A Day on the Green started off with a happy and festive crowd on Sunday despite the cold weather and infrequent showers put a literal dampener on patches of the evening.
After the crowd built up during reasonable performances from young rising stars Alex Lahey and ARIA Award winning, Montaigne, veteran indie rockers The Clouds charmed the audience with quaint harmonies and laid back tunes. The performance wasn’t by any stretch mind-blowing and perhaps better guitars and amps and a little more colour on the pedals would have resulted in a superior sound, but the set did have a slightly rough indie charm, albeit an old school one.
“One way or another” was a great way for Blondie to launch into their show, although the sound quality was a bit quiet in parts which was disappointed. Debbie Harry added some eclectic elements to her performance, with some sarcastic faux-exuberant gestures, mixed in with her effortlessly chic mannerisms and crowd interaction. The drums sounded huge in the lead to “Call me” which had a huge reception. Unfortunately, often throughout the show Deb Harry’s vocals were a touch hoarse, as she struggled to reach notes she either would have when she was younger, or that were out of her range.
There were other highlights though from the band which famously crossed punk, pop, rock, disco and reggae seamlessly. For one, the keytar solo was amazing. Blondie’s visual display was constantly eye-catching and vibrant, featuring a mix of animations and old footage.
Songs from upcoming album “Pollinator” showed the band’s taste for contemporary class with songs created with the help of Smiths legend Johnny Marr and pop sensation Charli XCX. Having said that, nothing beats old Blondie and “Heart of Glass” capped off a pumping live set, marred only by low volume in some parts of the venue and Deb Harry’s subdued and slightly hoarse vocals.
Cyndi Lauper‘s show was a mixed bag. The six piece band were very tight and working to great arrangements and as a live band, were a step up from Blondie. Lauper’s vocals were markedly more clear than Deb Harry’s, even with her divisive strangled cat intonation. The problem with her set was other than the big singles her back catalogue was a bit flat and for those who only really knew her singles there was a lot of country and western influences songs and a range of other genres that couldn’t really appeal to everyone. As such, throughout the first half of her set the reception from the audience was a little lacklustre in parts. However, the huge hooks in “Money Changes Everything” really stood out and really got the crowd involved.
From that point on the show kicked up a notch, although at one point she wasn’t afraid to tell one heckler where to go, midway through an extended pre-song discussion. Lauper had a few tricks up her sleeve which added to her performance, notably, her skills on the recorder were an unexpected treat, as were her use of a lapsteel. The sound on the whole was more polished than Blondie, with greater clarity. Lauper’s unique voice had great cut through. “Time after Time” was made even more special with Lauper’s aforementioned prowess on a form of lapsteel. The rest of the band worked into the piece beautifully and many in the audience were more than happy to sing along. Her biggest hit, “Girls just wanna have fun” was originally a piece she regarded as being somewhat misogynistic before she reworked it into a feminist anthem. This track, predictably, was the finest point in her performance, although “True Colours” had a sad emotive quality to it, which would have moved quite a few in the room.A Day on the Green continues to be a popular success in Adelaide and while the weather didn’t always come to the party and the sound quality was somewhat variable, most of the revellers seemed to enjoy themselves. For pure energy, it would have been great for the show to finish with Blondie, but I guess organisers had their reasons to work with this set arrangement. While the cold and the occasional rain was a bit of a hassle, the well attended festival was clearly a hit, particularly with punters of a particular vintage.
Photography by Dave Gartland.
