It’s official. Rainy day is the new black at music festival and you’ve just got to deal with it. Because really, who cares about the rain when you get to see epic live performances from Empire of the Sun, Ellie Goulding, Banks and !!! (Chk Chk Chk? Of course, it was a bit of bummer that the performances by Electrico, Bittersweet, 2dB, and Paperplane Pursuit were cancelled due to the heavy rain. Festival-goers were forced to don their waterproof clothing and walk through the mud pits during the festival as well.
Despite the weather condition, we braved the crowds to share with you the best moments of this year’s Good Vibes Festival! Check out some of the things we loved about the festival here:
1. Saturday night fever at Heineken Star Club
Let’s do the TWIST! The retro dance craze began with Kyoto Protocol at Heineken Star Club as the band throws us an epic 70s throwback during their high energy Good Vibes Festival 2014 rock set. Staying true to their roots, they impressed the festival goers with their spectacular, interactive DJ set that involved a little “guitar-strumming session” on stage. Festival goers had fun with the guitar-shaped balloons that were given out by the band earlier as well and the 1-hour set time was simply not enough for the awesomeness happened at the Heineken Star Club!
Before the Kyoto band played on set, Giler Battle Crew danced to Guibooo’s interpretation of hip hop music at the Heineken Star Club too! Many other acts continued to follow throughout the night including Indiego & Co., Dangerdisko and Lapsap.
2. The oh-so-delicious good bites!
Wherever we go, food is a must. Good ones, especially. Good Vibes Festival 2014 is a great place to be if you are hunting for a some good ol’ festival food. A host of popular, local independent food joints were featured at the Good Bites Food Village, which offered us some of the greatest festival food we have ever had including the gourmet ice cream popsicles, sandwiches, and the NACHOS. Oh yes, we are in love with the nachos that we had!
Plus, there’s simply no better way to warm up than with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate during the cold, wet rainy night!
3. Get soulful with Banks
Photo credit: Good Vibes Festival
She said her name is Banks but we’d rather call her our new goddess!
The LA songbird lived up to the hype as she enchanted us with her sultry R&B melodies and mysterious charisma. Despite the rain, we managed to keep our spirits high for Banks’ soulful performance at the festival. What amazed us the most during her performance was when she hit high notes perfectly that almost felt like it was way too easy for her. The singer then surprised us with the acoustic version of “Warm Water” and we must say, her unique approach to R&B music made her an ideal performer of the night. It would have been a lie if we said that we didn’t feel emotional at all when she ended her performance with “Waiting Game”.
4. Walking on a dream with Empire of the Sun!
Photo credit: Good Vibes Festival
Empire of the Sun’s performance was so trippy that it almost felt like we are walking on a dream, and we are totally okay with that. From the jaw-dropping visuals to the epic grand entrance, it is worth waiting for Australia’s one-of-a-kind performance. Even after an hour delay, Empire of the Sun offered us an experience worth buying tickets for. Throughout his entire performance, Luke Steele changed into several outfits with his iconic headpieces and Aboriginal-inspired face paint. And of course, this was bound to HAPPEN and the guitar-smashing part by the end of their performance was totally unexpected, yet unsurprising. Psst… we also had the chance to catch up with Luke Steele before the show too! Check out the interview here.
5. Nic, put on your pants!
Photo credit: Good Vibes Festival
Put on your pants, Nic! Oh wait, he did wear his “pants”, according to him. We quote, “These are swimming trunks. I wouldn’t wear my underwear on stage, that’s just crass!” And you should know that Nic wears his swim shorts wherever he goes now. !!! (pronounced: Chk Chk Chk), the dance-punk band from Sacramento, California, got “intimate” with the audience as Nic showed off his “pelvic-sorcery dance moves” in his printed swimming trunks. Getting up and close with him wasn’t the only the thing we enjoyed at the show – his abilities to let some of the festival goers let loose at the show was what we like the most!
The highlight of the show? When Nic jumped off the stage and rolled in the mud to finish off his set. That’s Nic for you, everyone.
6. Calling us home, Ellie Goulding!
Ellie Goulding might’ve been the last performer of the night but the huge crowd proved that she was the one that everyone was waiting for the whole night. Her presence on stage alone was enough to make everyone scream at the top of their lungs even before she started performing! Although we really wanted to watch her perform “How Long Will I Love You”, the acoustic version of “Guns and Horses” gave us a pleasant surprise so all was well. Suffice to say, Goulding’s smooth vocals paired with the powerful instrumentals was just what everyone needed to listen to by the end of the night. It was just one of the most surreal moments, witnessing the crowd waving their white phone screens to her hit single, “Lights”. We can’t explain why we love her so much but we know we were reluctant to leave after she ended her performance with the crowd favourite, “Burn”.
7. Goooood vibes!
Photo credit: All is Amazing
Rain or shine, festival goers were all in good spirits as Good Vibes Festival offered us the ultimate “muddy” music festival experience. Yes, it could’ve been a better festival if it wasn’t raining but that didn’t stop us from going crazy over the headliners performing on stage at all! What could have been just another music festival ended up being one of the music festivals we enjoyed.
Here’s to a bigger, better festival next year!