Good Vibrations

Review: Despite the hope for an overcast, breezy and easy day, Sydney Goodvibers found themselves in the middle of some torrential downpours. The silver lining to the heavy, rain-filled clouds? It was easy to disguise the perspiration brought on by the many heavy hitters that made up the Good Vibes line-up, and the sniffer dogs that outnumbered festival goers three to one.

With this year's festival offering more variety in dance music styles, and a larger proportion of bands on the bill, the day boasted something for every taste. But with such a cross-section of genres, more planning should have been put in to the timetable. Those there to see Kelis probably also wanted to catch Nas & Damian Marley, and Sidney Samson really drew the short straw, spinning fidget while Faithless were dropping 'Insomnia' on the main stage.

The day's highlights came very early on: 4 o'clock, in fact, when Erykah Badu took to the Roots stage. Opening with the other-worldly sounds of 'The Healer' from latest album New Amerykah Part One (Fourth World War) and manipulating her freakishly refined voice throughout the set, fans were awed by her presence, mouthing words to songs like gospel. At times she commanded so much concentration that in the tiny packed tent, you could almost hear a pin drop.

Badu wove most of her songs into one long languid blend, and the extensions we're held together strongly by her understated band. Unfortunately hits 'Tyrone' and 'Bag Lady' were omitted from the setlist, but the crowd was treated to a varied mix of beats from Baduizm, Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground.

While Rusko had dub-induced sweat covering every inch of the Laundry tent, the very charismatic characters of Fat Freddy's Drop fronted up at Roots. The drawn-out set featured so many keys, horns and dance moves, it seemed more akin to a beat-dropping DJ set then an all-instrumental hip hop and roots performance.

The Kiwis were followed by NAS & Damian Marley. The crowd was equally divided between flat caps and dreads and both groups had no shortage of lighters in the air. The duo delivered one of the more stellar performances of the evening. 'Welcome to Jamrock' and 'Road to Zion' hit the right notes for the dreads and the Badu cameo did it for the 'caps, while an encore of Bob's 'We Could Be Loved' hit it out of Centennial Park for both.

Winding up the festival was headliners Faithless, who drew the biggest crowd of the day and rewarded them with a huge nostalgia set. When the bassline of 'Insomnia' rolled in, the kids literally began to run in circles with excitement. And, yes, something tells me they didn't get no sleep that night. Christina Bou

Time Out gives its dance music picks of the Good Vibes line-up.

Faithless
The Festival headliners will deliver heaving late-90s Britannia to the Good Vibes main stage, promising a taste of all six of their albums and hits ‘We Come 1' and ‘God Is a DJ'. This will be the last ever chance to see the urban rave trio perform in Australia and the moment ‘Insomnia' drops could well be the peak of the summer festival season.



Kelis
Having worked with everyone from the Neptunes and David Guetta to Diplo and Boys Noize, Kelis is a Diva with serious dance cred. Hits ‘Milkshake', ‘Trick Me', ‘Millionaire' and ‘Bossy' can only mean a set of back-to-back bangers from this R&B poppette.



Sasha
Not a stranger to our shores, the Welsh prog icon returns to show Australian audiences why he has been at the forefront of progressive house since the late nineties. Erring on the trance side of house music, Sasha always delivers a deep and epic ride. Fingers crossed Digweed's right-hand man is awarded the lengthy set slot he deserves.



Rusko
Spun by the likes of Pete Tong, Switch and Diplo, British dubstep producer Rusko will be bringing the wobble to the Good Vibes line-up. We predict Rusko's ‘Cockney Thug', ‘Woo Boost' and ‘Hold On' will have more than the first few rows melting at his feet.



Friendly Fires
The St Albans trio were forced to cancel their appearance at last year's festival, but are back on the bill in 2011. Something tells us it'll be worth the wait when the guitar-heavy dance outfit bring punky hits ‘Paris', ‘Skeleton Boy' and ‘Photobooth' to life on stage. Erin Moy

Good Vibrations 2010 had its share of disappointments, like headliners getting sick at the last minute and torrential rain, so they've got a huge karmic debt coming to them for 2011. Unfortunately Cee-Lo Green and Janelle Monae have had to pull out in order to perform at the Grammy Awards, but you'll still enjoy headliners Faithless (doing what's rumoured to be their last ever tour), French pop masters Phoenix, US r'n'b star Kelis, DJ whizzkid Sasha, the new collaborative effort between Nas and Damien Marley, hip-hop star Ludacris, the first ever visit by world music icon Erykah Badu, the return of Friendly Fires (who couldn't make it last year) and recent Splendour visitors Miike Snow, as well as Fake Blood, Mike Posner, Yolanda Be Cool, Kill the Noise, Tim & Jean , Fenech-Soler and Aloe Blacc & the Grand Scheme.