It quickly became obvious that if you came to Groovin the Moo in Oakbank expecting to your carefully planned, Coachella-ready festival outfit snapped by a photographer, you were probably gonna have a bad time. Recent wintry and rainy weather stuck with the hills throughout the day and night, turning the Oakbank Racecourse into a sludgy mud pit by the time people started leaving/sliding out at the end of the night. It's testament to the line up GTM brought through this year, that people stuck it out and didn't give up; rather, embracing the mud and the rain and getting as chaotic as the elements did.
One thing I enjoy about this festival is that for the most part, the scheduled set times run brilliantly into one another. Having two main stages also cuts down running around and room for error, but it never felt like the crowd was left waiting for any long period of time in between acts. The Moolin Rouge tent always seemed to be heaving, hosting a diverse line up of performers; having the likes of DMAs, The Delta Riggs, RL Grime and A$AP Ferg bring their own energy through during the festival didn't isolate punters, instead offering something unique and fun with each performance.
Meg Mac was an artist I'd been keen to see all day but unfortunately, sound issues let her down severely. The crowd for a decent two, maybe three songs, couldn't hear the vocalist at all - when I arrived I thought I was listening to the band soundcheck. Once the audio problems were worked out, Meg powered through the remaining songs of her set, leading the crowd in an awesome delivery of "Grandma's Hands" and "Roll Up Your Sleeves" - all was forgiven. She took us to church.
Sydney's One Day collective brought a dose of hip-hop to GTM that levelled up with the Hilltop set at the end of the night perfectly, early in the afternoon. A standout set from Joyride and members of Jackie Onassis, Horrorshow and Spit Syndicate, this was the first moment during the festival where I had the indication that things were about to get muddy and messy real quick. The way these guys perform when in each other's presence is half the fun about watching a group like One Day get together. It's their first time performing as One Day in SA but regardless, the advantage of their individual fan bases being quite strong here meant that there was a sense of familiarity already existing between artist and crowd. Watching people in the crowd who'd never heard or seen Joyride in particular perform stop, recognise and holler as his voice carried out strongly across the open field was a true treat and as the grins spread across the faces of the guys on stage, you could tell the feeling was mutual. It's a clever move by festival organisers having these guys on the bill; the music they've made is so accessible to this type of crowd and yet, it offers more than your normal hip-hop show experience. It's awesome.
I bailed out of the mosh area as soon as Sticky Fingers struck up their set, with the crowd cramming in as close as they could to the stage. Between them and The Preatures who followed straight after, GTM Oakbank was delivered some strong sets by two Australian bands who are straight up killing it both at home and abroad at the moment. I duck into the Moolin Rouge tent to see the last half of San Cisco's set, which resulted in a big dance party for set closer "Fred Astaire". It's great to see the band back on stages around the country - they're perfect for festivals and haven't lost any of that energy and kickass stage presence in their time away.
I'd not seen Ball Park Music since SXSW, where they played in the rain, funnily enough, in a small tent to a crowd of maybe 30. Seeing them on a big festival stage with a huge PA behind them quickly brought me back to realising how massive they are at home and as I had thought during their show last month, they've really upped their live show and have become so much tighter as a live unit. Sam has a performance quality about him that spews confidence and charisma, yet when he looks out at the crowd who is by this stage, absolutely drenched to the bone, the 'Good effort everyone, I love you' he delivers down the mic is as down to earth and genuine as can be.
Back in the Moolin Rouge tent, Peaches prepares to give the crowd an education about the advantages of big dicks, big vaginas and what she likes to do with them/have done to them. If you've not seen Peaches before, you really must try to - she's fucking great. I've waited a decent few years to see her perform and it reminds me of the first time I saw Robyn perform; I was equal parts intimidated as hell by her live presence and also just wanting to hit the floor kow-towing to her awesomeness. Joined by her two dancers who helped with costume changes and wild dancing, Peaches smashed up the tent, popped bottles of champagne and delivered some awesome dance music that had the crowd getting wild.
As we approached the last round of bands on the outside stages, the cold had really started to set in and I'd begun regretting wearing canvas shoes. Mud was halfway up my legs and my feet felt frozen, but we soldier on, right? Charli XCX stormed her way through an evening set that bewildered many, I'm sure. The radio hits in "Boom Clap", "Doing It" and "Break the Rules" brought great responses, but adding a horrible remix of "Fancy" just took things in the opposite direction for me. It just wasn't good. She had a great band behind her, something I can appreciate..but that was about it, for this reviewer.
It seemed apt that the headline set on the outdoor main stage would fall upon the Hilltop Hoods' shoulders. We were, after all, in their playground. Last seen having the same riled up, wild energy at Future Music, it's testament to these guys' talent as performers that the crowd hadn't waned any despite them playing basically the same set only a month ago. A run through some of the biggest hits of their catalogue was the name of the game tonight and even though we were all freezing, both Suffa and Pressure were commenting on how hot they were feeling up on stage, pausing to cool down at different moments. I've always thought the Hoods were appealing, even if you're not the biggest hip-hop head; chances are you're gonna throw your hands up like you're hailing a taxi during "The Nosebleed Section" and you may think to yourself, 'Hell yeah I feel in charge like Biggie, wearing my Cosby Sweater'. Men for the people, the Hoods are.
In all Groovin the Moo pulled off another successful day and night in SA, selling out tickets in its second year. They'll need to take weather into account for next year, I think - there's hardly any lighting on the grounds at night, making trudging through mud and general slipperiness slightly dangerous. But hey, it's all fun at the time.
