Today the Sydney Big Day Out was held. I did not attend, but it was as good a time as any to reflect on them. It feels a bit weird that it is hosted so early - I've long associated the Sydney show with Australia Day but the organisers decided to shake things up a little this year.
I was relatively late on the festival bandwagon and attended 1999 - 2001. I loved the idea of spending a day out, analysing the set list, pulling my hair out because two of the bands I liked were always on at the same time, running into people that I did not expect to run into and trying to cram as much music into a 12 hour period as humanly possible.
In general, I've found that I have most enjoyed the bands earlier in the day - it is so much easier to get intimate with them and I guess as the crowds are smaller and as your energy levels are higher. I normally spend most of my time around the main and essential stages, venturing to the boiler room for a single token act and chill out at the Lily Pad when there is a break in the schedule.
I tool a long break from Big Day outs and returned in 2010 and 2011. I had wanted to see Rage Against the Machine for so long and the thought of seeing a reunion show was too much to pass up. They were fantastic and I was up the front, left of stage. I went with a friend in 2011 and reminded myself how old I was getting - back in 1999 I think I visioned myself attending every year, but particularly after such a long absence, the crowd had changed and felt so much younger, it had me thinking - I was one of those people once!
Highlights in past years include RatM, NiN, Marilyn Manson, Regurgitator, TISM, Bluejuice, and CSS off the top of my head. I have had days there with past girlfriends, with friends and on my own. Whilst my time there has been largely positive. Nonetheless I attended the year that Limp Bizkit battled the security guards and organisers, the rush that followed was blamed for Jessica Michalik's death which was heavily publicised in the media at the time. Sadly, a friend passed away not long after that event and it is very hard to think of the Big Day Out without thinking of him.
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