St Jerome’s Laneway Festival
28th January 2019
Albert Park, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
A decade by anyone’s standard is an impressive amount of time, an anniversary that certainly should be celebrated. And what better way to do that than within the confines of a stunning Auckland park on a picturesque summer’s day. Yes, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival (New Zealand) celebrated ten years of goodness yesterday with a plethora of world-class acts and thousands of music hungry fans; now in it’s third year at its new home of Albert Park, it was undoubtedly sure to be yet another fantastic festival.
Tasked with not only opening the day but playing on the largest of the four stages [Princes Street] Miss June took absolutely no prisoners with a blistering set that scorched the very earth itself. Vocalist Annabel Liddell is like a force of nature, filled to the brim with the essence of every punk rock queen who has come before her; her onstage relationship with guitarist Jun Park electric. Tearing herself apart on stage Liddell finished with the most epic microphone slam in the history of Laneway… if you have any one goal for 2019 it’s to catch Miss June live. Immediately.
The early afternoon was blessed with the sounds of Melbourne trio and friends of Courtney Barnett, Camp Cope who began their set with a snippet of the Green Day classic ‘Warning’, before enlightening the audience with songs such as the thought provoking ‘The Opener’ and ‘How to Socialise and Make Friends’; while over on the Thunderdome Stage Auckland band Daffodils who had a fantastic 2018 musically were charming the crowds with a set dripping in 80’s synth pop influences and laced with tracks ‘We Only Laugh When It Hurts’ and set closer the dancefloor destroyer ‘Two Angels’. With a vocalist that can stop people dead in their tracks in the form of Theo Salmon, Daffodils have an illustrious career path to look forward to.
Sliding into the late afternoon the giant orb in the sky bore down with heat laden rays as the stages around Albert Park lit up with the impressive posturing of Australians Gang of Youths and the surf garage hybrids from Byron Bay, Skegss who blew away a sold-out audience just the night before at Auckland’s home away from home Whammy Bar.
Meanwhile on the Rotunda Stage nestled amongst the leafy green oaks, Chicago based artist Smino brought the first of the hip-hop vibes to the festival; the musical collective Zero Fatigue that he founded also featuring the young R&B singer Ravyn Lenae who graced the stage just before him. Having already toured with the likes of SZA, Lenae is certainly making her presence felt.
Dunedin trio The Dead C, enthralled a smaller but ravenous audience with a rare live performance; masters of the art of sound improvisation the trio delivered a set that seemed to come from an alternate realm, guitarist and founder Bruce Russell lost within his music making as he scraped the head of his guitar along the floor before abandoning it altogether and playing the guitar pedals with his hands while on his knees. Easily one of the most sonically fascinating sets of the day, it was a rare and massively appreciated set.
Breathing new life into the rap scene, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie filled all available space around the Rotunda Stage with wall to wall bodies, the crowd being hyped up by tracks such as the viral ‘Mo Bamba’ by Sheck Wes before the Bronx bred Artist Dubose (aka A Boogie) descended in bright red jeans and with energy to burn. ‘Look Back At It’ and ‘Ransom’ saw the crowd go wild, Dubose informing all he was about to “turn shit up” as he dropped ‘My Day One’. Taking it back to his 2016 EP TBA, early fans were quickly identified as they rapped along to ‘Timeless’.
Over on the aptly named Dr. Martens stage, New Yorkers and indie darlings Parquet Courts smashed out a sweet set that included crowd favourite ‘I’m Wide Awake’, Austin Brown sending fans into overdrive as he brought out a shiny silver whistle for true authenticity. Their set in complete contrast to the more Radiohead Thom Yorke vibes of Wellington born but now LA based artist Lontalius who was playing on the Thunderdome stage and celebrating his 22nd birthday that had occurred just the day before, musing that he recalled one year playing a Laneways after-party but having to sneak in due to the fact that he didn’t turn eighteen until midnight…
The sun was now setting, grey clouds covering the sky and bringing with them a much needed reprieve from the heat; one stage however was bursting with colour as High Beams featuring New Zealand hip-hop stars Ill Baz, MELODOWNZ and Raiza Biza brought the good vibes to the crowd – High Beams of course the name of the album the trio collaborated on just last year. Taking it up not one, not two but twenty notches, they added to the already heady mix of artists on stage by bringing out guest after guest including the soulful Teeks for ‘Live Stream’, the legendary Ché-Fu for ‘Sky High’ and the Stoneyhunga crew themselves, SWIDT. MELODOWNZ certainly wasn’t kidding when he stated that the NZ hip-hop scene is the healthiest it has ever been, and long may it continue.
When a festival is filled to the brim with top notch acts the hours just seem to melt away, running faster than sand through your fingertips; suddenly Laneway was down to the final headline acts, and the anxiety of where best to spend your precious last few hours was playing havoc with the audience’s minds. For thousands it was a no-brainer, the concrete in front of the Princes Street stage filled to the brim for Melbournite Courtney Barnett who once again delivered a fierce set that topped even the fervour of her sold-out shows last year at Auckland’s Powerstation. ‘Depreston’, the scathing ‘I’m not your mother, I’m not your bitch’ and ‘Small Poppies’ all performed with Barnett’s unique brand of grunge infused musicianship; Georgia McDonald from Camp Cope even joining Barnett on stage at one point.
And what better way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Laneway in New Zealand then with Florence and The Machine? The ethereal songstress looked like a member of the fae, her billowing white clothes being caught by the wind as she danced to the beat of her own drum. Encouraging the crowd as she often does to turn to those beside them and embrace them and profess their love she almost toppled over into cult like territory; however her request to put away all cell phones and just live in the moment was one to be applauded as it saw the entire audience truly give themselves over to the music, both hands in the air. With a set that mixed both old and new – ‘Dog Days Are Over’ unquestionably the biggest hit of the set, while ‘Ship to Wreck’ came close behind – for many it was the perfect way to end the day.
For those that liked their music with a little more bite however, American rapper Denzel Curry was the act to see. Bringing an almost unfathomable intensity, Curry was exceptional, tracks such as ‘Black Balloons’ and the damn fine ‘ULT’ setting fire to the stage and consuming all in it’s wake; Curry himself spending much of his time hanging over the pit, mere inches from his voracious devotees.
Serenading the darkness English electronica giant Jon Hopkins brought infectious beats and hypnotic rhythms to the Dr. Martens stage, while yet more Australians in the form of electronica duo and twin brothers Cosmo’s Midnight closed the Thunderdome stage out with their own take on the genre, ‘Talk to Me’ featuring the vocals of Swedish singer Tove Styrke an obvious favourite.
Bodies drained of energy and feet almost too tired to shuffle, the thousands of attendees made their way out into the night air; many with smiles brighter than those of the passing headlights.
Bring on the next decade!
Were you there at Albert Park in Auckland’s CBD for this magnificent summer festival? Or have you been to a prior version of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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