Meredith Music Festival 2012

As necessary as bin-day but nearly nowhere as mundane, these three days in December bring festival cheer to many millennial men and women. It’s BYO booze, couches, palm trees and any other blow-up paraphernalia that springs to mind. It’s time to leave your inhibitions and penchant for sleep at the gate because only the early birds make it into the ever-popular Bush Camp – it’s shaded sky is a solace during the harsh summer months.

With a line-up no different to the rest, this year sees budding bands, well-known musicians and veteran rockers grace the amphitheatre stage that welcomed so many of their ilk before them.

Pond kick off in rather dapper attire, although their ‘attempt’ at suits leaves much to be inspired, think missing jackets and oversized shirts. Their music on the other hand is classic rock wanderlust. Their performance is one worthy of much more than an opening act and rivals a much later set by some of the members’ original band Tame Impala.

Canadian electro-pop princess Grimes plays an incredible show packed with energy and power melodies, something of which the UK’s Four Tet must have missed the memo on. As night falls, Kieran Hebden, his laptop and his mixer produce a set that seems destined for a different festival.

As the weekend continues Aussie oldies The Sunnyboys hide their age well by performing timeless melodic rock that was recorded over 30 years ago. Receiving a good reception from the mostly young crowd, ‘Alone With You’ is expectedly the only song people seemed to know.

By Saturday night the whole festival gathers around the stage, secretly embracing the close proximity of their neighbour as they shiver from the evening breeze. That is until Primal Scream skip through a whole collection of their 80s and 90s indie hits. No two feet are still and in unison we sing along to their songs, surprised as the words so easily skip out of our mouths. It’s uplifting, upbeat and one of those moments that goes straight into the Meredith scrap-book.