Aucklanders Cameron Knudsen, Evan Plester, Andy Rutherford, Isaac Kerr, Jared Tomblinson, Josh Lankford, Don Gray, Lincoln Lam set up camp. Photo / Paul Rickard, Gisborne Herald
Aucklanders Cameron Knudsen, Evan Plester, Andy Rutherford, Isaac Kerr, Jared Tomblinson, Josh Lankford, Don Gray, Lincoln Lam set up camp. Photo / Paul Rickard, Gisborne Herald
Happy campers danced, flocked and shopped in Gisborne sunshine on the first day of the 2015 Rhythm and Vines music festival yesterday.
DJ-powered dance music thumped from hi-tech decks and on-screen digital psychedelia dominated the stages.
To keep people entertained from an early start of 2pm, freestyle motocross champ Nick Franklin performed stunts and flips over the Vines stage. Also available at that hour was yoga and Zumba in the supertop.
The area previously given over to the main stage now functions as a camp site but with four stages available, there was no shortage of music -- or comedy. A big crowd enjoyed the festival's first Giggle & Vines.
A small but enthusiastic crowd danced in front of the stage for the first band, Dunedin's Ha the Unclear, but by 6pm a bigger, wilder crowd danced and played to techno whizz Kamandi's big beats.
Camp areas include an R18 site where a friendly security presence ensures no alcohol is taken in. There is teepee accommodation and a glamping area for those who prefer a little luxury.
Among glampers is 68-year-old Bob Patrick, who was invited to the festival by his daughter, PhD pharmaceutical science graduate Nina Patrick. To ensure he could be found in the dark, Miss Patrick wound her father's walking stick with electroluminescent lighting wire.
"The 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival was the last festival I went to," said Mr Patrick.
Aucklanders Gareth Jew, Hayden McLeod, Rosalea Bruce, Francois le Roux, and Pete Zahutt arrive at the Gisborne Festival. Photo / Paul Rickard, Gisborne Herald
"People are not as outrageous in their dress now as they were in the 1960s. People were rebelling then. It was a cracking time."
A water slide carved into the side of a hill provided entertainment until lifeguards decided to close it for the day so inebriated thrill-seekers did not hurt themselves.
Festival organisers' bid to shift the focus from intoxication to participation and enjoyment was evident, although not everyone agreed with the culture shift.
"It takes the New Zealand binge culture away," said Max Oliver of Hamilton.
"Everybody you meet is happy," said his mate and festival first-timer Furgus Jones of Waiheke Island.
A third mate who had been to Rhythm and Vines before said if the alcohol policy got stricter, he would not go next year.
"The first time I came it was quite wild. It went past my expectations."
Waterslide attendant Briar Goodhue neatly summed up the festival's cultural evolution though.
"Every year, you have new 18-year-olds coming through. The change in festival culture becomes the norm. It is a new experience for them and a great time because they do not know how it was before.
