Arts

Review: WOMADelaide Day Three

It’s day three of the World’s Music Festival, and Adelaide has been awash with all sorts of ‘amazingness’ as we do what we do best- put on a killer festival and have a good time!

UnknownIt’s day three of the World’s Music Festival, and Adelaide has been awash with all sorts of ‘amazingness’ as we do what we do best- put on a killer festival and have a good time!

Having covered a swag of acts the previous day, we opted to check out some of the non-musical offerings at WOMADelaide today and decided to start with Taste The World. Presented by Smeg and hosted by Rosa Matto, TTW celebrates the food and cultures involved in the festival and offers an up close and personal glimpse of the participating artists. Brooklyn/Tel Aviv artists Balkan Beat Box dazzled the audience with their take on Shakshuka, an Israeli breakfast dish rich in spices and served with warm pita bread. They were candid and amusing as they prepared the dish, laughing with the audience as they sometimes fumbled with ingredients. It smelt delicious but we were too far back to try a sample. Those that tried claimed it was quite tasty and spicy.

We then ventured off to experience Exxopolis-Architects of the Air, an enormous inflated sculpture full of light, colour, and air. The interior is minimalist, but the ambience and beauty of its simplicity is somewhat esoteric and mystical. One fellow observer described it as “womb like.” It’s definitely a work of art, and it took 5 people ten months to construct. Amazing!

The first musical cab off the rank was Max Savage & The False Idols (Aus) in their only WOMAD appearance. It was good to see an Adelaide boy playing to a home crowd, and they gave it their all with a rock n roll blues experience including a nice cover of Paul Simon’s Graceland.

On the way to the Zoo Stage we came across Mr Culbuto (UK), a 320 kg human Roly-Poly who rolls around after luring people in to shake his hand, which he then uses as a way to tip himself over. It’s an innovative twist in street performance and very amusing.

Iranian songstress Tara Tiba (Iran/Aus) gave a Persian/jazz infusion that combined her traditional songwriting and intense vocals, merging to form a ‘musical tagine’ of sorts. Playing for the second time, Mista Savona/Prince Alla (Aus/Jamaica) sounded much more enhanced on the ICS stage and had a better atmosphere than their previous night’s performance. And yet again, Toumani & Sidiki Diabate (Mali) were fantastic together on a larger stage.

Another local act playing in front of a home crowd was Julia Henning (Aus) who was splendid, soulful and angelic. She did Adelaide proud. Yay!

It was hard to avoid seeing Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania) again, as their pure energy and frenetic gypsy music backed by more brass than a North Korean General proved that they are indeed ‘the hardest working band in the blow biz!’

We briefly caught Neneh Cherry with Rocketnumbernine+ (UK/Sweden) and if this was anything to go by, Day 4 is going to be fantastic.

On the way to the ICS Stage,we ran into Jupiter Bokondji, who was happy to stop and have a chat. Through an interpreter, he expressed immense joy at the experience of performing at WOMADelaide and summed up his time here by saying “I’m having such a good time here in Adelaide, it’s so beautiful and you people are so nice- thank you!” No, Jupiter thank you!

On the ICS Stage, Swedish duo First Aid Kit were harmonious, bright, and refreshingly upbeat, less ‘folksy’ than I’d imagined but still nice.

We were keen to hear Buffy Sainte-Marie (Canada) at the Artists In Conversation stage, and were fascinated by her journey through a tough upbringing to becoming a prolific protest songwriter and activist for the American Indian cause. She was insightful and articulate as she shared her stories.

Immediately after Buffy, Marrugeku Theatre Company (Aus) commenced Cut The Sky on Stage 2 which was a multimedia dance theatre performance combining poetry, contemporary songs by Ngaiire and Nick Cave, and of course Aboriginal dance. It was remarkable in its groundbreaking style. Depedro, Astronomy Class, and Myele Manzanza were as fabulous as the previous days performances.

The excitement of seeing Youssou N’Dour turned the atmosphere electric, and the crowd had built strongly quite early to see him. He was a delight to watch perform and is clearly a WOMADelaide favourite, having been at the earliest of the 90’s festivals. His music is both vibrant and colourful, often telling the stories of the struggles in his native Senegal. Near the end of his set, Neneh Cherry joined him on stage for ‘7 Seconds’ in a truly beautiful moment.

Another surprise find though, was Emma Donovan & The PutBacks over at the Zoo Stage. Soulful, earthy, sassy, and with a great smile, Emma is the ultimate diva and had a presence on stage reminiscent of another idol, Aretha Franklin. She warmed the crowd with her infectious personality, stories about her songs, and her AMAZING band that were deadly funky!

DJ Spooky (USA) capped of a stellar day with a cranking set on Stage 7 and definitely got the crowd to their feet, making them get their groove on.

In summary, it’s been another great day of music and entertainment with some gorgeous discoveries. It’s hard to believe there’s only one more day left, we really don’t want it to end.

 

By Darren Hassan

Twitter: @DazzHassan

 

https://www.womadelaide.com.au WOMADelaide Festival. 6-9 March 2015. Botanic Park Adelaide

 

Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

 

 

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