Big Day Out kicks off Australian leg

THE opening Australian leg of the Big Day Out music festival for 2009 has attracted the usual bumper - if eclectic - crowd on a gloomy day on the Gold Coast.

Big turnout ... the Big Day Out festival at the Gold Coast Parklands / AAP

THE opening Australian leg of the Big Day Out music festival for 2009 has attracted the usual bumper - if eclectic - crowd on a gloomy day on the Gold Coast.

A sell-out crowd of 55,000 braved the threat of rain at the Gold Coast Parklands - the first Australian stop for the country's biggest music festival after a visit to New Zealand on Friday.

Organisers said the bumper crowd was a promising sign given the squeeze of the economic crisis.

"I don't think Australia has really felt the brunt of it at this stage," co-producer Viv Lees said.

"The music business is definitely going to slow down a bit ... so we can probably expect next year the money might get a bit tighter and we might have to make some plans to compete a little bit more effectively."

A weaker Australian dollar has rung alarm bells for the industry, suggesting overseas acts could spurn touring down under in the coming months.

But Mr Lees doubted it would have a lasting effect on the Big Day Out.

"We've got a lot of confidence that the sky isn't going to fall in, but it'll be a challenge," he said.

"Bands are more and more dependent on their live work because of recording and publishing royalties changes ... so it doesn't mean we can't put on a fantastic show."

With the show headlined in 2009 by Canadian guitar legend Neil Young, fans of all ages were out in force on the Gold Coast to watch local bands such as The Grates, Sneaky Sound System and Youth Group.

The biggest crowds of the afternoon converged at the feet of British hip group of the moment, The Ting Tings, and electronica band Pendulum.

British indie rockers Arctic Monkeys will rock the main stage later in the night, ahead of local punk rockers The Living End, before Young takes to the stage.

Despite grey clouds for most of the afternoon, T-shirts and short shorts for both the girls and boys were the order of the day, while the latter also stripped for the quintessential Gold Coast look - no shirts at all.

Pundits often say you can judge the success of a music event by the number of crazy costumes in the crowd and the Gold Coast did not disappoint.

Authentically styled Arab sheiks, phalanxes of trojans and a man dressed in a leopard jumpsuit, complete with pink undies over the top a la Superman, were spotted in the crowd.

There were a handful of minor casualties - a Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman said four people were taken to hospital with nausea and dehydration complaints.

Two people sustained minor injuries in falls and were in a stable condition in hospital.

A police spokeswoman said that as of 5.25pm (AEDT) there appeared to be no major incidents.

She said the district duty officer was due shortly to make a full briefing.