I’ll admit to being nervous. There was something that did not feel quite right about Freedom Festival – perhaps it was the set times with clashing genres and short DJ sets; perhaps it was the bizarre amount of hatred coming from certain forums; perhaps it was the feeling that this was an attempt to cash-in on Sydney’s current obsession with festivals. Whatever it was, the nerves were jangling. Freedom Festival is the new boy on the festival circuit and had something to prove.
Boasting a rather formidable and eclectic line-up of performers all staged at one of Sydney’s favourite venues; at the very least this would be interesting. It was clear moments after walking inside the venue that the promoters had pulled out all stops to take this event to another level. The Hordern was being utilised in a way that perhaps has never been done before, with the DJ booth thrusting out into the middle of the arena. In fact, the booth was actually placed on a rotating platform, creating an almost interactive stage for the DJ, quite reinventing the space. It felt like walking into an arena spectacular.
We arrived just in time to head over to the second stage, inside Byron Kennedy Hall, where one of the first headliners Luke Fair was about to kick off. He wasted no time dropping into the groove, opening up his remarkably short set with John Dahlback’s Pyramid. For the next hour, he dished out some tasty big-room house creating the perfect festival vibe to a mixed crowd that simultaneously looked excited and disinterested by the Canadian DJ. I could not help but wonder where he would have taken the music if given more time. Genres were largely ignored on this stage, as the DJ line-up meandered from house through to NRG and trance as the night progressed. In the same venue a couple of hours later, Alex K was banging out a high-NRG version of Roger Sanchez’s Another Chance, accompanied by what looked like his Dad on guitar. I didn’t like it, so left.
Back over at the Hordern, Arno Cost and Norman Dorey had taken the reins of the circular DJ vehicle and were treating the considerable crowd to a set of massive house tunes. There was a bit of Delirium, there was a bit of Pjanoo, there was a taste of their own cracker tune Magenta, and there were plenty of screaming people with their hands in the air. Pyrotechnics, blasts of smoke, dancing girls, fake snow, lasers and flying angels – it seemed that the promoters were going for sensory overload and the crowd responded. Up next was the svelte chanteuse Luciana, who enthralled the crowd with her awesome pipes over some up-for-it party tunes from Bodyrox.
Probably the coolest thing happening on the night was the silent disco. I initially thought this was just a creatively named space but it turned out to be exactly what the name implies (if you went to Future Music Festival this year you’ll be familiar with the concept). A room full of people dancing in silence. How? Walking in to the little arena (an inflatable igloo I’ll have you know), everyone is handed a set of wireless headphones. You then select one of two channels to listen to, matching up to one of the two corresponding DJs spinning tunes. This really was the ultimate in Generation Y DJing: designed for those with short attention spans. As soon as a track became stale, a quick flick of the switch on you cans would send you onto a new tune and a new groove. It became a quasi DJ battle as both DJs started competing for their share of nodding heads. As you can imagine, the party tunes were being busted out at a relentless pace. It was also highly entertaining removing the headphones to watch people gyrating to the sounds of silence.
Yes, all the trappings were there, but somehow Freedom felt more like a superclub on steroids than a fully-fledged festival; what one imagines the big clubs in Ibiza to be like. The music was unashamedly party-focused without much flow ever being considered, partially due to no DJ being given the time to do anything other than bang out massive tunes. There was great attention to detail, innovation and quite superb production. That being said, Freedom was more like a porn star than high-fashion model; flashy, alluring, ready for a good time and able to deliver the goods with disturbing professionalism. Ultimately, though, it was a little light on substance.
zero true says...
ummmm innovation?? what the dj in the middle, only the 3rd time its been done in that venue this year alone ariel acts? done at every 2nd event... pyro , snow .... sounds like this is the first event you have ever been to
zero true says...
ummmm innovation?? what the dj in the middle, only the 3rd time its been done in that venue this year alone ariel acts? done at every 2nd event... pyro , snow .... sounds like this is the first event you have ever been to
i_have_ADD says...
pls tell me the events that have put the dj booth in the centre of the hordern...
zero true says...
see the forum for pics of other djs in the round at hordern ...not only djs perform at hordern;)
karlie888 says...
karlie888 says...
I thought this festival rocked !!!!!!! What about Tydi's set ?!
Richierich5381 says...
Nice review youngman, I gave this one a miss but heard similar comments from friends who went. Loving the pornstar analogy :)
DJ DUKE DOOM says...
Bring on Freedom Festival 2009!
youngman says...
zero true - unforetunately I have not been to every event ever staged at the Hordern. Happy to stand corrected if you can tell me when this has been done before. I have in fact been going to these things for about a decade so do have some reference points.
ShazzyT says...
I thought freedom festival rocked! And Alex K played the best set of the night next to Fragma! I had an absolute blast and would do it all over again in a heart beat :)
melle says...
young crowd and an insane amount of cops! ... Yea, the slient disco rocked, TyDi was mindblowing! .. avoided the main arena, as it felt a bit like a hi-5 concert at times..lol
dmces says...
ive been going to parties, festivals and raves for the last 14 yrs all over, and i must say the way the horden was set up was one of the best set ups ive seen, the light show, the sound, the way the booth was set up with the walkway, all the fireworks etc were crazy, i was very very impressed, i thought it was crazy, good to hear some good big uplifting house for once in sydney(arno cost
Nosirrah says...
does anyone remember the chick in the red dress? haha everyone stop dancing and stared in lust....was great :) weak festival though...right about being more like a large superclub thing...shame really.
zero true says...
ok you cant ready :) heaps of mardi grass are in the round (yes its called in the round because its common) wav s mass , mayors ball, fat boy slim nsw, submission,utopia"" acer, "cold" (cw),nmg "30th?" to name a few ... and of course there is sensation.. so let me know what else was" innovation" and ill give you a list for that to. if you guys have been going to event for 10 years (me to) you have been going to the wrong ones, because that was the most poorly speced and put together i have seen
youngman says...
zero - learn to grammar
RealRachael says...
Zero true why the hell are you comparing something to Sensation? It hasnt occurred in Sydney, wont occur in Sydney (it will be Melbourne) so how it relates to a rotating dj stage is beyond me??!!
thaigarian says...
it was a freakin freak show.. everyone on roids, overweight in bikinis, chics with the worst cake face, and people in tux's and heels and stuff... ok thennn.. it was light an massive event for the dcm regulars.. silent disco was awesome tho
karlie888 says...
you're gonna get those nuggets at every festival regardless
Baldwin says...
man, your not wrong about the amount of lebs on roids with shirts off, was so gross. Having that said though, the atmosphere was pretty intense!