BYRON BAY BLUESFEST

Belongil Fields
Review by LukeD and NicolaK
All photos by Elleni Toumpas

With Easter a month earlier this year, Bluesfest sure crept up faster than normal. Being at the tail end on what has been a big summer of music; Bluesfest showed all who were lucky enough to attend why it is one of Australia's most successful, longest running and chilled-out festivals. For the first time, the festival was held at Belongil Fields (the home of Splendour In The Grass) - a much larger and more accommodating venue compared to Red Devil Park in town. With fine weather, except for the odd shower, punters swapped ponchos and gumboots for sunscreen and thongs.

A refreshed Jeff Martin (ex-Tea Party) got the festival underway and warmed up the steadily building crowd. Playing mostly Tea Party tracks with acoustic guitar and percussion by Wayne Sheehy, the songs sounded as powerful as they do in their usual format. It was an amazing set that was well received and proved to be one of the festival's highlights.

One of the festival's biggest surprises was Keith Urban and his band. With a large crowd hanging onto every note and word, the boy from Caboolture showed why he is a Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter. With great guitar work and support from a talented six-piece band, the set was positive, fun and showed why Keith loves playing to an Aussie crowd.

Blues legend Buddy Guy was one of the big drawcards and put on an unforgettable performance that included long-extended guitar solos, playing with his teeth and wandering through the crowd going for it on his axe mid-song. His keyboardist also deserves a special mention for his enthusiastic and manic playing.

With a six-piece band in tow, the bald-headed and barefoot Sinead O'Connor put on a stunning performance. Her set was full of favourites including 'Nothing Compares To You', which got the crowd singing, and new songs off her latest album, 'Theology'. With a violin and tin whistle to give her music an authentic Irish sound, the live songs were more powerful and beautiful than her studio work. An amazing first-ever Australian performance.

To get the beat going, next up was funky and modern GALACTIC featuring Jurassic 5's Chali 2NA and an energetic Boots Riley. This danceable set got the young crowd moving with lots of J5 remixes, amazing sax playing and dancing from poppet-rocket Riley. The band's instrumental tracks added a nice balance to the set.

John Butler was stripped back in his solo act. The festival favourite was talkative, explaining the history behind some of his latest songs, which included stories about his wife and musical grandfather. The self-indulgent act was a mix of old and new tracks that clearly showed off Butler's one-man-band skills, however, early on it was clear he was nervous while rushing a number of songs. With a guest appearance by Nicky Bomba, it was a great set by one of Australia's finest.

A steamy Saturday had things really heating up with GOCOO + GoRo , an 11-piece Japanese drumming group who wowed Bluesfest a few years ago and were back with their new album, 'Earthbeat'. With over 30 traditional Taiko drums plus a large number of other drums, the act was visually spectacular as drummers danced around while playing free-spirited numbers that got the blood racing. With emphasis on colour, harmony and world peace, this was a group that appealed to the heart - a real spectacle.

Tex Perkins proved "he still got it" when The Cruel Sea hit the stage pulling out old favourites including 'The Honeymoon is Over' matched with cool dance moves. The group reformed for an exclusive Bluesfest performance and did not disappoint with a polished act that was full of pub-rock beats and funky bass lines.

Day four and the good times kept rolling with the stylish beats of The Basics , a Melbourne three-piece featuring drummer Wally DeBacker (aka Gotye). The boys mixed old-school rock, funk and guitar, while Wally showed off why he has made such a name for himself with top drumming and vocals. Total feel-good music.

Rodrigo y Gabriela was a perfect pairing of controlled chaos when the Mexican duo took the stage twice during the festival. Introduced by a gushing George Negus, the pair put other artists to shame with their fast Spanish guitar playing, which is infused with Latin rhythms and heavy metal influences. This was a jaw-dropping performance of solos, a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' and pure musical dedication. Just phenomenal.

Injecting some soul and rock into the day was The Bellrays . With influences ranging from Parliament to The Who, this LA-based group was hitting all the right notes with vocalist Lisa Kerkaula blowing us away with her powerful voice, soul screams and big afro hair. You go girl!

Day five and a fresh-faced KT Tunstall was celebrating the "old-school" festival with impressive one-take looping and vibrant vocals. Matched with a polished band, the UK-based artist was relaxed as she pumped out intimate ballads and thumping pop tracks, including her hit 'Suddenly I See'.

The Black Crowes bedazzled the crowd with some pumping stoner-rock and blues sounds. The boys played long songs that were more instrument-driven with lengthy guitar solos. Mixing up old and new songs from new album 'Warpaint', the band sizzled as one of the more rock 'n' roll acts of the event.

Topping off an awesome five days was rocking swamp-blues master John Fogerty . With a very well-received and professional set full of favourites like 'I Heard It Through the Grape Vine' and 'Bad Moon Rising', it was a performance that perfectly summed up what Bluesfest is all about.

V FESTIVAL
Avica Resort, Gold Coast

Bright sunny skies gave most people a false sense of security (judging by the thong/sandal wearers), and camouflaged just how muddy it was going to get. Early timetable dramas caused a turbulent start, but the crinkles of last year had been ironed out, giving us cash bars and bigger stages - a class act.

Cancellations meant Hot Hot Heat was entrusted with opening the festival, and the Canadian four-piece did well to get things moving early. Microphone problems and an overall quiet mix didn't deter frontman Steve Bays, who was an entertaining presence throughout. 'Bandages' and 'Goodnight Goodnight' were among the set highlights (Nate). The timetable shuffling made it hard to tell whether the crowd had gathered for Robyn or were expecting somebody else. 'Cobrastyle' gave the crowd something to work with, but Robyn's pop is probably better suited to an even smaller stage. With the early timetable turmoil settled, the men of the moment, Cut Copy , took the stage - at last drawing Australian crowds sizeable enough to match their skill. With their new album just going #1, it was Cutters at their peak, showcasing their new material to a rapturous crowd (The Professor).

Wow. Roisin Murphy was fantastic. Every bit the sex goddess, she strutted from one side to the other, sat on a chair, flung her legs and impressed the masses with an onslaught of rather odd headgear changes. Her beats were massive and her voice immaculate; every bit as impressive as you might have expected and then some (Jake 3). Indie-rockers Modest Mouse took charge of the 'This Stage', producing a commanding set. Powered by twin drummers, the six-piece played heavily from their latest two albums, with singles 'Float On', 'Fire It Up' and Dashboard' inducing mass crowd participation. The same energy was maintained through lesser known tracks 'The View', 'Bukowski' and 'Education', with Isaac Brock almost barking the lyrics at times, his voice charged with emotion despite the late-afternoon slot. 'Bury Me With It' and 'Satin In A Coffin' were also astounding. Modest Mouse's ability to recreate their dense orchestration in the live arena is simply phenomenal (Nate).

Through the mud we journeyed to catch The Jesus and Mary Chain's live set, which led us on a raw rock path that was complimentary to our transitory surroundings. They pulled in a crowd who seemed to be looking for a dark trip, and only managed to deliver the goods at the very end with an assault on the senses that tipped the scale to their favour (Jake 3). Air was a revelation. From seas of bliss through to surprisingly heavy rave-ups and jams, the two masterminds led their shadow-draped backing band through a brilliant set that succeeded on every level. While the sound was far too quiet for such a performance, the layout was immaculate and they stood and delivered like the heroes they are (Greg Reason).

With the sun down and the fields transformed into heaving mudflats, Queens of The Stone Age grabbed the crowd by their collective throats and started swinging. What they delivered was one of the most primal, powerful and awe-inspiring festival sets I've been lucky enough to witness. Ever the frontman, Josh Homme looked each red hair of his Viking heritage as he and his band opened throttle on the Gold Coast; making every note that had been played previously on the day sound half-hearted. Bringing the highway grunt of the 'Songs for the Deaf' front and centre in the set was a masterstroke; 'Go with the Flow' was simply monolithic. The controlled aggression of 'Sick Sick Sick' would have been too much had it not have been tempered by the swaggering 'Make It Wit Chu'. You haven't seen rock and roll music 'til you've seen Queens of the Stone Age like this (The Professor).

Taking the stage in a silver skirt, Billy Corgan led the Smashing Pumpkins straight into classic 'Today', accompanied by rapturous cheers and inspiring mass-singing from the mud-drenched crowd. The subsequent set consisted of a mixture of Pumpkins songs old and new, balanced on a knife-edge between the quasi-metal of 'Doomsday Clock' and the cultured pop of 'Tonight, Tonight'. The show appeared to take a permanent positive shift when Corgan stood on stage solo and played an acoustic version of '1979'. And after a stirring performance of 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' - despite being played too fast - it almost seemed the Pumpkins had not lost a step since their '90s heyday. However, such thoughts were obliterated with a 20-odd minute rendition of 'United States', featuring an epic Corgan-wankfest in which he blatantly illustrated his self-indulgence. Returning for an encore, Corgan insulted The Presets and then continued to decimate 'Cherub Rock' in what was a very inconsistent performance (Nate).

All photos by Elleni Toumpas