Live Review: Gorgeous Festival

Day One

Located in one of South Australia’s most popular and inspired food and wine regions, Gorgeous Festival returned to the McLaren Vale countryside for a fourth year this past weekend since its debut in 2011. The natural combination of Australian music, locally produced gourmet food and of course a selection of some of Australia’s best wines and ciders, the Gorgeous Festival is the ultimate weekend to indulge the senses and celebrate the goods South Australia, and indeed the wider Australian music scene, has to offer.

Friday’s opening night celebrations were held in a sit-down dinner and drinks format, with a stage overlooking three long, narrow tables assembled under a marquee, appropriately named The Gorgeous Table. Think the dining hall in Harry Potter only way more vintage-chic and with unlimited alcoholic beverages. The line-up of artists for the night accompanied a four-hour long degustation of food prepared by some of South Australia’s most acclaimed chefs, including Paul Baker (Botanic Gardens restaurant), Phil Whitmarsh (The Daniel O’Connell) and Stewart Wesson (The Flinders Street Project). Each chef prepared a unique dish as part of a three-course shared platter-style dinner.

An unexpected but perfectly fitting performance began the night’s festivities in a “flash mob opera” as some of the guests described it. While people took to their seats, one lone individual broke into a roaring opera ballad, soon to be accompanied by another singer, and another, until a group of six members of the State Opera of South Australia Chorus joined to soar out a beautiful, microphone and tech-free piece in the middle of the marquee. Such a raw, natural performance seemed to epitomise what the festival was all about; Australian talent organically flourishing to be enjoyed with others.

Warm loaves with butter and caramel sauce (bloody amazing) were given to each table to share and tear apart, encouraging those sitting next to unfamiliar faces to share the special and intimate ritual of eating. Cue our first live band of the night, Working Dog Union. The Adelaide three-piece who are influenced by a range of genres including jazz and progressive rock, presented their distinctly Irish/Scottish sound and created a charming ambience for the guests. The band playfully alternated between upbeat, jazzy numbers and more stripped-back, bluesy moods in tracks such as Thirsty Earth, inspired by the ongoing Australian drought. Throughout their performance, it was difficult to break your gaze from the uilleann pipe handled by the front man/vocalist/whistler, who carried the acoustic sound gracefully and with unquestionable skill. This distinct and very original take on traditional Irish, Scottish and Australian sound made for a very satisfying and lively set.

Up next, during our main meal of lamb cutlets and spring salad (complete with edible flowers – fancy), was Darren Middleton, former lead guitarist and songwriter for Powderfinger. Accompanied on stage by violinist Kelly Lane from Melbourne indie band Skipping Girl Vinegar, the pair took a relaxed approach to some heartbreaking songs, but nonetheless promised to play their hearts and souls out. This promise became a reality as the on-stage chemistry between the two glowed and, despite hiccups, played an honest, delicate set. The acoustic feel of guitar and violin produced a perfect backdrop for Middleton to show off his silky smooth vocals through tracks The Less You Know and Falling Slowly, impressing and captivating every woman in the room (seriously, this guy has aged magnificently), before the pair wrapped up and swiftly found a seat at one of the dinner tables to join the feast. This really broke down the audience/performer barrier, revealing the very real sense of community felt by both guests and performers. This was one of the great successes of this year’s Gorgeous Table – it’s very easy, natural even, for people to truly come together over great food and drink.

The closeness of guests in the marquee had now grown significantly. Strangers were now friends and everyone had become well acquainted with some of South Australia’s best red, white and sparkling wines. This proved perfect timing for the loudest band of the evening; The Timbers, who, at the beginning of the set, very firmly told guests that they came here for one thing and one thing only: the dancing. They then broke into a truly foot-stamping, mandolin-driven beat; the beardy yet very well dressed four-piece woke up the room. Tempted with a promise from frontman Simon Basey that the first person to come forward and dance would win a prize, it was a matter of seconds before groups of tipsy guests poured onto the patch of grass separating them from the stage. Shoes were off, hips were shaking, feet were certainly stamping. The electric combination of trombone, accordion, banjo, tambourine and trumpet produced high-energy modern Australian folk at its best. Although most tracks tended to follow similar patterns of stomping percussion and punchy choruses, consistency was what was winning over the crowd, and very few were left in their chairs by even the second song into the set.

Closing the night in high spirits and a shared sense of enjoyment more than adequately prepped guests for the following day’s festivities. Leaving not only with full bellies but wide grins and dirty feet, the guests at The Gorgeous Table had clearly already fallen in love with all the pleasures this festival has to offer. The organisers should be proud of the success of The Gorgeous Table debut and more than happy that the power of good food, wine and music managed to transform a marquee of strangers into a room full of friends.

Day Two

Gorgeous Festival has the potential to be the intermittent WOMADelaide, with warm weather, relaxed vibes and organisers that can attract the big names. However, it needs to take a big step forward, and in doing so invest a lot of confidence in its patrons. The annual boutique food, wine and music festival boasting a line-up that included the spiritual Xavier Rudd, Aussie roots veterans The Beautiful Girls and the up-and-coming Timberwolf seemed to be holding back a notch in 2014.

Two stages, the Gorgeous Main Stage and McLaren ‘Local’ Stage, in theory was a smart idea as people could plan their day and easily travel between the two. However, the timetable didn’t allow for a break between artists and each act was timed back to back until late into the evening. This led to most of the crowd dissipating towards the end of one band’s set so that they could see the start of another. In some instances the overlapping caused confusion, with Timberwolf belting out a bass-heavy tune to begin their set, which interfered with the end of Rin McArdle’s final song. The elevated McLaren stage where locals Conchillia, Kaurna Cronin and McArdle all performed was fenced off with a steel grate akin to something you’d find at an EDM festival. This didn’t allow for the audience to get up close and personal to the gentler artists including Tim Chaisson and Kim Wempe; however it came in handy when The Cairos and Pierce Brothers belted out their high-energy sets to a raucous crowd.

Apart from a few large gumtrees whose shade was at a premium, the open expanse at Serafino Wines Vineyard offered little respite from the searing sun. Water fans, as seen at WOMADelaide and Laneway Festival, would have provided much needed relief for the thousands seeking a way out of the heat and could be something for organisers to consider for the future.

With one main bar and a small caravan the only place to purchase drinks, unless French champagne is your thang, getting a drink was a time-consuming venture. At the peak of the night, most of the catering food vans had exhausted their menus and were backlogged up to  a 20-minutes wait just on hot chips. This didn’t sit well with many of the patrons, with some who’d attended the previous year unhappy at the scaled-back options. The bring-back-your-bottle initiative, where you can swap your empties for a discounted beverage, was in full swing and meant there was less refuse to clean up at the end of the night.

That said, the festival’s relaxed atmosphere was thoroughly enjoyable. One of the first performers to begin the second day was Adelaide duo Ivanhoe. Featuring on the McLaren Stage, which was elegantly decorated in hanging branches laced with lights, Ivanhoe played a swift 25-minute set for the early-bird fans. Although the marquee maintained a distinct charm and laid-back vibe with people both seated and laying on the grass, the heat within the performing space was not ideal and the enclosed walls of the marquee didn’t help disperse the heat. Filling the marquee with upbeat folk tunes delivered from the simplicity of keys and a guitar, Ivanhoe showed off their latest repertoire, which had been written during the band’s time in London. Although the audience were predominantly seated, the foot-stomping beat had lifted the energy by the end of the set.

Moving to The Gorgeous Stage, the reverberating bass and drum beat from fellow locals Echo & The Empress was immediately felt. From a distance, the main stage engulfed five small figures jumping around to a dozen fans who’d already set up on the lawn. They confidently and vivaciously delivered tracks from their recent indie pop release, Altitude; however, the intimacy of their set felt lost when projected out into the vast open space, yet to be adequately filled with festival-goers. The sweet harmonies created by the sisters Skye and Beth complemented bubbly keys and eventually encouraged onlookers into dancing.

The Timbers enhanced their reputation as a high-energy, tight-knit crew with a rousing performance in the peak of the heat. Their upbeat track, Wrong Company, was a hit with the crowd, which was sweating up a storm while flinging The Timbers’ branded Frisbees around. Timberwolf gave the audience an insight into what to expect from his forthcoming EP, Flux, due out next year, while also delivering his well-known tracks Bones and Garden in a different style. Canada’s Kim Wempe and Tim Chaisson rivalled Busby Marou as the most talkative of the night, constantly telling stories and cracking jokes much to the crowd’s enjoyment. Sydney’s harmonising honeys Little May overcame early sound difficulties to produce one of the most beautiful sets of the night, performing their hit single, Dust, to an audience ironically covered in it. The self-titled Busby Marou Christmas Party ushered in the sunset of not only the day but also the duo’s year as they got the crowd up on their feet for a boogie. Reggae rockers The Beautiful Girls intertwined old and new music while fitting in the Bob Marley favourite Is This Love. The crowd bounced up and down in unison singing along and enjoying the early evening grooves. 

Melbourne’s Pierce Brothers carried on the bouncing vibe set by The Beautiful Girls with arguably the most upbeat performance of the night. Sadly, their set was on the McLaren stage and not many people went to see it. At one stage Jack played the didgeridoo with one hand while holding a harmonica for his brother Pat, who was in full swing on the guitar, being supported by The Timbers’ Benjamin Roberts on banjo and it was an absolute spectacle.

The excitement was visceral as The Waifs reunited as a band for the first time in three years. By this stage half of the site had been filled with picnic blankets and wine bottles, and with the intense heat, people found it easier to fully immerse themselves into the festival. Inspired by a blend of jazz, folk, blues and roots each song held its own distinct vibe, engaging fans through the whole set. Raw harmonies between Josh, Vikki and Donna layered on progressive bass and cheeky harmonica brought back the much-loved classics that everyone appreciated. With an electric on-stage chemistry being fully reciprocated by the crowd, The Waifs could have chosen anything to play and it still would’ve made the audience dance and clap to their buoyant melodies.

With a whole hour and a half to perform, Xavier Rudd surprised the crowd by beginning his spiritual set with the emotionally charged 2012 hit Follow The Sun. An hour of his set was supported by Bobby Alu on percussion and South Africa’s bass legend Uncle Tio, which was simply incredible, before Rudd performed the final half hour solo. Acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the festival was being held and taking the audience on a journey with his music, Xavier Rudd ended the live music portion of the night off by capturing the vibe of the festival perfectly. DJ Sherpa rounded the night out with an eclectic mix of beats to the diehards who just wanted a good boogie.

With campsites available across from the venue, give the 2015 edition of Gorgeous Festival some strong consideration if you’re looking for a relaxed atmosphere filled with exceptional music, mouth-watering food and great wine.