Read the first part of Womadelaide
So that was my first day at Womadelaide – the Kidzone pretty much. I did get to see a glimpse of some music – Zap Mama and goodness knows what else. I wonder how many people go to Womad thinking I’m going to see that band, then that band, then I’ll have some dinner, then I’ll see that, and that, and that band. Maybe some world music educated people have an idea of who these musicians are but I never do before I get there.
In previous years when I’ve gone to Womad I just look at the program and think that might be a good one, or tag along with a friend who wants to see a particular group but usually it’s hit and miss. Hit and miss can be good though. My first Womad I saw Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and he was fantastic. Unfortunately he’s dead now but there was nothing like lying on the grass looking up at the sky on a really warm, still night, listenining to his fabulous voice. I’m getting shivers just remembering it. Other fond memories – Jah Wobble (1995). I liked them so much I bought the CD. Another CD I bought was for Fun-Da-Mental. A festival like the Big Day Out I’ve probably listened to, or at least heard of the acts, so there’s not much surprise, but bands at Womad I usually haven’t heard of so it’s a great treat when I really enjoy them.
Back to 2005 though. My friend who’d got me free entry into Womad stayed at my place and when she got up Sunday morning, the first thing she said was sort out your childcare, you’ve got to be there tonight. I didn’t take much persuading and on the phone I got. I was to take JJ to Womad during the day and then take him to the babysitters for the evening. Thank goodness I did this because my friend and I were swigging whiskey for breakfast (a late breakfast) cause JJ was going through a tantrum stage. We’ve decided that we both feel our anger and frustration in the gut and that’s where the whiskey hits the spot so it’s gotta be good right?
A good friend of both of ours was going to be there for the day with her eldest son who was turning 12 that day so it was a special day for those reasons also.
For me the day was hanging around the Kidzone – seeing the Amazing Drumming Monkeys again, waiting for JJ’s turn on the bouncy castle again. We did get to one of the stages to sit down and listen to some music but then JJ wandered off so I spent about 10-15 minutes looking for him and just when I really started to panic I looked over to where my friend was sitting and there he was sitting on her lap being held very tightly so he wouldn’t run away. I did have a backup plan if he got lost – apart from panicking – and that was that I’d written my mobile phone number on his arm so that if someone found him they could phone me. We’d practised him pulling up his sleeve in case he got lost but fortunately it didn’t come to that.
He isn’t afraid of going up to complete strangers and starting to chat to them and cause he’s so cute they don’t mind either. I just need to get him to start chatting up that cute eligible guy for ME.
At about 6pm I loaded JJ into the car and drove him to the babysitters and came straight back. Yay – freedom. Nothing quite like it. A good idea not to have young kids at Womad when it gets dark either because it’s really hard to see anything, let alone a lost kid.
The highlight of the evening for me was seeing Ozomatli and that’s just because of the trombone player. I was transfixed by his wiggling hips. All I could think of was if he’s so good at wiggling his hips up on stage like that, what would he be like in the bedroom? Mmmm. I was concentrating so much on his hips that I didn’t really concentrate that much on the music. Actually I think my hips were probably moving in unison with his.
The music aside though, there’s so much more to Womadelaide than the music. I started to mention this in my earlier Womadelaide post but got sidetracked. There’s load of visual stuff too. La Compagnie Carabosse is one attraction that’s been at the last two or three Womads and it’s just spectacular. At sunset they start lighting the candles on their installations and this year there was a huge sphere which was lifted high into the air by a crane once all the candles were lit. It looked spectacular from a distance. The snuff puppets get around in various guises – the seagulls (view my Flickr photos for images), the cows. The flags, the lanterns are also something to see and if you get bored of all the Womad visual stuff you can just sit there and watch all sorts of people go by. There’s a large mix of people at Womad. This year was better in a way because it wasn’t stinking hot like it has been every other time I’ve gone. Because it rained a lot on the Friday night it meant that for the rest of the festival that the multitudes of people walking around didn’t churn up dust which has happened in previous years and made me feel very sinussy.
So that’s it for Womadelaide 2005. Hopefully I’ll be there in 2006.
