Laneway 2012

Crawled out of bed at noon with an aching body. Had to do a long session in the pool to rid the knots and limber up the muscles. 10 epic hours at Laneway, most of which spent standing. I did say I wasn't going. But the friends were, and dragged me along. I wasn't too difficult to convince. Feist would be there. She alone, would make my whole year for gigs.

When the line-up was confirmed, it was decent. Something to look forward to, but nothing that would make me fly home from Shanghai. So luckily there was already Opeth 3 nights ago. Marked the timeslots for Cults, Laura Marling, Anna Calvi and of course, Feist. The ladies. I noticed the women. They are the attraction for me at this Laneway. I would watch the rest if I didn't need the toilets or drinks. The sound system was much better than last year. Having 2 stages side by side made it easier for logistics and less of a wait between sets. Yuck, Girls, Chairlift, and M83 weren't too bad. The rest were horrifying, painful and quite forgettable. The ultimate crowd snub was in the night. Everyone was stunned by how bad the band was, and patch by patch, everyone sat down. I must have been imagining it, but no one clapped when the band was done. In fact, I heard a lot of "Shut up!" reverberating around. Hugely contrasted with the scene immediately after when en masse, everyone stood up, like a surge of energy, to dance to the final headliner M83.

Fort Canning was packed to the brim. Major crowds thronged its grounds all day. Last year, we danced in the rain. This year, people were more than prepared for a storm. It didn't happen. It was sizzling. The sort where you'd be burnt in 30 minutes out there without sunblock or a hat. Later on, it drizzled ever so teasingly for like...5 minutes. Ha. Some people felt 'cheated' for the no-rain! Silly weather. Those who were in wellies had to change out of them. Too hot for knee-high rubbers!!! The night breeze was heaven-sent, ameliorating the humidity, and the stars shone down brightly.

We couldn't bring food and drinks into the venue because there were beer tents and food stalls. The queues for drinks snaked round. We bought a couple of beers while catching the bands. Support Heineken lor. But in between sets, we went to rendezvous point Carpark B where the boot parties were. Boot parties FTW! Ditched beer for whisky and other exciting stuff. Peach schnapps, Agwa, tequila, other kinds of beer, wine, moscato, sparkling, plenty, and plenty. Oh, and to hydrate. Water was most appreciated. We brought 2 cartons of water, 1.5l each. By the end of the night, those were all consumed. We had a continuous supply of ice cubes, so that made everything so much sweeter. There were the most surprising victims to alcohol last night. One was knocked out by a lethal combination of everything before 5pm, sprawled comatose in the car, and revived in time for Feist.

When night fell, people were a little hungry. Wraps and sandwiches from inside the venue were not at all pathetic. In fact, they were pretty awesome. Quality meat and vegetarian falafels abound. Hurrah! Outside at rendezvous point, we had cheese biscuits, chocolate cookies, beef jerky and random chocolate bars. But more substantial sustenance was needed. There was also generous provision and sharing of someone's mom's homemade chicken curry. Oddly, nobody wanted to drive out or grab a cab out to get 'real' food. So, we're thinking...next year, it wouldn't be difficult to haul along a portable grill and make some cheese toasties, burgers and pub-grub-style stuff. :D

What a party! 8000 humans! It was a good night! I forgot all about buying merchandise. Hahahaha. But Laneway on a Sunday. I've no idea how the friends staggered in to the office today. I'm secretly glad that I needn't have to do that this morning. If I had to, I might actually chuck a sickie. Heh. After all the nonsense of hydrating with cold fruits, showering, exfoliating, then to soak the laundry before sleeping, the night passed in a deep and dreamless state.