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The St Jerome’s Laneway Festival cemented its place as one of the hottest tickets on the summer calendar during its return to Footscray on Saturday.
A sell-out crowd of 15,000 people turned out to enjoy a stellar line-up of local and international acts from across a range of musical genres, each carving out their own unique spaces.
The inevitable set-time clashes may cause a pang of despair but once you come to terms with the fact you will miss some great music, ditching the completionist anxiety for the treasures you do find, you can begin to enjoy the day.
The early slots are never easy but Raury managed to carry along a small but dedicated tranche of converts to his southern fried folk-hop, a not quite seamless blend of styles which could develop into something special with time.
Eagulls brought a darkly angular edge post-punk to the riverside Misteltone stage, a brooding counterpoint to Perfect Pussy’s subsequent musical tantrums.
There was some clever play in Ratking’s loping rap but it was on to the Dean Turner Stage where Benjamin Booker was weaving tasty blues licks through his shameless rock’n’roll.
Vic Mensa brought plenty of swagger to the stage and has the messianic patter down pat, although at times his showmanship remains a step ahead of his rhyme.
With Maggie Simpson t-shirt, legionnaire cap and bright lipstick on his cheek after a welcome to the stage by mother Agnes – the day’s MC – the walking ‘90s time capsule that is Mac Demarco charmingly plied the crowd with his woozy summer-friendly pleasers such as Ode to Viceroy.
Seekae played a smart, tightly coiled set while hairy local heroes Pond explored the other end of the spectrum with their warped psychedelica, raising a cheer with some guitar-in-tow crowd-surfing.
Royal Blood’s bass and drums attack and the heart-on-sleeve rawness of Future Islands kept the rock vein flowing but electronic acts were more than adequately represented in the evening highlights.
Jon Hopkins slowly built a buzz with his organic house, the growing crowd giddily carried away on the pulsing Open Eye Signal.
Flying Lotus delivered the most visually arresting show of the day, a mindbending 3D lightshow that all but overwhelmed the sound.
Caribou’s percussive morsels arrived as the skies opened, welcome rain breaking the heat.
Back by the river a small but devoted crowd enjoyed a windswept Courtney Barnett and band, witty lyrics and husky voice wrapped up in an increasingly driving sound honed by relentless touring.
Once again Laneway hosted a number of female artists pushing new ground, whether Barnett, the futuristic R&B of FKA Twigs, or the art rock attack of St Vincent.
The true depth and breadth of the day’s line-up becomes apparent when you realise you could easily put together a quality festival made up of all the acts you didn’t have the time to see.
