GOOD VIBRATIONS 2010 (Melb)

After spending an entire summer avoiding the usual music festivals I attended the Good Vibrations festival in Melbourne quite anxious. I’ve attended the festival in the past and have always considered it the most laid-back of the lot.

This year, the move of venue to the showgrounds threw me a little and so did the train ride there!  The carriages were filled with boisterous groups of girls and guys (and I use girls and guys because most didn’t look a day over 20!) who reminded me that I’m just that little bit closer to the big 3-0 than I’d like.  It seems I didn’t get the memo telling me to wear high waisted denim short shorts or to mix and match all things floral and striped.  Have all rules of fashion gone out the window?

I arrived at the showgrounds to find that I shouldn’t have worried.  The relaxed atmosphere oozed from each corner of the place.  After buying myself a vodka slurpee (yummo), I managed to see the last bit of Art vs. Science on the main stage. At least one girl who took their song ‘Parlez Vous Francais’ a bit too literally, had her top off while bopping away on someone’s shoulders!

Salt ‘n’ Pepa was up next and I couldn’t wait to see what they’d serve up after such a long hiatus.  Being a child of the 1980’s, Salt-n-Pepa spent a lot of time on my tape recorder.  I remember being 10 and along with two other friends, choreographing a dance to ‘Push It’.  A teacher caught us practicing one lunchtime and banned the use of the song as well as our tape recorder.  I loved these ladies all the more for bringing about such a reaction in ‘old’ people.  They were the first girl group I remember in my era to sing about sex and liberated women around the world to talk about it too.

These ladies haven’t lost a beat.  They strutted their stuff on stage looking sexier than ever and busting moves like they were still 20-somethings.  They may have lost a few in the audience with a 10-minute mash-up set by Spinderella, which saw Salt-n-Pepa resting their voices.  The crowd however was greatly appreciative of their hit singles ‘Shoop’, ‘Whatta man’ and ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’.

Naughty by Nature had people seeping out of the Roots stage and did an amazing job at keeping the crowd involved throughout their entire set.  Treach proved he hadn’t lost any of his skills and classics ‘Holiday’, ‘O.P.P’ and ‘Hip Hop Hooray’ had the crowd pumping. 

The award for the most entertaining act of the day goes to Busta Rhymes.  I wouldn’t have called myself a Busta fan before but due to his onstage antics, I’d jump at the chance to see him live again.  ‘Make It Clap’, ‘Gimme Some Mo’ and ‘Woo Haa’ kept the crowd jumping for more, as well as his cameo performances ‘Ante Up’ (M.O.P.), ‘Uh Ohh’ (Lumidee), and ‘Don’tcha’ (Pussycat Dolls).  A die-hard fan may have wanted for more classics but Busta gets an A+ from me for pure entertainment value. 

Good Vibes as it’s affectionately called has managed to maintain its reputation this year by providing us with another year of eclectic, high-quality acts.


(Keshanee De Silva attended Good Vibrations 2010 courtesy of Jam Music)