unFRINGEd

When the St Jeromes Laneway festival premiered in Melbourne in 2004, it created headlines throughout the Australian music industry – an amazing mix of musicians playing to a crowded laneway (Caledonian lane); a day people would continue to talk about well beyond its 2nd incarnation. Years later, it’s not so much a laneway festival anymore, but rather a national boutique music festival (read: juggernaut) that even Pitchfork can’t help but praise. New Zealand even got in on the act this year.

But let’s go back to where it all began. That first year, that first stage, that first band. This weekend, for the first time in recent memory, Sydney gave birth to a true laneway festival of it’s own – 2,000 punters cramming into Eliza St in Newtown, giving Melbourne a run for their money and giving Sydney hipster kids a day to tell all their friends about.

Part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, and in collaboration with FBi Radio, Maps Entertainment put together a truly fantastic Sunday afternoon festival in “Changing Lanes”. Headlined by it-kids Tame Impala, the Perth favourites celebrated the day on the main stage alongside local heroes Bridezilla, Cabins, Jinja Safari,Thundamentals, Richard In Your Mind and Ernest Ellis. But that was only the start of the action. The day turned into night at the Bank Hotel with a hip hop and an electro stage, with live performances from artists like Mrs Bishop and Spit Syndicate – plus DJ sets from dozens of talents like Joyride and Mark Murphy. Tonight even heradled the return of Itch-e and Scratch-e (aka Paul Mac and Andy Rantzen).

Sunny Sundays don’t get much better than this.

I spent my day cruising exclusively around the main stage, so it’s here that our coverage will focus. Having regretfully missed amazing talents Ernest Ellis and Richard in Your Mind, I arrived just in time to catch Triple J Splendour Unearthed winners, and local favourites, Jinja Safari. The two piece (who play live as a five piece) were spine chillingly good – the natural reverb of the laneway providing them with a natural, beautiful, developed sound. In fact, acoustically, this space proved perfect for all the artists who called the laneway their home.

Sydney’s own Cabins (above) were next, and killed it. These guys are getting better and better with every appearance. Despite still not being in possession of their debut album, I’m at a point now where I know every song from live appearances alone – knowing them well enough to realise just how much they’ve developed as a band over the last few months. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it began: these guys are Sydney’s next big thing. Or perhaps they already are?

Purple Sneakers DJs provided us with their usual impressive mix of tunes, as we awaited forThundamentals (pictured above) to hit the stage. Being the sole voice of Aussie hip hop on a stage full of indie rock bands, really put the respected ensemble out of their comfort zone. I think this was a sentiment shared by much of the crowd, but nonetheless, they put on a good show and seemed to impress the Aussie hip hop fans in the crowd. For the rest of us, it was time to get some $5 Pad Thai from the Bank Hotel. Delicious!

The always wonderful Bridezilla (pictured above) were next, after Bag Raiders played a rather unimpressive DJ Set – you just couldn’t hear them! So probably no fault of their own. As for Bridezilla, dressed in running tracksuits no doubt in celebration of the city’s running festival (which made it difficult to get to the festival early for some…), they were indeed as impressive as they’ve always been.

The last time I saw them, however, this wasn’t quite the case: it seemed like they weren’t as “into it” as they had been in the past. Enthusiasm seemed to be waning… but now it just seems like it was an off night. Tonight, with a few new tracks up their sleeve, they breathed new life into their set – and I think their creative personas, too. I sense a new record mightn’t be too far away… we’re looking forward to hearing what comes out of it!

But it wasn’t until Tame Impala (pictured above) hit the stage that the laneway hit it’s capacity, and felt like it was bursting at the seams; friends pushing friends up onto the barriers to get the best possible view. Like those before them, Tame Impala had never sounded better in the laneway. They pushed their set past the 6pm cut off, saying they’d keep playing even if they turned the power off. And with that in mind, they jammed out two crowd favourites – “Remember Me” and “Half Full Glass of Wine” amongst the tracks to round out the day as the sun was setting.

As we made our way out of the venue, I saw the line going into the Bank Hotel (where the festival would continue until midnight) and thought it best to embrace my exhaustion and call it a day. Having poked my head in before, however, I have no doubt the excellent vibes would have continued until the early hours of the morning. But for me, my memories of this short but sweet festival on a sunny Sunday afternoon will last me well until the festival reemerges next year. And I have it on high authority that this is exactly what will happen. Bigger and better? Probably… But at least we can all say we were there when Changing Lanes all began.

Let’s just hope Eliza St isn’t a shopping mall in 6 years time… the fate regretfully suffered by Caledonian lane.

Photos by Mr F Stop. This review originally appeared on the AU review.