Pandemonium Rocks
Pandemonium, you’re a tease.
This year was the debut of Pandemonium Rocks. Originally a multi-stage festival with an all-star lineup, and plenty of head-banging, it was set to be massive. However, with limited ticket sales, the once strong and mighty festival ultimately became a one-stage event with significantly fewer acts than advertised. Seven of the thirteen scheduled to perform disappeared, leaving ticket holders fuming (Lang, 2024). I admit I was extremely disappointed given that Dead Kennedys, Deep Purple and Placebo were some of the acts to withdraw. After hearing the news, the organizers emailed us with three options; a partial refund of $70 (tickets were originally $250), an event hoodie priced at $100, or a free extra ticket. We ended up claiming the measly $70, as selling our tickets wasn’t something we could, or wanted to do.
With all that being said, I’d let Pandemonium tease me persistently if it meant I could experience this festival again.
Images displaying the ever-changing line-up (from left to right): The original lineup, the advised lineup and set times, along with the ‘lineup’ advertised outside the festival (I say ‘lineup’ because they crossed out the wrong artist) Festival Fits ~
Pandemonium had a very different vibe than some of the other festivals I’ve attended, as, similarly to A Day on the Green, its demographic skewed towards an older crowd. This meant there wasn’t the usual fast fashion plague that typically comes with Gen Z targetted festivals. The majority of attendees, including myself, wore merch shirts of the festival acts or other rock bands. It’s a classic way to dress for the theme of the festival you’re attending while still being cute and comfortable. Rock festivals also fit the theme of darker, more grunge, outfit options, but colour isn’t shunned. In fact, we saw someone in a banana costume, dressed as Alice Cooper, and a group in brightly coloured suits. The possibilities are endless, and only ever limited by you, wear anything and everything! Except maybe a bikini, I would have to advise against that for this event…
Despite my friends, family and I going for different themes, we all had one thing in common, jackets. The photos were taken in the middle of the day so you’ll have to trust me when I say we used said jackets later on in the festival, and were VERY happy to have brought them.
The Festivities ~
Options for getting to and from the festival were limited but included; driving and finding a park by either paying the $15 festival parking or looking for some near the site, taking a shuttle bus, or a public bus and making the 15-plus minute walk to the venue (Thomas, 2024). Ultimately, my friend and I were lucky to score a lift with my brother and his partner. We found parking relatively easy but it ended up being a twenty-five-minute walk from it to the festival (a bit silly of us but the walk warmed us up so it’s okay). We arrived at the festival just after the Cosmic Psychos set, so all though we missed them we got a chance to explore the grounds, check out the merch and find a good spot in the ‘mosh’ before WolfMother took the stage. With their hits, ‘Joker And The Thief’ and ‘Woman’, they well and truly warmed up the ‘crowd’. I added the quotation marks to ‘crowd’ and ‘mosh’ because these included the 65% of attendees seated comfortably on chairs and picnic blankets they brought in, the 30% that stood nodding along and the remaining 5%, which consisted of my friends and I, dancing vigorously to the sets.
Wheatus was next, starting with a snippet of their most famous song, ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, they hooked the audience in from the start. After following with a pretty fun and impressive set Brendan B. Brown, the lead singer of Wheatus, happily expresses a thank you to Australia “for making this song a hit” and for being “the first place that embraced this song” before ripping into it (Thomas, 2024). ‘It’ being the iconic ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. Brown is accompanied by the audience's screams until he takes a quick, hilarious, moment to clear his voice and sing the ‘girls’ verse. All I can say is that this was LEGENDARY, and I would have left happily after this.
We didn’t leave due to obvious reasons and instead took a well-deserved seated break in between the sets. During this, we got interviewed with questions like ‘Why should we attend more festivals?’, and ‘Who are you most excited about seeing?’. I have yet to find the video online but if you see me singing ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ poorly and answering the question ‘What makes Blondie so iconic?’ with ‘She’s blonde’ no you didn’t.
Afterwards was Psychedelic Furs, which personally, wasn’t as enjoyable as the previous sets. The energy between the band was off, making the vibes on stage a bit weird to watch, especially when lead singer Richard Butler stopped mid-song to tell everyone that he “can’t hear himself”.
Photos taken by my friends and I (from left to right): The stage right before Wolfmother, and the stage, during Blondie, featuring the queen herself. To pass the time before Blondie took the stage we went for a quick bathroom break and some food before resuming our position in the mosh. Strutting onto the stage in a full neon green suit and alien-looking sunglasses Debbie Harry was a site to see. With her colourfully suited band behind her, they ran through hit after hit, including ‘Hanging on the Telephone’, ‘Call Me’, ‘Rapture’ and ‘Atomic’. Although Harry's vocals weren’t as strong as expected, for someone in her late 70s she still took the stage with force. Ending her set with a disco ball cape, and ‘Heart of Glass’ Blondie remains iconic, and is so much more than just blonde.
Before the last set, we had discussed leaving early given that the majority of us didn’t know the artist too well and factors like low energy, the cold, and traffic were playing on our minds. That changed as soon as Alice Cooper hit the stage. I have never been more engrossed with a performance, and it wasn’t just because he had a beautiful and talented band backing him up (Nina Stratuss was definitely a crowd favourite). During his set Cooper came out in a straight jacket, brought out a snake, got his head chopped off by his wife, ran for president, fought Frankenstein, and MORE! Playing hits like ‘Eighteen’, ‘Poison’, ‘Schools Out’ and ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’, those who weren’t fans before were definitely fans now. Well and truly the best set that day and one of the best performances I’ve ever seen period. Alice Cooper, please don’t get banned from Australia!
Photos taken by my friends and I (from left to right): The snake (an Olive Python for reference) that Alice sang a duet with, his entrance, and “the amazing Nina Stratuss” (Alice Cooper, 2024)Tips and Tricks ~
★ Remember to bundle up. If you’ve lived in Melbourne for a while, or even just a day, you know how unpredictable the weather patterns are. One thing is for certain though, it’ll get cold, especially as festival season comes to a close. Bring an extra jacket or jumper, as having it towards the end of the night is such a relief and allows you to keep having fun for longer. It might be annoying to carry at first but remember, it’s cool to stay warm ;)
★ Go to more live music. DJs don’t count. I know I’m a hypocrite as I love a good techno event, but I’ve been to so many recently that I’ve forgotten just how good live music is. Older bands like this have truly perfected their art, and it was incredible to see them shred, drum and belt lyrics to their iconic songs in person. There’s something so much more engaging about their sets that DJs don’t usually offer. Live a little and enjoy live music again!
★ Sing along. Much like dancing, I want you to still be wary of those around you. You might be a great singer but other attendees wouldn’t have come for you so try not to belt out to every song. That being said still sing along to your favourite tunes. There's something so freeing about this, especially when no one around you can properly hear you or judge you. If you’re filming videos keep in mind your voice will be heard but it’s hilarious to listen back to them and hear it. Don’t be shy and sing your heart out.
★ Take photos and videos. Given our generation, and the accessibility of cameras, this is kind of a given. However, don’t go about filming the entire concert or post it all on your Instagram story, do it in moderation. Film your favourite song, your friends as they dance to said songs, a photo of you at the event, etc. It’s so fun to reminisce about the beautiful moments you experienced at the festival and be able to share them with your friends and family.
★ Don’t give up! When the line-up changed, we hesitated about what we should do and if the festival was still worth attending. When at the festival, since the majority of us didn’t know Alice Cooper too well there was talk of leaving early to skip traffic. We went, we stayed, and we had an AMAZING time. Don’t give up when things aren’t going as expected, who knows, they may end up being even better.
Final Festival Factors ~
Pandemonium wasn’t the event we were expecting. From the line-up changes, overall planning of the festival, lack of full refunds, a data breach of ticketholders' bank details, mediocre accessibility viewing areas, along with the Sydney show being in the middle of the city on Anzac Day, it definitely had its problems. However, being it’s first year running I have to give it some credit. It had plenty of food and restrooms, water was accessible, there was plenty of space, and to top it off the acts that did come were incredible! All things considered, I would still recommend Pandemonium Rocks, especially if the promoters step up their game.
See you at the next festival,
Lizzie T
Sources
Lang A (2024) Data breach rocks troubled Pandemonium Rocks music festival. NCA NewsWire
Thomas M (2024) Live Review: Pandemonium Rocks 2024 @ Caribbean Gardens, Melbourne. NCA NewsWire
Varvaris M (2024) The Pandemonium Festival Set Times Are Here. The Music https://themusic.com.au/news/the-pandemonium-festival-set-times-are-here/W4rhT05xcHM/19-04-24