Live Review: Bluesfest 2019 Is Underway! Here's All The Action From Day One
"Is there anything more wholesome than an artist shredding on guitar while giggling?"
When you consider that we as humans like to use benchmarks as our way of evaluating the world around us, turning 30 is a big deal right? Just as we are more inclined to make (and break) new year’s resolutions, a new decade can prompt us to make some pretty life-altering decisions. But mainly, it’s an excuse for a ripper party. And hot tip for anyone currently in the planning stages, Bluesfest’s 30th edition is here to show you how it is done.
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We make our way into the festival, cautiously optimistic about the blue skies overhead. Cars are tetris-ed into the campground, tents pop up in surprisingly close proximity - cue “That’s when good neighbours become good friends” singalong - and the vibe is wholesome.
Irish Mythen is an incredibly underrated songwriter, whether you know of them or not you need to make yourself accustom to their live presence immediately. A beautiful blend of raw lyrics, gripping guitar and honestly one of the trendiest haircuts in the folk game.
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Arlo Guthrie got the JAMBALAYA stage popping off early with his unique brand of folk. Sharing a good slice of stories about meeting Bob Dylan and essentially being at the forefront of modern folk. It's impressive to watch a master at work like this but even more impressive to hear him belting out tracks like The City Of New Orleans without sounding any different 30 odd years later - a true legend.
With seven on the DELTA stage, The California Honeydrops, bring some of their Bay Area soul Down Under and show the rapidly filling tent why Bonnie Raitt considers them to be one of her favourite bands. This is the third year in a row the band has played Bluesfest and frontman Lech Wierzynski has come dressed for a party - everyone needs a rainbow blazer. The band is tight - clearly they’ve been brought back for a reason and Wierzynski notes that “weird is good out here in Byron Bay”. There’s some call and response that goes down a treat before Wierzynski asks whether the whole room can party as hard as ten people up the front. We make a mental note to befriend those ten people.
Nahko & Medicine For The People are a band which, going from their name alone, you know you are in for a treat. They make the crowd put on their dancing shoes before the sun has even gone down. The Bluesfest grounds are starting to get on the wetter side when they hit the stage, but that's where they excel. Looking more like a zumba class at times than a band, this is a real treat for such an early time slot in the festival.
Samantha Fish doesn't exactly get the crowd she deserves, but that doesn't matter to her. The Kansas City, old school blues mastermind doesn't seem to care if anyone is there as she busts out her white guitar and goes to town slaying the classics with a few originals spliced in. When it comes to contemporary blues, no one slays as much as Samantha Fish and cuts from her latest album Belle Of The West go down like smooth bourbon.
Moving to the front of the MOJO Stage, we spot a dad who has brought a step stand for his young daughter to get a better view - maybe those of us more inclined to complain about the taller people in the crowd should invest. But future Bunnings trips aside, Kurt Vile is up on stage, playing into all the stereotypes of ‘90s stoner-rock - we’re talking long hair and an open flannelette - but the man’s a guitar wizard. His rolling psychedelic torpor has us hooked. Bassackwards is a meandering stroll from the beach to the bay, to the moon to the grass. We appreciate it to the utmost degree. Picking up the banjo for set highlight I’m An Outlaw, we’re impressed by his signature finger picking. The languid monotony (in the best way possible) of it all makes us selfishly wish this set was taking place on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the sunshine, with a couple of sundowners in hand. It’s a noodling, layered performance with plenty of wah-wah pedal from a man and a band who have most certainly earnt their musical chops. We are most definitely on the “We’re going nowhere slow baby,” train.
Mavis Staples may have not pulled the biggest crowd in the Bluesfest grounds but she definitely brought the most fun. Being 79 odd years into her life, most singers would hang up their hat and sit on their porch drinking mimosas. Staples is still belting out the classics though, and delivering some absolutely insane stories to boot. Having walked in the iconic Martin Luther King Jr march from Salem back in the '60s, Staples voice hasn't changed a bit since then, and the crowd are popping for her set.
It’s been 50 years this month since Russell Morris’ The Real Thing hit number one on the charts. The JAMBALAYA tent is overflowing and the “oo-mow-ma-mow-mow”’s spill out across the night. It’s a special moment as we witness this Australian rock classic brought to life.
Having recently come under fire for their song choice at Christchurch's You Are Us/Aroha Nui concert, Six60 seemed unphased heading onto the Bluesfest stage. Being one of the few synth/drum and bass focused bands at Bluesfest must be daunting, but the crowd welcomed the band with open arms. The potential controversy of their appearance doesn't have any effect on the audience's reaction and dance circles erupt throughout the crowd. It's a weird thing to see such synth heavy music getting such a reaction here, but we aren't complaining.
As we wander past the JAMBALAYA tent Richard Clapton is playing Girls On The Avenue. He finishes he set by saying, “Peace and love hippies,” and truer words have never been spoken at the festival.
Little Steven has come a long way from Lillehammer to make it to Byron Bay tonight and he’s brought his Disciples Of Soul with him - sorry we missed the purple, pinstripe pant memo. It’s a sermon in good music from the outset as they open with Arthur Conley classic Sweet Soul Music with full brass band and three backing singers who slay. Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen ain’t no fool - Steven Van Zandt can play. And is there anything more wholesome than an artist shredding on guitar while giggling? The man might be Bluesfest personified in this very instance. He tells us, “We’re at Bluesfest, so we’re going to play some blues,” and Etta James’ The Blues Is My Business gives nearly every disciple their chance to shine - that trombone solo though!
Van Zandt is cheeky with his banter - telling us he’s decided to leave politics off the stage tonight because of his realisation that “the universal language is bullshit”. It turns spiritual as he preaches “there ain’t no sanctuary like real live music” and urges us to leave all our differences tonight and walk the common ground of music. Playing a two-and-a-half hour set, by it's end we feel united and ready to take on the world.
Ocean Alley close the night with a sizeable crowd on the main stage. However, while the NSW five-piece are used to the bustling dancefloor of festivals like Splendour In The Grass, the slow sway of the Bluesfest crowd gets a less-than impressed reaction from singer Baden Donegal. Regardless, mega hits Knees and Confidence get a sizeable reaction from the younger crowd who have made the Bluesfest pilgrimage.
See you cats tomorrow for day two!
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