St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2013

In an exceptional feat, Melbourne, the birth-place of ‘the festival born out of a laneway’ celebrates a sold-out fanfare as 2013’s St Jerome’s Laneway festival captures 10,000 hearts and double that many ears.

At the mercy of the oh-so-temperamental weather, it is an eventual clear blue sky that really kick-starts the outdoor celebrations. Kings Of Convenience open the festival with a modest set of understated beauty. Concentrating purely on the soft melodics and vocal harmonies the Norwegian duo make sure their first trip to Australia is an unforgettable aural tapestry that quite quickly blanketed the crowd. The charming Erlend Øye even leads the crowd in a bout of warm-up yoga.

Ohio band Cloud Nothings draw largely from their latest offering ‘Attack On Memory’ and with melodic indie-rock laden with angst and emotion we are treated to a high-energy set that gives Canadian neighbours Japanadroids a run for their money. A ‘no rules’ set that sees the Vancouver-two live up to their hype with guitarist and vocalist Brian King and Drummer David Prowse delivering an unwavering 45 minute show; their lack of members does nothing to slow the duo down. The meat and potatoes rock set has the crowd singing along to the words of a band they’d listened to many times before.

As the end drew near, it is Bat For Lashes, Triple J darling Flume and dance-meister Nicholas Jaar that divide up the crowd. The Dean Turner stage welcomes a glittering Bat for Lashes who creates musical prowess as she reaches into her back-catalogue; the haunting ‘Laura’ compliments the cool summer air and the dim light of the evening sky. In the distance a throbbing bass kicks in as Flume’s pleasing sound mixes electro, dub-step and vocal harmonies. But it’s American-Chilean Jaar that outlasts the lot. At the Future Classic stage the trippy electronicist is joined by a guitarist and a saxophonist. Downtempo techno and breezy soundscapes work together to draw listeners but it seems Jaar is in the mood to tease. Leading the audience to an almost-climax time and time again – one can’t help but be a little disappointed with the premature ending of a set whose beginning and middle never met their end.