Mt Duneed Estate – Saturday, November 12
Ft: Something for Kate, You Am I, Spiderbait, Jebediah, The Meanies
Aside from the winds that at some points threatened to blow away the stage, the chairs and anybody slightly uneasy on their feet, there was a massive turnout to see some of the greatest late 90s and early noughties bands.
The Meanies kicked things off, bracing the winds and matching them with their raucous stage performance. Jebediah followed a similar suit, with frontman Kevin Mitchell joking of his current hairstyle – whether from the wind or otherwise.
Unsuprisingly, Spiderbait were one of the highlights of the day, if not purely for the fact they managed to get everyone to raise their chairs above their heads for a full song – some of which mean raising three chairs that were all cable-tied together. Kram’s banter with the audience was at its best and a pleasant addition came with bassist Janet English doing a rendition of 99 Luftballons. Of course the classics, ‘Fucken Awesome’, a drawn out version of ‘Calypso’ and ‘Black Betty’ to round it out.
A surprise came with You Am I performing Nutbush City Limits, which while it mightn’t have been something I would have done, really showed the band knew their crowd as everyone was up in an instant. Let’s not forget the addition of the horn-section and the Wolfgramm Sisters. Otherwise the classics of ‘Cathy’s Clown’, ‘Good Morning’, ‘Baby Clothes’ and others were played for long-running fans, with a few newbies thrown in. Something for Kate closed the night off, bringing this stint of A Day on the Green to a relaxing close. A testament to their around 20-year history is the ability to play around with the classics while on stage, each band member having a moment in the spotlight.
One of the best things to come out of the day was seeing the relationship the bands had developed with each other. There were little loving compliments to one another through each band’s set, and there’s nothing like a little love on stage to make the audience feel it too. I’ve got a bit of love for A Day on the Green now too.
Reviewed by Amanda Sherring
Photographed by Lucinda Goodwin
