With the bar set so high in 2007, a follow-up event headlined by The Presets, Cut Copy and Klaxons was always going to struggle. Throw in an avalanche of competing festivals and Nevereverland was looking a bit grim early in the day. The crowd was reasonable, but it paled in comparison to the previous year. The air of expectation that highlighted the 2007 event was also missing - as was the booze. For some inexplicable reason, the bars had run dry by 6pm. Quite a feat, given the very moderate numbers through the gates at that point.
Still, the slow start to the event meant there was plenty of opportunity to observe the 'fashion mavericks' ambling around. Modular events are always great for their crowd watching, and Nevereverland was no exception; providing the obligatory mash-up of tight jeans, hooded tops, flat brim caps and irony. That said, thank the gods the fluoro fad from a couple of years ago is well and truly dead. There were no pink tank-tops or pastel short-shorts to be found.
While the featured acts may have been scaled back from the original line-up, those that made it to Nevereverland didn't disappoint.
New York's Hercules and Love Affair kept the crowd entertained earlier in the afternoon and Cut Copy were great - even managing a bit of half-hearted drum kit-smashing action at the end of their set. Klaxons performed as the sun was beginning to set and while the crowd loved the singles, some of the more obscure material fell flat.
The Presets then closed out the event, and from the very first 'Oh Oh' the crowd was singing along in unison. The guys have developed a great live show over the past 12 months and the energy in Sidney Meyer Musical Bowl increased tenfold as they ran through both the classics and a large chunks of 'Apocalypso'. It was a great finale to a festival that, while fun and relaxed, failed to reach the heights it had in 2007.
Copyright : MTV Australia
