[MUSIC FESTIVAL ~ ADELAIDE PREMIERE ~ AUS/INT]
by Ian Bell.
Adelaide Oh Adelaide! Always so much to complain about (usually)… This band is skipping us on their tour. That band are going to Perth and flying straight past us. I went to the gig of that band that did come to Adelaide and there was hardly anybody there. Some of these things are, truth be told, our own bleeding fault. We have long had a pretty laissez faire attitude about ponying up for gigs that do come here. We don’t like buying tickets in advance, we often decide not to go at the last minute. It’s an extremely unreliable and fickle audience. Coming to Adelaide can mean the difference between an entire tour breaking even or even making a loss and making it a profitable proposition.
Some promoters just skip SA as a matter of course because they have been burnt here too many times. They can hardly be blamed. That’s really on us. The ‘Why Perth and not us?’ screams always amuse me the most. Because WA never got anything touring there for decades. So now when something schedules shows in Perth punters buy their tickets right away, as soon as they go on sale. Often bands can sell out two or three shows in Perth and struggle to sell one in Adelaide. Even in Darwin, where audiences traditionally don’t buy tickets in advance, promoters can be sure that people will at least turn up and buy them at the gate. Adelaide offers no such security. Occasionally when Adele or Ed Sheeran or (apparently) Blink 182 announce shows in Adelaide they can sell all the tickets way in advance (Blink isn’t for a year and a half and is already sold out). WOMADelaide regularly pulls close to 100,000 people over four days and back in, what the kids call, ‘the day’ alternative festivals like the Big Day Out would draw 20 or 30,000 people. We love a big gig, when we can be prodded into supporting one.
So why all this mega-babble? In a super exciting move, a brand-new Australian Festival launches in Adelaide, with a stellar line-up and Adelaide only exclusives. Other states have Festivals like Falls, Splendour, Strawberry Fields, Bluesfest, Mona Foma and so on. Adelaide should be pleased as punch and fully amped that Harvest Festival launches in Rymill & King Rodney Parks on Sat 19 Nov and Sun 20 Nov. It is an incredible bill on both nights with an amazing smorgasbord of diverse talent and styles.
Saturday is headlined by the legendary Jack White of The White Stripes fame exclusively in his only Australian show. White’s life since The White Stripes has been anything but dull. Apart from a prolific output of excellent solo album and work with The Raconteurs among others, he runs the coolest record label in the world (Third Man Records) producing and curating a vast catalogue of artists from legends like country icon Wanda Jackson, reissuing classic and out of print records from The Melvins, Captain Beefheart, French chanteuse France Gall, and blues legend Leadbelly, limited live recordings by The Stooges, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hives, 5678s, and more than a dozen shows from his own current tour. But also new up and comers like the electrifying Olivia Jean (Jack’s wife as it happens) and her band The Black Belles and an avalanche of one off 7’’ singles from acts as diverse as Elvis Presley, Buck Owens, Coldplay, Tom Jones, Beck to Peaches, Elvira, Tenacious D and Stephen Colbert (special mention of Paul Wellers 7’’ of Going To A Go Go). Adelaide scoring Jack White’s only Australian performance is a coup.
Jack White kickin’ at Glastonbury earlier this year…
Jack White: “Seven Nation Army”
Also, on Saturday the legendary Black Crowes return with their southern rock juggernaut. The excellent folk rock sounds of The Lumineers (from Denver Colorado), Courtney Barnett and her former duet partner Kurt Vile (also Australian exclusive) along with Kiwi Marlon Williams, Solid Rocker Goanna, Meg Mac and the kings of Aussie rock You Am I will all be kicking our butts. For those who prefer things a bit more dancey Dance With Superstar Tones & I, those people who asked ‘if everybody looked the same’ and if we were ‘fond of sand dunes and salty air’ and told us they could see us baby shakin’ that ass The Groove Armada will be Superstylin’ along with the incredible Electric Fields. Plus ARC performing all of Neil Young’s Harvest.
Tones & I – “Dance Monkey“
Groove Armada – “I See You Baby” ft Gramma Funk
You Am I – “Soldiers“
THEN on Sunday:
Slowmango, Towns, Ruby Fields, Alex Cameron, Holy Holy, the sublime Cat Power, Angus and Julia Stone, Genesis Owusu, The Tesky Brothers, Khruangbin and the amazing Sam Fender (The Brits 2022 Best British Alternative/Rock act, who many are super pumped to see. Fender is makes classic musical epics, that on first listen sound like you should know them already. He is going to be amazing.
Sam Fender – “Seventeen Going Under”
As are the unstoppable powerhouse that is The Living End, who haven’t needed anyone to tell them what to do for an almost unimaginable 28 years (seriously that does my head in a tiny bit).
The Living End – “Prisoner Of Society”
The Kings of Sampledelia – The Avalanches – return. Their shows either as a live band or their DJ sets are always massive fun and take the audience of a musical, funkified party journey every time.
The Avalanches –“Frontier Psychiatrist”
Then our Sunday headliners are the iconic Crowded House. Count you blessing SA we get Neil Finn and co twice in one year? Are you serious? Amazing. Anybody who saw Crowded House earlier this year will tell you, this is unmissable. Such an amazing catalogue of stone-cold classic songs, weapons grade band and leading it all the laconic Kiwi Neil Finn, with good humour, self-deprecation and a sense of camaraderie with both the band and the audience. Finn is like Australasia’s (I know he’s from New Zealand but we’ll still claim him) Lennon and McCartney glued together. Through Crowded House, Split Enz, Finn and his solo work he has given us I Got You, History Never Repeats, Something So Strong, Don’t Dream It’s Over, Something So Strong, Weather With You, Private Universe, I See Red, Six Months In A Leaky Boat – a staggering catalogue!
Crowded House: Don’t Dream It’s Over at Glastonbury 2022.
Harvest Rock 2022 performance program:
Sat 19 Nov: – Jack White (Australian Exclusive), Black Crowes, Groove Armada, The Lumineers, Tones & I, Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile & The Violators (Australian Exclusive), Goanna, You AM I, Meg Mac, Marlon Williams, Allen Stone, Electric Fields, ARC Presents Neil Youngs Harvest Live.
Sunday – Crowded House, Khruangbin, Sam Fender, The Avalanches, Angus & Julia Stone, The Teskey Brothers, Hot Chip, Genesis Owusu, The Living End, Cat Power, Holy Holy, Alex Cameron, Ruby Fields, Towns, Slowmango.
So, Adelaide, get ready to be Harvested!
Harvest Rock 2022 performs at Rymill and King Rodney Parks (end of Rundle Street) from Sat 19 Nov until Sun 20 Nov.
Bookings at moshtix.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.
Official Website: https://harvestrock.com/
