PUBLISHED January 30th, 2015 08:00 am | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 01:11 pm
Our one takeaway from the 2015 edition of Laneway, is that the annual Indie festival had a major upsize. We’re talking food vendors, drink stations, and crowd capacity. Heck, even the names of the acts this year were huge. Bigger isn’t necessarily always better, but in this case, it was. The greenery of the gargantuan Meadow at Gardens by the Bay was lush, and we marvelled at how it could actually fit 13, 000 people.
Lately, food has become something festivals are giving more than an afterthought to, and we were impressed by the quantity (there was a total of 16 to pig out at), quality, and variety of trendy food stalls at Laneway – ’cause you never know when the munchies will kick in at a music festival. Just to name a few, there were South East Sliders, BoCHINche, Casuarina Curry, Shiraz, KILO, and Tiong Bahru Bakery. Also, the novelty of a tattoo parlour (we kid you not) was wicked cool! And if you needed a little trim, there were the guys from Sailor Jerry Barber Shop to ensure you looked your best. That’s right, the bars were definitely raised at Laneway 2015.
Sailor Jerry Tattoo Parlour
Sailor Jerry Barber Shop
In the end, however, it was the music that really made us go wow. Aussie band, Pond were the first to help us find our dancing feet with an electrifying performance of orgasmic proportions. Infused with heavy riffs, their neo-psychedelia set totally blew us away. Even when the rain started pouring, poncho-laden guys and girls carried on partying as per normal, adding to the good vibes of the festival.
Nick Allbrook of Pond
Pumping up the crowd was the lively Mac DeMarco. If bands ever needed a blueprint on how to give a great performance, a Mac DeMarco edition would do just fine. His bodysurfing and witty jokes endeared him to the crowd. And his bandmate’s rendition of Coldplay’s Yellow was not only funny, but extremely cheeky as well.
Mac DeMarco
Likeable siblings Angus & Julia Stone were the next heavy hitters on the list and they did not disappoint. Julia won over the hearts of many, in particular the dudes. Fan-boys were jumping all around shouting: “Julia we love you!” A strange sight in every sense, but that is surely testament to the sexiness and allure of her sultry vocals. If anything, their brother/sister bond was a joy to watch.
Angus & Julia Stone
Rockers Royal Blood took to the stage after the soothing duo and their intensity was a refreshing change from the mellow tunes heard so far. Heavy guitar riffs, pounding drum rolls and primal screams brought a welcome injection of rock n roll, and their boundless energy was infectious!
Royal Blood
Bringing the groove to Laneway were Soul group Jungle. Personally our favourites, the seven-men band gave an explosive performance that got everyone moving to their beat. Their tropical percussions, smooth falsettos and epic synths were like an intoxicating cocktail. Drunk on their beverage of awesome music, we couldn’t help but jive non-stop during the set.
Josh Lloyd-Watson & Tom McFarland of Jungle
Finally, Banks gave an absolutely brilliant performance. Her little jigs were adorable and her voice was fabulous. But if we had one complaint about Laneway 2015, it was that Chet Faker was performing at the Cloud Stage at the same time as the beautiful Banks. We did choose Banks obviously (we so badly wanted to see Chet), but we gotta add, it is an absolute crime to put two exceptional acts on different stages during the same time slot.
Banks
Long story short, we had a blast at Laneway 2015. Despite the clash of acts being a cardinal sin, there were noticeable improvements in every aspect of the festival. The music was fantastic, the food was tasty, the queues weren’t long (for once) and even the too-cool-to-dance hipsters were self-consciously bobbing their heads when no one was looking. Next year’s edition has really got a lot to live up to. Maybe they should just spread it out over two days.
Photo Credits: Aloysius Lim, Alvin Lim, Cliff Yeo, Nor Asyraf