The 14th Annual Meredith Music Festival
By Jess McDougall
from 
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There is nothing better than going to a music festival, and Meredith is one of the best. Set out in the middle of a farm about an hour from Geelong and half and hour from Ballarat the Meredith festival has it all. Not only does it attract bands from all over the country but unique and interesting bands from overseas that you most probably won’t get much of a chance to check out.
This year the line up was littered with bands that have made a name for themselves but are not massively commercial- yet. From the Canadian wacky The Unicorns who played in white cult like outfits to the one man band Xavier Rudd to upcoming bands like 67 Special and The Young Heart Attack and the melodic and mesmerising M Ward and the Dirty Three; Meredith puts on 2 nights and 3 days of excellent talent.
The weather was out to get us though. Friday afternoon we drove up with our misfit group of music loving fun loving beer drinking friends chasing the dark clouds. But we were the lucky ones we managed to erect out tents right before the hailstones came down, by which time we retreated to the car to start our drinking (there were no other options!)
But who lets the weather stop a good time? Unfortunately for The Red Sun band just as the punters emerged to hear them the rain turned into a full blown storm with lightening, thunder and heavy rain drops, maybe 50 per cent of people watching them fled to campsites while the other 50 percent of us tried desperately to huddle under a very small plastic roof. One of the highlights of not only Friday night but the entire weekend was 67 Special’s performance- they played with such energy and enthusiasm that the rain didn’t matter for a while, the steam coming from the band proved that they were there to put on a show and not just appear to be on fire. Friday night also saw the Ground Components, Wolf and Cub, Die!Die!Die! Digger and the Pussycats, Cobra Killer, The Immortal Lee County Killers II. of which I saw all but the Immortal Lee County Killers II (sorry!) Cobra Killer tested me at 1 am in the morning wet and cold and the start of their performance dogged by technical problems, that was my cue for the night. Ground components put on a good set although after a while the lead singers voice felt like it was grating against my brain, Wolf and Cub were predictably good with their guitar based set.
With the gumboots that we got at the last minute quickly earning themselves a bravery award for slugging through what appeared to be shit but might just have been mud we took on Saturday knowing we couldn’t be stopped by foul weather. Couch in hand and an esky full of beer saw us set up on the hill to settle into a full day and late, late night of music and disorderly behaviour.
My Disco surprised and impressed me as the first band defiantly setting a good pace for the day. Followed by Wolfmother, a much hyped band of this year who you will remember by their song “woman”. This song captures the sound of this band and their set reflected much of the same Led Zeppelin inspired sound. After such rock I was disappointed by a back up tape and Sage Francis so that was my time to sample some of the food of which the standout winner was the corn on a cob.
The Unicorns kick started a good afternoon evening in their white costumes playing their quirky mix of rock and pop. Followed by M Ward and his guitar who completely captivated me just like the Dirty Three would later do to the rest of my crew playing at dusk. Young Heart Attack marked the start of the serious down and dirty rock n roll show. This Austin band wore black and had an attitude. True Live I remember as being good but Dallas Crane was really who I was looking forward to and they put in a solid performance, one which I’m told is the best in Melbourne. Dallas Crane have so much confidence on stage and their music is so easy to like because it is good. They wear shades and suits and his voice has a raw edge, they are very tight on stage.
After Dallas Crane there had to be something amazing or completely different and the Hilltop Hoods came to the rescue. This 3 member Aussie hip hop act have a set of songs that excite any crowd (you should have seen the crowd at Splendour for them) and Meredith was no exception, it was perfect timing where the beer that had been drunk had put people in the perfect mood to sing and play along with boys. The Dirty Three and Combo La Revelacion, set a new mood for the night revolving around lots of instrumentals and dancing and drinking, so unfortunately rocket science is a bit of a blur. By the time Spiderbait came on I was back interested in listening to the music if not slightly disappointed by their performance after seeing them put on such an amazing gig at splendour earlier this year- but they do please the crowds with their aggressively sweet sing along songs. Think: “You’re Fucking Awesome”.
Dexter and the Shook Daily crew make for a good night of dancing and singing along to snippets of songs we all pretend we don’t know the words to... I heard everyone singing to a cut in chorus of beyonce (don’t lie, I heard you!). My night winded up there, drunk amongst other things I stumbled back to my tent carrying one of my passed out friends and an esky.
With hardly any sleep because the car is really not as luxurious as you would think Tai Chi and coffee soothed my hung over head for a while. As a result of a numbing hangover and severe sunburn that had melted my brain Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males are the only band I can remember from Sunday’s line up. Oh and that terrible old man...hmmm.
The Meredith gift is truly unique to this festival where else would you find around 50 naked persons running to win the coveted golden jocks? To top it off this year J.K from Langwarrin set a new long distance naked running record, receiving his congratulations rather modestly! Dynamo deserve a mention even if just for the overexcited guitarist or the tied dyed shirt but mainly for the wicked song about all the hottest girls going to Meredith.
Next time if you don’t want to wait for 2 hours to get into Meredith on the way home take the first road on your right and then haul out the good ol’ Mel ways, we had the easiest trip home!
HIGHLIGHTS: 67 Special in the rain, Young Heart Attack, Dallas Crane, The Hilltop Hoods, M Ward, The Dirty Three and Tai Chi.
TIPS: don’t miss out next year.
This year the line up was littered with bands that have made a name for themselves but are not massively commercial- yet. From the Canadian wacky The Unicorns who played in white cult like outfits to the one man band Xavier Rudd to upcoming bands like 67 Special and The Young Heart Attack and the melodic and mesmerising M Ward and the Dirty Three; Meredith puts on 2 nights and 3 days of excellent talent.
The weather was out to get us though. Friday afternoon we drove up with our misfit group of music loving fun loving beer drinking friends chasing the dark clouds. But we were the lucky ones we managed to erect out tents right before the hailstones came down, by which time we retreated to the car to start our drinking (there were no other options!)
But who lets the weather stop a good time? Unfortunately for The Red Sun band just as the punters emerged to hear them the rain turned into a full blown storm with lightening, thunder and heavy rain drops, maybe 50 per cent of people watching them fled to campsites while the other 50 percent of us tried desperately to huddle under a very small plastic roof. One of the highlights of not only Friday night but the entire weekend was 67 Special’s performance- they played with such energy and enthusiasm that the rain didn’t matter for a while, the steam coming from the band proved that they were there to put on a show and not just appear to be on fire. Friday night also saw the Ground Components, Wolf and Cub, Die!Die!Die! Digger and the Pussycats, Cobra Killer, The Immortal Lee County Killers II. of which I saw all but the Immortal Lee County Killers II (sorry!) Cobra Killer tested me at 1 am in the morning wet and cold and the start of their performance dogged by technical problems, that was my cue for the night. Ground components put on a good set although after a while the lead singers voice felt like it was grating against my brain, Wolf and Cub were predictably good with their guitar based set.
With the gumboots that we got at the last minute quickly earning themselves a bravery award for slugging through what appeared to be shit but might just have been mud we took on Saturday knowing we couldn’t be stopped by foul weather. Couch in hand and an esky full of beer saw us set up on the hill to settle into a full day and late, late night of music and disorderly behaviour.
My Disco surprised and impressed me as the first band defiantly setting a good pace for the day. Followed by Wolfmother, a much hyped band of this year who you will remember by their song “woman”. This song captures the sound of this band and their set reflected much of the same Led Zeppelin inspired sound. After such rock I was disappointed by a back up tape and Sage Francis so that was my time to sample some of the food of which the standout winner was the corn on a cob.
The Unicorns kick started a good afternoon evening in their white costumes playing their quirky mix of rock and pop. Followed by M Ward and his guitar who completely captivated me just like the Dirty Three would later do to the rest of my crew playing at dusk. Young Heart Attack marked the start of the serious down and dirty rock n roll show. This Austin band wore black and had an attitude. True Live I remember as being good but Dallas Crane was really who I was looking forward to and they put in a solid performance, one which I’m told is the best in Melbourne. Dallas Crane have so much confidence on stage and their music is so easy to like because it is good. They wear shades and suits and his voice has a raw edge, they are very tight on stage.
After Dallas Crane there had to be something amazing or completely different and the Hilltop Hoods came to the rescue. This 3 member Aussie hip hop act have a set of songs that excite any crowd (you should have seen the crowd at Splendour for them) and Meredith was no exception, it was perfect timing where the beer that had been drunk had put people in the perfect mood to sing and play along with boys. The Dirty Three and Combo La Revelacion, set a new mood for the night revolving around lots of instrumentals and dancing and drinking, so unfortunately rocket science is a bit of a blur. By the time Spiderbait came on I was back interested in listening to the music if not slightly disappointed by their performance after seeing them put on such an amazing gig at splendour earlier this year- but they do please the crowds with their aggressively sweet sing along songs. Think: “You’re Fucking Awesome”.
Dexter and the Shook Daily crew make for a good night of dancing and singing along to snippets of songs we all pretend we don’t know the words to... I heard everyone singing to a cut in chorus of beyonce (don’t lie, I heard you!). My night winded up there, drunk amongst other things I stumbled back to my tent carrying one of my passed out friends and an esky.
With hardly any sleep because the car is really not as luxurious as you would think Tai Chi and coffee soothed my hung over head for a while. As a result of a numbing hangover and severe sunburn that had melted my brain Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males are the only band I can remember from Sunday’s line up. Oh and that terrible old man...hmmm.
The Meredith gift is truly unique to this festival where else would you find around 50 naked persons running to win the coveted golden jocks? To top it off this year J.K from Langwarrin set a new long distance naked running record, receiving his congratulations rather modestly! Dynamo deserve a mention even if just for the overexcited guitarist or the tied dyed shirt but mainly for the wicked song about all the hottest girls going to Meredith.
Next time if you don’t want to wait for 2 hours to get into Meredith on the way home take the first road on your right and then haul out the good ol’ Mel ways, we had the easiest trip home!
HIGHLIGHTS: 67 Special in the rain, Young Heart Attack, Dallas Crane, The Hilltop Hoods, M Ward, The Dirty Three and Tai Chi.
TIPS: don’t miss out next year.