Big Day Out time rolls around for another year. The lineup this year
was quite impressive to me, particularly since I've been a huge Metallica fan for about 8 years now... This has been the third
BDO I've experienced, and without fail it's also the third time I've had multiple random strangers walk up to me in a day offering me
some form of recreational drug. The potheads are far more generous at the BDO than they seem to be for any other day of the year,
yet they still look puzzled when I politely refuse...
Throughout the day I met many new people (including about 5 Woolworths employees), and my friends were also introduced to the
one-and-only Mr. Tight, as well as my Japanese exchange-student friend, Itsa Sony.
Here's a rundown of the acts me & my friends went to see together during the day:
Skulker, The Sleepy Jackson, Nude Aerobics (woo!), The
Darkness, The Datsuns, Gerling, Something For Kate, The Dandy Warhols, Muse, The Mars Volta, Aphex Twin & The Strokes. Now here's
about the time when things get bitchy...
Despite often touting musical tolerance across all genres, my so-called friends felt it necessary to make fun of my
appreciation of Metallica throughout the day. To my amazement (considering their own musical tastes), they actually have more
of a problem with me liking Metallica than they complain about me liking Britney Spears' music. Anyway, as all good friends do every
now and then, they completely left me stranded when Metallica's set came around, leaving me to fend for myself in the big,
heavy-people'd mosh pit. Somehow I managed to migrate right to the front-barrier, getting a great (albeit rib-crunching) view of the
set.
Although my initial thoughts on their latest album weren't the best, I must say that the St. Anger songs played live were much
better than from the studio release. This was the first time I had seen new recruit bassist Robert Trujillo in action, and he does have much
more stage present than the sombre Newsted had on the DVDs I own. James Hetfield really looked like he was enjoying himself up there,
having fun with the crowd and giving it his all vocally. Lars did his great stuff on the drums and as always, his trademark facials
came along for the ride as well. Kirk Hammett was amazing with his guitar solos - my spot on the front-barrier was where he hung out
for most of the songs, and I was so amazed by his work...
Aside from St. Anger, all of their other songs were from 1991's Black album back to their very first album. My Metallica album-era
preferences don't exactly match up with what albums they played from, but by no means were any of the songs foreign to me. If I didn't
know the words, I still knew when to bang my head. By the end of the set (and even a few hours after I got home), the fingers on my right
hand were still semi-permanently stuck in the dude position.
Bitchiness and friendship reconsiderations aside, I had a great time all alone in the sea of hundreds of Metallicats, and my friends
(after continuing to bad-mouth Metallica even when I wasn't around) went on to see the good Flaming Lips set which I caught the end of
after Metallica finished. From what I heard of the Lips (and then later when I checked out their latest album), I didn't mind the
Flaming Lips, but there is no way I would trade the 2-hour Metallica performance for anything. To my friends' credit, despite them being
complete assholes, I did get an apple & blackcurrent Calippo for my troubles, so I'm not pissed off at being deserted. :)
Definitely the best Big Day Out of my three so far, beating out the Foo Fighters from last year (even with my friends by my side!), which I think says
a lot about this year's event.
I'll be back next year. I can't wait.
: Big Day Out 2004