Other rules apply at music festivals, writes Sarah Gandy.
Hi, I'm Sarah Gandy and I love cats and music festivals.
Walking through the gates of any good festival is like stepping into a whole other realm.
There's a sense of anticipation and excitement that slowly builds and a slightly different set of rules suddenly applies. Music festivals are (debatably) the only place I've managed to pull off tie-dyed pants. The only place I've used a female urinal. The only place I've watched music next to a man passed out with a lute and found it completely normal.
Watched people dance with absolute abandon in a pit of mud at 2pm (I'm not sure that there was even live music playing at this point). I've partied in a commercial fridge turned into the world's smallest nightclub with nine other people. I've watched a synchronised swimming perfomance where the audience could actually join in. The fact that we have a music festival (oh, hey there Splore) where you can stand in the ocean and still see and hear the main stage is a treat beyond all imagination.
Womad Festival in New Plymouth. Photo / Gerard Hudson
Summer music is part of our DNA. We have our own icons of the Summer fest — Six60, Fat Freddy's Drop, Shapeshifter, The Black Seeds, Salmonella Dub, Kora, even The Exponents – just some of the acts many Kiwis have seen live many, many times – and usually whilst standing in the sun on some far flung patch of grass having a good old boogie and sing-along with thousands of other happy souls. Ok, it wasn't always in the sun – sometimes we were in the mud and rain donning ponchos and gummies, but we made the best of it and got lost in the music all the same. Was it even a Kiwi festival if you didn't pack your emergency poncho?
Our festivals span far and wide (although North Island, you get the lion's share). Rhythm & Vines has become a rite of passage for many, Womad sees committed loyalists make the pilgrimage to Taranaki each year. Laneway in Auckland provides some of the best people watching either side of the Bombays and Wellington's Homegrown reminds us that we don't need flashy international headliners for a bloody great day of world class music.
There is something about New Zealand that's intoxicating for our international guests.
This was quite literally the case for British rockers The Kooks who took to the main stage at R&V a few years ago in spectacular fashion. The band had spent the most of the afternoon drinking beers during media interviews and by the time they hit the stage we had no idea what the lead singer way saying. Don't get me wrong, his singing was excellent, but as soon as he opened his mouth for some on stage banter it was virtually indecipherable.
There's also something magical in what I call a "festival wander". This is where you head off by yourself for a while to wander around and see where you end up. It could be at one of the smaller stages watching a man in a cape recite a poem about his cloak of invisibility (true story) or through the markets to find some leopard print gumboots to navigate that mud. One of summer's greatest pleasures is stumbling across an act you've never heard of, stopping to listen and then finding yourself still there 30 minutes later having forgotten all about that samosa you were technically off to grab.
The samosas are worth a mention though. Music Festivals provide some of New Zealand's finest eating. It's amazing what our culinary saviours can whip up literally inside a hollowed out campervan. Lined up in all their splendour — those fried puffy Langos flatbreads topped with feta and tomatoes, next to hand-cut, double-cooked fries next to vegan breakfast burritos, next to slow-cooked pulled pork sandwiches (that's probably not great food alley planning for the vegans but you get my point). The theme of any music festival's menu is basically "Treat Yo Self" and I'm here for it.
Splore, Tapapakanga Regional Park, Auckland. Photo / Ollie Dale
With Summer upon us I urge you find a festival and embrace it. I actually own a T-shirt that reads "I love cats and music festivals". It was made for me years ago by Dave Gibson (of Elemeno P fame) when he was making personalised T-shirts stating people's favourite things. Years later, I'm probably more of a dog person if I'm being honest, but my affinity for music festivals is alive and well. I remember looking at my wrist at Auckland City Limits last year, looking at the wristband and the cup of beer in my hand and thinking "This is it. This is my happy place."
