Live Review: Post-Festival Party - Rusty Spring Syncopators, Gregory Page, Warsaw Village Band & The Crooked Fiddle Band

This 'after party' to Peats Ridge got rocking right away with the Rusty Spring Syncopators, a washboard, steel guitar and washtub bass-driven quartet of dapper young gentleman. The troupe, which had the old Americana bluegrass sound nailed, served as a fun opener and provided suitable grooves between bands.

Solo folk and country guitarist Gregory Page took centre stage next, playing endearing tunes about love, heartbreak and life. Accompanied by ex-Jigzag upright bassist Liz Frencham, Page knew how to handle a restless crowd. Funny anecdotes and rather lovely tunes were only marred by a murky, bass-heavy mix.

Dual headline act, Poland's Warsaw Village Band meekly took to the stage a little after 10pm and proceeded to blow the audience away. The Slavic quintet, fronted by duelling female vocal/violinists, ebbed and flowed between lush Mediterranean suites and modern violin rock rhythms reminiscent of the Dirty Three. For their first time in Sydney, the group could hardly have asked for a better reception, with the audience up and dancing from the word go. The band's broken English message to the crowd about their recently deceased musical tutor created a warmth and empathetic understanding rarely seen at gigs.

But from their first notes, this was The Crooked Fiddle Band's night. Debuting the band's soon to be recorded next album, CFB rocked syncopated heavy metal breakdowns, their eponymous fiddle, and the minds of everyone on the dance floor. Appropriately never quite a mosh, always more energetic than a dance, the crowd lapped up the new material, which actually managed to be both more orchestral and hard edged than anything they've recorded in the past. The vocals still remain the only weak link for the band, but it would've been ridiculous for any punter to have walked away anything other than tired and satisfied.