Jake: Lying in the shade at Inspiration Point and listening to the music float from the stage is some of the most fun a guy can have without taking his clothes off. With refuge from the sun found beneath the pines, the flaxen tundra hosted its own kind of entertainment. 

Tall, skinny lads kicked a footy, another kid practiced his kung fu for what seemed like hours, and over the way a group had begun to gather for some mysterious purpose. Every now and then a cheer would ripple outwards but the wall of people meant nothing could be seen. I wandered over to see freaks of all stripes had formed a ring to watch someone hit a pinata, one called "the scrotum" in honour of its leathery, veiny appearance. Its attacker was any volunteer who was willing to put on a mask that appeared to be made from a mutilated rabbit carcass, and while the crowd threw plastic balls as both guidance and torture. I didn't stick around long enough to see it crack open but damn, that thing was tough. Some later speculated that it was full of drugs, but could you imagine someone spending thousands of dollars on such a thing for the entertainment of us freeloaders? At Golden Plains, you never really know. 

Marcus: Seekae were a blazing highlight of Golden Plains in 2012, despite (or because of) not starting until deep in the morning at 1:40am. That year their set felt like a real coming out; a blitzkrieg of a light show introducing their then new-found confidence as a festival act. Here at 4pm they seemed hung out to dry in a no-man's land. It didn't make them any less great but it sure diluted their usual eerie presence. Having drummer Alex Cameron step up to the front to sing on a selection of new tunes from their forthcoming third LP gave their spectral glitch a welcome New Romantic vibe, and by set's end there almost felt a grand chill in the baking heat. Still, was it as good as their arvo promotional video? Not sure.

There's always regret. WTF was I doing that was so important as to miss the majority of Japanese funk band Osaka Monaurail? Giddy in their snazzy suits and bastard funk/rnb/disco, at set's end the 9-piece seemed to have made that kind of first-kiss connection with the Amphitheatre that should see them return asap. Dear Neko Case: maybe it was just the hands on my back and the late sun on the bare soles of my feet, but your set forged an intimate connection; at least between the generous hippie chick in the massage tent and the oil on and in my rhomboid major muscles. Non-standing-in-front-of-the-stage musical highlight by a dreamy mile. 

Jake: Public Enemy. A turn in the tone. Suddenly, an entire festival, poised for the headliners, were radicalised by the rage and fury of Chuck D and Flavor Flav. With the exception of a couple attempts to get everyone to whip out their phones and go to publicenemy.com/free for some terrible promo stunt, age has done nothing to diminish Public Enemy's energy. Surrounded by a live band decked out in army fatigues, the two led the crowd through their revolutionary chants. It had the same rare feeling as Chic's set at Meredith: I knew I would never see Public Enemy like this again, but boy do I still wish I could. 

Turns out that being ahead of the curve twenty years ago makes you sound entirely relevant today; 'Don't Believe The Hype', '911 Is A Joke', a snippet from 'Welcome To The Terrordome', a fantastic 'Bring The Noise' (which had the crowd outright bouncing) and 'He Got Game' all transformed the scene. Chuck even seemed a little swept up in Flav's horrible social media plugs ("Be smarter than your dumb ass phone. [Pause] Go to rapstation.com and tweet.") but the pair's indelible chemistry and commitment to giving great show survives all these years. (As does the Bomb Squad's ageless production. And the overall slightly unhinged quality of the men on stage.) That they saw fit to bring it to Golden Plains was a highlight for the ages.

Phone Note [Discussion]: "Is his clock really big enough, though? Does an older man need a smaller clock?"

Jake: The consensus seems to be that Cut Copy (below) have slipped with their latest record. Yet with the collective consciousness of the audience surging with every word of 'Hearts On Fire', critical thought was banished in favour of some kinda universal peace. I wasn't up the front this time, instead just below the third lantern on the left, and at least from here the mood was jubilant without restraint. A friend introduced me to someone there and we shook hands and he said, "Hey, it's great to meet you. It's great to be here on Earth with you. We're all a part of humanity, of the same sentience, and for that I love you." It flowed out of him without pause as if he'd known this truth his entire life. It was so loud, though. How could I have possibly heard all that? Did I imagine it? It's so vivid in my mind though, and I remember smiling and having nothing to add, saying only, "Yes, I completely feel you."

Life is sometimes brutal in confusing and uncontrollable ways and makes children of everyone foolish enough to attempt it. Due to a recent series of personally devastating events spanning from last Meredith, this weekend stood on the slick precipice of irrepressible sadness for me. And yet: Golden Plains is the kind of place where one can not only distract themselves from a frightening reality but begin to confront it, too.