Tag Archives: Music

RaveSafe

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When I was at Big Day Out this year I had the pleasure of running into my mate Stu. Noticing his fluro yellow vest and that he was holding a water sprayer, I was shocked to find out he worked as a volunteer at music festivals doing “crowd care”. Long story short, the next time I saw him I hit him up to get me a spot doing the same thing and he came through. I am now happy to say I am a member of the government sponsored “RaveSafe” crew.

SoundWave 2009 was my first event working with RaveSafe. Basically they volunteer their time to make sure that everyone at the festival stays safe and have a good time. They offer a range of services, from spraying the crowd with water to keep them cool to offering water and a place to lie down for those who have overdone it. Ravesafe can also help with basic things, like navigation around the festival, where to find a schedule, and even sunscreen.

Their efforts tend to be controlled towards those who have taken drugs or consumed alcohol. Although there’s a police presence at the festival to try and prevent people enter the festival with illegal substances, realistically you can guarantee there will be hundreds (if not thousands) of festival-goers that have taken/drunken something. The best part about ravesafe is they are totally trust worthy – if they help someone who they know has taken illegal substances, they’re not going to run to the cops, they won’t phone the parents, and they won’t release a press statement (slight exaggeration there of course). To put it simply, RaveSafe are there to try and avoid people leaving the festival in ambulances. It’s this trust factor that I believe is in RaveSafe’s favour – people are more willing to go to them to help because they know they won’t go to jail.

For example, it’s becoming increasingly common for sniffer dogs to present at the entrance lines to the festival. To avoid detection, people are taking numerous pills, or drinking excessive amounts of alcohol before they enter. Their line of thought is “take it all now, don’t get caught, rave on inside”. Unfortunately they don’t factor the risk of overdosing into their plans. The people I work with at ravesafe have assured me it’s not uncommon to get very serious cases first thing in the morning. In fact, I’ve heard one story of a girl at Summer Field Dayze who had almost an entire bottle of vodka before lining up. She passed out while waiting to get in.

After working at one event I’m amazed by just how tiring it truly is. Here was how my day at Soundwave panned out:

  • Arrived 1.5hrs before the gates open to set up the room – involves blowing up mattresses, laying sheets and pillows down, filling up water jugs with water, tables and chairs, setting up tables with sunscreen, schedules, ear plugs etc etc.
  • Walked around the event to locate water points (to fill up spray bottles during the day, and also direct people on where they can get drinks from)
  • Handed out our schedules for the day. We find out how many teams there are, and where we’ll be during the day. Basically we have teams split up with groups patrolling the stages with water sprayers. They’ll spray the crowd to cool them down, and look for any people in need of help. One group will be located at the RaveSafe HQ handing out free water. The bosses will always be in HQ looking after anyone in the chill out room so that way we know where to find them if we need them.
  • Had a team discussion where we ask questions, get reminded of what to do/what not to do, and signs to look for
  • Finally the gates opened, and people flooded in.
  • We patrolled the grounds (and danced to the music of course) until our first break just after lunch.
  • After a break, we take HQ duty for an hour.
  • Back to patrolling the grounds until our second break for dinner.
  • HQ duty, then patrolling. By now it’s dark so it’s not really necessary to take the water sprayers, but just generally keep a look out for people.
  • Finally the festival winds up, and everyone goes home. Except for RaveSafe.
  • Anyone left in the HQ that are drunk/drugged we try to find a way for them to go home.
  • Clean up – pack up everything in HQ (usually involves soiled sheets from people during the day), put it all back on the ute, and go home.

By the end of the day, we’ll have been at the music festival for 14 – 15 hours. We’ve been on our feet the most of the day, and while we make it look easy, it sure as hell isn’t. The day after we’re usually extremely exhausted with very fatigued bodies.

So why do I do it? Firstly, a selfish reason. I plan on joining the Queensland Police Service, and need to prove my contribution to society in the form of volunteer work. RaveSafe is voluntary, hence why it works for me.  Secondly, I get free entry to the events, and provided everyone is generally well behaved we get to enjoy the music too. Thirdly….mmm, read the second point again.

I know it’s wishful thinking that people might be well behaved, but hey…it might happen! At least at Soundwave I got the chance to sit on the grass and listen to Nine Inch Nails in the cool air, and at the end of a long hard day in the sun, that makes it all seem worthwhile. I’ll be sure to post about my experiences at the future festivals I go to – no doubt there will be some interesting stories to tell!

Aussie Christmas Carols

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I started thinking tonight about how a lot of the Christmas songs we hear are about snow, having a white christmas, and sitting by the fire. It’s certainly not like that in Australia!! Here we’re used to sweating, having bbq’s, lots of swimming in the pool or the ocean, and sunburn.

Santa has a change of attire when visiting Australia

Santa has a change of attire when visiting Australia

Originally I twittered the question of whether there were any Aussie Christmas carols anyone knew of (two replies about Rolf Harris and his song “6 White Boomers” – itunes link), and after starting to do a little bit of research it was clear it would need a blog post. Hence I present to you, a comprehensive list of songs available in iTunes that’s truly representative of an Aussie Christmas! Even if some of them are slightly bogan’ish.

  1. 6 White Boomers – Rolf Harris
  2. Aussie Jingle Bells – Bucko & Champs (there’s actually tons of versions of this song on iTunes)
  3. 12 Days of Aussie Christmas – Bucko & Champs
  4. Album called Aussie Christmas with Bucko & Champs by Bucko & Champs
  5. A Very Merry Aussie Christmas – Ticklish Allsorts
  6. Australians let us Barbecue – Bucko & Champs (had to mention this one – to the tune of the anthem)
  7. Album called True Blue Aussie Christmas by Dimmer Twins

And that’s enough for me tonight! I must say, I was quite surprised…I actually didn’t think there would be that much but I was pleasantly surprised. Not that it converted into purchases or anything. I just can’t work out whether it means that there’s more “novelty” albums out there that I expected, or I’m just not up to par on the Christmas albums!

Bonus link – an app in the App Store for Australian Slang, appropriately named “Aussie (Australian) Slang“

Australian Political Music – do we lack interest?

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Yesterday I worked from home, and remained glued to the TV set as I watched Obama become the new President-elect for the United States of America. A very moving time no doubt, and one of those times you’ll say “I was doing such and such when the first black president was elected”. Never mind the fact that he is qualified to take the job in many many ways, his race is still a very defining moment for history. As part of his election, it ends the career of one of the most controversial Presidents, George W Bush (junior).

It may just be due to my age (I’m only 24), I’m too young to really know anything about their previous presidents except for Clinton (and the only thing that sticks out to me about him was that he has a thing for cigars and head jobs). With President Bush, I’ve been subjected to a lot of music protesting against his actions. And again, it may only be due to my age, but I’ve only just realised how many overseas artists are willing to sing about their political views. The most notable that springs to mind is Bono and U2 – I even studied Sunday Bloody Sunday in high school! He doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind. And as time goes on, more mainstream artists (if you can call them that) are talking about politics as well e.g. P!nk, Green Day, Dixie Chicks?

Then I look closer to home, and wonder where all our outspoken artists are. Perhaps I don’t listen to enough Australian music, or pay enough attention to their lyrics. But the only songs I could think of was Paul Kelly’s “From Little Things, Big Things Grow” and Midnight Oil’s “Beds are Burning” (another I studied in high school). I’m positive John Butler Trio would have some political songs amongst their mix, John Butler is very outspoken on particular things (like the uranium mining).

(Side note – I was actually at Live Earth in Sydney when they sang this, and the song echoed around the stadium with everyone singing along…fantastic moment)

**update – for more information about the inspiration behind this song, check out this wikipedia article on the Gurindji strike**

I searched for Australian Political Music on Google, and instead found this – an article written in 2006 where Midnight Oil used their induction into the hall of fame to call for more protest songs. I also found another article of a history of Australian Music pushing the boundaries of politics and social acceptance, but it only goes to the year 2000.

I asked the question on Twitter, and immediately got the following suggestions (thanks Oli!!):

Perhaps I’m either ignorant to the lyrics of music, listening to the wrong radio stations, or just have my head buried in sand….OR is it possible that Australian political music is either not prominent or not getting the attention it deserves? Or are the songs not being written?

Not pointing any fingers at all, otherwise I’m fairly sure I’d be shot down in a second, and I don’t think there is a wrong or right about it. I’m just curious to see where it all is, whether it died in the 90′s or if Australian artists are more conservative about taking a stand. Or whether I’m just being ignorant (have I said that enough already??) I just wonder if we’re going to start hearing music about Kevin Rudd anytime soon.

I’ve upgraded, cementing my geek status

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First I had my iPod shuffle. Then I got an iPod mini. But like all things technological, they grew old. I yearned for something new, and upon my 24th birthday my wish was granted. Mat bought me an 80gb iPod classic in matt black. Now, I can rest for at least another 6 months before I find something new that I want.

I actually didn’t have much to say in this post, just wanted everyone to know how excited I am to have got a new iPod. It’s great! I’ve used some tutorials on how to get my mp3 audiobooks into the correct audiobook area in iTunes, so I can sync my iPod correctly, and it’s become a ritual to listen to at least 1/2 an hour of a book before I fall asleep. Last night it was my saviour, when I managed only 2 hours sleep because my body wouldn’t shut down. In the interim, I listened and played with my new iPod.

Next I suppose I’ll venture into the portability of movies on my iPod, although not a huge movie buff I don’t see this being a major thing for me. Same with the photos – I love my photography but I have flickr to share that with people, and don’t really feel the need to carry them with me everywhere. I’ll probably start taking advantage of the games next, and use them when I’m hanging around somewhere and I’m bored. I think all the “additions” to the iPod other than music will come in handy when I’m travelling, whether it be in the car when Mat’s driving and I choose to ignore him by watching a movie, or when we travel overseas next year and have an extremely long stretch in an airplane ahead of me. Getting a new iPod was on the list of things I needed to before that trip, so it was a fantastic birthday present.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m morphing into a girly nerd, more on that girly stuff to come….

Foo Fighters to tour Australia in 2008

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My first proper “big” concert was seeing the Foo Fighters (my favourite band) in Brisbane in 2005. Finally, they’re coming back. I absolutely cannot wait.

This morning was the pre-sale, and I have the absolute pleasure in telling the whole world that I have two front row seats. That’s right, I’m sitting (what a lazy sod) and the lucky person who will be joining me is none other than my boyfriend Mat. But hang on, you would think he would be happy right? So far he has insisted he’s not coming, that he has no desire to go to a concert, and when I rang to announce the front row tickets I got a “is that all you rang me for??”

Doesn’t matter – nothing can ruin the mood I’m in. FRONT ROW!!! Why can’t it be April 29th already?

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