Decomposing Trees

St Jerome's Laneway is without any doubt has been my favourite Sydney music festival for the past three years.

The surroundings of the city, the more casual atmosphere and just running into people I know are some of the reasons why I enjoy it so much. That's not including the great lineups it seems to have every year.

With such a good lineup and being unable to see the numerous sideshows I really couldn't miss it and drove up for the weekend from the nation's capital.


Devastations were the first band I caught. They're one of those local bands I've heard a few times but never got around to seeing.

Their dark, distorted sounds seemed a bit out of place in the Sydney afternoon sun but despite it they did a fairly solid set. Nothing mindblowing but solid enough that I'd consider going to see them again next time they tour.

Devastations - Mistakes (from Yes, U LP)
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I hadn't heard of Manchester Orchestra before seeing them but with there not being any acts that I really wanted to see at the time I thought I'd give them a try.

Definitely they did a pretty good performance though there wasn't anything unique about them to me. They did seem to gain (or they already had) a lot of fans after their set finished.


It's been awhile since I last saw Okkervil River. I saw them on their first tour (I think it was two to three years ago) at the Hopetoun

Opening with 'The President's Dead', they did an energetic set which surprised me somewhat. I guess it was the result their more tame, scaled back performance at the Hopetoun but this set

With a mix of songs off their last two releases, they finished their set with 'West Falls', one of my (if not my) favourite Okkervil River songs and a perfect way to end.

Okkervil River - Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe (from The Stage Hands LP)
Buy The Stage Hands


Stars are another of those bands that I've heard but wasn't really a big fan. Still, I went along to see them and they did a great performance (including an amusing attempt at an Australian accent).

The only disappointment from their set didn't actually come from Stars. The disappointment came from the lack of appreciation from the crowd for their cover of 'Cattle and Cane' by the Go-Betweens. It's sad that there's such a long way to go for there to be widespread appreciation of past great Australian bands.

Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead (from Do You Trust Your Friends? LP)
Buy Do You Trust Your Friends?


Having seen Broken Social Scene a few months ago in New York, I knew that this was going to be a great performance albeit too short.

I saw Broken Social Scene at their last Laneway appearance and they were underwhelming (in comparison to what I had heard about their Metro show). That didn't happen this time and they were without any doubt the best performers of the day at Laneway.

With appearances by Feist and members of Stars, mindblowing performances of '7/4 (Shoreline)' and 'Almost Crimes' (with Feist), there really wasn't much more that I could ask for or even want.


Playing after Broken Social Scene is always a big ask. Though Feist did a fine performance, her set would always be overshadowed by Broken Social Scene's performance.

That said, her performance was a fitting way to finish off my day at St Jerome's Laneway, the sun having gone down and just wanting to relax in a city park at night. It fit the atmosphere perfectly.


ELSEWHERE: Sean (who I had the pleasure of meeting) and Wayne have Laneway reviews with setlists and over at Boudist there's photos from the day.