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BDO Makes Successful Return
It was a thumbs up for Big Day Out’s return to New Zealand, after a year’s hiatus due to low ticket sales and a loss of NZ$2 million ($1.64 million).
More than 41,000 journeyed to its new home at Western Springs Stadium Jan. 17. Crowds relished the greener areas, and lots of trees to chill under, as opposed to the concrete ambience of the festival’s home at
“Isn’t this just a massive improvement, it’s a new era,” said Phoenix Foundation guitarist Samuel Flynn Scott.
Big Day Out NZ promoter Campbell Smith was more vocal: he wished he’d made the move 10 years ago.
Arcade Fire, Snoop Dogg, Deftones, The Hives (who were a last-minute replacement for Blur), Tame Impala and NZ band The Naked And Famous (making their first hometown appearance after years abroad) put in spirited performances.
Lorde joined Diplo, Major Lazer and Mac Miller onstage.
More than 41,000 journeyed to its new home at Western Springs Stadium Jan. 17. Crowds relished the greener areas, and lots of trees to chill under, as opposed to the concrete ambience of the festival’s home at
They brought out Liam Finn for a song, paid tribute to a New Zealand fan who died two years ago in a freak boating accident in Australia and Eddie Vedder again thanked the lifeguards who saved his life when he went surfing in treacherous waters with Neil and Tim Finn some years ago and almost drowned.
Some things did mar the excitement of the return of the festival.
Police reported seven arrests, two for breaching bail conditions and five for drunkenness.
The new venue had teething problems, with hour-long waits for drinks, toilets, food tokens and free WiFi.
There were also complaints about schedule clashes: Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg and Deftones, for instance, were all on at the same time.
Campbell tweeted, “I’m sorry about queues, they were unacceptable. There’s plenty to work on to make it better. But overall I think it was an epic homecoming.”