Review: Laneway Festival

I feel like Laneway is one of those festivals every year that everyone is talking about. I suppose it times well that it’s on a public holiday which gives more people the chance to attend and see out their long weekend with a bang. Luckily Monday is my weekend so I went along to check it out. I had enjoyed the previous year so it was interesting to see how this year would compare.

The weather came out for the festival. It was definitely up in the air with it raining a bit a couple of days beforehand. Though as nice as it is that we weren’t partying in the rain, the heat is another challenge in itself. But with sunblock scattered around, water stations and the shade of Albert Park, most people figured out how to make it through the day. I kept my day simple and I think it really made a difference. Allowing myself to relax in between some of the acts ensured I got to rest and made time to eat.

The first act I checked out was Miss June on the Princess St Stage. I had first seen Miss June when they opened for UK group Wolf Alice at The Powerstation. The female-led 4 piece have a punk sound combined with high energy. Considering the crowd had only just started coming in, they really drew people in and helped kick off the festival with a bang!

Next up for me was Camp Cope, also on the Princess St stage. Like Miss June, I had seen them before at a small headline gig at Whammy Bar in Auckland. I would also say they have quite a punk sound as well. These 4 wahine know what they're doing and they definitely just seem to do things their way. More of the crowd was turning up at this point, with some people running past me screaming the words as they made their way forward to get closer to the stage.

It was nice having all these awesome bands kick off the day. And next, I decided to check out Daffodils who played the Thunderdome stage. This young 4-piece have been creating quite a buzz for themselves and I’d have to say they’re doing really well. I’ve seen them live quite a few times. I suppose you’d describe them as alt/indie but I honestly don’t know what I’d class them as in regards to genre. Because some tracks are quite pop to me, very 80’s. There’s something unique about Theo’s vocals. I know it’s been mentioned they are influenced by The 1975 and I can definitely see that (me being the huge fan that I am haha).

I had heard a lot about this next pop act and with her opening for Lily Allen, I knew I had to check her out. Bene and her 4-piece band all took the stage in shirts that listed an Auckland suburb and a year, which I’m assuming is when they were born. Her band had white shirts and Bene took the stage in a black one with a long yellow skirt. I don’t know if she’ll like that I said this, but I find her adorable! She is quite a bit sassy and just really wants to have fun while she performs.

Gang of Youths were being talked about a lot amongst a few photographers I follow so I thought I’d go check them out and I’m definitely glad I did. The alternative 4-piece really put on a good set. I particularly loved how lead vocalist David Le'aupepe, thanked and acknowledged Māori and indigenous people. He then thanked the rest of the crowd for coming to watch them. The crowd had really grown at this point and the guys made sure they got a good show. David can definitely move/dance I can tell you that. It was a fun one.

As most heard, popular act Billie Eilish pulled out. I was definitely disappointed with the news. However, three more acts were added to the bill including Daffodils and my next act Robinson. She took the stage in a long flowing, see-through, sparkly dress. Combined with her bold white shoes and pink 80's style glasses, it was quite a look. Robinson has been doing quite well and she took the stage with confidence. Clearly, she recognised a few faces in the crowd as she smiled and waved as she performed. The crowd was quite packed in and it was clear each of these local acts were excited to be performing at Laneway.

This next artist definitely had the most interesting name of all the acts. After an intro from his DJ, DJ Ominaya, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie took the stage in some bright red jeans and a white shirt. He was all smiles as he performed and I wonder if it was due to the fact he clearly had a lot of people who wanted to see him. Boogie didn't hesitate in getting close to them either, jumping down on the front speakers. It was a good set.

The day was taking a change with going from bands to Boogie, Jorja and now High Beams. The crowd was quite small at first which I was disappointed at as I think High Beams is a project that people need to see. High Beams is made up of Ill Baz, Melodownz and Raiza Biza. If you like hip hop/rap and know the local scene you should know those names. If you don't, please look into them. As soon as the set started you could see these guys were going to give it all regardless of the crowd size. With an array of special guests such as Teeks and High Hoops, it was going to be a big one. Che Fu, SWIDT and Dirty joined them later in the set. As I made my way to the next act I noticed the crowd had grown. Clearly, the crowd from Boogie/Jorja had made their way over and suddenly it was packed.

Now, I had heard quite a bit about this next act but I didn’t really look into him. Denzel Curry burst onto the stage in red shorts and black shirt. To be honest his shirt was the first thing I noticed as it had Eric Draven on it who is the main character in an incredible classic film called The Crow. He also had a very interesting hairstyle which my friend described as a tarantula. He was very energetic as he paced the stage back and forth, jumped up and down and even jumped down to the front speakers. The screen behind him displayed a range of different imagery, from cloud and fire to images of himself and money. It was an awesome set and I guess I can definitely see what the hype was all about.

The last act I briefly caught was obviously the incredible Florence & The Machine. There’s something spiritual about when she performs. It was dark and the crowd was huge. She was lit by golden lighting and she moved about the stage in a long flowing dress. I love that she performs in bare feet and that didn’t change when she made her way through the crowd either. There is no doubting that this woman can perform. Her vocals are on point and she just really gets into the performance. It was the perfect way to close out Laneway.

Did I think Laneway was insanely incredible? No. Did I have a good time? Yes. If you asked me if a particular act stood out to me, I couldn’t pick one, well not out of the ones I saw. But there’s no doubt it is a good event. There’s a good range of food, music for nearly everybody and a range of other things going on. I mean there were even stalls such as The Black and White Box (film cameras, developing etc) there. I think everyone needs to experience Laneway at least once in their lives.

– Reviewed and Photographed by Shelley Te Haara
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www.shelleytehaara.com