The annual two day music festival had over 20,000 people flocking from across the nation to the small, east coast town of Byron Bay. The out-of-towners set up camp in tents, rented over-priced houses or simply slept in their cars.
The invasion of tourists began on Friday morning, a day before the event opened its gates. The majority of locals not attending or involved in the festival, left town or retreated indoors for the weekend. Fridges were stocked and alcohol cabinets filled; before shelves at Woolworths and the bottle-o could be cleared out by the hectic influx in population by festival goers.
Friday night saw the town heaving with people; having already consumed large quantities of alcohol and copious amounts of drugs. The long awaited party had begun. Bands such as Blocparty were rumoured to be playing at The Great Northern Hotel, and Powderfinger were apparently busking on a street somewhere. The weekend began with a mash of attendees and musicians, partying with the same energy of anticipation.
Saturday morning saw people dribbling in to see Manchester Orchestra, for an early start of 1pm; after minimal sleep or continuous consumption. This weekend was no place for the weak. Walking through the gates after crossing a barrier of at least ten sniffer dogs and countless police officers (who did a poor job at finding drugs but a grand job of intimidating a paranoid crowd), I witnessed the first patron being hauled out on a stretcher. The gates had been open for an hour and a drug O.D. was already in progress.
The line-up of bands who attended was phenomenal; including Little Birdy, Friendly Fires, MGMT, Hilltop Hoods, Grinspoon, Doves, The Specials and Birds of Tokyo; to name a few. The festival was as close to an attempt that 2009 could make of the ‘60’s; with acid, pill and weed taking and a friendly, loving vibe to boot. People were happy, musicians were amped and recycling was encouraged through monetary rewards.
From the selection of music I chose to attend: all performed well besides Decoder Ring who became monotonous and dampened my mood and Jane’s Addiction who decided to cancel at the last minute, pissing numerous people off. Event holders took any opportunity to screw every last dollar out of a wasted crowd, charging ridiculous amounts for food and drink, but at the end of the day; it was to be expected.
The Monday morning aftermath saw the blockage of the main road out of town and a pile up on the Pacific Highway. Campervans, ute’s and cars were laden with hazy eyed attendees fleeing home to their beds. In the early afternoon the crowds began to lessen, the traffic started to finally flow and a town was left raped yet loved in many, many ways.
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