Big Day Out 2014 Preview

In the nineties Big Day Out grew to become the touring festival Down Under, stretching from Western Australia to New Zealand, with massive line-ups diverse in terms of genre, success vs. undiscovered, foreign vs. domestic, and more. Big Day Out: Auckland didn’t happen last year after a disappointing edition in 2012 (QRO recap – Australian headliner Kanye West cancelled on the kiwis, so that’s something else you can not like about him), BDO returns to the real-life Middle Earth in 2014 – as well as hitting up main Aussie metropolises Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth, January 17th to February 2nd:

Pearl Jam Few bands in the past quarter century have had the staying power and continued success of Pearl Jam (QRO live review). From breaking out of the Seattle grunge scene in the early nineties with Nirvana and Ten songs such as “Alive” and “Jeremy”, Pearl Jam (QRO live review) have somehow managed to stay both relevant and successful. While their original contemporaries are now on nostalgia reunion tours of old hits, Pearl Jam have toured the world numerous times, including Down Under (QRO live review in New Zealand), and have released ten studio albums, most recently last year’s Lightning Bolt (QRO review).

Arcade Fire After making the biggest indie-smash since The Strokes (QRO album review) with the already-seminal Funeral back in 2004/2005, and leading the charge of the ‘Canadian Invasion’, Montreal’s own Arcade Fire (QRO live review) followed that up in 2007 with the excellent-even-if-it-couldn’t-be-Funeral Neon Bible (QRO review). But after playing to bigger-and-bigger-and-bigger venues (QRO live review outdoors), the massive ensemble took a much-needed break, yet they returned in 2010 (QRO photos of first U.S. show in three years), and as one of the biggest bands in indie-rock (QRO photos at a festival), with The Suburbs (QRO review), which managed to win the Grammy for Record of the Year. Of course, that meant hipsters were obligated to hate the band (QRO photos headlining Madison Square Garden), and unfortunately some of that came true last fall with Reflektor (QRO review). A double-album where the band now follows the trend of indie going disco-dance, it divided critics, and coupled with a massive promotional push that included not only the season premiere of Saturday Night Live but a special afterwards (QRO Music On Late Night TV), not to mention Kimmel on top of the Capitol Records building and similarly divisive intimate shows (where they required the crowd to dress up, fooled on where the stage was, and did no encores) grabbing attention during the new music fest CMJ (QRO recap), it all almost seemed designed to jump the shark. However, not only is the music still great, but so is the live show, so catch them returning to Big Day Out (QRO photos at a festival).

Snoop Dogg Do you really need to be introduced to Snoop Dogg (QRO photos at a festival)? Unless your flight from Sydney crashed on that island from Lost with The Others for the past twenty-plus years, you’ve seen Snoop (QRO photos) from his part in Death Row Records’ West Coast rap ascendance (QRO photos on the West Coast) with “Gin and Juice” through his legal troubles and ‘less-than-amicable’ split from Death Row to today’s chart-topping success in hip-hop and mainstream. His high profile and relatively laid-back but charming, persona these days have also made him ubiquitous on screen, whether cameoing as himself in everything from Showtime’s Weeds to T-Mobile Sidekick ads, or guest-spotting as a rapper from Showtime’s L Word to ABC daytime soap One Life to Live (not to mention having had his own reality show, Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood, and filled the quintessential pimp role as Huggy Bear in the big screen remake of Starsky & Hutch). More recently, he’s adopted the new name ‘Snoop Lion’ for a more reggae personality (QRO photos at a festival as Snoop Lion), but has been mixing and matching both canine & feline Snoops on this year’s Reincarnated (the companion piece to the documentary on his transformation) and live. He’s also an expert at wooing the lily-white indie-crowd (QRO photos at a festival), and doesn’t forget his classics like Doggy Style (*QRO photos performing Doggy Style* at a festival**).

Major Lazer The collaboration between DJ/producers Diplo (QRO photos) and Switch (QRO photos) made a serious breakthrough in 2009 as Major Lazer (QRO photos at a festival), with Guns Don’t Kill People. Lazers Do, but since signed to indie imprint Secretly Canadian for last year’s full-length follow-up, Free the Universe – and know how to do it at festivals (QRO photos at a festival).

Steve Angello One-third of the acclaimed Swedish House Mafia (QRO photos at a festival), Steve Angello comes solo to Big Day Out.

Flume Bringing electronics from closer to home is Sydney’s Harley Streten – a.k.a. Flume (QRO photos at a festival).

Beady Eye The fights between brothers Liam & Noel Gallagher were as much at the core of alt-pub rock icons Oasis as their musical work. After highs & lows, break-ups & reunions, Noel quit or Liam formed a new band with other Oasis members (there were other people in Oasis?!?…), Beady Eye (QRO photos at a festival), putting out debut Different Gear, Still Speeding in 2011 and BE last year, slowly building up that discography to keep people from demanding “Wonderwall”.

The Hives ‘The’ garage-rock explosion a decade or so ago gave a lot of ‘The’ bands, including The White Stripes (QRO live review), The Kills (QRO live review), The Vines (QRO album review), and the most energetic of the bunch – The Hives (QRO spotlight on)! Swedish outfit (QRO interview) have the kind of explosive & fun live (QRO live review) that Jack White (QRO live review) only wish he could pull off, with maximum call-and-response & frenetic activity (QRO photos) all around the world (QRO photos in Europe), plus top hats & tails (QRO photos). The Hives come to the other side of the globe (QRO photos at a festival) behind their latest, 2012’s Lex Hives (QRO review).

The Lumineers Folk trio from Colorado (QRO photos at a festival), The Lumineers (QRO live review) are known for their songs riddled with cello, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and charming vocals. Their songs are jauntily and nonabrasive tunes with a sing-along vibe (QRO photos). They have been touring (QRO photos at a festival) in support of last spring’s self-titled release.

Primus Mixing alternative and funk in a Frizzle Fry sauce is Les Claypool’s (QRO interview) Primus (QRO spotlight on). Fronted by one of the most acclaimed bassists out there today, Primus first came to widespread notice in the early nineties thanks to Sailing the Seas of Cheese (QRO live review) and Pork Soda, with songs like “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”, “Tommy the Cat”, “My Name Is Mud”, and “Mr. Krinkle”, delivering a weird funk-driven rock sound akin to an accessible Residents (QRO live review). Primus went on hiatus at the start of this century/millennium (after composing the theme to South Park), with Claypool working solo (QRO photos at a festival – and composed the theme to Robot Chicken), before reforming, first as nostalgia, but then with 2011’s new Green Naugahyde (QRO review), and have kept on going strong (QRO photos), especially on the festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival). They return to Big Day Out for the first time in twenty years!

Tame Impala From Perth (QRO photos at a home) in Western Australia (QRO photos at a hometown festival), comes the psychedelic rock of Tame Impala (QRO live review), touring off of 2011’s Innerspeaker (QRO review) & 2012’s Lonerism, whose critical acclaim has won them fans across the world (QRO photos at a festival), and a much more high profile second appearance at Big Day Out, which they come to after touring with The Flaming Lips (QRO photos opening for The Flaming Lips).

Vista Chino First there was stoner rock favorite Kyuss. Then Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme and bassist Nick Oliveri formed the mainstream success Queens of the Stone Age (QRO album review). Then Oliveri was fired from Queens by Homme, bounced around, didn’t return to Queens, and re-founded Kyuss as Kyuss Lives! without Homme, but with singer John Garcia (who had already been doing Kyuss material) and drummer Brant Björk in 2010. Then Homme and original Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder sued a now Oliveri-less Kyuss Lives! Over using the ‘Kyuss’ name, which ended in them being forbidden from using ‘Kyuss’ for recorded material, but could use ‘Kyuss Lives!’ for live shows (QRO live review – though even the judge suggested a rebranding). Oliveri rejoined, and the group decided to do new material, so changed their name to Vista Chino for last year’s debut, Peace. Got all that? Now go see them play, whatever their name.

Deftones Alternative metal doesn’t come much better than the Deftones (QRO live review). The Sacramento has been act elevating the often-derided style for over two decades now, most recently with 2012’s Koi No Yokan (QRO review). They’re also mainstays on the rock festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival), with this their third Big Day Out. They’ll also be playing (QRO photos) in tribute to bassist Chi Cheng, who fell into a coma after a car accident in 2008, and passed away last year. Indeed, Cheng’s passing means the Deftones may finally release the last album he contributed to, Eros, which was shelved following his accident, so maybe they’ll be some ‘new old’ songs at Big Day Out?

Bliss N Eso Big Day Out gets some local hip-hop in Sydney’s ARIA-award winning Bliss N Eso, who return to the festival for a second time.

CSS From the other side of the Southern Hemisphere comes Sao Paulo dance-rock act CSS (QRO live review). The Brazilian group (who sing in both English and Portuguese) have an international following and sound, most recently on last year’s Planta.

The Drones Melbourne’s The Drones won the inaugural Australian Music Prize in 2005 with Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, and the garage-rock group have kept going since then, playing their third Big Day Out.

Mac Miller Neither Pittsburgh nor Judaism is known for a plethora of rappers, but what there is delivers, and hailing from the hometown of friend Wiz Khalifa (QRO album review) and home faith of Matisyahu (QRO photos) & Beastie Boys (QRO album review) is Malcolm McCormick, a.k.a. Mac Miller (QRO photos at a festival). Last year he (QRO photos) dropped Watching Movies With the Sound Off, his follow-up to 2011’s Billboard #1 debut, Blue Slide Park.

Flosstradamus Chicago-based DJs J2K and Autobot are Flosstradamus (QRO photos), and while they’re best known for touring with such similar techtronica acts as Chromeo (QRO live review), they’ve also shared the stage with indie groups like Matt & Kim (QRO spotlight on) on more than one occasion (QRO photos, again on the bill with Matt & Kim).

Ghost Even though they have to go by ‘Ghost B.C.’ in the States, there’s only one Ghost. The Swedish heavy metal band is famous for their on-stage presence: five of the six members wear hooded robes, while the singer is a cardinal with a skull face. They’re also super-secretive about their identities (“Papa Emeritus” and the “Nameless Ghouls”). So get freaked out like only the Swedes can make you.

Grouplove In 2012 rock collective Grouplove (QRO spotlight on) have had two of the most enjoyable recent hits, “Tongue Tied” (QRO video) and “Colours” (QRO review) from the debut Never Trust a Happy Song (QRO photos at a festival). Live, they take it to another level (QRO live review), with a massive spectacle (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), and can even persevere in the rain (QRO live review in the rain) or on television (QRO live review at TV taping). The band (QRO interview) comes to Big Day Out (QRO photos at a festival) on tour (QRO live review on this tour) behind last year’s follow-up, Spreading Rumors (QRO review), and singles like “I’m With You” and “Shark Attack” (QRO review).

The Naked and Famous From east of the Tasman Sea comes The Naked and Famous (QRO photos outdoors). The New Zealand act (QRO photos) turned heads in 2011 (QRO photos in 2011) with debut Passive Me, Aggressive You, and haven’t looked back (QRO photos). Last year saw strong follow-up In Rolling Waves (QRO review) getting them a big following stateside (QRO live review), but Big Day Out knew ‘em when: this is their third appearance at the festival.

Dillon Francis American electronic artist Dillon Francis (QRO photos at a festival) has worked with big name DJs like Calvin Harris (QRO album review) and Diplo (QRO photos).

Toro y Moi One of the ‘big names’ in ‘chillwave’, Chazwick Bundick – a.k.a. Toro y Moi (QRO photos) – had one of the new genre’s touchstone records in 2011 in Causers of This (QRO review), but has since moved to a more rock-oriented sound, especially live (QRO photos). He comes to Big Day Out (QRO photos) behind last year’s record, Anything In Return (QRO review).

Bluejuice Big Day Out doesn’t short the hometown rock, such as Sydney’s own Bluejuice (QRO photos at an Australian festival), who play their third Big Day Out in five years.

Portugal. The Man This West Coast draws from far up its shore with Alaska’s Portugal. The Man (QRO photos at a festival). The rambling grunge outfit garnered new fans with 2007 sophomore release Church Mouth (QRO review), and its unhinged alt-rock (QRO live review), though slipped somewhat since then, even while finally playing Europe (QRO photos at a European festival) and becoming a festival favorite (QRO photos at a festival). Their major label debut The Mountain In the Cloud (QRO review) was more psych-lite, but they still bring it live (QRO live review), and come Down Under (QRO photos at a festival) after last year’s release of follow-up Evil Friends (QRO review) and hitting both the festival circuit (QRO photos at a 2013 festival) and live gigs (QRO 2013 live review).

Mudhoney Both a forerunner to and a member of the Pacific Northwest grunge breakout of the early nineties, Seattle’s Mudhoney (QRO photos at a festival) perhaps embodied the dirty, high-distortion sound even more than Nirvana. More importantly, Mudhoney never stopped, becoming a veteran many times over – they last played Big Day Out way back in 1993, but only last year released their ninth studio album, Vanishing Point.

The 1975 Manchester’s The 1975 turned heads with their Sex EP in 2012, even though it wasn’t very good (QRO review), and have kept that up with last year’s self-titled debut full-length.

Pez Melbourne MC Pez will finally be following up 2009’s debut A Mind of My Own this year with Don’t Look Down.

Kerser “Kerser Is the Sickest”. With those words & those rhymes Sydney’s Scott Barrow put his name Kerser on the Australian hip-hop. He’s been building nicely in the past few years, with a record out each of the past three years, each more successful than the last.

Northlane Metalcore comes to Big Day Out in the form of Northlane, who are touring off the back of last year’s sophomore full-length, Singularity.

Big Gigantic Boulder’s Big Gigantic (QRO photos at a festival) mix (big) electronic beats with live drums and even live saxo-mo-phone. Known to set crowds in a writhing heap of body parts (QRO photos at a festival), Big Gigantic (QRO photos at a festival) has been showcasing their electronic fervor all across the globe (QRO photos at a festival), including recently the last ever New Year’s Eve at New York’s soon-to-close landmark venue Roseland Ballroom (QRO live review).

Cosmic Psychos When Big Day Out started way back in the early nineties, one of the most reliable groups in many of those starter years was Australian ‘yob rock’ outfit Cosmic Psychos, who finally return to BDO after an absence of almost two decades.

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