Words by Bailey Marton
As the curtains began to close on what was an eventful 2023, the scorching Queensland sun shone bright for one last party as Meanjin’s liveliest music heads and festivalgoers geared up for a day of good vibes and great music to see off the year in style on New Year’s Eve at Wildlands 2023. As always, wherever the music and beers are flowing, Alterwave will be there.
The plan was to kick the day off in style bouncing around to Peggy Gou’s infectious house mixes while soaking up some late Brisbane afternoon sun. But it seemed like half of Brisbane had the same idea, so when we finally arrived at the showgrounds, scores of punters were all trying to file in at once creating a scene of pure chaos as people tried desperately to edge their way to past the barriers. This wasn’t the sweaty moshpit many of us had in mind to start our day, but it was the one we got. However, the struggle was well and truly worth it, and as soon as we squeezed through the entry barrier and back out into the sunshine, the air of excitement came rushing back until finally making it just in time for Peggy Gou’s set on the main ‘Sahara’ stage.
If you only know Peggy from her belter of a tune that’s been literally everywhere this year, ‘Nanana’, then you would expect the summery house vibes that the track provides to be the trademark of her live set. And although Peggy does provide those vibes in bucketloads, she also came through with strob-ey, futuristic sounds that packed a punch, with hard hitting drums/basslines, deep vocals and strong pianos that offered the fans something fresh and exciting with every track switch and gave the set a feel of constant evolution that kept the sweating afternoon mosh bouncing.
Speaking of mix, it was obvious that we were watching someone who is a master of their craft. A hallmark of any good live DJ set is how smooth their transitions are from one track to the next, and Peggy had this absolutely on lock. Not only was her mixing flawless, but not a single track felt disjointed or awkward, there was just this impeccable flow that made the whole set blur into one so that you hardly even noticed, yet nothing about the set felt singular or repetitive. Peggy had the crowd on a string for the entire set and it would be hard to find a better way to kick off a New Year’s Eve than that.
Following Peggy’s set, the day seemed to absolutely fly by, and quickly whatever itinerary that was planned quickly got lost in the day’s shenanigans and carry-on which, by the way, is half the fun of bringing in the new year. And full credit has to go to Wildlands’ event organisers for putting on a show that inspired such a buzzing atmosphere for people to truly get swept up in, whilst not once feeling out of control or unsafe. Fortunately, in between this carry-on we managed to sneak in highlights from Boo Seeka, whose smooth and dreamy electro-indie sounds sparkled in the early nights sky, and A$AP Ferg, who was every bit as much a star on Australian soil as he is in the US and around the world, and proved he deserves all the applause as he set the jam packed Sahara stage alight with his high energy set and crowd pleasing anthems such as ‘New Level’ and ‘Plain Jane’.
It would be hard to find enough superlatives to describe the experience of the Conducta and Notion B2B. These two kings of UK garage and dance absolutely SHUT DOWN the Wilds tent that was full to the brim. From Sean Paul garage mixes to trademark grime samples including the likes of Skepta’s “That’s Not Me” and even giving some hometown heroes a spin with Skin On Skin’s “Burn Dem Bridges”, the hour and a half long set hit absolutely every mark and despite how immensely high-energy this performance, there wasn’t a single member of the jam packed crowd who looked remotely ready for a break. The Wilds tent absolutely rocked for these two for 90 straight minutes of ecstasy.
This Conducta and Notion B2B will go down as not only one the best highlights from this year’s Wildlands, but one of my personal favourite sets of all time. These two absolutely tore the house down for an hour and a half long thrill ride, and their performance will live long in the memory of those who were lucky enough to witness it.
After the enormous highs of Conducta and Notion, it was back to the main Sahara stage for perennial hometown favourites The Jungle Giants. Their decade long stay on the Australian festival and tour circuit combined with their unrelenting consistency for dropping fantastic albums has made them hard to miss for anyone who enjoys live music. Although we’ve come to know what to expect from their live performances, immense crowds continue to flock to their stage for their contagious indie-pop bangers that never disappoint, and their performance at Wildlands proved once again that The Jungle Giants have nailed the formula for a live show that has immaculate vibes and convinces you to boogie and sing along with them, and that they are festival mainstays for a reason.
After the brilliant spectacle Wildlands had provided for New Years Day, all eyes had now turned to the main event – the countdown to 2024 with Rufus Du Sol ushering us into the new year. As the Superstsr Trio came out to the stage, fireworks lit up the Meanjin sky, drowning out the warnings of severe thunderstorms that were on the horizon. Nothing was going to dampen the spirits on the ground though, and roars echoed as Rufus kicked off their set and huge timers hung over the crowd ticking down the final minutes of 2023.
Rufus’ unique sound and style felt like the perfect switch in energy from the rest of the day and as the new year drew closer. With each pop of synth or crooning melody came a wave of anticipation and anxiousness, it was the perfect build up to what we were all waiting for. As the timers that loomed overhead whittled down the remaining few minutes of 2023, the first notes of Rufus’ mammoth hit ‘Innerbloom’ was met with a raucous reception as everyone’s hopes were met, and collectively we all knew that somewhere in this 9-and-a-half-minute epic of a track that all of the build-up and anticipation in the thick Brisbane air would be released.
And that’s exactly what we got.
Weightless. Transcendent. Magical. Timer at 0. 2024 ushered in by THAT Innerbloom moment, and a state of complete euphoria.
Check out the full gallery by Caleb Spark here.
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