Addressing The Big Day Out 2011 Line-Up Rumours

The first Big Day Out announcement for January 2011 is about a month away. It’s the country’s biggest music festival and already the rumours for next years line-up are rife. We decided to weigh up each artist separately to judge just how likely it would be if they played. Rankings are out of five (one being not likely, five being highly likely). Let’s do this.

Soundgarden -  5/5 – Details emerged at the beginning of the year that Soundgarden were back together and planning a tour and since then there’s been rumours they they’ll be back to play the festival for a third time. They headlined BDO in 1994 and 1997 before breaking up and anybody that’s heard Badmotorfinger will tell you that this is the sort of show that will bring BDO back from the dark corner it’s been in for the past few years. Also, Big Day Out need these sort of bands to draw the biggest crowds; acts such as Tool, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, System of a Down and Muse have all headlined the festival in the past and they all tread that line between appealing to an alternative audience and getting played on mainstream rock radio. Without a doubt, these guys will be headlining the festival in 2011.

Stone Temple Pilots – 5/5 – Even as I’m writing this, it feels ridiculous to suggest that the festival is going to turn into a 90′s grunge revival but as it looks, there’s a pretty good chance that it’s going to happen. And it will be awesome. A lot of people seem to be more familiar with Scott Weiland’s heroin habit and his stint with ‘supergroup’ Velvet Revolver but keep in mind that STP were heavyweight’s in the 90′s. Sex Type Thing, Plush, Interstate Love Song, Sour Girl, Creep; a perfect soundtrack for when the sun begins to set on Friday afternoon at Ericsson Stadium.

Hole – 4/5 – Courtney Love is way unreliable so I’m apt to take anything she says with a grain of salt. But if this 90′s revival thing is going to happen (shout out to Fashion Quarterly, No Magazine, Black Magazine, Russh etc who will hop on this grunge buzz in about two months) then we should probably include Hole in the equation. Among such quotables as, “I remember the smell of New Zealand and the sounds of Tui birds. It’s not the most exciting place in the world … but it’s really beautiful,” Love told Stuff earlier in the year she was pretty sure it was going to happen.

Arcade Fire 3/5 – The bands latest album The Suburbs debuted at number three in New Zealand and number one in the US and UK, which should give you an idea of just how far they’ve come. They also put on a pretty memorable show on the main stage a couple of years back so they’re more than prepared for this. Also, they’re wrapping up their tour of the UK and Europe right now and since they didn’t get picked as part of the incredible Falls Festival line-up, BDO seems like a plausible option.

Blink 182 – 4/5 – Rumours tell me that these guys will indeed be playing the festival but are there still people that want to see them? Yeah, there probably are. Also, where would they fit into the timetable? Is it going to be in the evening at like 6pm when people are getting dinner or are they going to be given one of those 4pm time slots when everyone realises that they’re roasted as shit from sitting in the sun all day? Or are they just going to headline one of the smaller stages and we’re going to have to pretend that we like them as much as NOFX?

M.I.A – 3/5 – What better way for someone to hit all the main spots down under in one hit than to play the Big Day Out? Plus, Born Free deserves stadium status.

Die Antwoord – 5/5 – This is happening.

The Black Keys – 3/5 - There hasn’t actually been much talk of these guys heading down under at all but do the math; they’ve just released their latest and possibly best album of their career in the form of Brothers and the festival needs an act like this to even out the genres and keep the indie kids happy. They would be the perfect band to close of the small stages or play an afternoon set similar to what The Horrors did this year. Let’s hope.

Deftones – 3/5 – The Deftones played one of the most anti-climatic shows I’ve ever witnessed at the Big Day Out in 2003 but they’re back with a new album, Diamond Eyes, and seemingly as popular as ever. I’d be surprised if the band doesn’t get picked for the festival but according to this story they will be touring down here next year anyway.

Kings Of Leon – 4/5 – KOL are easy money these days. Remember when they first played all those years ago and Caleb was so wasted that he had to vom on the side of the stage? That was cool. Now they’ve got all got makeovers and are releasing shitty number one singles like Sex On Fire. They’re the poster boys for selling out but this also means that they have the ability to book a show at Vector Arena and sell that motherfucker out. If BDO’s cheque book stretched far and wide I’d say this would be a sure thing, but if the band (or their manager) were smart then they would just book their own show here over summer and rake that $$$ in themselves. Still, a Soundgarden/Stone Temple Pilots/Kings of Leon big three line-up seems awfully likely right now. Only time will tell.