Walking into WOMADelaide, staged at Adelaide's Botanic Park (11-14 March), you could be easily fooled into thinking life is back to normal and the past few years were a fever dream.
Everything was in its right place with flags squeaking on bamboo poles, delicious food smells wafting across the site and smiles on every face.The WOMADelaide line-up never fails to deliver powerful messages of resistance, and Saturday's opening band Sorong Samurai did just that.
Starting with a call from a massive conch and a chorus of log drummers, the band wore outfits bearing free West Papua slogans and morning star insignia. Their set combined traditional sounds with intensely urban songs about the battle for land and independence. It was a powerful performance.
It's no surprise Baker Boy has become a festival favourite. Danzal Baker and his dancers were clearly overjoyed to be on stage and didn't hold back as they launched into 'Meditjin'.
The pace never slowed in a set that ticked off hits 'Mr La De Da Di', 'Cool As Hell', 'Funk Wit Us', and the total riot of 'Stupid Dumb', ending with 'Marryuna' and leaving us all powered up with good-time energy.
One of the lovely WOMADelaide experiences is sitting still and letting distant sounds wash over you. There's plenty of leafy shade and it's likely you can enjoy a calm soundtrack like that of Gaby Moreno, sharing her sweet, stirring voice and gentle songs. Cool perfection.
Turning up the pace, A.B. Original played a blistering set with help from friends Fred Leone, Birdz, MoJu, Thelma Plum and Courtney Barnett.
A.B. Original - image © Razan Fakhoury
MCs Briggs and Trials were in fine form on the mic with their unrelenting call to action: no justice, no peace. Set highlights were 'Dead In A Minute', 'I See You' and 'January 26' (played to fists raised), as well as songs from Birdz ('Black Child') and Thelma Plum ('Homecoming Queen').
As the light faded, it was time to dance and only one band that could deliver the goods, Haiku Hands. They started the set with 'It's Not About You', silhouetted centre stage in towelling robes and shades, whipping us into a frenzy with their dancing, jumping, and no-holds barred attitude.
It's hard to convey the experience in words, but the hour spent front of stage for Haiku Hands feels like it cleaned the slate on the wasteland of the last two years. The crowd danced as one, channelling that super-power energy from stage. It left me with a buzz that is still going. Highlight songs in a killer set were 'Dare You Not To Dance' with guest vocals from Parvyn, and 'Super Villain'.
After a slow start, Sunday afternoon was charged up with Azecuma Beats, a nine-piece collective featuring a West African rhythm section, playing a set of unstoppable energy, with beats that made it irresistible not to 'crazy dance' as instructed charismatic djembe player, Boubacar Gaye.
Keeping the party vibe going, Bullhorn brought a massive brass band sound to get everyone fired up through a set that just kept on getting bigger. Even in the heat, the crowd couldn't resist dancing up a storm.
After dark, under trees filled with screeching flying foxes, the mood was set for the dystopian art, punk, mood of Carla Lippis and Mondo Psycho.
Dressed in a taffeta jumpsuit with a white ruff highlighting her razor-sharp black bob, blackened eyes and red lips, Lippis had the audience under her spell with her powerful voice, gyrating movements, and eyes that see into your soul.
I'm a newcomer to the power this dark queen has on stage, but an immediate fan. Every minute was captivating, supported by a phenomenal band who were clearly having a great time weaving the layered, moody soundtrack.
The Cat Empire's sixth WOMADelaide performance quickly had the huge crowd up on their feet and dancing with tracks 'Brighter Than Gold' and 'Two Shoes', bringing on special guest vocalist Julie O'Hara for 'The Lost Song', and Richard Tedesco on guitar for 'The Rhythm', accompanied by a fantastic flamenco display.
As they left the stage the crowd erupted in a genuine and energetic call for encore and were treated to an encore of the 'Wine Song', 'Sly' and 'The Chariot' before the band took their final festival bow together.
The Cat Empire - image © Saige Prime
On Monday, it was time to indulge in some of more subtle offerings of WOMADelaide, catching the joy of Restless Dance Company offering headphones and a dance performance to an audience of one, being surprised by Gravity & Other Myths climbing three people high and falling backwards before running into the distance.
Cook Islander drummers Te Tangi O Te Ka'ara taught a collective dance to the crowd. The behemoth of Melbourne Ska Orchestra had us bouncing and responding to frontman Nikki Bomba's most subtle or flamboyant wave of a hand.
King Stingray were a revelation with a rocking set of songs, sung in Yolnu and English, including the catchy 'Milkumana', and L-Fresh The Lion brought his positive message and super heavy bass to a crowd still ready to go crazy after four big days.
As night fell, Kardla Paltendi (Dancing With Fire) shared Kaurna fire practice through story and dance, leaving fires burning through the night.
We sat in spinning cups of the Hexadeca installation and let the lights and sounds swirl around us, and then walked the Cathedral of Light. These are the little moments that stick with you long after the festival ends.
Paul Kelly - image © Saige Prime
Paul Kelly was the ultimate finale, accompanied by powerhouse vocalists Vika and Linda Bull and mandolin player Dan Kelly and with a lifetime of and songs to share, there was never enough time for it all.
We were treated to songs old and new: 'Before Too Long', 'Oldest Story In The Book', 'Northern Rivers', and 'Dumb Things' – with each preceded by an anecdote.
The show ended with 'From Little Things, Big Things Grow', a reminder about how we can work together if we listen, a great message to end an unforgettable weekend.
- Sarah Martin
Annette Shun Wah opens WOMADelaide 2022 on Friday evening announcing "a return to seven stages" (a reference to the single stage in King Rodney Park in 2021).
Following the Kaurna Welcome To Country, Joseph Tawadros with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra play his Oud concerto, an epic, percussive dynamic eastern-style soundtrack before performing some solo pieces elevated by the addition of the extra players.Springtime play only their seventh or eighth gig to date, and this is pretty much what you would expect from a collaboration between members of The Dirty Three, The Necks and The Drones.
Anchored in Jim White's metronomic percussion, Chris Abrahams' piano is mostly drowned out by the cacophony Gareth Liddiard wrestles from his guitar in a challenging performance that pushes abstraction to the limits.
Reb Fountain is an example of one of those artists that you don't know but need to see. The early references of Patti Smith and Nick Cave are obvious, and she wins over a most likely unfamiliar audience with songs 'Hey Mom' and rallying set closer 'Don't You Know Who I Am' during which she is intensely addressing the audience.
Saturday's musical proceedings begin with Sorong Samarai members dressed in a clash of modern and traditional costume indicative of their performance with group percussive exercises and wood wind interludes among funky guitar and saxophone.
Their set incorporates choreographed dance and demonstrates West Papua New Guinean art and culture including urban hip hop and R&B.
King Stingray - image © Saige Prime
Azymuth perform half their set of near instrumental, funk-styled jazz fusion before Marcos Valle even joins them for the song the band is named for, proclaiming himself as author and godfather of the band. Their remaining set is in a more laidback bossa nova style with the addition of his wife, singer Patricia Alvi.
The charismatic Valanga Khoza performed a captivating selection of songs, his hushed, guttural tones and kalimba playing conveying a gentle, nursery rhyme quality.
Although initially seated, the audience surged forward early on for the anonymous Glass Beams, faceless in LED beaded masks performing wordless vocalisations and wah wah guitar over a hypnotic rhythm section that evoked eastern-tinged psychedelia.
While A.B. Original's audience swelled elsewhere, the duo of ZOJ unfortunately had to make-do with a sparse audience for their brand of ethno-ambience that under different circumstances may have won over a more deserved audience.
Although a four-piece Luluc are more akin to a '60s folk vocal duo along the lines of Simon & Garfunkel fronted by Judith Durham, they have a very Australian feel to their material and special mention must be made of Dave Williams' percussion and drum performance.
After an opening overture analogous to John Williams' theme to 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind' Motez announces: "I hear dancing is back," and he has already won over his audience before a set of pounding electronica during which he is joined by somewhat extraneous string and horn players.
Motez - image © Jack Fenby
Evening headliner Courtney Barnett wrangles howls and squeals from her guitar at every opportunity, silhouetted in abstract poses. Stella Mozgawa, a significant collaborator on her most recent album, joins Courtney's regular rhythm section but the drum-machine quality of newer songs makes them standout.
A request for 'Pickles From The Jar' is surprisingly attempted but the endearing impromptu ramshackle performance is soon abandoned.
By Sunday, WOMADelaide is at the halfway point. Recently resurfacing at the OzAsia Festival, formerly of Bombay Royale, Parvyn's afternoon performance is a jazz and blues-inflected set, a celebration of her heritage and Punjab culture.
YID! is a self-styled Yiddish funk big band, not taking themselves too seriously, including members of Husky in their 22 strong line-up, on par with the Melbourne Ska Orchestra as having possibly the largest number of people on stage this year.
Goanna commemorate 40 years since releasing their debut album 'Spirit Of Place' with guests Emma Donovan, Redgum's John Schumann and William Barton and elicit a mostly relaxed vibe from their audience until the eagerly anticipated anthem of 'Solid Rock' concludes their set.
Carla Lippis' Mondo Psycho were a revelation for the uninitiated with a dark, apocalyptic performance including squeals of distortion that more than equal the constant screeching of nearby bats.
Dressed in black somewhat like a negative Pierrot and aided by local guitar for hire Django Rowe and her "latest husband" Geoffrey Crowther, Carla's performance is all dynamics and mood. . . and that mood is anger.
While the possible hype of The Cat Empire playing their final Adelaide show in the original line-up may have contributed to drawing a crowd like a moth to a flame, the enigmatically named Elephant Sessions still manage a sizeable audience.
They perform an accomplished set of Scottish folk and beats, although described that way it doesn't seem like it would work but it actually does.
On Monday, unfortunately for Grace Barbé and her band, the mid-afternoon sun is a deterrent but her patchy audience are up close and those a little further back in the shade enjoy her angular desert blues.
Cedric Burnside commences his eagerly anticipated trad blues acoustically before going electric for a self-described set of Mississippi Hill country blues.
Alister Spence, pianist, introduces Asteroid Ekosystem as a "recording that has become a band", essentially his eponymous trio augmented by Ed Kuepper. They play a selection of pieces of droning mutant jazzy spacerock, a highlight being the blues workout of 'Face Of The Atom'.
The Empty Threats - image © Alexander Hallag
Locals The Empty Threats have either brought along their own overenthusiastic cheer squad to boost the crowd assembled or else they might possibly be Adelaide's next big thing. Singer Stu Patterson is a drawcard with his onstage dynamism and clarinet interludes.
The successful non-musical experiences over the weekend were the popular interactive sculpture Cathedral Of Light and Gravity & Other Myths continue to amaze with their latest work 'Process' especially after dark, with audiences caught up by their roving acrobatic performances and following the troupe Pied Piper-like.
WOMADelaide is many different things to different people and it is not always about the music but mostly it is and this year's successful return for the 30th anniversary was well-received by a grateful audience.
- Jason Leigh
