Camp times
Dawn Tratt27/01/2010 11:53:00 a.m.
Campus A Low Hum, Flock House, Bulls, reviewed by Dawn Tratt
BLINK is a genius.
The Wellington-based events manager, photographer and editor, born Ian Jorgensen and now known by everyone as Blink, has helped put Wellington on the map by pioneering a unique music experience that benefits musicians, fans, and promoters equally.
Camp A Low Hum (A Low Hum was a music compilation and magazine series) has run for three years – people buy their tickets not knowing who will be playing at the festival. Past years have included cameos by Liam and Neil Finn.
This time Blink converted an agricultural and farm training school, Flock House in Bulls, into a music festival sight. The programme had a school theme – hence Campus A Low Hum – that incorporated study breaks (when no music played), class photos, a PE session, an Orientation party, and a leavers’ formal. While some camped for the four nights, others stayed in dorm rooms – musicians and music fans stayed together, ate at the same cafeteria, and used the same cold showers… if at all.
An intimidating list of indie, rock and electro performers (Die! Die! Die!, Cut Off Your Hands, The Dodos, Connan Mockasin, Shocking Pinks) flooded the stages every half an hour. All bands played an individual time slot so in theory you could see every act at the festival.
A highlight was the swimming pool stage (featuring Ouch My Face, Witch Hats, Bandicoot, Tiger Tones, Daedelus, Ruby Suns). Bands played in the deep end of the empty pool and the audience sat around the edges watching from above. A particularly special set was Baltimore’s Dan Deacon who got the entire room of close to 1,000 to kneel and pretty much do whatever he said.
In another of Deacon’s inspired sets – this time a PE lesson in the gym – he convinced the crowd to run in a circle around the gym highfiving one another and then make a human archway (which snaked out the door to another stage) by holding their hands above their heads in pairs as others ran though the tunnel of people.
On the barn stage on the third day of the festival Melbourne’s Parking Lot Experience confused the crowd by playing in the middle of the room resulting in some audience members watching from the stage. They then played music from two separate stages simultaneously and got the crowd to mill about between the two.
More than 50 bands rocked the festival which was rained on much of the time - having no effect on the positive vibe. This is an amazing way of being exposed to good music in a short space of time as a fan, muso or promoter – and hanging with cats who were probably not cool in school but totally owned this adult version of camp. So So Modern, Seth Frightening and John The Baptist were the standout Wellington acts.
Let’s hope this isn’t the last camp.
BLINK is a genius.
The Wellington-based events manager, photographer and editor, born Ian Jorgensen and now known by everyone as Blink, has helped put Wellington on the map by pioneering a unique music experience that benefits musicians, fans, and promoters equally.
Camp A Low Hum (A Low Hum was a music compilation and magazine series) has run for three years – people buy their tickets not knowing who will be playing at the festival. Past years have included cameos by Liam and Neil Finn.
This time Blink converted an agricultural and farm training school, Flock House in Bulls, into a music festival sight. The programme had a school theme – hence Campus A Low Hum – that incorporated study breaks (when no music played), class photos, a PE session, an Orientation party, and a leavers’ formal. While some camped for the four nights, others stayed in dorm rooms – musicians and music fans stayed together, ate at the same cafeteria, and used the same cold showers… if at all.
An intimidating list of indie, rock and electro performers (Die! Die! Die!, Cut Off Your Hands, The Dodos, Connan Mockasin, Shocking Pinks) flooded the stages every half an hour. All bands played an individual time slot so in theory you could see every act at the festival.
A highlight was the swimming pool stage (featuring Ouch My Face, Witch Hats, Bandicoot, Tiger Tones, Daedelus, Ruby Suns). Bands played in the deep end of the empty pool and the audience sat around the edges watching from above. A particularly special set was Baltimore’s Dan Deacon who got the entire room of close to 1,000 to kneel and pretty much do whatever he said.
In another of Deacon’s inspired sets – this time a PE lesson in the gym – he convinced the crowd to run in a circle around the gym highfiving one another and then make a human archway (which snaked out the door to another stage) by holding their hands above their heads in pairs as others ran though the tunnel of people.
On the barn stage on the third day of the festival Melbourne’s Parking Lot Experience confused the crowd by playing in the middle of the room resulting in some audience members watching from the stage. They then played music from two separate stages simultaneously and got the crowd to mill about between the two.
More than 50 bands rocked the festival which was rained on much of the time - having no effect on the positive vibe. This is an amazing way of being exposed to good music in a short space of time as a fan, muso or promoter – and hanging with cats who were probably not cool in school but totally owned this adult version of camp. So So Modern, Seth Frightening and John The Baptist were the standout Wellington acts.
Let’s hope this isn’t the last camp.
