womad | Semantically driven

WOMADelaide 2016 wrapup

March 15, 2016 by Jen

This year I made the decision to go to three days of WOMADelaide and loved pretty much every minute of it. Even though there’s thousands of people who go it’s a peaceful festival and pretty easy to navigate once you get your bearings. I try and buy food at the non-busy times so I don’t have to queue and felt for the obviously very busy food stallholders and employees.

I arrived on Friday evening (apparently it was sold-out) half an hour early for the Violent Femmes. They opened with the well-known Blister in the Sun and continued on with other hits and a few new ones. When they said that one of them was a polka number I thought ‘uh oh’ but it was really enjoyable. They should have said ‘polka with a twist’. The saxaphone player had been with the band since he was 14!

I wanted to see Angelique Kidjo and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra but as it was a sit down performance I wasn’t nearly early enough to be anywhere near so I observed from afar. It didn’t grab me and I ended up over at the Moreton Bay stage watching The Jerry Cans – a very energetic band from northern Canada. The piano accordion player also did some throat singing which I hadn’t heard before. Everyone was sitting down at the beginning but were soon enticed up to dance.

I finished off the Friday night’s music with Cat Empire.

Saturday kicked off for me with the packed out keynote by David Suzuki. The gist of his talk was that climate change is a thing but that we can turn it around. I liked his story of how a CEO of an oil(?) company came to visit him. David asked him to leave his CEO’ness at the door which he thinks he did because he walked through it. David stressed to him that our priorities as humans are clean air, water, earth to grow things but the CEO didn’t take it on board. I guess shareholders win out over common sense.

DakhaBrakha from Ukraine were recommended to me. I loved their outfits, their music and they were pretty skilled at bird sounds. A nearby woman wondered out loud to her friend ‘where is that bird sound coming from?’.

Eska was next on the list because a friend was part of the Adelaide Big Strings. Unfortunately we initially had trouble hearing the strings very well. Eska is a fantastic singer, and a very versatile musician – playing at least three instruments during this performance and apparently plays a whole lot more. My friend loved her part in the whole process – she glowed when talking about it.

Sunset at WOMAD on Saturday was pretty spectacular. I took it pretty easy during the evening because I was knackered from the Friday night but did tune in to most of De La Soul that night.

Sunday morning arrived and the only thing I really had planned was Marlon Williams and the Yarra Benders.

After I arrived I saw the end of a Planet Talk about solar power then thought I’d look around shop stalls. It was pretty warm in the tents and luckily for my bank balance I didn’t buy anything. I did see someone try to steal something but the stallholder was on to her.

The first music of the day apart from a bit of Kev Carmody ended up being the very funky and really fun Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro. Sorry Sarah Blasko, these guys won out! I dabbled a bit with Diego el Cigala but I had a sunny spot and really felt like sitting down so thought I’d head over to get some food and something to drink before Marlon Williams.

I arrived half an hour early, couldn’t be bothered lining up at the only food stall there so bought a can of slightly warm beer (or maybe it just warmed up too quickly) and tried to find a spot to sit down. Naturally lots of other people had the same idea and people get very protective of ‘their turf’.

Once they started playing though, most people stood up anyway so I gladly joined them and moved a bit further up and tried to see my way through the taller people at the front. It was one of the standout performances of the weekend for me. I’d first heard of him on The Beautiful Lie tv show that aired on ABC TV late last year. He has the most beautiful voice and I enjoyed every bit of the performance. I wished I had been there on the Monday and I would have seen him again so had to console myself with the CD I bought instead.

Afterwards I bought some food and ended up going to the Taste The World tent to watch The Strides do some cooking. It should have been billed as a comedy performance as I laughed a lot. I’m not sure who was who but one of the band members said he didn’t cook because he didn’t want to ruin his model hands.

Djuki Mala (the Chooky Dancers) was next on the list. Their dancing was interspersed with film commentary about how and why they got together.

I also saw St Germain and finished off the evening with The Gyuto Monks of Tibet. By this time I was glad that I’d found one of those cardboard seats as I needed to sit with my back straight.

I normally see lots of roving performances but the only one I really saw this time was Acrojou.

I travel pretty light to WOMAD. I didn’t take piles of stuff to setup a little campsite like many people did. I also got over stepping around blankets that people setup. I was mindful of them but sometimes you’ve just got to step on them to get where you need to go.

My WOMAD items which fit nicely in a shoulder bag and allow me to stay mobile:

hayfever tablets – didn’t need them but good to have just in case. I remember one year it was really dusty and I had an awful headache and sneezed a lot.
headache tablets – I did take one which got rid of the headache thank goodness
sarong – to either sit on or use as sun protection
little camera
phone charger – didn’t end up using this at the phone recharge station because of the lineup. My phone battery is woeful so only used my phone to text friends to arrange meeting places/times.
water bottle – filled up plenty of times at refilling stations
money – of course.

I heard about other performers I didn’t get to see and that’s probably my fault for not researching a bit better before going but I enjoyed my experience nonetheless. I definitely look forward to going again.

Womad’s in the house

March 10, 2014 by Jen

Going to Womadelaide this weekend was the perfect antidote to a bloody busy and stressful week.

A few weeks ago I happened upon a house I liked, went to see it, made an offer and the offer was rejected. I looked back at that house and missed it even though I’d only visited it once. I didn’t dwell on it heaps but just over a week ago the real estate agent contacted me to ask if I was still interested.

I was, so I went back to have another look. I took a friend and she and I both noticed a few things that would need fixing.

I stayed with my offer and a few days later it was accepted.

I contacted a building inspector who I’ve used before who just happened to have already inspected that house so he briefly told me his findings and when my offer was accepted sent me the report. As he didn’t have to physically do another inspection I got a cheaper rate for his report.

After evaluating the report, speaking to him, speaking to others, I pulled out of contract during the cooling off. Besides what needed fixing in the house I would have had to rent it out for up to a year while my house is sorted out. There’s some council stuff happening at my house which could affect me, and affect a sale until I know one way or the other.

While all this was going on I had a job interview to prepare for, and my son to get ready for a scout camp this weekend. So by Friday night I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

I always love the atmosphere at Womad and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a well-oiled machine – the organisation of it all.

I had a massage not long after I got there and that helped set the tone for the rest of the day for me. It was a bit warm but there’s plenty of shade and free sunscreen near the first-aid tent if you forgot to put sunscreen on your feet like I did.

Sunday night is parade night and it’s a sight and sound spectacular.

There were definitely some music highlights too. We left there 12 hours after arrival feeling very satisfied.

Womadelaide music

March 23, 2009 by Jen

After lamenting not having a weekend pass to Womadelaide a couple of weekends ago, I ended up going on the Sunday and it was a pretty good day. The dust levels weren’t too bad and the weather was pretty good. I thought I’d share some of the music that I heard over the weekend. These videos aren’t actually from Womad but they’ll give you a taste of the type of music that Womad has. And if you listen to any of the below, close your eyes and imagine you’re in a beautiful park and the music loud and completely surrounds and goes through you. Well try anyway.

Rokia Traore appeared last on Stage 1 and I’m so glad I hung around for this. JJ was playing a friend’s DS so he was happy and this woman was so worth it. Her voice is amazing and her dancing just made me feel so unfit. This song is quite slow, but she did a real mix.

I love ska and Ska Cubano were great and they just make you want to get up and dance.

Chemical Brothers fans will recognise this one from Speed Caravan. When I heard it I was on my way back from the loos and I started walking just that bit faster while swaying my hips. Cool version of Galvanize. Unfortunately this one has no visuals, but it was the best sounding one I could find.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu performed also. I missed him but apparently he was awesome. A friend has since lent me his CD to listen to which I haven’t yet had the chance but I can’t wait.

Sa Dingding had one of the the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. She even sang a song in a made up language. Her dancers were great too and they incorporated fans into their dance routine.

The below clip will give you an idea of what else goes on at Womad in addition to what’s on stage.

One night at Womadelaide

March 7, 2009 by Jen

Regular, long time readers of this website probably know that I love Womadelaide and usually get there in one form or another every year. Here’s the proof from 2008 and if you’re really keen you can get to other years’ wrap-ups from that post.

The last couple of times I’ve been to Womadelaide, it’s been really dusty which plays havoc with my sinuses and has made the experience a lot less enjoyable.

Get a load of the amount of dust from this photo from last year. People were walking around with kerchiefs over their face to try and keep the dust out.

For this reason I’d decided some time ago to only go on the Friday night, but of course it’s rained this week and it’s a bit cooler so the dust probably won’t be a problem this weekend. Aaarrrggghh!

I went along last night and had a total blast. Sorry Jeanie, you’ll have to live vicariously through me. We walked into Botanic Park to be greeted by Strange Fruit. I have to include a photo as it will give you some idea of what they do. Unfortunately you can’t see them in motion, see their facial expressions or hear the music. It’s really clever and I absolutely loved it and this was only the beginning of the evening.

photo credit: rogiro

While watching Strange Fruit I bumped into a friend who was covering the event and she recommended seeing ‘The Black Jesus Experience‘. So we did. They ‘…fuse an exciting blend of traditional Ethiopian song with Jazz, Funk and Hip Hop.

Other standouts from the evening were Tony Allen – afrobeats, Speed Caravan – Cairo meets Chemical Brothers (my description this time), Natacha Atlas, and Sa Dingding who has an absolutely amazing voice and some great dancers.

Womad is normally very friendly and the atmosphere is warm and embracing. With the odd waft of sweet pot smoke, huge lineups for organic donuts from Byron Bay (why you’d bother is beyond me) and recyclable food containers etc it’s the type of festival it’s great to take kids to and you’re pretty sure they’ll be absolutely safe there. When JJ was two or three I did lose him for 15 minutes or so which made me panic because I didn’t know where to start looking for him but I didn’t fear for his safety.

But then there’s odd little incidents that just make you shudder. Sa Dingding – mentioned above – was very popular and she’s more of a sit down show so we were sitting down near the edge of where people were standing up. Nearby was a group of young men being a bit rowdy and the punters near us weren’t happy with it at all. One woman asked them politely to move away if they wanted to talk. They carried on however. Then another woman said ‘why don’t you French people just fuck off.’ I just felt really embarrassed she’d said this. For a start we’re at a World Music and Dance festival, and secondly it’s very racist. I actually don’t think they were French, but Algerian, and they were probably performing at Womad. I just hope they didn’t understand her. It didn’t stop them talking, and after a little while they moved away and all was back to normal.

This was the only occurrence of something a bit seedy that happened all evening.

I wish now that I’d bought a weekend pass. I’d go and see Paprika Balkanicus, Kaki King, Bedouimn Jerry Can Band, Ska Cubano, Neil Finn perhaps, and stumble across other great acts.