Alternative Nation
Failed attempt to start a new Aussie festival was only ever held once. It started out with a huge line up, bands dropped out when they realised how crap the ticket sales were (Chilli Peppers and Stone Temple Pilots were two who decided against showing up) it rained all day in Sydney, the whole venue was on an old clay pit so everything went (literally) to shit) and the day was dry due to alcohol bans... in other words it was a cluster fuck of the highest order.
And yet, there was this one moment.
Having smuggled a bottle of vodka in and drunk 3/4 of it I swapped the last for a "cigarette" and was therefore utterly trollied when Lou Reed braved the rain to play.
In front of the stage was a small mud lake formed by the rain and sluicing clay so there was a gap of about 4 metres between the crowd and the edge of the stage.
I was already drenched and mud soaked so I just waded on it through the mire until I was at the front.
Reed, seeing this, wandered over until he was about an arms length away and started to play.
By the time he was finished hundreds of others had braved the knee deep mud to join me, but for a while there, I had Lou Reed playing a gig just for me.
( difficultchild, Wed 10 Jun 2009, 4:58, 2 replies)

Actually
It's a pity I came to this one late, I don't think I've missed a major festival in Australia for more than 20 years, plus a few major international events.
And as a man about to become a father for the first time I can only say I will be encouraging my children to get to as many as possible.
Sex and drugs and rock and roll, as the late, great Ian Dury once said, are very good indeed.
( difficultchild, Wed 10 Jun 2009, 5:10, closed)

Fuck the mud!
That's the spirit :-) *click*
( chart cat has an itch, Wed 10 Jun 2009, 5:34, closed)