Harvest 2012 | Botanic Gardens | Brisbane | Photos | Part 2

Harvest 2012 @ The Botanic Gardens, Brisbane, 18.11.2012: Part 2

Beck - Harvest 2012 @ Botanic Gardens, Sunday 18 November 2012

Looking back over 2012’s music festivals, it was definitely the year of disappointing festivals. Whether a case of average line-ups or on-the-day issues, none really delivered as an overall package, even though there were obvious pockets of quality bands and quality sets at each festival.

If I hadn’t had been photographing at Harvest last year, I definitely would have bought a ticket. This year I wouldn’t have. The more interesting things that happened at this year’s Harvest happened during the daylight hours but it still wouldn’t have been enough for me to part with $180 (or whatever it was). I guess I’m surprised that so many people get excited about Beck in 2012. Having seen him a number of times down the years at various music festivals, he’s someone I’ve just never connected with. Although the named headliner, he played before Sigur Ros, another post-rock band that leaves me cold. I just don’t see this beauty that everyone else claims about them. Last year had Portishead and Flaming Lips. Main stage headliners of Beck and Sigur Ros just don’t come close to 2011’s offerings.

The interesting parts of Harvest 2012 mainly happened either very early on in the day or on the smallest stage (the Big Red Tractor Stage). War On Drugs, Dexys, Liars and Black Angels were highlights from the day. Chromatics’ set was affected by the storm and ended up being later and shorter than planned, which meant I couldn’t see as much as had hoped. On the main stage, Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane provided something different from the largely unexciting bill. We had advanced warning that we would only be able to photograph the second song and that it wouldn’t be from the photo pit. However, no one came to meet us and direct us to the required spot so all of the photographers ended up photographing the first three songs from the pit. Given his reputation regarding photographers, I was expecting Patton to say something but he didn’t He didn’t spit on us nor did he roll his microphone stand off the stage into the photo pit. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience.