Vivid 2011 part II
Now that I’ve sufficiently recovered from 10 days of fun and music that was Vivid festival , I can finally wrap this story up. There was so many great moments and so many things to see but one of the ones I am upset I missed was jazz legend Sonny Rollins who was reportedly unbelievable. One of the ones that I did see but will haunt my nightmares forever was the show by legendary director Chris Cunningham . I also loved Tom Kuntz’s installation titled “Lucky Dragons” that featured a “jungle of multi-layered sound where large,unearthly,music producing insects surround you” with ever changing music .Tom is a funny guy who has produced some amazing music videos and is lauded as the director of the hilarious Old Spice ads. It was also great hanging out with the Soulwax guys who were out here as part of Vivid Live’s daily radio broadcast on Triple J. The shows were funny and informative and included interviews with a few of Vivid’s acts including Daniele Baldelli (the man who invented Cosmic music ), Horsemeat disco ( lucky boys flew in from playing at the Chanel resort collection in the south of France ), Tame Impala , Avalanches and Sarah and Charlotte from Bat for Lashes. The tapings were on very late at night but ended up being fun with delicious North Bondi Italian food being ordered in to the recording studio ,situated in the bowels of the Opera House. Then on Saturday , Soulwax played a banging celebratory set at the studio and really got to flex their awesome DJ muscles.
Stef of Soulwax
Dave of Soulwax
Horsemeat disco @ taping
soulwax at the studio
My girlfriend gushed that she had a new crush in the form of the frontman of Wu Lyf . I couldn’t work out why until I saw them play and he stripped off his shirt, which lead to a massive collective sigh from the female side of the audience but a bit of arm crossing from the guys. Their music was much more melodious and pretty than I previously thought.
Wu Lyf
Similarly there was an incredible amount of women acting like giddy school girls while watching The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. It was easy to see why : not only are these boys strappingly handsome and handy with their instruments but the show was so full of energy and joy that the whole audience was on their feet and left feeling refreshingly elated. Their performance was somewhat of a surprise smash hit of the festival.
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Tame Impala played their trademark psychedelic groove and sent the audience on a hypnotic journey…
…and everyone loved seeing Bat for Lashes who played twice, once in an intimate Studio setting and later, she floored the Concert Hall with her grace and perfect pitch vocals.
The festival ended with a bang, courtesy of Club Kooky, a Sydney icon in itself. After 10 pm the lights on the Opera House went through a specifically designed section every hour to honour this club and their contributions with a segment featuring rainbows, fists and magic. I wish I filmed it but I was too busy having fun. With Horsemeat disco ,Baldelli ,Azari & III, Itchy and Scratchy and the Kooky guys playing , everyone had their dancing shoes on, not to mention their weird and wonderful costumes ! People really made an effort and it was the most fun and friendly atmosphere. So when the burly security guys gave Baldelli the “kill it” sign around 1:30 am there was a collective outcry. What? Finished already? My friend said sadly : I don’t know what I’m gonna do with myself now that Vivid is finished ! I kind of got used to coming to the Opera House after work each day for a mulled wine and some culture…
Leo of the Canyons giving his best model impersonation
Daniel Single, Cedrick of Azari & III and Beni (who is about to take over with his album House of Beni)
an interesting necklace
toad bag anyone?
incredible headgear
