Music enthusiasts, young and old, turned out on Friday to catch Auckland’s final Big Day Out. The day was a touch sentimental and more mellow than momentous, as many turned out to toast this old-timer one more time.

With competition a-plenty, New Zealand’s festival season has expanded significantly over the past few years, but the Big Day Out should not be forgotten. In the lead up to the event, Big Day Out organisers received criticism for the lack-lustre line-up as Odd Future and Kanye West were removed from the bill, and ticket sales were at an all-time low.

However, credit must be given to this historic annual event, not only for its eighteen year longevity but for its ability to bring a wide variety of top international acts to New Zealand. This time round we were dealt a mish-mash of artists – from international numbers Nero and Cavalera Conspiracy, to local acts Beastwars and @Peace.

Yes, we all remember the queues to the bathrooms, lack of drinking water and the crowd-crush between stages. However, we could not complain this time, as this year’s smaller event enabled one to comfortably bounce from one stage to another. Not that there were many stages to entertain, mind you.

The familiar Boiler Room was no longer that over-sized and oh-so sweaty tent we all experienced, consequently punters were left to groove around on the concrete outdoors. It also didn’t quite seem right having one main-stage and the smaller Skate stage off to the side. However, skate-star Tony Hawk filled in the gaps nearby with his sweet skate stunts. He drew a bigger crowd than Midnight Youth nearby.

Downsized and on its way out, the Big Day still has some acts worth a mention…

With 50 odd half-naked kids partying on stage, Girl Talk got the crowd on form and in high spirits as they pumped out plenty of favourites. Without trying to sound like a tree-hugger, the continuous firing of toilet paper from the stage seemed a bit ridiculous. Drum & bass rockers Six60 delivered a fan-heavy crowd exactly what they were after. And it seemed appropriate to see the sing-a-longs and dreamy-eyed girls as these Dunedin lads continue to launch themselves on the international circuit.

Royksopp brought a fusion of retro-futuristic sounds and avante-garde costumes to the stage. Psyching a substantial crowd, this wacky Norwegian duo delivered plenty of their popular warm, downbeat electronic tracks.

Over on the Green stage, the Neilsen brothers of Unknown Mortal Orchestra played to a chilled out audience - many of whom lay on the grass in the sunshine. As much as I enjoy this alt-pop outfit, it would have been good to see them draw in the crowd with more enthusiasm. I guess that’s tricky with a whole bunch of hipsters though.

As an up and coming band of 2011, California’s Foster the People were eager to please to a largish crowd, and that they did as the catchy song Pumped Up Kicks got a sing-a-long and shimmy from most.

Many would claim that their over-priced ticket was all to see reunited grunge stars Soundgarden, and the Main stage sure filled up for Chris Cornell and his band. It was evident that both the artists and audience were reminiscing over the 90’s grunge era, as they belted out old hits like Black Hole Sun and Searching With My Good Eye Closed in an exciting 90 minute set. I had to catch Nero (again) back over in the Boiler arena, they dropped a few good tracks and warmed the crowd towards the end, but overall I have seen better performances from these London artists.

With much talk (and tweeting) over whether he’d give us some Oasis material, Brit-Pop king Noel Gallagher gave Big Day Out the final salute. And, as expected, finished his set with Don’t Look Back in Anger that seemed somewhat appropriate and sentimental for all.

It will be missed, and well and truly remembered. Now it’s time for another great festival to fill some pretty big boots.  

By Olivia Young