The silver lining to Splendour’s demise

A wise Middle-Eastern philosopher said a couple of millennia ago – about this time of year, as it happens – “always look on the bright side of life”.

By any measure, last week’s demise of Splendour in the Grass was a sad day in recent Australian music history. As with most things though, there is a bright side to this disastrous turn of events – especially if you live in Brisbane.

While awesome, Splendour in the Grass sucked the lifeblood out of the Brisbane music scene when it came to its big-name acts.

Splendour was (and, perhaps, will be again) an absolute zenith in the live music calendar, particularly since the demise of the Big Day Out and that Brisbane institution, Livid.

Not that I had been in many years, mind you. There comes a time in a music-lover’s life when the cost-benefit analysis of attending festivals starts to mount on the wrong side of the ledger.

Still, it was nice to know it was there.

Despite its general awesomeness though, there was certainly a downside to having the Splendour behemoth not so far south of the Tweed – particularly for those who didn’t fancy heading 180-odd kilometres down the road to pay overinflated prices to stay at Byron Bay and brave the traffic jams and crowds just to see that one act.

Which brings us to the silver lining to this dark, dark cloud: Splendour’s untimely death might actually bring more bands to Brisbane.

Headline acts at Splendour – and the Byron Bay Bluesfest for that matter – don’t do side shows in Brisbane. As the closest major city to the venue, Brisbane is contractually off-limits to many major acts.

And that sucks if you’re a fan who doesn’t much fancy a weekend away in Byron.

You see, kids, there comes a time for the most ardent festival-goers to throw in the towel, to realise there are better things to do than sweating in the sun with thousands of strangers for 10 hours, buying overpriced beer and somehow coming out of the mosh pit with your dignity – and belongings – intact.

As the joints start to creak, a cup of tea and a good lie down start to have the same appeal as banging out to the Prodigy (RIP, Keith) with a belly full of booze and some mysteriously amazing cake someone brought from Nimbin.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see some live music.

In the past decade or so, Splendour has precluded me from seeing Blur, the Cure and the Strokes in Brisbane.

Over the same period, Bluesfest meant I missed out on Beck, Iggy Pop, Madness and the Raconteurs (sorry, Saboteurs).

I am sure people with varying musical tastes would have their own list of missed opportunities over the years.

So while I will in no way celebrate Splendour’s demise, I won’t grumble either.

I’ll give a whistle, and look on the bright side.