Hard News: #BDOMemories
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I think the problem BDO lineups suffer most is nostalgia
Yeah. As in <insert 50/60/70 year old rocker here>'s spent his pension and needs more drug money. Book him for the BDO.
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Heather Gaye, in reply to
*coff*mudgeon :-P
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2001 clearly had the best Boiler Room line up. In pretty much exactly this order: Adam Freeland, Pnau, Pitch Black, Greg Churchill, Darren Emerson, Roni Size & Reprazent full live band, Carl Cox. Mind, I didn't stay for Coxy, I wandered off to dance to Concord Dawn while shirtless at the little wee temp stage knocked up out of plywood WAY over the back of the Supertop. Good times.
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Hebe, in reply to
As in <insert 50/60/70 year old rocker here>'s spent his pension and needs more drug money. Book him for the BDO.
And then book him for the "Top-up-the-pension-and-must-get-to-that-little-place-past-Australia-before-I-die" tour to follow BDO. BDO has died because it has become the Old Boiler Room.
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Peter Darlington, in reply to
2001 clearly had the best Boiler Room line up. In pretty much exactly this order: Adam Freeland, Pnau, Pitch Black, Greg Churchill, Darren Emerson, Roni Size & Reprazent full live band, Carl Cox.
That is a hell of a line-up alright.
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as I've got older the lineups have appealed less and less yet my enjoyment has increased for a day out of the office hearing music I love, loathe and am indifferent to - its always been the people that made the BDO quite special, the various youth tribes... the 30 somethings and those older who all mix happily and brilliantly for a day of musical adventures
a festival is a wonderful way to try out acts you're not sure of or wouldn't ever pass over your hard earned to see in a show of their own - especially local acts and the BDO catered to this wonderfully
I loved the lilypad.... I saw John Cooper Clarke there and that was pinch me inducing special (he wasn't very "good" and it didn't matter - in fact that made it all the better)
one of my fav memories was 2000/1 (?) when Roger Perry, Soane and a few others were dropping summery housey goodness as the sun set and played a particular tune I adored, as far as I'm concerned that was the moment that house really took hold of parts of the auckland music (and drug muppet) community - it was special
good memories and many more lost to age and excess... cheers
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Went to BDO for the first time in '95 and have enjoyed going many times since. No every year, but as many as I could, depending on wealth and other commitments.
Pitch Black we always great to see, as were Shihad. I quite like my bombastic rock, so very much enjoyed Tool's headliners and looking forward to Soundgarden on Friday. Russell, I get your opinion about Tool (more filler than killer), but Soundgarden is well-crafted, complex, indie hard rock with one of the best rock voices to boot. What's not to like ?
Hole, OTOH, has always been a mystery as to how they got so far up the list. The Mars Volta left me similarly bemused.
The decision to include Kanye West to headline a dance/rock festival was bizarre, and, I am sure, contributed to the demise here in Auckland. You can get away with Jay-Z at Glastonbury because it's a 3 day festival with plenty of other stages to go to, not so much at the BDO.
In 2002, I saw New Order accidentally headline after The Prodigy (best karaoke band *ever*). The mainly young crowd didn't get it, especially after the Prodigy's pounding beats, and the set didn't quite go off as much as I would have liked. A couple of weeks later I was in Adelaide for a wedding, and got to go to the BDO the day before the it.
The contrast between venues was vast. The Boiler Room was a tin shed that served to turn the music into a mush of reverb. There were no designated drinking areas - you could purchase alcohol anywhere, so the ground was soon covered in discarded beer cans. And the stages were so close together that you go bleed all over the place. And New Order, playing in their rightful slot, went off nicely.
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My favourite #BDOMemory was from '96, Tricky cutting off his set mid-song and stalking from stage A across to stage B where Rage Against The Machine's techs were doing soundchecks. He proceeded to chew them out something fierce, they disappeared backstage looking unnerved, Tricky stalked back to stage A, went back to the mic, the music kicked back in and we're off again.
That was a great night on the main stages - I think it ran Shihad, Tricky, Rage, Porno for Pyros, Nick Cave.
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Biobbs, in reply to
That was a great night on the main stages - I think it ran Shihad, Tricky, Rage, Porno for Pyros, Nick Cave.
Simulcast with ginormous fucking torrential downpour that strangely seemed localised to Mt Smart and nowhere else in the city.
Billy Bragg played a lovely, cosy set in one of the smaller tents that year too.
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Old Broilers?
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Simulcast with ginormous fucking torrential downpour that strangely seemed localised to Mt Smart and nowhere else in the city.
That year must have an entry in the Freak Weather Almanac. I was there in the morning to do Hard news on bFM and we couldn't believe how hot it was at 9am. Cloudless sky.
But, it turned out, it was hot enough to trigger a freak weather event. From the Immortals bar you could see the edge of the storm in every direction -- with blazing sunshine beyond that edge -- and we kept thinking it would surely pass over. It didn't, for hours.
A friend of mine was in the festival office as the rain hammered down and (those were the days) the MetService fax came off the roll. It read "No rain on the radar for the Auckland region".
Which was true for everywhere except theBig Day Out.
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the Australian promoters Vivian Lees and Ken West -- who had been bringing acts to New Zealand since the infamous Birthday Party tour of 1983
AKA the mysterious but discerning 'Edward Zimblis and Syndicate'.
(Fall tour poster by Chris Knox)
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60 Herald BDO photos over the years
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From Russell's Unlimited piece:
"just how have a group of young entrepreneurs so successfully tapped into a generation? And how do they do it when so many others have failed, none more spectacularly than last year’s Sweetwaters?"Steep contrast to today, where they seem hopelessly disconnected from this generation.
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Andrew G, in reply to
the rain started during the Jesus Lizard set - I think God was pissed off or something.
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Sacha, in reply to
I wouldn't call putting Fatboy Slim at the peak of his popularity in a tiny tent 'well connected' either. Munterish, really.
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Which was the one where the dude came down the flying fox dressed in a superman getup with, from memory, a female on the flying fox with him and with the extra weight they slammed into the platform at the end of the line rather than coming to a stop above it? I think that was the end of that particular ride that day.
Was that 96 or 99?
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Morgan Nichol, in reply to
Sure, but it was fucking great in there. I'm sure it would have been less fun if he'd been way up on a stage, rather than right there.
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I know some people seem to think that even proposing having Kanye was a stupid move, but I lost interest as soon as he was pulled. If he'd been on the bill, I'd have been there. Of course there are a whole lot of other acts that would have had the same result, and probably many of them would be much cheaper.
I've found the whole #BDOMemories exercise to be quite revealing, I simply don't remember most of the shows I saw. In many cases I only remember one act from a given year, to tell me if I was even there or not.
Looking back over the lineups, some years, way back when, were just stuffed with awesomeness. This year... Well. It's weak. Last year was pretty weak as well, but I wanted to see Die Antwoord, so that was that.
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Heather Gaye, in reply to
I’ve found the whole #BDOMemories exercise to be quite revealing, I simply don’t remember most of the shows I saw. In many cases I only remember one act from a given year, to tell me if I was even there or not.
Yeah, this. I remember snippets of acts I was particularly excited about seeing, and I remember enjoying myself, and I remember a couple of duds, and a couple of surprises, but generally all I really have left is… the vibe. It’s the vibe of the thing.
Also, I totally would’ve been there front and centre this year if Prince had been headlining.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Yeah, this. I remember snippets of acts I was particularly excited about seeing, and I remember enjoying myself, and I remember a couple of duds, and a couple of surprises, but generally all I really have left is… the vibe. It’s the vibe of the thing.
Quite. My best memories are of particularly exciting moments during gigs, but there are a ton of non-musical moments too.
Probably my favourite is watching the Strokes with my buddy Andy and seriously feeling the love. Then when they finished, we got talking to a couple of mums on the razz and in a gentlemanly fashion, walked them up through the crowd to their next stop, and bid them a good evening. It was stupidly nice.
Also, I totally would’ve been there front and centre this year if Prince had been headlining.
You and 20,000 people who aren't going this year.
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Matthew Littlewood, in reply to
Does anyone else remember the sight of literally thousands of sleeves-T-shirted bogans moshing in unison to Pendulum in the searing heat? I can't say I'm much of a fan of Pendulum, but I must say it made me smile. I mean, it seemed so illogical, and so far away from the music you would've expected that particular crowd to respond to...until you realised that it was amped-up and testerone-laden as any AC/DC record.
Anyway, I'll treasure the memory of it, perhaps not for reasons involving music. And yeah, count me as one who would've been there with funky purple bells on if Prince had been snagged. That could've been as big a deal as Neil Young.
The Prodigy (best karaoke band *ever*)
Oh, shit yeah. They were a strangely perfect way to end BDO 2009 after the astonishing majesty of Neil Young too. The performance, and response, couldn't've been more different. It was hilariously enjoyable. And let's face it, anyone who loops Max Romeo's "Chase the Devil" a dozen times in a row gets my vote.
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Nick Dwyer did a nice job of marking the BDO's demise on George FM Breakfast this morning -- interviews with Campbell Smith, Zane Lowe, Havoc, etc.
Highlights here.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Does anyone else remember the sight of literally thousands of sleeves-T-shirted bogans moshing in unison to Pendulum in the searing heat? I can’t say I’m much of a fan of Pendulum, but I must say it made me smile.
Me too.
We were safely up by the East Lounge and we were gobsmacked at the way the stadium suddenly filled with kids going mental. It was an amazing thing to watch.
And let’s face it, anyone who loops Max Romeo’s “Chase the Devil” a dozen times in a row gets my vote.
Adrian Sherwood dropped his own version in his show at the Powerstation last month. Loved it. There's never a bad time to hear that tune.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
AKA the mysterious but discerning ‘Edward Zimblis and Syndicate’.
They decided to make up a name in case it all turned to shit..
But that Fall tour was before the Birthday Party, so I'm wrong there.
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