Saturday 23/02/08 St Jerome's Laneway Festival @ Fowlers Courtyard, Adelaide

There’s something rather disconcerting about dashing to a festival, racing to get there just in time for the first of the bands that you really want to see, only to come across the lead singer of said band wandering down the street, looking as if he’s nipping out to find a cash point or perhaps even a spot of lunch. But as it turns out, there’s nothing to worry about. Lady Strangelove have been pushed a bit higher up the bill, so that Bridezilla can catch a flight down to Melbourne for another gig tonight.

As soon as they take the stage it’s obvious why the young Sydney band is in such demand. The name doesn’t promise anything much, and nor, to be honest, does the tatty-glam image. The four women in the band don’t look like bridezilla so much as her victims: tired and emotional wedding guests at the end of a long and drunken reception, still in their heels, but with laddered tights, dishevelled hair and frayed dresses. Their drummer looks as if he’s just arrived, but he’s bang on time, all the time. And the music is something else. It’s an unconventional line up by rock and roll standards (drums, rhythm and lead guitar, no bass, but violin and sax) yet it couldn’t sound more natural - everything fits together perfectly.

In its Adelaide incarnation, the Laneway Festival is a two-stage, indoor/outdoor affair, so after Bridezilla it’s out to the main stage for Okkervil River. By comparison, the Texans sound jaded and uninspiring, but it has to be said that their performance builds very nicely: by the end of their set they’ve won over a good portion of their much larger audience.

Meanwhile, Lady Strangelove have finished their errands and are setting about their next task with gusto. They’re a band that Gigwise has had the pleasure of raving about before, and there’s no choice but to do it again - somehow, they’ve improved. The psychedelic mayhem they specialise in is still getting harder and tighter, and the energy they pour into their show has gone up a few levels too. The new material in the set isn’t quite as polished as it might be just yet, but it’s only a matter of time, it’s certainly lean and muscular, despite their prog influences. Their extended jams could go on all day so far as an enthusiastic crowd is concerned, but sadly that’s not to be.

The next act, Stars, are the first and most forgettable members of a hefty Canadian contingent. It’s decent enough music for standing around in a yard drinking to, which is exactly what most of the audience does. Later on, Broken Social Scene use their fellow Canadians to great advantage. They’re decent enough on their own, especially with '****ed Up Kid', from Kevin Drew’s recent BSS-backed ‘solo’ album, but the more guests they add the better they become. Expanded from six to ten, with some Stars on horns and Feist on vocals, they’re nothing short of excellent.

By mid-afternoon, Laneway is starting to feel like a victim of its own success. The event started in Melbourne four years ago, tucked away in the city’s lanes and alleyways, and soon won a reputation for being one of the coolest festivals going. That reputation has seen Laneway spread around the country, and there’s a ready-made, sell-out crowd for the Adelaide debut. Despite the fact that we’re in a fairly large yard rather than one of Melbourne’s lanes, it’s almost impossible to move around. Worse, towards the back of an often uninterested crowd it’s difficult to hear the music for the number of people apologising to each other as they try to negotiate a route to the bars and food stalls.

The other big problem is that the main stage is running progressively later, while the indoor stage is keeping perfect time. We’re soon into reviewing hell, with both stages playing simultaneously, and neither of them offering anything worthwhile. Outside, The Panics and then Clap Your Hands Say Yeah manage to make the other stage seem very attractive, but none of the bands inside are even remotely as good.