhile, the crowds had finally arrived as a packed tent watched Fidlar tear through their scrappy pop-punk. Earlier tracks like ‘No Waves’ were played with notably less enthusiasm than those from their second album 'Too', yet still sent the crowd into a pogoing frenzy.

Choosing between Thundercat and HEALTH was the most difficult clash of the day. I eventually decided to catch the first half of Thundercat then finish strong with the noise-rock of HEALTH. Thundercat, Stephen Bruner’s gigantic, six-string bass strapped high on his torso was put to incredible use as the jazzy three-piece played out some jaw-droppingly-incredible musicianship. It’s no wonder Kendrick relied on him so much for ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ as they skilfully flit between genres in a way that made it all look so easy.

HealthHEALTH - Image © Lachlan Douglas

Unfortunately, HEALTH weren’t having the best day as they inexplicably were missing a member and performing in the unforgiving daylight. Their set drew mostly from their incredible album of last year ‘Death Magic', with tracks like ‘Life’ highlighting how good Benjamin Jared Miller’s voice can be. An increased reliance on backing track took something away from the intensity of tracks such as ‘We Are Water’, resulting in a mixed bag overall.

Sophie QTSophie & QT - Image © Lachlan Douglas

The atmosphere was buzzed for the mysterious Sophie & QT of PC Music performing on the Future Classic stage. More dry ice than I’ve ever seen in my life was deployed to make it difficult to make Sophie out on stage. Deeply inspired by Warhol’s movement, the mystique around it all has diminished somewhat since ‘Bipp’ first took the world by storm and its absence alongside ‘Lemonade’ and ‘Hard’ were definitely felt in this set. ‘Hey QT’ and ‘Just Like We Never Said Goodbye’ were the obvious highlights.

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As Hermitude enthralled the masses with their electronic-fused pop, relatively few made it over to catch Battles.

HermitudeHermitude - Image © Lachlan Douglas

They wrestled with a few technical difficulties early on but once overcome delivered an otherwise incredible set. They’re a unique act whose technical melodies are held together with the powerhouse drumming of former Helmet member John Stanier. Opening with a cut down rendition of ‘Ice Cream’ and dedicating a large part of the set to a full version of ‘Atlas’, both with backing tracks taking over vocal duties, you couldn’t ask for more.

BattlesBattles - Image © Lachlan Douglas

Vince Staples paced the stage nervously with the lights down low as he worked through highlights from his underrated ‘Summertime ‘06’ album, the dirty hook of ‘Norf Norf’ giving me and many others a second wind of energy to shout along with the chorus.

Vince StaplesVince Staples - Image © Lachlan Douglas

With Grimes having just released the Triple J Hottest 100 destroying ‘Art Angels’ last year, the excitement was rife for her performance, which could easily have been confused for an aerobics video at points, such was the animated nature of those on stage. Opening with ‘Flesh Without Blood’ and closing with ‘Kill Vs. Maim’ with a slew of highlights in between, it’s no wonder Grimes is so damn hot right now.

GrimesGrimes - Image © Lachlan Douglas

Hudson Mohawke got the crowd embracing the horns with a lowkey set that included his TNGHT sensation ‘Higher Ground’ destroying the dancefloor midway through. His tracks sounded massive on the Future Classic Stage soundsystem, reminding people the reason Kanye West fell in love with him in the first place.

HudsonMohawkeHudson Mohawke - Image © Lachlan Douglas

The day wrapped up with an incredible performance from Purity Ring, the forefathers of future pop reminding everyone why they’re so good at what they do interspersed with an incredible light show. Tracks like ‘Begin Again’ and ‘Bodyache’ spliced trap with pop, both highlights from last year’s smash ‘Another Eternity’ and were the perfect way to draw things to a close.

Purity RingPurity Ring - Image © Lachlan Douglas

Then it was all over, leaving us to all go our separate ways, satisfied in the incredible state of music in 2016.

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