By Day 5, there was a buzz about a number of bands following their first performances. The great thing about Bluesfest is that many artists are performing twice, which means that today I can play catch-up and see a few that I missed first time around.
The first of these is BB & The Blues Shacks – the critically acclaimed German five-piece centred on vocalist and guitarist brothers Michael and Andreas Arlt. It’s the Blues Shacks’ first Australian trip and their performance on Saturday night had been widely lauded.
It’s not hard to see why; they apply their jumping blues rock style to the works of T-Bone Walker and Jimmy Reed to a huge crowd response. The sound of the 40s & 50s is ingrained in their original material too, and Real Good Times (a track from their latest album) provides just that. The coup de grace though comes in the form of a cover of My Sometimes Baby; a BB King classic that they are determined to do justice to.
Michael explains that while the ‘BB’ in the band’s name stands for ‘Blues Brothers’; it’s the King of Blues, not Jake and Elwood that they are trying to emulate. As for that, Andreas delivers one of the most compelling guitar solos of this year’s festival (including BB’s own set) to a spellbound crowd and it becomes crystal clear as to why this particular band had become a Bluesfest must-see.
Another such group is The Snowdroppers; a four-piece from Sydney with a reputation for colourful language and foot-stomping blues romps. The reputation is well-deserved; a banjo in hand and a leer on his face frontman Johnny Wishbone has the crowd barn-dancing and kicking up dust in no time. The initial hoe-down a huge success, he moves on to audience participation; firstly by getting the entire tent to scream the words “Shit fucking yeah!” and secondly by commemorating ANZAC day with a quick round of two-up (it was tails and I lost).
The few remaining parents in the crowd usher their children away with the start of Good Drugs And Bad Women, an old-fashioned blues number as dirty as Johnny’s mouth and positively laden with adult themes. The (sizeable) remaining crowd however can’t get enough though, with thick bass licks, wailing guitar and thrashing banjo, the boys are putting on an incredible performance and it culminates with Johnny wading into the crowd, jumping on the shoulders of a fan at the back of the tent and being carried, in a farcically regal way, back to stage.
With a big thank-you to the audience – their biggest ever – and after making fun of Bob Dylan (literally nothing is sacred) the roof gets well and truly lifted off with their closing number, Do The Stomp, and subsequent screaming and applause.
After something so loud, rough and politically incorrect I’m not sure why I wandered over to see Buffy Sainte-Marie; the human rights icon could probably not be more diametrically opposed to what I just witnessed if she tried. She is however a legend, for her music as much as her activism, and the opportunity just seemed too good to pass up.
Speaking candidly about her Native American (Cree) heritage and the perils of colonialism, horror of war and fear of corporate greed, she’s playing heavily from her latest (2009) record Running For The Drum. However it’s her classics like, the Oscar-winning Up where We Belong and peace anthem Universal Soldier that draw the biggest response from the audience.
While there is a strong folk influence to her music, with a three-piece band behind her, Sainte-Marie also breaks into rock territory, with numbers like No No Keshagesh and Cho Cho Fire and even back to her early rockabilly influences with Blue Sunday.
There is something about the vibe in the Mojo Tent as she plays, an inspired reverence has come over the crowd, for – regardless of your political leanings – there is something terribly significant about her messages, and it seems to have been almost universally accepted that this is the case.
For petite Peruvian powerhouse and Queen of Salsoul, Cecilia Noel, reverence is probably overrated. The pint-sized Latin singer and her 11-piece band are heating up the Jambalaya tent with a provocative mix of salsa, mambo and jazz. I’m not sure how Men At Work frontman Colin Hay feels about his wife prowling under the lights, flirting with the audience and shaking her booty all over the stage – but the crowd are absolutely loving it
Much of what she says in English is filled with innuendo, so one can only imagine what the Spanish component of the show would translate to; she explains that one song is about a man who left her in Havana for another girl – who looked like a monkey, and as for the Sugar Dance, well, the choreography didn’t leave a huge amount to the imagination…
Following that, I once again revert to a state of reverence, as the Osibisa set begins with a reading of the Ode of Remembrance and playing of The Last Post. It’s a slightly surreal setting for these proceedings, with the brightly garbed African octet on stage performing these duties, but everyone acknowledges the respect of the band – although it’s the first time I’ve ever been present when a tentful of people has cheered The Last Post.
Before anyone gets a chance to dwell on this, the group – another whose previous performance created a strong buzz about them – launch into their set; an uplifting mixture of African and Caribbean rhythms, trumpet stings and wild passages of flute and soprano saxophone. Once again, their appeal is immediately obvious, the beat is incredibly danceable, the lessons in Ghanaian language for audience participation are fun (although unlikely to be retained) and the moments when the entire band take up percussion to create a whirl of djembes, tom-toms and cowbells send the crowd wild.
As if this wasn’t all vibrant enough, Afro Moses also joins Osibisa on stage – with a couple of dancers in tow – to raise the roof even further. With a third performance coming up in the Mojo Tent on the final day of Bluesfest, those who missed the first two shows still have a chance to see this.
Tonight there was a decision to be made; a choice between seeing Bob Dylan and Jethro Tull. While a great many opted for the former, given that I’m going to have the chance to see Dylan on the Tuesday night, I’ve chosen to stay in the Crossroads Tent for the Tull. I’m the youngest person that I can see in the general vicinity, but the groups of 50-something men standing around me, passing around a spliff, don’t seem like terrible company.
Flute-wielding front-man Ian Anderson doesn’t appear to have lost any of his energy or charisma in the years since the group’s 1968 debut album, and frolics Pan-like around the stage while cymbals crash and Martin Barre’s guitar wails around him. After cheekily slagging off prog rock acts Yes and Genesis, the band launch into a (somewhat redacted) version of their 43-minute 1972 classic Thick As A Brick.
Given the band’s sound, I’m not quite sure how they wound up on the Bluesfest line-up, but as they move from their own work, to a flute-centric cover of J.S. Bach’s Bouree, such musings are forgotten as the folks in this tent start getting to classical music in a way that the original composers likely never even imagined.
The band too are having a great time; Anderson grinning widely whenever his signature flute isn’t at his lips – and occasionally when it is, Barre stepping up to the front of stage to launch his electric solos over the greying, but jumping and fist-pumping crowd. With the end fast approaching, all stops are pulled out for a towering rendition of 1971 hit Aqualung and any twinges I felt about not taking the chance to see both Bob Dylan sets have been well and truly put to bed.
Indeed, as the Dylan fans pour out of the Mojo Tent, I’m fighting the tide to get in for today’s headliner, Elvis Costello & The Imposters. Another legend on the Bluesfest Bill with more hits than can possibly be contained in tonight’s 90-minute set, the first thing one notices about Costello is just how well-dressed the man is; no doubt roasting in his suit, tie and hat he smiles at the audience and launches into Pump It Up – the crowd goes wild, and appear set to stay that way for the duration.
With a brief segue to (Bob Dylan’s) Subterranean Homesick Blues before continuing his set, we’re three tracks in before Costello takes a break, introduces the band and politely thanks everyone for coming. While it’s a younger crowd than Tull, I find myself surrounded by middle-aged couples swaying along to Either Side Of The Same Town, interspersed with the occasional parent who has brought their kids in to see the show.
Breaking up proceedings, Elvis invites Alabama duo Secret Sisters on-stage to help with a couple of tracks, including Hank Williams’ classic Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Used To Do. There’s no doubt that the Sisters’ Tuesday afternoon show will be well-attended after this effort for though they seem shy, sharing a stage with Costello, there is no denying that they have superb voices.
The hits keep coming, with the audience swooning over the likes of Shipbuilding and Good Year For The Roses. Midnight approaches fast and, as predictable as the encore always was, this night and this festival is the perfect place to go out with (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love & Understanding.
Tags: 2011, afro moses, bb & the blues shacks, bluesfest, bob dylan, buffy sainte-marie, byron bay, cecilia noel, elvis costello, festival, Jethro Tull, live, LiveGuide, music, osibisa, review, snowdroppers, the imposters, tyagarah tea tree farm
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[...] This is an excerpt from Reviewedmusic.com. To see the review of the whole day click here! [...]