Still A Big Day Out

Still A Big Day Out
By Carl Suurmond

The first time I joined the queues outside the BDO in Auckland it was the end of the nineties and the Australasian music festival had returned after being cancelled in 1998.

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Image: Daniel du Plessis

The lineup that year included: The Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Soulfly, Hole, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Fatboy Slim, Ash, The Living End and more. I was there to see metal bands Soulfly and Korn and anything that had heavy guitar riffs.

Not quite the legal drinking age of 18, most of my time was spent getting amongst the action at the front of the main stages.

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Image: Carl Suurmond

Admittedly, my friends and I had a liquid breakfast earlier in the car park before the gates had opened. The nauseating effects of the cheap vile drink wore off sometime around midday and by that time the friends that I had came in with were lost in the sea of unrecognizable people.

If you did see one of your mates it would be in the heat of the sweaty mosh pit.

The front of the mosh pit was the best spot to be, except when you were squashed up against a sweaty, aggro, shirt-less guy.

A few metres back from the stage, the front rail was occupied by fanatical fans clinging to their small piece of rail, singing, screaming and shouting at the bands on the stage.

Overhead the bodies of crowd-surfers rolled over the waves of arms and hands. If you were unlucky, you got a boot in the face or an elbow in the nose.

But being closest to the main stages seemed worth it at the time. It was testing at times, as people would move forward and backwards, from right to left, there was nowhere to go except with the motion of the crowd.

For those shorter people on the front rail, the surge of people could be crushing. Those who had had enough, often due to heat exhaustion, were rescued by concerned revelers, who lifted them up and over the crowd. Those, often distraught people, were fished out by one of the bulky security guards that lined the front of the stage.

Nowadays, you’re more likely to find me relaxing on the grass field up by the green stage, or up in one of the grand stands.

The Boiler Room is also a place to escape the burn of the sun in the afternoon.

After the sun sets, the huge marquee tent lives up to its name. People pour into the tent, especially in the last hours of the festival. The heat of all those bodies sends the temperature upwards; it really is like a sauna in there.

The 1999 BDO for me will always rate as one of the best, mainly because I was a BDO virgin. So many live acts in one place on one day, it was great value for the cost of the ticket which was just under $80.

I’m coming up to a decade of BDOs now (past lineups), having had missed a couple along the way, some are more memorable than others. These are my own highlights:

2000- This was a great year. I could legally drink. The Chemical Brothers set was mind blowing. Then there were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Foo Fighters, Salmonella Dub and Shihad.

2002- Went to the Gold Coast show. It was unbearably hot and I got very lost. Seeing Shihad play in Auz was pretty sweet. An epic lineup: Prodigy, The Crystal Method, Basement Jaxx, White Stripes, System Of A Down and NOFX.

2005- Seeing the freaks come out for Slipknot. Good lineup: Beastie Boys, The Chemical Brothers, System Of A Down, The Donnas.

2007- Another solid year: Tool, Violent Femmes, John Butler Trio, the Killers, Shapeshifter and Crystal Method DJs.

2008- There was a sell-out crowd of 45,000 it was pretty congested at times. The year Rage Against the Machine returned, the whole stadium was jumping, it was a sight to see.

Each year the lineup is announced in three installments, much discussion follows afterwards. No matter the lineup I think there are always some acts that are worth seeing.

While some are not always happy with the lineup, for me the BDO is a January tradition as it probably is for many people out there. (2010 lineup)

It’s more than a chance to check out great bands and soak up the ambience of the day - it’s really the only time in the year where I get to catch up with all my mates, this Friday will be no exception.

ENDS

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