Big Day Out 2004: Melbourne Review

While there is no obvious violence to accompany this problematic clash, fashion trends for this year's show divide patron loyalties as cleanly as any Middle Eastern battleground. In attendance at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds today are more truckers caps and pairs of stained jeans than a giant Texas convoy, while at the opposing end of the spectrum sits a massive array of black Metallica t-shirts that appear to be seeing daylight for the first time in over a decade. The keenest of Metallica fans are already gathering at the foot of the main stage seven hours before James, Lars, Kirk and Robert are set to appear.

For the time being, their craving for rock will need to be temporarily satisfied by the nutty exploits of The Darkness. A visual nightmare of crusty Thin Lizzy t-shirts (Dan Hawkins, lead guitar), head scarfs Ian Astbury would baulk at (Frankie Poullain, bass) and awful tattoo art that might look more at home on the stained walls of a tacky Chinese restaurant (Justin Hawkins, trainee rock god), The Darkness rip into Permission To Land tracks Black Shuck and Growing On Me before tackling the vocal gymnastics of Get Your Hands Off My Woman . Justin prefaces the song by stating, "This song was played on the radio before they realised it contains 'c**t' twice in the lyrics. We were responsible for having the word c**t resounding across the airwaves - it's my finest achievement to date".

The Sleepy Jackson is wowing the audience at their more intimate platform. Sleepys mainman Luke Steele is dressed in an outfit that appears to have been lifted from Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O's personal collection, while Steele's eyeliner accentuates his 'Munchkin from the Planet Of The Apes' face. Clutching a white Rickenbacker etched with his patent catchphrases ('My Little Ricki Lake' and 'Help Yourself To The Lord - It's Free' are even more oddball than his usual musings) Steele launches his band into strong renditions of tracks Vampire Racecourse , Good Dancers and Tell The Girls . Courtney Taylor-Taylor from The Dandy Warhols and Nic Cester from Jet stand at the back of the stage enjoying the set, while even the seriously drug-addled gent in the crowd unremittingly shouting for a "Cliff Burton bass solo!!!" dances in enjoyment to the kooky lyrics of Miniskirt and the wondrous Rain Falls For Wind . Although the confused Metallica fan is enjoying himself immensely as he air guitars to the bass of J. Cortez, a Big Day Out stage manager is not so happy. Red-faced and tapping his watch, he alerts the band's technicians to the fact he is pulling the plug on The Sleepy Jackson's set due to a failure by the Sleepys to wind up their set in their allotted 45 minutes. As his crew plead with the irate stage supervisor, Steele completes a ravaged Pack Of Nails by playing his guitar with a drumstick before pushing over a stack of amps as he walks off in disgust at the attempts to exorcise The Sleepy Jackson from the stage.

Over on the Essential Stage, Welsh outfit Lostprophets is transforming the converted stock shed they are playing in into a hotspot for potent rock. While they dish out new tracks such as We Still Kill The Old Way alongside early tunes Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja , lead vocalist Ian Watkins' low-slung pants vainly fight a losing battle to stay around his waist. Having enthusiastically stepped down to the crowd during Make A Move , Watkins addresses a light-fingered audience member with unexpected jocularity. "Thief! Someone stole my ring!" Ian hollers before cheerfully closing the Pontypridd sextets' first show in Victoria with the energetic Last Train Home and Burn Burn .

Back at the main stage, the popular grooves of the Black Eyed Peas are keeping fans of more mainstream music happy. With apl.de.ap and Taboo taking a back seat, the main audience interaction is delivered by will.I.am and newest member Fergie. The Peas impress old fans and new converts alike with the sounds of Hey DJ and Let's Get Retarded , which features an unlikely yet utterly engaging guitar solo from Darkness scamp Justin Hawkins. Finishing off their set with chart-topping tunes Where Is The Love? and Shut Up , the Black Eyed Peas reveal themselves to have a live show tighter than Fergie's impressive abs.

The Dandy Warhols takes to the same stage a short time later looking casual and content. Keyboardist Zia McCabe appears on the stage with two bottles of Corona beer raised aloft, lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor carries his personal satchel with him to his microphone stand and lead guitarist Peter Holmstrom walks to his position on stage wearing an impressive retro Space Invaders t-shirt. From opening tunes Welcome To The Monkey House , Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth and We Used To Be Friends , it is obvious Courtney's voice is in poor shape. While afroed drummer Brent DeBoer attempts to bolster the sound with his backing vocals, Courtney is forced to cut new single Plan A from the set entirely due to his incapacity to hit the high notes. Renditions of AC/DC's Hells Bells , Get Off and Solid are stronger, although You Were The Last High is subsequently damaged by an altered arrangement and Zia's iffy keys. McCabe's fluffs are forgiven when she attempts a jagged robot dance in her cowboy boots during Shakin' , although the tune is blighted by bad luck when Holmstrom breaks a string before its completion. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich drop by in time to watch effectively stripped versions of Horse Pills and Bohemian Like You , although by the time a ruined Courtney rasps Boys Better at the close of the set, most of the audience are agreeing that this hasn't been among the best Dandy Warhols shows.