Laneway music festival Auckland

February 4th, 2011 in Articles by Paul Nelson 0
Foals Rock

With some time to kill in Auckland before heading to Australia, I decided to check out the St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival held in the city center. I hadn’t seen any live shows since leaving the US a year ago, so the thought of over a dozen bands, some of which were old favorites (Blonde Redhead) and new favorites (The Foals) had me anxiously awaiting showtime. I missed the first couple openers, but after that I’d have to say I enjoyed all but one of the acts. And I’m not even sure which band it was because the lineup changed last minute. Blonde Redhead and The Foals, of course, were awesome. And while I’d heard of, but not heard, most of the other bands, a few really stood out that day. Holy Fuck, as their names suggests, makes you go “Holy Fuck! That’s awesome!” With a combination of perfect drums, warped vocals and a bunch of lo-fi meets hi-fi instruments, it had even my swollen purple toe dancing along. A few others that kept the day moving: Beach House, Warpaint and Deerhunter–all good. And while I thought I would like Yeasayer (I’d seen them at Lollapalooza a few years ago), they’re a bit too poppy and campy for me. All in all, it was a great day of music and grub in Auckland before heading to Melbourne.

The full lineup:

  • Foals
  • Yeasayer
  • Ladyhawke
  • Beach House
  • Deerhunter
  • Blonde Redhead
  • Warpaint
  • Holy Fuck
  • Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
  • Children’s Hour
  • Lawrence Arabia
  • An Emerald City

And all for about $75 USD. Cheers Auckland.

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