Being stuck in immense amounts of traffic, finding a parking spot you're not entirely sure is legal to park in and pounding the pavement in a big way is your usual start to a summer festival, and Big Day Out 2010 was no exception. Thousands of people battled the heat and crowds to catch the jam-packed line-up produced for the year with Muse and Groove Armada at the helm. Personally I felt the crowds kicked it up a notch this year and were cramming into the mosh pits from the word go with bands like Bluejuice and Karnivool getting things pumping around midday.

Clad in figure-hugging yellow jumpsuits and sporting only the packages god gave them, Bluejuice pulled out a fun set holding nothing back in terms of showmanship or bad taste. Signature tracks Broken Leg and Vitriol were obvious crowd pleasers and people jammed on the barrier got a piece of the action when the lead singer hurled his sweaty body on top of them. Next up was Karnivool with frontman Ian Kenny sporting a somewhat nerdier look than I was expecting. All looks aside the five-piece delivered a heart-thumping show, the smooth vocals of Kenny lulling most into somewhat of a stupor.

At this point I needed to leg it over to the Novocaines who were ripping it up at the Converse Essentials stage with a 15-minute time window before Mastodon was due. While they weren’t one of the priorities for the day, the larrikin rockers are always worth a watch with their too-cool stage antics and fast-paced tunes. So I caught a couple of openers from the Novocaines then made a run for it to catch the band I’ve been waiting to see again since I last saw them open for Slayer two years ago.

For me Mastodon was amazing.  The old school rockers may not have faired well on the timetable for the day but they can pull of an intense set all the same. Pulling out tracks Oblivion, Crack The Skye and bizarrely a 13-minute anthem The Last Baron from their latest album, the crowds were noticeably unenthused by the lack of impact Mastodon could muster in the outdoor arena. Whatever, I thought they rocked out. Kisschasy put out a cracking live show opening with fun track Do Does and Woah Ohs. The crowd interaction kept things interesting, particularly when the crowd was encouraged to throw their water bottles on stage so they could fill them with beer, which of course meant band members were met with a barrage of Mount Franklin water bottles – some not empty.

One of the biggest highlights of my day dropped in at 2pm when British indie rockers Kasabian took to the stage. Vocalist Tom Meighan kept the moshpit hanging on his every word as he strutted the stage, too cool in his red leather jacket. The cocky Leicester performers had every right to play up the rock star persona since most of the day’s crowds had gathered to catch the show and even the media guys were bopping away in the photographer’s pit. Huge singles Underdog and Fire went off a treat and the final song of the set Clubfoot had plenty of hands in the air.

Over on the Blue Stage Eskimo Joe was spot on as always and I couldn’t fault the quality of music - Kavyen Temperley vocals translated to stage amazingly.  I did think his stage movement was a bit weak and I definitely enjoyed the music more when I wasn’t watching the stage. Black Fingernails, Red Wine as the closing track was, as predicted, a big hit with crowds.  Other hits Sarah, Foreign Land and New York also made the set list for the day. After Eskimo Joe finished up I made a mad dash to Temper Trap where luckily enough I was able to catch the only song I wanted to hear – Sweet Disposition. Surprisingly the lead singer hit his high notes beautifully without being marred by the live arena.

Not a moment to rest, I zipped across to the Converse Essentials stage again - not a bad place to catch an act at the beginning of the day but became positively disgusting when tightly packed with sweaty bodies all trying to get in on the show from Passion Pit. There was a bit of a struggle to get to the photography pit but it was worth it for the close proximity to the electronica band hailing from Massachusetts. I can't remember any of the songs played on the day but I do remember being completely enthralled by Passion Pit and really having to tear myself away to get back to the main stages in time for the next big acts.

After so much running around I made an executive decision to grab some extremely late and greasy breakfast, which meant due to the extremely long lines I missed the beginning of Hilltop Hoods. People in Australia just love these guys, and they know it, so their performance was badass, just like the one at Southbound.  The experience was a bit wasted on me though because they used the same crowd pleasing tricks, like "pretend your ex who broke your heart is on the other side of the crowd and yell fuck you!". But it still went down alright.  They played Chase That Feeling, What a Great Night, and Hard Road, as you'd expect, and Nosebleed Section for obvious reasons. Pressure messed up his rap at one point too and then had to make it up by rapping out 10 pages of lyrics in about three seconds with nothing but the crowds hand claps to back it.  Suffa then made him suffer 10 push ups on stage - my puns are awesome.

Anyway Dizzy Rascal was an exciting act as the two boisterous rappers jumped around the stage. There were a lot of songs I recognised but couldn’t give you a name for but Dance Wiv Me (featuring Calvin Harris) and Bonkers were the two that really got the crowd buzzing. At this point I had to make a tough decision, torn between wanting to see the entirety of Lily Allen’s set or giving myself time to squeeze through the Boiler Room mosh to catch Calvin Harris. So I made a compromise and saw half of Ms Allen’s set, totally worth it as the spunky songstress swaggered out in a glittery poncho and Ziggy Stardust-style eye makeup. The whole thing is a bit all over the place for me but I remember hearing 22, It’s Not Fair, Smile, The Fear and caught the singer pull her top off, run off stage to pee and do her interesting acoustic cover of Britney Spear’s Womaniser before leaving for the Boiler Room. A damn good show.

Calvin Harris was tall and beautiful on stage and his mixes were almost ear-splitting but it totally didn’t matter. The set seemed to all blend together into one big merger of sound and noise. I didn’t see more than the first couple of songs - The Mars Volta was due to start - but when you consider the length of one song I would say it was a decent effort. For the record, I love The Mars Volta. I think their music is interesting and complex and their concert last year was amazing. But this time I could barely bring myself to pay attention from the onset as the live arena turned the sonic sounds into a mish mash of nothing. They must've had half the crowd either tripping balls or bored off their tits cause half the D barrier was sitting for it.  I have to commend they psychedelic efforts but it's just not mainstream enough to be on the Blue Stage third last.  They're damn good musicians though.

At this point the day began to settle down as crowds made it too difficult to dash between acts so I bought a drink and settled down to wait for Powderfinger to begin their set on the Orange Stage. Aussie boys Powderfinger's entrance was spectacular. They started out songs like Bless My Soul which the audience really warmed up to.  Later on they cooled things off with My Happiness and These Days then wrapped up with an extended version on On My Mind which Fanning added a little bit of a bluesy twist.  Their set also included new single A Song About Money, not so well received by the crowd but still something new to listen to.

Then the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived. I can't even describe how great the Muse gig was. Matt Bellamy held crowds from right around the arena and grandstands captive as he gracefully wove through all the songs we'd been waiting to hear all day. Opening with Uprising, Muse’s gig seemed to fly by moving seamlessly into Supermassive Black Hole and Starlight and ending the super tight set on strong notes Knights of Cydonia and Plug In Baby. Being up close while photographing and then kicking back on the steps for the rest of the set was the perfect way to see and appreciate the British rockers showmanship. The light show was spellbinding and the quality of musicianship was enough to give you chills. By far the best set of the day and for me, the best festival headliner I’ve seen yet.

It was difficult to get much better after Muse but Groove Armada certainly delivered when we hauled ourselves to the Boiler Room for the last set of the night. The energy reached fever pitch as the alienesque front woman and full band took to the stage and the beats came fast and heavy. I’m not sure where I mustered the energy but I spent the entire set jumping up and down, camera bag slung over my shoulder, right up until the extended remix of Superstylin that officially ended Big Day Out 2010.

Such an amazing day and probably one of my biggest days out ever. The only things I could fault were the lack of phone reception which meant I spent most of the day by myself and the huge lines for food. Also having so many amazing acts on the bill meant many clashes of acts I wanted to see so I missed Tame Impala, Jet and Ladyhawke which was really disappointing but it was all worth it in the end. Ten out of ten from me for the oldest and best summer festival, I can’t wait to see the talent at Big Day Out 2011.

View more photos from Perth Big Day Out 2010 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/onthebarrier/

By Nikkita Dixon and Daniel Courtness

Photography by Nikkita Dixon