It was the perfect day. The sun was shining, the punters were smiling and the line-up was the best Canberra has ever seen. It was clearly time for Groovin’ The Moo 2010 at the University of Canberra (UC).
As the gates opened onto the UC ovals, the punters streamed in to a barrage of beats and smiles. The line-up was strong from start to finish and patrons were quick to migrate to the three stages of the festival.
Unlike the some of the other summer festivals Canberra has to offer, GTM was for all-ages, and it was a pleasant change to see all-ages enjoying the sun and the fantastic music on offer.
Hancock Basement is the first band to catch my ears, performing on the large Myspace stage. These guys did not have to travel far to the gig (they hail from Canberra), and had clearly saved their energies for the stage.
Performing a potent mix of pop/rock, songs such as Hey Kid’s and the dissonant Lovely Bone’s woke the crowd up, and showed off what Canberra is capable of.
Kisschasy appeared shortly after, playing songs from their 2009 release Seizures, as well as some old classics. It was an unlucky set, which had to be cut in half by a power break on stage. It was the band’s 49th time in Canberra, and their experience showed as they kept the crowd groovin’ along.
Fresh from her Australian Music Prize win (one I feel was as contentious as it was dubious) Lisa Mitchell performed on the Triple J stage. Her hit songs such as Coin Laundry and Neapolitan Dreams were well received by the crowd, but I felt her softly spoken vibe didn’t translate well to a festival situation.
By two o’clock the crowds were building in anticipation for the headliner acts. Miami Horror proved to be an generic addition to the line-up, and seemed bland when compared to the heavy rock and engaging performance of British India, whom the band followed.
By the time Canadian duo Tegan and Sara came onto the Triple J stage, the sun had already set and the crowd were left with a cold Canberra winter evening. The duo were incredibly entertaining and in-between onstage anecdotes played songs from their 2009 album Sainthood.
After a colourful and entertaining Empire of the Sun set, it was Vampire Weekend’s turn to groove the crowd.
From the hill I was able to see the manic scenes, as festival go-er’s jumped and bobbed to hits like Cousins and Oxford Comma. They played exactly what the crowd wanted to hear, and played it perfectly.
By this stage the temperature had plummeted, but Silverchair rose to the stage emphatically to raise the temperatures one last time. Daniel Johns is truly one of the best front-men Australia has to offer, and he proved it, performing with ‘bourbon and powerade’ fuelled vigour.
With teeth plucked guitar solos, famous songs, stage diving, an ironic and impromptu Hot Hot Hot cover, and energetic and heavy music, Silverchair stamped their mark on the festival.
It was a fitting end to a brilliant festival, and we are blessed that a festival like this has thrived in Canberra. One can only hope that the success of this year’s event will see GTM’s return next year.
Photos by Chris Whitfield
