REVIEW:
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One cannot deny that Kryal Castle is an unusual setting for a massive rock show, a fact commented on by just about every act at Sunday's The World Is A Vampire festival.
From Amy Taylor drawling "Kryal Castle!" as golden hour hit, to the Smashing Pumpkins' guitarist James Iha riffing on "ancient battles", every act looked up to see the stone walls behind the crowd and seemed puzzled.
The Smashing Pumpkins, '90s alt-rock royalty, brought their mates Jane's Addiction for the Australian leg of their Vampire festival tour, and it was a one-two punch.
Frontman Billy Corgan was as powerful as ever, ripping through singles Bullet with Butterfly Wings and Today within the first five songs to the delight of the crowd.
The re-formed band - Jimmy Chamberlin is still one of the best drummers in the business, no one fills quite like him - was touring new material from another multi-part rock opera epic, Atum, but the biggest singalongs were the classics.
Corgan, in a long black coat and facepaint, remarked the crowd seemed more still than some of the other shows - he blamed certain narcotics, but perhaps the real reason there wasn't a massive raging mosh pit was the fact it was about seven degrees.
Among the highlights, it must be said, were a grinding cover of Talking Heads' Once In A Lifetime - far removed from a perfect needledrop moment at last year's Meredith - and Iha and Corgan acoustically covering a bit of The Church's Under The Milky Way before a stunning duo take on Tonight, Tonight.
Earlier in the day, it was bright and sunny - good conditions for an outdoor wrestling ring, perhaps, but despite Corgan bringing his own personal professional wrestling company with him, it was a novelty for most of the crowd.
Instead of music to amp up the crowd between sets, two very enthusiastic commentators followed the wrestling action on the PA, but since there was no video screen, there wasn't much to see apart from people doing the occasional flip off the ropes.
There were some wrestling die-hards down the front, cheering the local stars and booing the trash-talking, but the vibe felt off - maybe they needed Kryal Castle's own Sir Phillip, in full plate, to go a few more rounds.
The music, however, ruled - following keytar enthusiasts Battlesnake, Sydney's RedHook burst onto the stage with a flurry of surgeons.
They were theatrical and brash, with proggy-mathy riffs and costume changes, while frontwoman Emmy Mack owned the stage, climbing scaffolds and egging the front rows on.
A brief circle pit opened for Kamikaze before Battlesnake rocked up to throw toilet paper rolls into the crowd for Bad Decisions.
Amyl and the Sniffers, the hottest thing in Melbourne at the moment, recognised by everyone from Gucci to King Gizzard, put on a show for the ages, with frontwoman Amy Taylor in what seemed like a castle-appropriate chainmail bikini top and a drummer in fresh Western Bulldogs kit - complete with Ballarat logo on the shorts.
The high energy on stage was met with coat-and-beanie-wearing nodding instead of crowdsurfing - could this be the tamest show the Sniffers have ever played? - but the band proved they could compete in the same league as the bigger names on the bill.
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Speaking of, Jane's Addiction have been on the circuit for most of the last 35 years, but haven't aged a day - Perry Farrell and co, minus guitarist Dave Navarro, sounded completely huge from up on the hill, accompanied by a troupe of dancers cavorting on scaffolds.
Ballarat is big enough to attract big international rockstars to our city, from Japanese veterans Guitar Wolf blowing the doors off The Eastern on a Wednesday night to providing the stage for JuiceWRLD's final show before his untimely death at the first Spilt Milk.
Kryal Castle's already put on a lot of big shows - Parkway Drive for New Year's Eve 2021 sticks out - but despite some fears about shuttle buses and long waits for food, hosting the Smashing Pumpkins so successfully hopefully points to more big names coming our way soon.
The Courier was provided with a review ticket from the promoters.
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