REVIEW: Laneway Festival - Sydney, 2018.

From the tasteful lineup right down to the relaxed atmosphere, Laneway Sydney once again pulled through with the goods, continuing it’s legacy of being one of the years favourite summer festivals. Held at the scenic Sydney College Of The Arts at Callan Park, the venue oozed with a peaceful serenity and chilled-out vibes, short of any gaping singlets and tight short-shorts types.

Upon arriving to the venue I was pleased to find myself in the line for no longer than two minutes, a transition so painless it was as if I blew in with the breeze. After strolling across the grassy green knolls and admiring the scenery, I wandered over to the drinks tent and was welcomed by a vast selection of beverages for price that even your mum would love. Served by the friendly drink staff, we gathered ourselves and headed over to the first act of the day that made my list of top Laneway picks, Dream Wife.

Front by Icelandic singer Rakel Mjoll, British band Dream Wife are an ode to young women everywhere; grrrrrl power In it’s truest form. Pointing at the crowd and singing, “I spy with my little eye, bad bitches,” before screaming, “bad, bad, bitches!” this ass-kicking band of femmes rocked the f*ck out of the stage, bursting a few ear drums along the way (in the best way possible). With their punk-rock energy and bad attitude, Mjoll was dripping with confidence and charisma, and the crowd ate it all up.

Summoning a huge crowd that we had to migrate into the mosh for, it’s clear .Paak was a crowd favourite. Backed by his band The Free Nationals, they opened with Come Down, diving into Venue and Malibu and a cover of Ignition by R Kelly. Switching instruments as any good artist does during a live performance, .Paak jumped behind the drums, smashing away and yelling, ”Make some noise if you love your mamma… yeah, I love your mamma too,” before the crowd naturally, lost its shit. Rich in stage presence, sound and overall positive vibes, .Paak was one of the definite highlights of the day.

Mac DeMarco can’t help but have fun during a live performance, proving any twilight performance needs a drizzle of eccentricity. From his sense of humour to overall quirky persona, DeMarco has a natural ability to make the audience fall head over heals in love with him, swooning them from the moment he jumped on stage. Also taking the liberty of getting behind the drums halfway through the set, DeMarco smashed out new material such as My Old Man and This Old Dog to older favourites such as Blue Boy and Chamber of Reflection, delivery a perfect set every time.

With head and heart torn between watching War On Drugs and POND, I flipped a coin and as luck would have it, POND was the winner. And they remained one of the night’s winning acts, delivering a psychedelic set bursting with energy and colourful visuals. Proving size doesn’t matter was the small man with the big voice, Nick Allbrook, who killed it with his stage presence and fuzzed out guitar riffs. Creating an undeniable urge to dance and violently shake your hair around, watching POND as the final act of the night was the perfect end to yet another epic Laneway.

A job well done, Sydney. See you next year for another day that beams with optimism, quirky creativity and chilled-out vibes.

Written by: Jacinta Rets

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