Rockers say bigger is better

THE Big Day Out has a reputation for being 'the big day off' among many bands.

Big day out Hit

THE Big Day Out has a reputation for being 'the big day off' among many bands.

Maybe that's why it's the festival bands are desperate to play and a sign you've officially "made it''. Here are some BDO memories from artists who have been there and done that as Australia's most prestigious festival turns 21.

CHAD SMITH (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
"We played the Big Day Out in 2000 with Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails. It was incredible - great fun and a great vibe. I remember it was very well run, very well organised. We've played lots of festivals, some more organised than others, but I remember the Big Day Out crowds were very boisterous and the weather was really good. It was really fun, and the bands all getting along, and the stages side by side.

"We could watch each band play. I also remember the great musical camaraderie … and that depends on who you put together. It's like any good party, you know - when you put the right people together in a room, that makes all the difference. I think people connect with the vibe when the bands are having a good time and they're enjoying themselves. That energy translates into the crowd. We're gonna rock as hard as ever.''
 
TIM ROGERS (YOU AM I)
"Favourite memories: I had dinner with Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye one night off in 1997. I said little and tried not to stare, beyond lovingly. A Cruel Sea show in Brisbane that had all the roll and tumble I'd only heard on imaginary records. Mark Lanegan slurpin' hotel room honey podules and Jagermeister while on crutches fronting the Screaming Trees. Iggy Pop leaping from his tour bus in 1993 like the Pied Piper or the Artful Dodger. All the other stories aren't palatable.''
 
WALLY (THE MEANIES)
"The Meanies were lucky enough to be on the very first Big Day Out that was a Sydney-only event in 1992. We were also one of the bands that had been touring the country with Nirvana on their one and only visit here. Because of this fact, BDO promoter Ken West called me as the bands' representative and asked a favour.

"Or, in actuality, we had a lovely chat and he let me down gently with some unfortunate news: `Your playing time clashes with Nirvana's.' His reasoning for that was that every other band on the line-up wanted to see Nirvana play, and up until that point The Meanies were the only band on the bill that had already done so. As a result we drew the short straw.

"The first 15 minutes of our set was amazing. Then we started playing to people's backs as they walked away to the stage Nirvana were on. They left in droves. We had a few hardcore followers stick around though, bless 'em. At one point we Meanies even downed tools and walked off stage in a mock strike and headed towards where Nirvana were on.
 
SARAH McLEOD (THE SUPERJESUS)
"Playing at the Big Day Out is one of the most exciting performances a band can do. The Superjesus were lucky enough to play three consecutive years of them and it was the probably some the most fun times we ever had. It's like a big travelling circus and everybody hangs out together like a family. It's debaucherous yet competitive, so you've gotta keep up with the best of them at the bar at night but then be on your game the next day on stage.''
 
ADRIAN BELTRAME (LITTLE RED)
"I remember Neil Young on the 2009 tour was incredible. He brought along this 100-year-old organ just to play this one song every night by himself called Mother Earth. And then he would finish the set with (The Beatles') A Day in the Life and break all the strings on his guitar and the show would end in this bizarre cacophony of feedback and chanting. Not quite as bizarre as the Rammstein show but it still shocked a few people.''
 
JOHNNY MACKAY (CHILDREN COLLIDE)
"Things I've done at The Big Day Out: got blanked by Die Antwoord in the cafeteria; met Craig Nichols (the Vines) at the urinal; almost pushed the drummer from Rammstein into the pool; shed tears to Bjork; bowed down to Grinderman; bounced around to MIA; got vitamin B shots with Cut Copy; had life-changing experiences whenever I entered Lilyworld. I love you, Big Day Out.''
 
STU MACLEOD (ESKIMO JOE)
"My favourite memories of the Big Day Out aren't really moments when we're playing, they're moments when I've seen some incredible bands performing. The Breeders, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, The Ramones, Urge Overkill, Itch-E and Scratch-E and Teenage Fanclub in '94 would have to go down as the greatest line-up I've seen. Ministry, Primal Scream and a young Silverchair in '95.

"Rage Against The Machine, Prodigy and a kick-a--- Regurgitator in '96. Seeing a young, barely famous White Stripes play the small stage each night in '02 was amazing. Wilco in 2003 was one of the best shows I've ever seen. And the Flaming Lips in 2004? Wow. It doesn't get better than that. Playing the BDO is such an amazing experience. You travel from place to place, setting up your own mini music metropolis everywhere you go, and forging these new friendships with people from all over the globe. And you play two shows a week for three weeks. More like the Big Day Off. Not to mention all the music. It's fricken awesome.''
 
MISSY HIGGINS
"I've never played the Big Day Out, but I've had couple of life-changing, musical epiphanies while crammed into the middle of a sweaty moshpit, shaky beer in hand. I remember seeing both Peaches and PJ Harvey years ago when I was just starting out performing. I was blown away by the fierceness of these larger-than-life women, rocking it out on stage wearing next-to-nothing yet still remaining so empowered and in control. I was inspired. Then a couple of years ago I went back and saw Neil Young headline, which was one of the most incredible performances I've seen.

"He didn't play his guitar like an instrument, he caressed it, bent it back and forth and somehow became his guitar. I've never seen anything like it. I stood there in awe of this 64-year-old and I remember leaving, thinking if I can have even half the passion and energy that that guy does now at his age, I'll be happy. Yes, I've learnt a lot at the Big Day Out.''

SAM LOCKWOOD (THE JEZABELS)
"I remember we were playing at the Adelaide Big Day Out just gone by. It was a beautiful afternoon and our set was going really well. After probably the fourth song I heard someone from the crowd yell out `Sam, your fly is undone'. I looked down and happily it was safely done up. But then when I looked up everyone was laughing. Great! But really I think that my misfortune represents somehow the good vibes that can be found at the BDO. I double-check my fly before every show now.''

ADALITA
"I have so many great Big Day Out memories. Dressing up in animal costumes for The Flaming Lips' show, sharing backstage trailers with Iggy Pop, meeting Joe Strummer, watching Sonic Youth in the rain. I do recall one year in particular we (Magic Dirt) were playing quite early in the day so after our shows we had a fair bit of time to kill. I recall one particularly boisterous afternoon, while hanging out with Channel [V]'s Jabba, we gathered as many empty cardboard boxes we could find and built a massive wall, which we proceeded to crash drive through with our tour Tarago. All thankfully caught on camera.

"On that same day, Grinspoon were playing on one of the main stages in front of 40,000 people. On a whim and a few beers, our guitarist Raul and drummer Adam stripped down to nothing and sauntered on stage. Lead singer for Grinspoon  Phil Jamieson hadn't cottoned on that they were there until Raul sidled right up to him at the microphone and then Phil did a double take, stumbled back and cracked up. Luckily the Grinspoon guys saw the funny side.
 
ELLA HOOPER
"Playing the Big Day Out in Killing Heidi in 2000 was a real turning point for me and one of the most memorable moments of my career. A perfect storm of amazing events literally played out like a Hollywood movie that day - an amazing gig culminating in the over-stuffed side stage crowd singing me 'Happy Birthday' (it was my 17th) and Anthony Kiedis saying on stage their drummer (Chad) was "going to marry the girl from Killing Heidi in the car park after the show'' and the crowd was invited. And I was in the crowd at the time, moshing like it was 1999. Needless to say the BDO holds a very special place in my and most musos' hearts.''
 
BEN GILLIES (SILVERCHAIR)
"Thoughts that come to mind when I think Big Day Out: 15,000 people in a sardine can in 1995; my dad's blue tarp used as a 20-foot trampoline by punters; dust; The Offspring force-feeding shots of tequila to some very happy teenagers; table tennis battles, Phil Jamieson (Dead Cat 3 Times); Tarago convoys; Mr Lily Pad; people attempting to eat their ears; nerves before stage, rider spiders (Phil Jamieson); grips and grins; not remembering names of people I've known for 10 years; mountainous mini-bar bills; seeing Ian Astbury of The Cult apply make-up and wondering 'Why?' But most of all, the amazing experience of playing the Big Day Out.''

JULIA STONE (ANGUS & JULIA STONE)
"At one Big Day Out I got thrown a pair of boys' underwear. Nice and sweaty. But sweet. That kind of s--- is rare and so I appreciated the gesture. Another great moment was listening to Grinderman from the concrete floor. Lying down on the outskirts, having a little rest while Warren Ellis shreds. We had fun shows. People are there to listen all kinds of music - you can go from the Boiler Room to Rammstein to Edward Sharpe. It's all goodness. Music is music.''
 
DAVE GRANEY
"Big Day Out? I liked it at the old showgrounds in Sydney and in Melbourne. There was a great one we played in Sydney in the Hordern Pavilion where the Underground Lovers had their brilliant Dream It Down album out and had that song about being a showgirl and they got this line of Kings Cross dancers in total showgirl, feather boa drag to move on to the stage as the song kicked into its widescreen groove.

"Then we played a great set which was marred by the humourless Yankee Jon Spencer sending a roadie onstage with `Blow me Dave' written on his torso. Such manifest disrespect from such a slight talent. I'm still waiting for an apology.
 
CHRISTIAN LO RUSSO (AMY MEREDITH)
"We had the pleasure of gracing the Big Day Out stage in 2011. It was probably one the hottest days I can remember being alive for, not to mention having to play - I think by the time we took to the stage the temperature had hit its peak of 45C, turning the mosh pit into a sweatbox love affair.

"But we decided to make the most of it - we came out with super-soaker guns, beach balls and all party essentials. We wanted to turn the show into a little bit of a riot. We have played hundreds of shows around the world but I would say Big Day Out was one of, if not the best, shows of the band's career.''
 
IAN KENNY (BIRDS OF TOKYO)
"There have been sweat shop face melters, racist comments to idols, tennis competitions `til sunrise, Tiki Bar bar blow-outs, kiddy pool refreshments and much much more. BDO is fun.''
 
PAUL MAC (ITCH-E & SCRATCH-E)
"I've had plenty of amazing rock experiences at the BDO (including playing keys with Silverchair on the main stage) but I'll always remember the first year of the Boiler Room. It was an experiment, essentially. A bakingly hot, sweaty mass of people and beats that felt like a really good daytime rave.

"For me it was a life raft in an ocean of guitars. Metalheads would enter in their black T-shirts to have a peek and would stay for hours dancing. It was a totally mixed bag of people that I reckon had a lot to do with the cross-pollination of dance and rock in those very apartheid-like early days. Loved the Boiler Room and still do!''
 
MUSCLES
"I lost my festival virginity at the Big Day Out 1999. I was 12 years old; I took the train from Shepparton to Melbourne with a couple of mates. I remember walking around and thinking, 'This is huge!' I wanted to be a part of it somehow. My memory is foggy but main highlights I remember are seeing Fat Boy Slim, Underworld and Groove Terminator. Totally changed my life. I probably wouldn't be making music if it wasn't for this experience, and especially seeing how bands played festivals live. Seeing the acts command the audience from the stage seemed like a magical power.''
 
BLUEJUICE
"We've had many memorable experiences at Big Day Out: sweating visibly through the crotches of our already-unflattering yellow jumpsuits; watching our manager wrestle with an unruly giant inflatable flower; bleeding all over another band's bass guitar after they were kind enough to lend it to us; and pinball. The fishing-themed pinball! The combination of terror, fun and professional satisfaction that came with playing to a huge and excitable audience was also a big deal for us, but let's face it: the fishing-themed pinball machine marked a very important time in all our lives''
 
RYAN O'KEEFFE (AIRBOURNE)
"Around the world the Big Day Out is well known in the touring music industry as `The Big Day Off!' This is because every crew member or musician worldwide dreams and looks forward to doing the Big Day Out tour again and again, as it's a touring person's dream tour. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world. This is because it's seen as an all-expenses paid holiday rather than a tour.

"With a complimentary after-party after every show and then some, and you're in touring heaven. Don't forget you also get to explore one of the greatest countries in the world while you're at it. Sometimes things like the Big Day Out is what keeps many of us constantly out on the road with a big smile on our face. May the BDO keep on rockin' forever!''
 
JIM JONES (THE JIM JONES REVUE)
"The Jim Jones Revue had never been Down Under before, and being part of the Big Day Out was the best possible introduction to Australia. It was possibly one of the smoothest running tours I have ever been a part of; right down to the where you're gonna party each night! We were blown away by the whole experience: great bands, great places, great food, and ass-kicking shows in front of thousands of Australian rock'n'roll maniacs - all of 'em totally up for it, even in the blistering summer heat! Edible!''

** SEE

Big Day Out, Flemington Racecourse, January 26. On sale today, $165-$265, www.bigdayout.com