LANEWAY

actually seeking medical assistance.

At the stages, the police presence was thankfully reduced. My crew began at Mallrat’s set, whose electropop energised the entire crowd. We sang along to “Groceries” and “Charlie”, bopped to the deep beat of “Teeth”, and there was none of the sort of crowd-crushing that emerged later in the evening. Grace Shaw’s vocals soared over us, and all I could see were smiles all around. A successful start!!

Because of the physical and emotional effort we put into girl in red’s set, we needed fresh air. The Showground’s exhibition halls were boiling and packed, and I honestly missed the outdoor breeze of Laneway’s former home, The Domain. The heat could have been alleviated by massive ceiling fans, or a slightly better aircon — it was only a 27° day, and it shouldn’t have been that uncomfortable inside.

I was really impressed.

After a few drinks on the T1 to Strathfield, and a tight squeeze on the bus to Olympic Park, we arrived to find a fairly efficient queue. Staff doled out sunscreen to combat the afternoon sun, and there were portaloos for those of us who had already broken the seal. Sniffer dogs and police officers prowled the festival’s entrance: I was asked to lift my shirt all the way up, and the usual bag and pocket checks were carried out. The police did pull patrons aside for invasive strip searches at the venue, and over the course of the event, they issued 28 cannabis cautions, 27 drug infringement notices and 14 court attendance notices. This extent of police presence is excessive, and not only does it kill the festival’s

After Mallrat, we refused to give up our good spots and head elsewhere: we craned our necks over to see Finneas on the neighbouring stage, whose “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” got us all swaying. Next up was my personal favourite: girl in red. Marie Ulven is renowned for her stage presence — at Laneway’s Brisbane event, she performed a shoey, crowd surfed, and then ran into the audience to dance with her adoring fans. In Sydney, she did all of these things too!

We screamed along to “You Stupid Bitch”, and Ulven pointed the microphone towards us to sing the chorus of one of her legendary anthems: “they’re so pretty, it hurts, I’m not talking ‘bout boys, I’m talking ‘bout girls.” Throughout “bad idea!”, we all jumped in unison, and by the time she played “dead girl in the pool” and “Did You Come?”, we had sore throats and soaking foreheads. When Ulven finally orchestrated a (gentle) wall of death for “i wanna be your girlfriend”, the crowd thrashed together in feral joy. This set was incredible, and my entire group agreed.

For the next hour, we sat cross-legged in front of the Greek Street truck, with The Jungle Giants as our soundtrack.

Our final stop was impeded by possibly the event’s largest crowd, all crazy for Fred Again (we were not). Either this was a scheduling error on Laneway’s part, or the British DJ has spiralled in popularity since the set times were organised — nonetheless, he should have been last. When we attempted to enter the stage an hour early to wait for our beloved Phoebe Bridgers, the sheer mass of people prevented any chance of getting in. The Fred Again fanbase’s departure from the stage created an even denser bloc, and the barricades separating the stage’s floor into two only made this worse.

From here, we migrated to DanceWize’s Chill Out zone — we needed to charge our phones. This was actually a highlight of the evening. The DanceWize staff were up for a good chat, and dished out free water, condoms and cut-up fruit as we relaxed on their beanbags. This was a place with no police presence, instead decorated with helpful guides to safe drug combinations and staffed by kind, nonjudgmental

However, as the first guitar strum of “Motion Sickness” came through, we jumped over those barricades and into the audience — an unforgettable moment. From a slow singalong in “Scott Street”, to our outright wailing in “I Know The End”, Bridgers’ set was amazing. So many people were in tears. I got to sit on my friend’s shoulders (many thanks to him). We got to hear some boygenius! I love Phoebe Bridgers so much.

On the train home, we all talked about how fun Laneway was. Although the event was yet another demonstration of festival overpolicing, and although it was so hot and I wish it were completely outdoor, I loved seeing two of my absolute favourite artists. A wonderful experience!