Bands impress at Future Music; security & safety still an issue though…

Tens of thousands of music-lovers and party-goers descended upon Joondalup Arena on Sunday for one of the highlights on the music festival calendar: Future Music 2015.

Crowds were estimated to be at the 40,000 mark: variously there to enjoy the likes of The Prodigy, Bassjacker, Hilltop Hoods, Example and Die Antwoord.

Even before the Hilltop Hoods kicked off their set with Chase That Feeling, security had to escort a man in a wheelchair from the excited crowds, assisted by music-goers up the front, all helping to carry the man and chair above heads.

The weather, which increased with wind and grey cloud-cover-turned rain splatter, did not deter the masses from fist-pumping and jumping to the tunes, shirts on or off.

Sunset Lounge tickets authorised people who purchased the ‘add-on’ access for moments of reprieve from the crowds where drinks could be had while sitting on lounges, and toilet lines were far shorter, not to mention the advantage of free wi-fi with networks rather clogged with traffic.

The main thrill of the night was of course headliners The Prodigy. Anyone who grew up as a teenager in the ’90s knows such in-yer-face classics as Smack My Bitch Up, Firestarter, Voodoo People and Breathe but the hard-core dance act certainly hasn’t been a fly-by-night; with a new album set for release in late March this year – 25 years after they began.

In sum, Future Music Festival is a celebration of contemporary music while at the same time, a somewhat unsightly reflection largely of the youth today.

A lot of booze, a lot of chewing gum, and noisy antics – even on the trains to the event – portrays a vibe of joy and pumped-up love for music yet also the need for more education on the negative impact that alcohol and drugs can have on people.

During the afternoon and as the evening wore on, St. John’s First Aid officers were kept busy with patrons suffering injuries amid intoxication and probable side-effects from drug-use.

A young woman in an apparent intoxicated stupor was carried out by security at the front of Die Antwoord before they commenced playing, with her sister claiming she was punched in the face “by a guy without a shirt and covered in tatts”.

After talking with the alleged assailant, security apparently escorted him from the Future Dome tent, as one security officer confirmed for the young woman and her sister.

Then, as Die Antwoord took off on an energy-high that brought the tent to a dancing frenzy while around the outskirts of the tent, a young guy suddenly felt ill and vomited next to the media pit, while youth were passed out in the First Aid tent and around the event and one man on a stretcher was being attended to by Ambulance officers with an oxygen mask, which had to be removed when he began to vomit.

Sadly, festivals such as this are plagued with the irresponsibility of many patrons and security and ambulance officers can only do so much to alleviate the effects of too much alcohol and the mixture with illicit substances.

In my books, security, police presence, and more aid officers need to be ramped up at these events, especially when First Aid cannot attend to an incident because they are tied up with other incidents of intoxication.

Up the security and safety, and these events would be a lot more fun to be at.  Andrea Manno

Future Music Festival, Perth was held at the Joondalup Arena on Sunday, March 01.

Pictured above: highlight act, Die Antwoord.