For most festival punters, Auckland’s Laneway Festival is a chance to make the most of a well-curated international line-up, the strongest sunshine you can find, and a gathering of friends to celebrate Auckland’s long weekend.
The line-up this year included some of my favorite artists and a few others I had yet to see live. Jungle, Future Islands, Little Dragon, FKA Twigs, Jon Hopkins, Banks, Flying Lotus -- it was obvious why tickets to the event had sold out to a crowd of 12,000.
The highlights included Flying Lotus’s galactic evening performance, with loud visuals, heavy bass lines, and his personable suit and tie. Little Dragon, unable to be wavered by a smaller stage and a crowd wedged between two of the park's silos, managed to bring the place down. Rat King in the Thunderdome was a new artist for me, but one I plan to hear more of. Future Islands’ well-known theatrical performance was another unmissable act, and FKA Twigs's performance was a show stopper.
Above all, the best act of the day was Jungle, because of their infectious energy. Plus, they pulled through with their promise and dedicated “Drops” to a close friend of ours and many in the crowd.
The low points won’t surprise anyone -- long wait times for drinks and toilets. Alcohol stopped being served half an hour before the scheduled finish at 9:30pm, with no option to leave in hunt for the nearest bar. Stages were over crowded and the sound quality wasn’t exceptional.
Over all, while the performances were great, the festival itself was underwhelming and lacked anything spectacular. Next year, I'm hoping for a spectacle. Laneway, give punters a reason to leave vowing to return again next year regardless of the line-up. Give us more water and more shade. Don’t make the line-up the only reason worth going -- it should be a well-executed, amazing, and all-encompassing experience.
Image credit: Stuff.co.nz
