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Oh yes…..Aussies love a festival and Future music is fast becoming one behemoth of a travelling sideshow..So much so that the Brisbane turf club grounds of Doomben raceway had been transformed into something resembling The gold coast Parklands. If you blinked twice you may have even thought you’d been transported to the plastic fantastic coast. But alas no rock bands here, no folk, no lily world …Just a whole lotta bootie shaking goodness. With seven stages set out across the massive expanse of Brisbane’s premier racecourse you’d be forgiven if ya got lost a couple of times.
After getting to the show a little delayed due to ticketing problems, it took me a good hour to traipse the grounds and get my bearings. With that done it was time to check out one of my favourite Djs. With some massive remixes to his name (TV Rock, Goteye) Laidback Luke is a man destined for bigger and better things in 2008. He oozed cool all over the future crowd dropping one of the funkiest sets this side of Detroit! He was even afforded the pleasure of sharing his last two track mixes with the legendary John Digweed
With the man himself John Digweed on stage you’d be forgiven for kicking yourself. Here in the river city punters were treated to a divine set by the man who came to rise playing legendary sets alongside Sash! A flawless hour and a half of party tunes was delivered and like a sermon from the pope the crowd responded with adulation and the kind of dancing usually reserved for a night club floor!
A quick rest, before taking off to the famous stage for a dose of Mark Knight, The Shapeshifters and Markus Shulz. For a man penciled in to play two sets on the day Mark Knight didn’t leave much in the tanks. Pulling out all stops and delivering one hell of a set. Surprisingly the big fella didn’t rely on the usual club tracks and wowed the crowd with a set of lesser known but still banging tracks. Shapeshifters in next and with a stunning light display you’d be forgiven for thinking the guys were actual Shapeshifters. Their set on the other hand was a wee bit disappointing but still enough to win over the packed tent. Markus Shulz in next and what a show! No fancy stuff here folks just great track selection. The set seesawed and swayed and took the crowd along a wicked musical journey. Markus Shulz I and about a 1000 other punters salute you!!!
The sun had finally taken its toll on me so after retreating to the shade of the grandstand for a while I wandered into the VIP bar. I found a delectable set on offer from none other than Pete Smith. It was a strange treat to be hearing the sweet sounds of The Met regular in an area usually dedicated to horse racing fanatics.
Finally the big one……The Chemical Brothers …..Formerly college room-mates known as the Dust Brothers…The pasty white English lads requested no photographers in the pit for their set. Acrobatic Dave to the rescue!!! After scaling a fence to gain a decent vantage point I and the entire crowd were treated to one of the most amazing lightshows this side of the aurora-borealis. Some folk were heard to say they weren’t too happy with the set list of the group with their more well known tracks (Under the Influence, Believe, The Boxer) given the remix treatment. You’d almost be forgiven for thinking that you’d walked into a tribal bush doof!! Alas no Sammy the Salmon here folks just a whole lotta electronic wizardry from two of the worlds best entertainers. After putting down the camera to have a bit of a boogie myself the light show morphed with the music and some amazing visuals gave the effect of the music travelling off the stage. On their recent European tour they were berated in the press for not playing more of their popular tracks. They were also belittled by music critics for not delivering what the crowds wanted. To those people I say…..How do you know what the crowd wants??? The future festival crowd in Brisbane loved every sweaty second of the show and The Chemical Brothers once again proved that if anyone knows what the crowd really wants, it’s them. And that’s why they will continue to slay crowds as the Future music festival progresses to around our great nation……
By Dave Holleran |
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