Riding the bull.

Saturday the 30th of April brought not only thousands of indie music lovers to the Bendigo showgrounds but one of , if not the, most amazing festivals I have ever been to. Groovin' the Moo welcomed many famous national and international bands to "graze" their fields, some being UK rockers The Wombats and the local and fabulous Washington.

2011's show put last years two hour queue to shame, with a wait of a couple minutes tops. Even for those unfortunate people who arrived late after their 2 hour plus drive in a somewhat illegally unroadworthy bus. The wait for food however, was painstakingly long. No one wants to wait 35 minutes in a queue for chocolate mousse that only seems to be moving from people leaving, all while counting the minutes until Art vs Science begin. If you are willing to wait an obscenely long time for food however, I reccommend the chicken strips and chips, sure it's expensive but the chicken is delicious!

The talent was evident from the get-go, after watching Darwin Deez's spontaneous choreography to Spice Girls songs I can see past his Rabi-esque hair-do and find him reasonably attractive. Oh, the mask that great music creates! Washington was always destined to play well, how could she not with a sip of beer inbetween each song to keep her going? Art vs Science was probably the stand out for the day, filling the Moulin Rouge stage's capacity well and truly with unruly drunk men and women gyrating each other to the tunes of "Magic Fountain" and "Poulez Vous Francais." If there was one thing that GTM 2011 could have really improved was rethinking their headliner act, I'm almost 100% certain that The Wombats drew the greatest and most eager bunch of onlookers to their set. Being in the mosh was exilirating as well as physically tiring, trying to keep to the beat of the mosh. Their set was brilliant, featuring majority of their older songs; "Moving to New York", "Bridget Jones" and "Let's dance to joy division" but also a few of their chart-toppers from their new album. There was easily not a dull moment during the thoroughly satisfying 40+ minutes and was and I think will always be my favourite live band.

For those unders unsure of sneaking in alcohol and the security surrounding it, I say just go for it. The security is a mere bag check, and to sneak a flask of vodka in is child's play. Hiding your drunken demeanor however is the tricky part and where the security actually steps in. So if you want a pick me up between sets then I advise a flask tucked into your shorts or coat pocket and some sneaky drinking in the tiolet cubicles.

Until next year, I hope to see you all there bright and early wearing the trademark festival attire ready for a day of moshing and grinding.