Bluesfest 2013: Day One

Avoiding the town of Byron Bay at Bluesfest time is strongly recommended and incredibly easy to do. While that is no doubt where the vibe is at its most fervent, five long days of great music, dancing, beers and general celebratory spirit is enough to tire anyone out and the temptation to party too hard too early ought to be avoided.

So as we wind through the hills of Nashua, through Tintenbar, Newrybar and Fernleigh – all miniscule towns or areas that possess great beauty if nothing else – it doesn't really feel like there's much happening at all. But once we hit Tyagarah, where we'll trek to and from for the next five days of wonderful mayhem, it's a different story.

The anticipation that comes each Easter Thursday afternoon is akin to that of a footy grand final, the last day of school or the hours before a first date. The excitement is so intense that it can be mistaken for nerves, and as much as you look forward to it you kind of want it all to just be over with so you can flatten out your emotions a little. Or maybe that's just me.

Day one of Bluesfest in 2013 offers plenty to be excited about and delivers in spades.

The tail-end of William Elliott Whitmore serves as a nice warm up as we get ourselves sorted for the evening ahead, he closes his slightly shortened set with Old Devils, which is pretty darn good.

The traditional Arakwal Opening Ceremony is always worth checking out if you manage to get to the festival early enough, but today it seemed even more powerful than ever as the indigenous Australian performers expressed their grief at the very recent loss of their family member Mick. As such, they dedicate the majority of the performance to him and it brims with passion. The traditional song and dance are stunning and the themes of oneness and constant reminders to look after one another will hopefully be well heeded.

Wanda Jackson might be a little less mobile now that she is well and truly in her 70s, but her voice is still absolute dynamite and this afternoon she takes us through a whole cache of hits from throughout her 58 year career. Riot In Cell Block #9, I Gotta Know and Funnel Of Love get things started nicely but the crowd goes nuts when she yodels her way through I Betcha My Heart I Love You. Jackson dedicates a rendition of Heartbreak Hotel to some old ex-boyfriend of hers from the '50s called Elvis Presley and then tells us that Jack White is like “a velvet covered brick” – a sweet man who will always get his way before playing Shakin' All Over from 2010's The Party Ain't Over. A version of The Valentinos' It's All Over Now from her latest LP is a surprisingly great fit for Jackson, but you can't beat the classics that follow, like Fujiyama Mama, Mean Mean Man and Right Or Wrong.

A local band backs Jackson up on these shows, Johnny Green on bass, his 15-year-old son Hank on guitar, Ezra Lee on keys a couple of the familiar faces onboard. They're pretty solid for the most part, but they're still a pick-up band and that's pretty obvious; it's kind of a shame that we could witness Jackson with a group she's more familiar with.

Jackson calls for Chris Isaak who, she reveals, is meant to be helping her sing Let's Have A Party but he's running late so we all miss out, it still sounds great, as does the closing Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.

The last couple of songs from Shuggie Otis are, as expected, loose but full of energy. The band behind him are solid and so is Otis – the fact they haven't completely gelled might be a turn off for some, but it's exciting for me.

I'll cop the brunt of many an adult contemporary fan here (and they're scarier than you may think) but Joan Armatrading just doesn't belong here tonight. She does everything right, but therein lies the problem, it's all a bit too contrived, a bit too slick and it comes across completely soulless. The set list is solid; Show Some Emotion, Crazy, and the anthemic Love And Affection are all highlights, but it just lacks guts, energy and personality. Maybe it's that ridiculous headset microphone she's using? Whatever it is, I drag myself away, quite happily, to catch the end of the Robert Cray Band.

This is another contrived, pretty middle of the road kind of blues act, but the way that they play is a hell of a lot more interesting. They just ooze class, but it seems like they have a whole lot of fun when they play. And despite the brilliance of the entire band, Cray is one ridiculous blues guitarist. Chicken In The Kitchen (how do vegan blues fans feel about this one?), The Things You Do To Me and the brutally fucking cool I'm Done Cryin'. They close with Smoking Gun, of course, what a bloody riff.

Everyone wants to see Rodriguez, but how many people here really care? Without wanting to sound like an elitist twat, but there's a serious lack of respect shown by some of the crowd tonight. He walks on stage to an enormous cheer and plays You'd Like To Admit It; at this stage quite a few leave having seen the man with their own eyes, which I respect, but unfortunately a lot of people who clearly have no interest in his music insist on staying, talking very loudly over his delicately quiet songs, getting hundreds of photos and basically doing things they could have been doing ANYWHERE ELSE ON SITE.

Anyway, the set. The set is bloody excellent. Rodriguez looks and sounds better than ever and The Break back him up so incredibly tastefully that you'd never want to see him with anyone else.

The unmistakable bassline that brings in I Wonder gets plenty excited, Inner City Blues and Crucify Your Mind are both brilliant and the opening chords of Sugar Man send the crowd into a frenzy. The fact that I Think Of You can retain its intimate, intricate beauty in such an environment is testament to these performers, while the more powerful Like Janis, Can't Get Away and Rich Folks Hoax are just brilliant.

A whole stack of covers follow, Blue Suede Shoes gives the band a chance to break out after being beautifully restrained for so long, Like A Rolling Stone gives the crowd a chance to break out into song and a pretty great rendition of Midnight Oil's Redneck Wonderland is surprising, to say the least. Rodriguez bids us adieu with Forget It, and closes the finest of his Bluesfest sets yet.

The brilliant Herbie Hancock tune Chameleon gets both Fred Wesley & The New JBs and the small but enthusiastic crowd of dancers who've come to see him warmed up nicely. The band's grooves are thick as butter and the band sharp as a hacksaw – but they get the job done with far more precision. The mix of funk and jazz played by some of the best in the business is a real treat tonight, Trick Bag gets them singing, while Foreplay from the Horney Horns' A Blow For Me, A Toot To You could well be the best slice of funk we hear at the festival all weekend. For The Elders heavily features drummer Bruce Cox, who solos like a demon for minutes before the band kicks in. The close of the set is just a funk extravaganza, Wesley and co ripping through Breakin' Bread, Pass The Peas, Gimme Some More, Doing It To Death and House Party.

I manage to catch Chris Isaak doing Wicked Game while ducking out for a quick beer during Wesley (score!) and then wander over to catch the end of his set that includes tracks like Miss Pearl, Great Balls Of Fire and Pretty Woman. It's a seriously massive production with an incredible light show and there are a shit ton of people there to soak it up.

I'll be blunt, I don't know any of the names of the songs that Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite play at the end of their set, but I'm pretty blown away. Say what you will about Harper, it's bloody awesome that he's made it so Charlie Musselwhite can be headlining the (albeit not very full) Mojo stage 24 years after being a headliner at the first ever Bluesfest. Their set seems full of warmth and passion and they complement each other really nicely; I'm not sure how long this project will last, but it's worth catching if you ever get the chance – Harper fan or not.

So ends day one (well, after a lengthy wait in the car park but let's not talk about that), today I'm pumped to catch Jimmy Cliff, Tav Falco and the Music Maker Revue. See you there.