Creamfields 2011

Getting off the train station in Brisbane’s music district, The Fortitude Valley, instantly it was made obvious that there was a festival that day. Party go-ers of the 18+ age group were dressed in neon clothes, batman outfits, and morph suits, all ready for a party they will never forget.

When the doors opened at noon all 5 stages of the show were ready to go. Each member of the crowd found the stage that suited them most, and hung around there for the majority of the day. Of course, the large part of the crowd made their way to the main stage, and planted their feet there for the day.

Throughout the day at the main stage as the crowd grew bigger, so did the artists. It was just after 4:30 when Wynter Gordon took stage, unfortunately only playing for 15 minutes, however managing to play and rock her hit single ‘Dirty Talk’.

Following Wynter was worldwide UK DJ sensation, Matin Solveig. Solveig had a popular set, mashing names such as Foo Fighters together with some of the largest club hits. He also played his top clubbing single, “Hello”, which each member of the crowd drowned out Dragonette’s recorded voice, and replaced it with their own.

After Solveig, came Chuckie. Now I didn’t know what to expect of Chuckie, so I came in with an open mind. He managed to blow me away, doing a mash up set, that blew every club resident DJ out of the water. He played as if he was a resident DJ at a local club, but on a whole new extreme level. At the end of Chuckies performance, I was very impressed to say the least.

At this point the crowd was amped. Ready for Mau5 to perform, currently on a Skrillex high, they had to wait a half hour before the real adrenaline kicked in. In between was Grant Smillie. Grant had a small DJ booth, on the crowds right hand side of the stage. While grant rocked another mash set, they switched the entire stage around, bringing out Mau5’s infamous ‘cube’.

Once the stage was set, Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman), came to stage. His cube was officially turned on, and he rocked ‘Some Chords’ right off the bat. His cube displayed Super Mario video scenes, but instead of Mario, was ‘Mau5’. After some chords, he played some more of the crowd loved electro-ish house type music before he dipped into his big tunes. Soon enough ‘Strobe’, ‘Ghosts ‘n Stuff’, and ‘Raise Your Weapon’ were played, creating a climax of the night in my mind. Next thing you knew, he’s playing his #1 song on Beatport, ‘Sofi Needs A Ladder’, with SOFI singing live. SOFI (Some Other Female Interest) signed to Joels record label, Mau5trap rather recently. Now currently touring with Joel frequently, she also rocked ‘One Trick Pony’ with him! Soon enough, the clock had struck 10:00, and Deadmau5 had just played an hour and a half of the best set I’ve ever heard from a DJ.

I’m not sure if it was the festival atmosphere, or the whole visual production that Creamfields had set up, but the entire day seemed to be the perfect day, and the perfect place, to see all these huge names that Creamfields had brought in! Overall, with each artist performing at their best, Creamfields 2011 was a huge success, and not a festival to miss. As I imagine with everyone who attended, and most people who didn’t; we are already looking forward to Creamfields 2012!

To see our other review on Deadmau5 and Skrillex back in North America, view it at http://www.musictourreviews.com/2011/03/21/deadmau5-unhooked

Photos courtesy of Creamfields