There are a number of things that immediately stand out to a Bluesfest virgin. There are wide thoroughfares that encourage easy transition between stages, the bars are evenly and conveniently spaced and the mix at each stage is near perfect. After nearly two days of sheeting rain the site is still highly functional; a benefit that is all the more noticeable after years of standing (and subsequently sinking) in the mud at Byron’s other big festival.
The 24th year of the annual institution has been described as a high-watermark due to the glut of top notch established acts. Not that the apparent star power of the golden oldies seemed to bother Irishman Glen Hansard on the Mojo Stage. After burning through powerful tracks from his bands The Swell Season and The Frames – accompanied by the boisterous presence of the latter – he finished things with a new take on Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.
Reggae stalwart Jimmy Cliff had hands clappin’ on the same stage. Spirited stuff, but those wanting something a little less affected were gathering at the smaller Apra Stage for Michael Kiwanuka. The Brit has an obvious affection for Byron, having visited twice in the last year, and noted after Home Again that the rain drumming down outside couldn’t possibly compare to cold back in his homeland.
Steve Miller Band ripped into The Joker and Jet Airliner with a whole lotta bombast, while next door softly spoken survivor Rodriguez was helped on stage by two people to rapturous applause. Backing band The Break knew their place, with Rob Hirst’s drumming obviously restrained throughout a set that was heavy on classics amidst a thick fog of nostalgia.
Day three of the festival was kicked off by triple j favourite Thelma Plum in the (completely indoors and sheltered from the rain!) Lotus Palace. She’s got some pretty rad tunes of her own, but the highlights were covers of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game and R&B artist Jeremih’s Birthday Sex.
Later in the afternoon Wilco played a set that ended far too soon. An aching version of spiteful anthem I Am Trying To Break Your Heart led into Mermaid Avenue’s Californian Stars.
Robert Plant was able to belt out some surprisingly high and sustained anthems, but the dramatics of his Sensational Space Shifters wasn’t enough to attract many away from the lure of the creepy skin-father at the Crossroads Stage next door. Iggy & The Stooges’ primal screams threatened to scatter the chairs of the scowling pensioners at the rear of the tent. Michigan’s son wasn’t interested in sating any sense of decency: the shirt was off almost immediately, and as Funhouse ripped into life Iggy started hauling fans up on stage for some dirty dancing.
The festival’s second last day bore the scars of sustained meteorological and cultural drenching. Easter Sunday’s traditional signalling of new life was skewed slightly as proceedings evolved slowly on the stages.
Luka Bloom’s set was inordinately dull – bar his cover of fellow Bluesfester Mark Seymour’s Throw Your Arms Around Me. He probably wasn’t helped by the ruckus on offer from Melbourne native (and Seth Sentry crewman) Grey Ghost next door on the Mojo Stage. Former Yes frontman John Anderson shambled on to precede a passably hummable turn – including, of course, Dreamer – from Supertramp’s Roger Hodgson.
Rufus Wainwright offered dollops of drama and lush balladry, ahead of Denver’s The Lumineers. The American five-piece’s hype seemed justified as they led one of the loudest, and somehow tiredest, audience singalongs of the weekend during breakout hit Ho Hey.
BY BENJAMIN COOPER
Photo credit: Andy Burke
LOVED: Watching the sun rise over Cape Byron with The Stooges’ Funhouse still pounding in my ears.
HATED: Old people getting cagey about people walking past their camp chairs. In a massive tent filled with thousands of people. At a fucking festival.
DRANK: Vale Ale with a bunch of surfers at Brunswick Heads, and plenty of Hahn Super Dry at the festival.
