Me vs Splendour In The Grass 2009 – Part 2

The final additions to the 2009 Splendour In The Grass festival were announced today, to go with the already announced list that I blogged about last month, with the final 18 bands being as follows:

  • Happy Mondays
  • Doves
  • Architecture In Helsinki
  • You Am I
  • The Beautiful Girls
  • Downsyde & Drapht
  • Kisschasy
  • Little Red
  • Bluejuice
  • Children Collide
  • Miami Horror Live
  • Art vs. Science
  • Paul Dempsey
  • Dappled Cities
  • Dananananaykroyd
  • Holly Throsby
  • Bridezilla
  • Deya Dova

This year the first announcement had 28 acts, with the 18 announced today making a total of 46 artists for 2009.  The 2008 second announcement had 21 acts to go with the 26 announced in the first line-up, making 47 in total over the weekend.

In my previous blog I posted that the main disappointment was the choice of Australian acts, which just seemed to be the same tired old acts that get wheeled out at every Australian festival on a two-year rotating cycle.  Looking at the lineup in full, of the 46 acts playing, 5 played last year and a further 8 played in 2007 (although that does include the non-Australian Bloc Party).  Another major disappointment is that whereas 19 international acts were on the bill in 2008, this year there’s a paltry 13, almost a third less.  And the big rumour that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be on the second announcement proved to not be true, although being just too good to be true it was no great surprise really.

As I predicted in my Part 1 post, Bluejuice have been added to the bill, as have Dew Process’s very latest signings Dananananaykroyd.  No Tame Impala though, which looked like it was a definite considering their omnipresence on every festival bill in recent months. I probably should have predicted Children Collide and Little Red but thought they must have worn out their welcome by now, having been on just about every festival lineup since the start of 2008.  Little Red are also one of the five bands that played last year, along with Bluejuice, Art vs. Science, Paul Dempsey  and Yves Klein Blue.

The playing times don’t get published until a week or so before the festival so I’ll have to wait until then to start planning the weekend and who I’m going to photograph with military precision.  I have previously photographed 16 of the 46 bands playing (compared to 13 of the 47 who played in 2008), those being:

  • MGMT
  • Hilltop Hoods
  • Midnight Juggernauts
  • Augie March
  • Sarah Blasko
  • Little Birdy
  • Josh Pyke
  • Lost Valentinos
  • Yves Klein Blue
  • Jack Ladder
  • The Middle East
  • You Am I
  • Bluejuice
  • Paul Dempsey
  • Dappled Cities
  • Bridezilla

Whilst I plan on photographing a number of those bands again, and will no doubt end up doing some that I didn’t plan on photographing anyway, I’m open to suggestions as to other bands that I have to see/have to photograph so feel free to tell me who I must go and check out.  Although the second announcement is disappointing I’m still really looking forward to the weekend; as previously posted it’s really exciting to get to photograph Jane’s Addiction, Flaming Lips and the Gutter Twins.  There’s not a whole lot that interests me personally in the second announcement; I’ll go and check out Dananananaykroyd to see what the fuss is about, I enjoyed Bridezilla at ATP Mt Buller so I’ll try and catch them and for old time’s sake I’ll go and see the Happy Mondays, although, having seen them a number of times over the years, they’ve always been pretty terrible live. 

Five weeks to go.

One Response to “Me vs Splendour In The Grass 2009 – Part 2”

  1. splendour need to pick up their game. who's paying 500 dollars for that???

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