Hello, Ky here from LUPO magazine. I had the pleasure of going along to Groovin the Moo in Bendigo last Saturday. Usually I’m a bit reluctant to get out to music festivals, preferring some good speakers, vinyl and a snugly blankie (bit of a nana hey?). But Groovin the Moo is my music festival. Each time I’ve been, I’ve discovered amazing new bands that I still listen to.
I was going to title this article “I believe in a thing called love.” But I think the reference to the Darkness song from 2003 would probably be lost on those of you who didn’t get to Groovin the Moo, or have no idea who the Darkness is.
This year, I was excited to see the Darkness (instagram // twitter) was on the bill, I may have peed my pants a little. Remember I’m really a nana 😉 Back in my day … Ok, so I’m not quite that bad (yet), but back in my day when I was a wee lass in my early twenties, I had a total crush on the Darkness, circa Permission to Land. ’Twas my only real foray into glam metal, well besides Bon Jovi in the 80’s but let’s not talk about that.
And live, holy shit, they definitely don’t disappoint. The show was everything I imagined, although I did not imagine the blue spandex body suit open to the waist, how could I? It was a stellar show, lead singer and guitarist Justin Hawkins (instagram // twitter) engages the crowd, chats to them, acknowledges his band mates and showers the fans with picks, and bass player Frankie Poullain adds a little magic with a cowbell.
The crowd roared when lead singer Justin Hawkins, hopped on the shoulders of a security bloke, and together they wandered through the pit (yep right past where I was sitting) and out in to the crowd with security in tow. Oh and I forgot to mention, I touched him … by proxy. Yep, you heard it here first. Ok, so the story is that earlier in the day, someone piffed a wide brimmed black hat and it hit me while I was photographing one of the acts. Then later in the day, Justin Hawkins puts the hat on. Very glamorous 😉 Just tell me if I’m fan-girling a bit hard here guys.
But that blue body suit. I’m not sure if I’m a little intimidated, or a little aroused. It’s definitely very glam metal. Check out the photos and make up your own mind.
I won’t limit my fan-girl gibbering to just the Darkness, all of the acts I saw were incredible.
I missed photographing K.FLAY (instagram // twitter) but heard some of her set. One very cool lady who knows how to express our deepest emotions with whatever musical stylings take her fancy at the time. From the anarchy of punk rock electronica to the annoyed and intense hip hop flavoured rhymes. K.FLAY slayed her set.
When I arrived, I was bummed that I’d missed Amy Shark (instagram // twitter), but to my sadness and delight replaced an unwell Tash Sultana later in the day. Amy sang Adore and the girls and the guys all sang along. It was beautiful sight.
The sun was out, it tricked us all. It lasted till 2 then the cold front set in joined by a light sprinkle of rain. The cow onesies would have come in handy this year, but there was only a couple getting around. Instead the youngins were wearing bikinis (this nana couldn’t believe it, I was wearing about 5 layers), but I guess they were keeping warm with hot jam donuts.
Against Me! (twitter) was an unexpected surprise, I’d not listened to much of their stuff before, but found the big guitars, bass, drums and vocals had me wanting to climb the barriers and go crowdsurfing (that’s not very nana like is it?). I only wish that Laura hadn’t covered her face with hair, I love to capture the expressions of the performers and see how much they’re loving the show.
Alice Ivy (instagram // twitter) replaced Montaigne, cool tunes, great beats, some wicked guitar and awesome dancing.
If you’re into intense and dark metal, the Architects (instagram // twitter) played their big metalcore sounds. Very tight performance from the boys from the UK.
The Smith Street Band (instagram // twitter) came on with a raw, rough and totally Aussie sound. The crowd knew what they were there for, they knew the music and sang it loud.
Slumberjack (instagram) were mesmerising, a cross between melodic electronica and dubstep. Watching these two guys work together is like watching a magic show of colours and sounds and I found myself wanting to move instead of take pictures.
The Jungle Giants (instagram // twitter) played a high energy pop set, sizzling with enough heat to make you forget we’re heading into a frosty May, reminiscent of Ball Park Music that I saw play GTM two years ago.
I caught Milky Chance (instagram // twitter) next. These guys were the second band I was keen to see. Their many different influences show up in their performance, the folk style vocals combined with guitar and electronic beats makes for a soothing and mesmerising set
PNAU (instagram // twitter) gave us an energetic set filled with big beats, pretty colours and the beautiful bold vocals of Kira Divine, a former backup singer for Lauren Hill, ending their set with the much loved ‘Embrace’.
Indie-rockers The Wombats (instagram // twitter), hailing from Liverpool, rounded out my day at this incredible festival. The set was an enthusiastic expression of what you expect to come from a live performance by The Wombats.
I found the scheduling more difficult this year than previous years, set times co-incided and getting between the main stages and the Moolin Rouge tent was harder with many more bodies around earlier in the day. I missed out on seeing Thundamentals which left me a little bummed, co-inciding with Milky Chance.
To balance that, there was lots of glitter and jewels, instant cameras (how cool!), cow bells, a couple of cow suits, Mario and Luigi, and the blue spandex. Another incredible festival put on by Groovin the Moo. Much love and thanks for letting me come along. I’m looking forward to next year’s festival, filled with both new and old music, and new bands to love.
Ky xo
