BIG DAY OUT
Gold Coast,  19th January 1999
by Chay Neal

After a 30 hour bus trip up from Melbourne, where I was staying on holidays, I finally arrived at the Gold Coast and got a couple of hours sleep before getting up and preparing for the Big Day Out. We must have arrived about 1pm, despite constant nagging from me that we should get their early. We could hear Jebediah as we waited in line to be let in (heavily distorted by the wind and large gap between us and the stage). As we were going in we were all given blue bands to go around our wrists (as we are under 18) so that we can't buy alcohol - and people who could had pink bands. Everyone I saw just took there's off so I did the same. I can't figure it out - why give us bands saying we can't, when we can just rip them off? Isn't 'no band' enough to say we can't get it? Anyway, moving along... As soon as I got in there I was so surprised at how huge it was! The entire gold coast parkland was PACKED! The newspaper reported something like over 35,000 people! It was sooo much bigger than homebake! Anyway, we started off by having a look around and a quick look at Jebediah as they finished off. I really needed a program, so I bought a Big Day Out magazine for 5 bucks. After Jebediah came on Living End - Yay! They went off like usual. Excellent! We had a quick look at Even before they finished too. Then we had a quick break and then went over and saw Soulfly (who I had never heard of before) and they were excellent! They were so 'into their music'! After that was Superjesus which I just had to go right into the moshpit for. They were superb. (no thanks to the people standing on the garbage bin in the middle of the moshput blocking everyone's view!) After Superjesus we went to find something to eat and listened to Antenna while we ate... well didn't eat much, mainly drank. Antenna looked pretty good too. Then we went back over to the main stage and witnessed the end of Ash and then the moment I had been waiting for ... Regurgitator! Yeaeeaah!! :-) They were excellent! I was right in the mosh-pit for them too. Then after gurge came on Powderfinger. They were great! (running out of words here!!) It was actually quite funny in the Powderfinger moshpit, as well as some of the others... There was a boogie board and a crate in the mosh pit! So people would put them down on the ground and get somebody to stand up on the boogie board and get lifted up above the moshpit. Some chics decided that that was a good spot to put on a bit of a show of their own from so they started dancing and taking their shirts off. But of course they'd keep falling off because they couldn't balance on a shaky board held up by all these guys. Anyway, the thing I found really funny was, here's poor Powderfinger playing on the main stage, and all the guys have their backs turned, facing the cute girls taking their clothes off. *lol* Well done dancing girls! hehe. After Powderfinger came on Korn. Now they rocked!!! The moshpit was huuuuuge! And I just got sucked in to the middle of it! Eeek! Korn had fun first of all keeping the crowd in suspense while they set up their motorbikes to drive onto stage with and then leaving mid-act leaving everybody shouting 'we want more!'. After Korn came the freaky Marilyn Manson in a G-String! Ewww! A bit disgusting, but seemed to put on a good act all the same. Maybe the real fans would appreciate it more. I had a quick look at Happyland while Manson was on, and wow! What a different in costumes! On one stage there's Manson in a G-String, and on the other there's all these people dressed up in these big cute duck costumes. *lol* Happyland were really good, and put up a good alternative to Manson for people that don't like him all that much. After Happyland and Manson was Hole. Courtney and the crew put on a great show! Courtney gave out her guitar to some lucky girl at the end of the show too. After Hole about all that was left playing was Fat Boy Slim, which was a bit of a dissappointment. Expecting to hear some of the great songs of his played on triple j, I just hear this continuous loud beats - not real music. =p It was good anyway though. Anyway, we left then and went to find our friend who disappeared before Hole's act. Then I got home about 2am to get some rest before I have to get up before 6am to catch a bus back home to Coffs Harbour. What a great (bus tiring) holiday! I can't wait to go to next year's BDO, and if I could afford it I would go to all the other BDO's on this year too! It was no disappointment, that's for sure!