[WORLD MUSIC/Contemporary/Dance ~ AUS/INT]

Botanic Park, Sun. 13 Mar.

Back in its traditional home of the incredible Botanic Park and with dancing back on the cards, the atmosphere at WOMADelaide this year is a little extra euphoric – so many happy faces, so much dancing, so much incredible music. It’s a unique and wondrous beast, is WOMAD. Unlike any other festival where people are racing from stage to stage so as not to miss a cavalcade of mega-stars, for a few days in March, we are invited to a glorious Tapas style smorgasbord, a tasting plate of culture and sounds.

You might not have known you would like the brass band with a rapper out front, you might not be prepared for a striking dance ensemble with a collection of 100 local drummers pulsing into the night, but it’s the kind of surprises that make WOMAD such a delight. The lack of reliance of massive headline acts (and there are some for sure) means you are free to wander, from stage to stage, catching some exotic sounds on the wind and following it to your new favourite artist. People arrive and set up their blankets and tents and just go off exploring and can be pretty confident all their stuff will still be there when they get back.

WOMADelaide 2022 is celebrating its 30th birthday this year and as it was put together in the midst of Covid uncertainty, there were less artists from overseas than in previous years, but the scope and range of the bill was breathtaking. Ausecuma Beats welcome me to my musical adventures with West African beats and a big brass groove. New Zealand’s SUB-TRIBE are wailing on Stage 2 fusing dancehall, hip hop and a lot of bottom end and everywhere people are dancing. The first of many treks over to stage three for Reb Fountain, San Francisco-born New Zealand resident, who’s atmospheric sounds and soaring vocals invoke Mazzy Starr, Tori Amos and Kate Bush, but with a stunning originality. It’s her first ever show in Australia, and I won’t be surprised if she’ll be back before too long.

There might be a contest at the festival to see which act has the most members. YID! Are in the running with a twelve-piece contemporary Klemzer/funk/jazz/tribal/electronica collective, with inspiration from James Brown, Talking Heads – but sung in Yiddish; such incredible energy in this theatrical performance. Emma Donovan & The Putbacks are wailing, bringing the feel of Stax label funk and soul, it’s raw, it’s emotional, it kicks butt. Donovan’s voice is amazing and the band likewise! Bullhorn round on Stage 3 are an unstoppable brass band mixing funky grooves, masses of energy and a killer rapper (Roman MC) pumping it all up.

The crowd on the main stage has swelled as the reformed Goanna (well the three main members Shane Howard, Roslyn Bygrave and Marcia Howard) take to the stage to mark the 40th Anniversary of one of the all-time classic Australian albums Spirit Of Place. The set is largely Spirit, in mostly the right order, with a couple of changes for dramatic impact. Kicking off with Cheatin’ Man and straight into the fantastic Razor’s Edge. Throughout the set you can see people going ‘Oh I remember this one!’ Let The Franklin Flow was an excellent inclusion. There were guests along the way to the obvious and unbeatable finale.

If you think about what was going on in 1982 musically, the charts were full of pub rockers, new romantics and synthesiser-driven hair cut pop. But from some deep place there were suddenly bands like Gondwanaland, Yothu Yindi, Midnight Oil singing about Australia and indigenous stories and issues in a way that not only broke through into the mainstream, but also into the upper reaches of the charts. Solid Rock is a solid gold banger… on every level; a great song, fantastic lyrics, timeless in its perfection. Tonight they gather all their collaborators back for a euphoric version, including William Barton on didge (seen only recently with Icehouse), Emma Donovan, Redgum’s John Schumann, and The Pocket String Quartet. Nice timing to have their set at sundown invoking the classic cover of this classic album.

Much as I love Electric Fields, I opted for Adelaide own amazing powerhouse Carla Lippis round at the ‘bat’ Stage 7. Her new project, Mondo Psycho, is a mighty and ferocious attack of twanging guitars, ‘60s cinematic film noir with a dark and broody guttural bottom end. The instrumental opener felt like a European horror movie theme where something or someone bad was about to arrive. That might have been right. Lippis arrives through the smoke haze in a black body suit and frilled neck piece, like a scary harlequin. With severe eye make-up and eyes full of drama, her voice is formidable as she howls the opener in Italian. It is a huge sound and some folk are scurrying kids away from the area with an expanded vocabulary (‘but mummy what does M****r F****r mean?’). Be sure to check her out sometime.

If Goanna had been a trip down memory lane, The Cat Empire was a celebration at the end of an era road. The WOMADelaide regulars and beloved Australian outfit recently announced that three of the five key members of the band would be leaving after this tour. Harry James Angus (trumpet), Will Hull-Brown (drums) and DJ Jumps (DJ and percussion) (and their career long manager) are all about to exit for the last time. (Felix Riebi (vocals) and Ollie McGill (keys) would continue with a new line-up).

For fans of the band that have been with them for two decades, it’s an emotional prospect, and this would be this line-up’s last ever Adelaide performance. For ninety minutes The Cat Empire delivered an absolutely golden set packed with hits and fan favourites. Opening with Hard To Explain? They packed a lot into their farewell set. Brighter Than Gold, Oscar Wilde, Two Shoes, Daggers Drawn, The Lost Song (with Harry on lead vocals and guest Julie O’Hara), Still Young, The Rhythm, In My Pocket. Each song is met with thunderous applause and ecstatic dancing. When they get to the joyful anthem Hello, the entire park is jumping, dancing, singing, all around is an explosion of movement. Steal The Light with its cha-cha rhythm starts the wind-down of the set before the band follow Harry back out front for the frenetic Car Song and the set ends with an emotional Steal The Light with the last line of each chorus ‘It’s good to have you here’ packing an incredible emotional punch.

The deafening roar from this WOMADelaide crowd that just doesn’t want to let The Cat Empire go brings them back for a killer encore, with twirl dancing inspiring The Wine Song and the driving Sly. But they finish with The Chariot – the ska/reggae-inspired declaration of the power of music to change people and the world. Right now the world needs, more love, understanding, empathy, music and harmony. It’s impossible not to think of the Ukraine’s current situation when they sing:

This be a declaration
Written about my friends
It’s engraved into this song
So they know we’re not forgetting them
See maybe if the world contained
More people like these
Then the news would not be telling me
Bout all that warfare endlessly but
Our weapons were our instruments
Made from our timber and steel
We never yielded to conformity
But stood like kings
In a chariot that’s riding on a Record wheel

Everybody is spent, danced out and blissed up. What a glorious way to say goodbye to this band who so wonderfully married world beats, funk, Latin-American rhythms, reggae, rock and pop, for the last two decades. The Cat Empire delivered a loving last kiss to a heaving mass of dancers as far as the eye can see.

5 stars

Ian Bell

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#Bullhorn
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#Yid!
#RebFountain
#SUBTRIBE

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 [WORLD MUSIC/Contemporary/Dance ~ AUS/INT] Botanic Park, Sun. 13 Mar. Back in its traditional home of the incredible Botanic Park and with dancing back on the cards, the atmosphere at WOMADelaide this year is a little extra euphoric – so many happy faces, so much dancing, so much incredible music. It’s a unique and wondrous beast, is WOMAD. Unlike any other festival where people are racing from stage to stage so as not to miss a cavalcade of mega-stars, for a few days in March, we are invited to a glorious Tapas style smorgasbord, a tasting plate of culture and sounds. You might not have known you would like the brass band with a rapper out front, you might not be prepared for a striking dance ensemble with a collection of 100 local drummers pulsing into the night, but it’s the kind of surprises that make WOMAD such a delight. The lack of reliance of massive headline acts (and there are some for sure) means you are free to wander, from stage to stage, catching some exotic sounds on the wind and following it to your new favourite artist. People arrive and set up their blankets and tents and just go off exploring and can be pretty confident all their stuff will still be there when they get back. WOMADelaide 2022 is celebrating its 30th birthday this year and as it was put together in the midst of Covid uncertainty, there were less artists from overseas than in previous years, but the scope and range of the bill was breathtaking. Ausecuma Beats welcome me to my musical adventures with West African beats and a big brass groove. New Zealand’s SUB-TRIBE are wailing on Stage 2 fusing dancehall, hip hop and a lot of bottom end and everywhere people are dancing. The first of many treks over to stage three for Reb Fountain, San Francisco-born New Zealand resident, who’s atmospheric sounds and soaring vocals invoke Mazzy Starr, Tori Amos and Kate Bush, but with a stunning originality. It’s her first ever show in Australia, and I won’t be surprised if she’ll be back before too long. There might be a contest at the festival to see which act has the most members. YID! Are in the running with a twelve-piece contemporary Klemzer/funk/jazz/tribal/electronica collective, with inspiration from James Brown, Talking Heads – but sung in Yiddish; such incredible energy in this theatrical performance. Emma Donovan & The Putbacks are wailing, bringing the feel of Stax label funk and soul, it’s raw, it’s emotional, it kicks butt. Donovan’s voice is amazing and the band likewise! Bullhorn round on Stage 3 are an unstoppable brass band mixing funky grooves, masses of energy and a killer rapper (Roman MC) pumping it all up. The crowd on the main stage has swelled as the reformed Goanna (well the three main members Shane Howard, Roslyn Bygrave and Marcia Howard) take to the stage to mark the 40th Anniversary of one of the all-time classic Australian albums Spirit Of…

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Ian Bell

Everybody is spent, danced out and blissed up. What a glorious way to spend a long weekend

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