Sound Republic: Festival Reviews

WOMADelaide 2006

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By Tom Brookman
13 April 2006

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WOMADelaide (2006)

When superstar Peter Gabriel brought together Thomas Brooman and Bob Hooton in 1980 to organise a festival called WOMAD (World of Music and Dance) none of the trio could have expected the explosion that it would trigger. Tom Brookman reviews WOMADelaide 2006.

Almost 25 years after the first WOMAD at Shepton Mallet in the UK, over 145 WOMAD festivals have occurred in 22 countries around the world. The WOMAD Foundation works with artists, communities and educators to further the cultural and musical development of world youth and supports humanitarian causes including the relief of Pakistani Earthquake Victims and poverty generally through involvement with the Live 8 projects.

When, in the early 1990’s, Rob Brookman and Ian Scobie began planning the introduction of this phenomenon into Australia they faced a financial and logistical battle. Fourteen years and 13 festival events later, WOMADelaide provides the highlight of Adelaide’s musical and cultural calendar, despite biennially occurring alongside the massive Fringe Festival and Festival of Arts. Having more than doubled its original 1992 attendance in 2005 despite rain, WOMADelaide 2006 continued the festival’s meteoric rise, drawing record crowds despite persistent rain and withering heat all in one weekend. The reason for the festival’s success: an ever changing lineup of artists from Australia and around the world with a balance of stars and new faces that had meant that no WOMADelaide has ever failed to live up to its amazing predecessors.

After WOMADelaide 2005 rocketed world hip-hop into Adelaide’s consciousness with the huge success of California’s Ozomatli and Senegal’s Daara J, the 2006 festival successfully produced a complete change in theme that only WOMAD can; the vast array of percussive brilliance from all corners of the globe ensured that rhythm was beaten into the generally sedate city of Adelaide for two and a half amazing days.

Amongst the myriad of high class percussive acts there were three huge standouts; early arrivals on Saturday and Sunday were greeted by the only performances to take place with all other stages empty. Eitetsu Hayashi swiftly answered any questions about the reasoning for this curious timeslot; the tiny Japanese master and his two young accompanists pounded their giant Wadaiko drums mercilessly for a solid hour in a deafening display of musical and physical prowess that drew successive standing ovations. Greater depth was added to the stunning visual and audio display by Hayashi’s incorporation of didgeridoo into his arrangement and his humble, yet entertaining story that extended to a heavily accented rendition of a Beatles tune!

In stark contrast to the disciplined, traditional performance of the Taiko drummers, the cross-cultural performances provided by Wicked Aura Batucada and The Dohl Foundation had the crowd dancing from start to finish. The former, a Singaporean group playing Brazilian style percussion, fused with hip hop beats and vocals worked the Stage Two crowd into a frenzy that left the area infused with a golden twilight glow of sun setting through the motes of dust produced by thousands of pounding feet. The rock and hip hop influences were also plain to see in UK based Indian percussion group, The Dohl Foundation. Lead by former Afro Celt Sound System front man XXXXX the group captivated audiences with their unique blend of traditional and contemporary influences and inspired yet more frenzied gyration.

Other highlights of the festival were provided by the similarly frenetic styles of French-Canadian folk rockers ‘La Bottine Souriante’ who combined classical Celtic influences, French folk and rock with tap dance thrown in for good measure. Brisbane-based six piece DOCH provided a contrasting style of contemporary Eastern European folk music to much the same effect, inspiring many brave souls to dance in the near forty degree Adelaide sunshine.

Few, however, can survive two and a half days at the pace these acts maintained and, as always, festival organisers provided relief with more sedate, soulful acts. The gorgeous Clare Bowditch’s already adoring fan base was out in force but by the end of a Sunday afternoon performance tinged with the sadness of the absence of drummer Marty Brown, that fan base had enlisted hundreds of smitten new members.

An even more touching performance came from a group comprised mainly of members not yet old enough to be in high school. “The Golden Pride Children’s Choir” of Tanzania captured the hearts of all who saw their thoroughly professional and heart-achingly joyful performances on the picturesque stage three. The forty two strong vocal ensemble from three rural villages in Tanzania were brought together by Australian mining engineer Grant Pierce in their school of two mud huts with no doors or windows. When a video and CD were sent to WOMAD headquarters in the UK for an opinion on their quality, the answer was no less than stunning; in July 2004 the children performed in front of over 20 000 people at the WOMAD festival in Reading, UK. The privilege of seeing these inspirational teenagers was extended to thousands more at WOMADelaide 2006, in a performance that for many seasoned patrons was an experience that shone above a plethora of previous highlights and reminded a lucky city of their obligations to those less fortunate in the world.

Amongst the birthing of new stars WOMADelaide 2006 also maintained the experienced star quality that past performances from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Yossou N’Dour, Midnight Oil, Geoffrey Oryema and Baba Maal have delivered. Seemingly invincible reggae legend Jimmy Cliff combined with the mother of South African music, Miriam Makeba to draw huge crowds on the closing and opening nights respectively. Neither veteran disappointed the thousands packed in front of the main stage. Seventy year old Makeba received a thunderous standing ovation to end the Adelaide leg of what is sadly her final Australian tour while sixty one year old Cliff created WOMADelaide history; in what may be the hardest festival in Australia at which to receive an encore, Cliff returned not once, but twice, to delight of tens of thousands of rain-soaked but jubilant festival goers. His bright, entertaining set included hits like ‘Hakuna Matata’, ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, ‘Wide World’ and ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want It’. Luckily for Adelaide, it can get what it really wants; this highlight of the Australian cultural and musical calendar is guaranteed to remain in the city for another three years and hopefully for many more to come. Viva WOMADelaide!!

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