BLOG: BLUESFEST 2011

Posted by Primary primate on Apr 12, 2011 in Blog, Music | 6 comments

Here’s the DAY 5 action from BLUESFEST 2011 and Days 4-1 below:

On paper, Day 5 at Bluesfest looked like “Woodstock Day” and the young Bobby Long gave a great indication of this coming to pass. Long evoked a heady mix of Neil Young and Joe Cocker. His simple guitar/vocal approach epitomised what the entire festival is about. One man, his guitar and a whole lot of truth. Despite his age, Long looks wethered by life and there’s an intensity in his voice that speak volumes about his travels and experience. A real treat. Watch out for Bobby Long.

 

Michelle Shocked is celebrating 25 years since her first album release. She like Long present with only her guitar and a handful of stories about politics and rebellion and running away from home, to backfill her tunes. Shocked seemed to be channeling Joan Baez and that was fine by this reviewer. There was more talking than singing but her set was pleasant. The voice was strong and whimsical and well worth a listen or two. ‘The Campfire Girl’ as she is apparently known, can certainly use her guitar and has a lot of heart behind her words.

 

Clare Bowditch is a glamorous performer. Her voice is jazz infused and sultry but the folk overtones delight the ears. Her stage presence is effortless and infectious. She doesn’t sing pop songs, she tells stories and not the conventional way. Bowditch’s music is not something that can be judged after one listen. It has to grow on you for you to truly understand it’s intelligence. So perhaps she is an acquired taste, but one befitting of this festival. It’s music to enjoy over a bottle of wine. There are country throwbacks and songs about boys but they are for the intelligent listener.

 

Tim Robbins is a chameleon. That’s all there is to it. Unlike some actors that transition to music, Robbins has a fantastic voice and great skill with the guitar. His band ‘The Rogues Gallery’ are a mix of The Pogues and Johnny Cash. The latter was clarified when they covered ‘Folsom Prison’. Primate hasn’t heard it done with an accordion and saxophone before and this rendition was well handled. Tim’s brother Dan is the multi-instrumentalists in the band and the two of them played off each other with vigour. A touching moment or two was had when Robbins sang a song that his mother used to sing him as a child and when a vocal track of Tim and Dan’s father was played of him singing and the band provided the musical accompaniment. This was made all the more emotive as Tim explained that his parents died 12 days apart and he projected picture of them onto the screen behind him. A fantastic set from a very talented performer.

 

Then it seemed like Bluesfest had turned into Eurovision when Buffy Sainte-Marie took to the stage. This woman was an oddball indeed. Half Native American Indian, she played to her roots for the most part in a fusion of “native speak” and rock music that had this reviewer rolling his eyes and wanting to bury himself in the mud to escape the sounds. It was not pleasant at all and after an hour Primate was hoping for musical refuge to recover. If Bowditch is an acquired taste then Sainte-Marie is the “niche audience” performer and not for the faint-hearted who’s after a cruisy day of Blues.

 

Warren Haynes & His Allstar Band were much better musically than vocally. While Haynes had vocal potential his voice just wasn’t strong enough to carry off the tunes. Some of the crowd seemed to be getting into it and Haynes mentioned that he hadn’t been to Australia since 2000 and was enjoying his return. At this point Primaet switched off as it all became a bit same-same really.

 

Then it felt like the entire capacity crowd of the festival swarmed around the Mojo stage as Bob Dylan made his entrance. The choice not to use the side video screens upset a lot of people. Especially those in the ‘cheap seats’. This action might have been taken to avoid showing how weary Dylan was. His voice sounded like gravel in a blender. His musicianship however was top-notch and first rate throughout his entire set. Despite being disengaged verbally with the crowd, it was clear Dylan had energy and he kept pumping out the tunes to much applause. This reviewer wouldn’t see Dylan again but as a once off it was nice to notch the performance up on the experience belt. There were some hits but the crowd was left wanting and the classics went unheard which was rather disappointing.

 

Elvis Costello is not the Primate’s bag. His fusion of Jazz and rock however was credible and seemingly effortless. His songs were in contrast to each other and his backing singers looked ‘cute as buttons’ like extras out of MAD MEN. The crowd that gathered to see him were hanging on every word but Costello doesn’t garner a special place in this reviewer’s heart.

 

Jethro Tull provided a heady mix of psychodelic pan-flutey pop goodness. They play music to smoke joints by. It’s really that simple. Their guitar and woodwind eclectic feel is certainly unmatched in pop/rock music. They don ‘t generally strike me as being overly phenomenal performers but they do deserve great praise for their musicianship and the crowd that chose them over Costello were in bright spirits despite the late hour and were enjoying the moment among the other fanboys and fangirls.

 

Leah Flanagan thanked Costello for opening for her as a small crowd gathered to hear her very authentic Australian mature woman sound of Renee Geyer/Debra Conway-esq music. It was very much music for a small stage in a Jazz club and not the type of thing you’d expect at a festival which made it a pleasant surprise.

 

Then came the worst shambles on the entire festival experience performance-wise. Aussie Hip-Hoppers ‘Resin Dogs’ were still sound-checking the 10+ members of their band 35+ minutes after they were due to start playing. This was unacceptable. Sure, Primate can understand that wanting to have your whole band on stage at a festival is a great experience but even SLIPKNOT with 14 or so members have their sh** together and start on time. Primate doesn’t heckle bands, but after 5 days of camping,queues, overpriced food and alcohol he had had enough, so he shouted at the band and then walked away almost 40 minutes after their start time without a word having been rapped.

 

He was so glad he did because this meant he could catch the whole set from the thrilling MAD BASTARDS. This is the band that was formed for the purposes of the movie of the same name. It comprises the Pigram Brothers from Australia’s Kimberley Region and Aussie singer-songwriter Alex Lloyd. They played songs from the movie that this reviewer has already seen (out May 5) and managed to steal some of the waiting Resin Dogs crowd in the process. Their harmonies were tight, the mood was jovial and everyone in residence seemed to be having a darn good time, myself included. It was great seeing such well crafted music from a great movie being played in public.

 

On his way back to the tent for his final night camping, Primate caught a few songs of Irma Thomas’ set. Her voice was strong and her 50′s era ‘shoop shoop girl’ persona was evident. Her charisma and musicianship was lacking however. After a couple of sultry songs she called upon the audience to make requests. A song was mentioned and she forgot what album it was from, then remembered, but didn’t know the words, so instructed the band to play a musical break whilst she looked in her song book for them. After 5 or so minutes she still hadn’t found them and Primate lost interest. Just as this happened the second heavy downpour of rain occurred and this reviewer headed for the tent.

 

Bluesfest was indeed an experience of highs and lows first and lasts. Overall, perhaps he won’t return again as being a genre festival 5 days gets a bit too much and there needs to be more excitement and variety to keep hi entertained. The line up was stellar and will never be repeated. Seeing Ben Harper with his original band, and witnessing John Legend for the first time were highlights. As well as Kate Miller-Heidke, Lowrider for a thrilling 2^nd and 3^rd time, The Indigo Girls, A French Butler Called Smith, Tim Robbins & The Rogues Gallery Band, Transvaal Diamond Syndicate, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bobby Long and Michelle Shocked. They aren’t all the big names but these were the ones that impressed and should be heard!

Day 4:

A FRENCH BUTLER CALLED SMITH  rocked the early crowd with a jaunty mix of horns and guitars. They are young guys with a great talent for music and a way of working the crowd that demonstrates great performance experience. Their on stage energy is top-notch and what their vocal ability lacks is made up for with outstanding arrangements and varied genre experimentation

Shane Nicholson (Mr Kasey Chambers) presents and sounds like a scruffy Keith Urban. He doesn’t have the legions of fans but after hearing Keith on TV recently and Shane today, my preference would be Shane. There’s less pretense to both his music and his manner.

Kate Miller-Heidke was outstanding. Her angelic voice was in fine form and today’s performance outshone her support slot for CROWDED HOUSE last year. Her cover of Eminem’s ‘Slim Shady’ was great once again and this crowd seemed to have largely not heard of her so her performance of ‘The Facebook Song’ has seemingly won her a legion of new fans. This reviewer enjoyed it once again and sung every word in full voice. What she did do here was tell 2 great stories. One about Dan the security guard who wouldn’t let her into the artists car park  here at the festival because she didn’t “look famous” but “awesome Dan” wanted her to dedicate a song to him in her set so before she sang “red neck” she said “awesome Dan this one’s for you.. you f**cking d*ckhead” and the other about a Byron beautician who was giving her a bikini wax and bobbed up from between her legs to tell her that she recognized her as the “girl who sings the song with the fish in the video clip” and the awkward silence that ensued as to why that moment made her think of fish..Miller-Heidke is a quality Australian performer who sings brilliantly and writes well crafted material who isn’t afraid to make fun of herself. If you haven’t already – check her out.

SALTWATER BAND were not this reviewer’s scene at all. Their melodies seemed cheesy and their front man seemed overly eager to impress the audience. It didn’t help his cause that he spoke way to quickly and didn’t annunciate his words when talking to the crowd. The music was not very inspiring and being largely of aboriginal tongue, did not draw much audience engagement or interest outside their niche fans.

TRINITY ROOTS was equally uninspiring with their blend of atmospheric sound and roots flavour their set became less about music and more about noise. After the second consecutive track of this fashion Primate switched off and just prayed for it to be over.

This lead to the biggest disappointment of the night WASHINGTON who was great at her OAF show though decidedly sub par and visibly sick. ‘How To Tame Lions’ washed over the audience with disinterest and her sultry track about a boy she slept with who was in love with someone else – was rocked to within an inch of it’s life so lost it’s impact.

Gurrumul warmed his vocals with SALTWATER band earlier but tool to the stage for a solo set. His music is soothing and being blind and playing the guitar as well as he does is commendable. Primate could take him or leave him. Bring the son of one of the members of YOTHU YINDI put him in the spotlight, being blind focussed our attention but will it be enough to keep him there or are audiences just tolerant of him because he is aboriginal. Like in movies where they include certain ethnicities to appeal to particular demographics. The Primate is unconvinced that his fans are simply that because he’s talented. There seems to be an anterior motive.

CAT EMPIRE are unashamedly energetic and tonight was no exception. Their wall to wall sound was a great bookend with the openers A FRENCH BUTLER CALLED SMITH. Despite the late hour and being the 4th day, the crowd were in full voice and fine spirit. The classic “Hello hello” and favourite “so many nights” were well received and the general crowd buzz kept the tempo up ’til just after midnight. CAT EMPIRE, FRENCH BUTLER and the darling MILLER-HEIDKE were today’s favourites.

A 4-month pregnant Kasey Chambers delivered an entertaining show for her die-hard fans. Whilst this reviewer is not a fan, her song ‘the captain’ is not bad and her musicianship is commendable. The thing about Kasey is that her songs are great but the voice is so grating that if someone else was singing them they might actually be like-able.Full credit to her and her band for their playing talents though. Her father us part of said band. Looking every bit the Willy Nelson enthusiast it is clear to see where her country origins derived from. Chambers also told us of her friendship with her roadie “worm” who she had known and been friends with since highschool (she was best man at his wedding and he was ‘mate’ of honour at hers). Worm actually co-wrote the track “barricades and brick walls” off the album that launched her career so she unashamedly says she might just owe her success to her roadie.

Her husband Shane Nicholson joined her for a song as expected and the two sounded great together. She paid homage to Bluegrass as a kind of encore and performed ‘not pretty enough’ and the Bee Gees ‘Stayin’ Alive’ in said fashion. The straight version of Pretty had the audience singing in full voice and her commentary on how the record industry wanted her to change but she resisted – ‘Little Bird’ was perhaps the Primate’s highlight.

IMOGEN HEAP was a heap of..
She presents herself as an oddball teeny-bopper hybrid of Florence(+ the machine) and Lady GaGa. She is neither. Being English, the closest comparison is Florence. Heap hardly sang a note live save for one song in which she instructed the audience to sing in a round. She has an awesome voice but she didn’t use it. Lumbering about the stage in trashy ” I think leggings are pants” fashion looking like she just got out of bed. Horrible choice for Bluesfest but all the underaged girls knew who she was. Poor form.

WOLFMOTHER demonstrated their unique ability to sing one verse and play 7.5 minutes of improv guitar and convince the audience it was a song. They did this for an hour. Their stage presence was excellent however. One older man said to a young tie-tied adorned boy next to him (we were standing in the front row together) “these guys are like Led Zepplin in the old days. You’re really lucky up see them up close. You’re witnessing history”. Primate laughed. ‘Joker’ ‘Woman’ and ‘Mind’s Eye’ were played but I’m not sure they were three separate songs. Jack may now live on the Wolfmother tour bus, but actual musicianship does not.

THE INDIGO GIRLS were a pleasant surprise. Not knowing this band but learning they were a female folk duet was an interesting mix to start with. After the third song of their weighty set the observation was that Primate was watching the female country-folk version of Simon & Garfunkel. Their harmonies were tight and their melodies diverse. They did precious little talking aside from saying “Thank’s Y’all” 10 times and treated us to almost 15 songs in their hour set.

These ladies are solid musicians who had a swathe of dedicated fans in the crowd who hung on and sung every word. My pick of the night would be these two ladies. They switched between guitars and banjos with graceful ease never missing a beat and offered up great improv moments and looked as though they were having as much fun laying for us as we had listening to them which is always a good thing. Definitely acquaint yourself with their music if you haven’t already.

Then came the Legend. John Legend that is. Legend swaggered and swooned through 90 minutes of modern soul music with the audience in rapturous applause with each tune. This is the man Primate had stood at the front of the main stage in the same spot for 6 hours to see. Primate went without toilet break or food to ensure a prime position upon his arrival and boy did he deliver. Playing tracks from all of his albums and not just the hits, he showed the audience why he has made great success having come from playing piano for Kanye West and session vocals for Alicia Keys. ‘Save Room, P.D.A, Green Light, Slow Dance, Everybody Knows and the infamous Ordinary People’ were stand outs. The band that consisted much of his new friends The Roots were tight and his three lady backing vocalists were dressed as smokingly hot as they sounded. It would be unfair to award Legend my favourite of the night as Primate had been hanging out for this moment for almost 5 years. Truly a marvelous showman who possesses the energy and ability of Marvin Gaye and the legendary Aretha Franklin within his emotive delivery. There was an air of arrogance about his manner however that comes with the territory when you change your name to ‘Legend’

Day 2
TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE have been garnering a bit of airplay  on JJJ of late and their opening slot on Day 2 proved they were worth the mention. These suited up lads thrashed out a fusion of PRIMUS meets BEN HARPER with a smooth sax overlay that bounded through every song. Their percussion/ saxophonist has the most lively stage presence of the day and was singularly as entertaining to watch as the rest of the band as  a whole. The boys from Rockhampton sung about what they know and their solid sound was enjoyable and a nice heart starter for the day.  They would perhaps be a bit ” same same” without the saxophone so it was nice they had developed this edge to keep the audience interested. Check them out on iTunes, they are definitely work a listen. ‘Devil on My Shoulder’ was a highlight.

ERIC BIBB is a straight blues man. There was a gentlemanly quality about him. He was clean and down the line. Perhaps best described as ‘traditional blues’. bib’s performance had no theatrics or outlandish outfit. He was just a man who knew the Blues and how to work his way around his guitar with ease. Bibb is the kind of performer that is transposable between the pub, a theatre, a concert hall and a festival and that’s the kind of musician you wan to have a drink with. Unoffensive easy lightening.

ROCKWIZ is an entertaining show, but the difficulty is getting a live studio vibe to gel well with a festival vibe. They managed to do it today. Each group of contestants was allowed one round on stage and their were musical breaks and crowd participation moments interspersed with witty one-liners from the ROCKWIZ MC that keept up the pace and inspired this reviewer to return to watching the show.

Raul Malo is responsible for the pub rock hit ” I Just Wanna Dance the Night Away”. That was the highlight of his set and when he followed that line with ” with all the girls in Byron Bay” every female Baby Boomer in the tent almost wet themselves shrieking with delight. An interesting man and a toe-tapping good time.

This reviewer discovered from Ben Harper’s website that he had cancelled his performance at the Grass Roots Festival in NZ and instead was appearing for a second night at Bluesfest in a 7pm slot. The only band playing at 7pm were the BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA with whom Harper has recorded an album and written some songs for. This sent said reviewer’s heart racing with excitement as a teenage dream would come true tonight seeing them perform together. Sadly this dream did not come to fruition and Harper did not appear much to the misinformation of his website. The BOYS did put on a smashing performance of Gospel driven grooves and demonstrated why they have garnered 5 Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement award. These men met seventy years ago..yes seventy years ago ..and have been performing ever since. Their guest vocalist Aaron Neville delivered some smooth angelic vocals and polished of a rendition of ‘People Get Read’ that would put Haman Nature to shame.

LOS LOBOS are from East LA but you get the impression you’d find them on a Spanish street corner wooing the masses.That flavour abounds in their music. This edge provided a nice change of pace for the evening that did get a little tedious at times but it was nice to have them there to represent their culture and bring diversity to the line up.

Then expectation got in the way of a good time. BB KING is a musical institution. Regardless wether you know the man’s music you know the name. This 85 year old enigma drew most of the festival crowd to his tent and had them queuing up for hours to get a position and then spilling out into common areas when he finally took to the stage. The band were solid and tight. It is rare that a ‘big band’ graces a stage outside of a theatre so that spectacle was worth seeing. KING is understandably getting old and a bit weary. This was evident in his performance as his ability is not what it used to be and the fingers don’t find the notes like they used to. There was also more story telling than actual playing which was unfortunate. With KING it’s about being in his presence though and that’s something that will never happen again so in that respect it was nice to witness the legend.

Grace Jones was more than 30 minutes late to stage. This reviewer managed to get the goss on some of the antics that have gone on during the Jones tour that have included missed flights and unused hotel rooms. This was once again the case here tonight. When she did come on stage her look was distinctly cabaret and in an effort to defy the age of her 60 years, her taught body was draped in sequins that included an all sequin g-string as a highlight. Her music was amateur cabaret at best which leads this reviewer to believe she is either exhausted by now or wants her costume to be the main attraction  as her voice certainly wasn’t.

Then came the flawless guitar magic that is RODRIGO Y GABRIELA.  This brother sister guitar duo spoke volumes through their instruments and said precious little to the audience. These two demonstrated the purest form of the expression ” your instrument is an extension of yourself” as they drew in crowds from neighboring stages and random passers by. They dueled and jived with great intensity transversing many genres. It is is very difficult to pigeon-hole these two as their style is a mash up of flamenco, classical, roots, blues and funk. Regardless of what they play you will be transported to another place through the beauty of their stripped back sound and intricate  melodies. Do yourselves a favor and look them up, you’ll be missing out on something very special otherwise.

LOWRIDER once again hit the stage in the late slot. From the first beat it was clear that their performance last night was a dress rehearsal for tonight as it was mind-blowingly brilliant. They picked their catchiest and funkiest tunes to throw at the audience who responded with a forceful cheer and boundless energy with every song. Their cover of ‘Cocaine’ that lead into Bonfunk MC’s ‘Freestyler’ is one this reviewer had seen them use before, but by goodness it worked a treat so it was not surprising they pulled it out of the bag. They managed an encore and sauntered off stage smiling ear to ear, safe in the comfort that their jam packed tent had secured some new fans and more than satisfied the long time lovers.

Fittingly, Aussies NAT COLE &  THE KINGS opened the festival. Their set was buoyant and blues infused, but  the chosen follow-up acts were much of a muchness. XAVIER RUDD played what seemed like one song just seven different ways, whilst CW STONEKING looked and sounded as if he’d be more at home in an RSL performing Elvis covers

It was great to see MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD once again after 7+ years absence. Franti has obviously decided that a rock-edge to his more funk-hop sound is more commercially viable as ‘Everyone Deserves Music’ was given such treatment. Whilst it was clever it was not a patch on the original. Nevertheless the crowd was jumping and Franti’s energy was infectious enough to sustain momentum and audience engagement  throughout his set. There was a touching festival moment when one Byron local proposed to his girlfriend on stage also informing those not in the know, that it was Franti’s birthday.

LOWRIDER are a band close to this reviewer’s heart. They played the last slot at 11:15 on the APRA stage and were competing for crowds with an international name. Their audience grew as their set progressed and Joel and the boys belted out their lovable brand of soul laden hip-hop that had the audience bounding uncontrollably. Their recent addition to the soundtrack of popular TV show HOME & AWAY has ensured their fans defy demographics and good quality music and lyrics can capture the hearts of music lovers regardless of age.

The international act LOWRIDER were competing with, also won this reviewer’s vote of the evening. The ever amazing BEN HARPER.  He was billed as appearing with new band RELENTLESS7, however out came ben with THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS. Wan, Leon and Oliver returned to the stage to celebrate Bluesfest with Byron’s favourite international son.

They played a stellar 2 hour set and during the time I was present, only included old school material such as ‘Burn One Down’ ‘Gold To Me’ ‘Please Bleed’ and ‘Ground on Down’ with the more recent ‘Diamond’s on The Inside’ being the only new school INNOCENT’S material.

Harper has a magical musicianship and fantastically diverse  voice that can be powerful and command a whisper al at once. Whilst traditionally the “awesome” acts aren’t a part of the Thursday line-up as people are sill at work and en route to Byron, SPEARHEAD,LOWRIDER and BEN HARPER provided some magic musical moment’s that kicked off festivities for 2011