Wave Aid
Early Saturday afternoon, James, Janet and I headed to Wave Aid, with 2 extra Green Area tickets we'd been unable to sell. We stood outside the SCG for a while, with hopes that we'd somehow be able to sell, or even give away the tickets, but with none of us willing to walk up to people and ask, and no one walking to up us as asking us for tickets, we ended up leaving the two tickets in a phone booth. We consider it an extra donation to a worthy cause. And besides, this concert was great value at twice the price. I'd love to know what happened to the tickets, though.
After getting through security and getting our yellow wrist tags, we set ourselves up on the ground, just behind the security enforced walkway. We chilled burned up in the sun, and just after 2pm, Wave Aid began.
The Waifs - played London Still and that other well known song, and after that I didn't know any of the material. Not bad.
Missy Higgins - she got the crowd going, even at 3pm. Awesome, as ever. Her set included Ten Days, The Special Two, The Cactus That Found the Beat and Scar.
Nick Cave - none of us are fans, so we used his set to get out of the sun and hit the Channel V tent where we spent much time queuing for beer.
Casey Chambers - by this stage I was queuing for meat pies. Didn't really pay much attention, even though I could have watched her on the big screen.
Pete Murray - I had hoped to be back in the oval, but we were still finishing off our pies and eating our ice creams. Pete's great, but somehow his talent doesn't always translate into mesmerising stage presence.
Just as Pete was finishing, we headed back onto the oval, and were able to make our way forward as the crowd was leaving. I have no idea why anyone would be moving from up the front when next was...
The Finn Brothers: undoubtedly one of the highlights of the day. It was sing-a-long time as Neil and Tim belt out Weather With You, Don't Dream Its Over, a cover of the Hunters' classic Throw Your Arms Around Me and closed with a rocking version of Split Enz's I Got You. Spine tinglingy good.
Next was The Wrights. A "supergroup" containing members of Jet, Powderfinger, Grinspoon, The Living End, You Am I etc. They played Stevie Wright's Evie Parts I, II and III. I didn't expect much, but Bernard from Powderfinger showed us all how it was done. He rocked out, and got me excited for Powderfinger's set later on in the evening.
The John Butler Trio: fabulous. Another of the highlights. Musically brilliant, they spoilt the crowd by including Peaches and Cream, Zebra, and Better Man. The guy who plays the double bass (sorry, don't know his name) was phenomenal. I'm kicking myself for missing their gigs last year.
Silverchair: A lot more posturing than great rock. I consider myself someone who keeps relatively abreast of the Top 40, and I was surprised I only recognised one track, Greatest View. Oh well. I also have to say, I've never thought of Daniel Johns as being remotely attractive, but that guy has been doing some work in the gym - he carried off above the waist clothing consisting of only a hat + nipple ring.
Daniel Johns - almost hott.
Powderfinger: Rocked out. Sadly, the crowd was rocking so hard, I only got to see the stage when two of three people in front of me all moved the right way at the same time. Made me feel incredibly negligent for not being more into their music. I will be buying some albums!
Midnight Oil: What can I say? I'm a child of 85-95, and like the rest of the crowd, I just went off. The Oils played their hits (Beds are Burning, Power and the Passion, and Forgotten Years) and the crowd wanted more, more, more. Side stage was completely filled with anyone who get there - Missy Higgins was sitting down the front. This might be the last time they ever play. I'm glad I've seen them live at least once.
By the end of the night we were completely exhausted. Even when I was younger I wasn't one to cram into the crowd down the front, and stand for hours on end, but I'm glad I did it for this, even if I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep and get over my sunburn!
I didn't take a camera, I was worried about carrying it all day, but I did take along a disposable camera. I don't have the shots back from that yet, so if you'd like to see more pics, check out the photo gallery on the SMH site.