As for sunny days this summer, it was one of the first scorchers.
About 45,000 screaming and excited fans caught the world’s biggest and newest music acts in the heat-absorbing concrete jungle that is Mt Smart Stadium.
The police were happy – two post-event news reports state the cops were pleased with the crowd’s behaviour and low arrest count of about 10 – not bad for such a sizeable pack of rock ‘n’ roll rebels mad enough to go out in the midday sun.
But that’s the Big Day Out, no worries and safely, no trouble.
Every year once you’ve turned 40, you question the relevance of the Big Day Out for someone outside the main target age group of 15-35.
But if you’re into music, and it’s been a tradition to travel to Mt Smart on the third Friday of each January since the 1990s when the one-day festival started, it’s still the best place in New Zealand to get a taste for some of the best and freshest of global music acts – all in one marathon session.
Some years the line-up has been alt-independent and grunge-orientated, while for other festivals it’s been heavily influenced by metal rock bands.
This year’s line-up features more groups and performers in the pop-rock genre, producers of songs with memorable hooks and lyrics, as is best illustrated by the thousands of punters singing and dancing along to Midnight Youth and Powderfinger in the stadium bowl later in the afternoon.
It’s 11.30am at Big Day Out 2010 when this writer and a posse of 40-something regulars nestle into the grass on the top field to catch the opening bands.
James Duncan and group have a diverse set that’s nonetheless interesting, pumped along by a groove rhythm section reminiscent of Australian alt-independent godfathers The Church.
True Lovers, the new New York-based group of former D4 frontman Dion Lunadon, have their chops together and are energised enough to warrant a future listening of recordings.
US pop-rockers The Temper Trap draw a large audience and their tunes, with a Celtic-rock feel, are sufficiently cool to suggest these guys are destined for great things, especially in the way they inspire the quickly sun-burning crowd to clap with hands above the head as they swap instruments between numbers.
The Passion Pit are up next and the singer has a high-soaring pretty voice that leads the music with its throwback influences from the swirling synthesisers of the 1980s. They, like the Temper Trap, are worth another listen at a later date.
By early afternoon, a wander through the soothing drizzle tunnel is a must, though calling into the Boiler Room quickly restores the layers of sweat and high temperatures. It’s a sauna in there, so an afternoon in the stadium to see Kasabian makes for an excellent diversion.
The English rockers are in fine form, and so are Powderfinger, the Brisbane pop-rock veterans fronted by ex-pat Kiwi Bernard Fanning. Welcome home, Fano!
One of the day’s pleasant revelations is how good are Midnight Youth? If these Kiwis don’t make it globally, and specifically in the US, it will be surprising. They have all the talent, musicianship and songs to make it big in the lucrative North American market.
So the crowd is in great voice by the time Dizzie Rascal and Lily Allen hit the main stages as the sun disappears behind the West Stand, bringing cooling relief to the over-heated masses.
Dizzie and his two hip-hop associates are eagerly received. It’s probably the first time rappers have had a huge Mt Smart Stadium crowd waving hands high in the air from side to side and all chanting “hey ho”. It was a great sight.
And Allen, barefoot in a bright pink dress and with flowers in her hair, surprises as her set and band deliver a great show that suits the main stage setting. She had a ball and the fans did too.
By the time the Mars Volta and Muse are taking their spotlights, exhaustion and fatigue is setting in with the punters, but they stir to inspire the headliners on to awesome performances.
Both giant bands give everything, their musicianship and delivery are fitting on a day that has raised the emotions, encouraged and excited the people, and no doubt inspired plenty of the thousands of budding Kiwi musos in the audience to keep plugging on in their quest to make it in the rock n’ roll business.
