Island Vibe Festival @Stradbroke Island, Brisbane(24-26/10/08)

Tue 4th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Island Vibe was held at beautiful Stradbroke Island (also known as Minjerribah – land of mosquitoes – in Nanukal tongue). The township of Point Lookout provided the perfect setting for a festival of hippies. Day One began at six pm with many excited people looking forward to the looming festivities.

On entering the festival, I observed that the box office was made out of bamboo and canvas, then looking around further; almost every building was made of the same materials. The bamboo structures were tied together with ropes and neat knots. Additionally, in the centre of the festival, there was a very large Artisan Ship made not only of bamboo but grass and leaves weaved expertly to make an ornamental and useful sound box shelter for one of the stages. Four stages were scattered around the site, plus a drinking area and environmentally friendly toilets that used no water. For those lucky enough to have access to the green room; there were free twenty minute massages to people that booked in early enough.

The optimum opener was Peter Golikov’s Golden Sounds with his sweet, relaxed and reflective sounds. Extremely funky, soulful rhythmic beats, Golden Sounds used a groovy mixture of instruments including trumpet, saxophone, electric guitar, drums and keyboards. Their entire set including their song Light it Up caused countless hips to swing. The harmonious vocals captured the crowds’ attention, taking us to another time and dimension which was indeed Straddie.

Due to technical difficulties Grasshopper had a late start but despite that they still seemed to please the audience with their well tuned and snappy technical sounds. Decidedly reggae with a splash of funk and a hint of rock their song Sometime hit a chord with the crowd. The vocalists were superb; two females sang lullabies that seemed to swirl into our heads with beauty and grandeur.

Band of Frequency ’s Soul Train was the ticket to fill the dance floor. Fantastic percussion with a summertime vibe, their music was presented in such a way that left feet tapping and bodies jiving. Both uptempo and upbeat, Band of Frequency has plenty of soul and a wonderful boogie-licious combination of elements.

The iridescent lighting via Japanese paper lanterns placed over the stages and throughout the festival gave the feeling of coming home and just belonging. There is no better place to be.

At the conclusion of day one, the party continued by ensuing to the beach, camp sites and local pub.

Day two began with sore heads, swimming in the surf, lying on the beaches and enjoying the picturesque landscapes. Everybody was super friendly and I definitely benefited from meeting new people whom were accommodating and equally eager to talk to new faces. There was a distinct clean energy throughout the Island amongst the locals and occasional visitors, so much so that many locals said they would rather the hippies come to town than any others.

Saritah had an extremely bouncy exoskeleton with the ultimate powerful female voice that projected the rain away. Underneath the exoskeleton were the obvious tunes of funk and soul which was decidedly the best I heard all day. Reliable, thorough and full on beats working together at great speed with fantastic riffs and string sequences. Sometimes soft and floaty and a distinct rumba feel made for the numerous swaying of rain-dancing bodies. Saritah’s last song Sunrise was about enjoying the simple things in life whilst watching the sunrise, it started off breezy and easy, with a hip hop edge including a rap by one of the boys and finishing with her grand voice. The crowd asked for more and the band politely obliged with their melodic beautiful sounds.

Dubmarine had a classic reggae sound layered over with trombone resonance made by Ange Gadd and Mikael Strand. A positive feature was that of the percussion and drum maestros Paul Donehue and Matt Burgess – they held Dubmarine together with greatness and valour. Dubmarine had a heavy fan base that showed their enjoyment by the looks of pure concentration on the faces.

Wellington outfit, Olmecha Supreme were hip, happening and fast. They have fine tuned their collection so precisely they sound like an actual recording. A beat boxer (or beat poet), several keyboardists, percussionists, a piccolo and more are all under the guidance by feature conductor Imon Starr. The three bassists’ Guiro Rio Hemopo, Crete Haami and Matt Daldin and the two keyboardists’ Deva Mahal and Jonathon Crayford make a remarkable unification of rap, hip hop, soul and funk. Olmecha Supremes’ Word of God is a great example of this unity, as the tight team would break into a crescendo, then suddenly stop and then break into a climax again.

The two beauties Vida-Sunshyne and Sista Itations from Australian outfit Natty Sistren were equipped with two turntables and a microphone. Their extremely high quality mixing abilities were enhanced by their magical melodic voices. It was obvious they were having a wild time on stage, creating the feeling the festival organizers intended.

Although Katchafire moved the crowd on the dance floor of sand and grass, we believed them to be more of a soul band rather than reggae. Katchafire as the headlining act were put last on the bill on Saturday but it is thought they would have been better appreciated a little earlier. A more upbeat troop would have been advantageous to this spot. Otherwise they were smooth and had canted wholesome beats that were improved by the lighting.

Again the perpetual party moved to the beach with many revellers enjoying the fire and fellow companionship.

Sunday was a slower moving morning for everybody especially for those who had stayed awake all night but sleep deprivation did not deter anyone from entering and taking pleasure in the cool crystal clear waters. Many packed up there camps and planned their last day on paradise.

Swaggeringly classy and well fused were the guitarists from Australian band Banawurun , Troy Brady and Sol Carroll played carefully with an exuberant enthusiasm which accompanied bass guitarist Josef Muller ’s deep sounding strings perfectly. Trevelyn Brady and Troy’s voices were used alternatively throughout the set and sporadically together and when simultaneously a beautiful chorus enveloped the audience. Trevelyn’s voice presented as sweet and melodic but other times extremely strong and powerful. Awesome drummer and rock chick supremo, Myka Wallace executed classic rock and roll beats, especially the clever use of silences that were broken with a zing. It was a pure delight to bask in the presence of the dreamy, well rounded songs of Sanctified, My Bama and My Island Home .

Chalkboard created very simple and complete full sounds that were jumpy and bumpy especially their last songs of the set One Man Down and Time .

The sweet and soulful Kelly Gang enjoyed themselves on stage in the hot mid afternoon sun. Special DJ Dan Boy superbly scratched alongside beat boxer Cryptomistic to cause a layering affect of sounds that sounded simultaneously. Funky in tone and heartfelt in vibes, Will and the boys gave one delicious set with Possie Peace and Don’t Walk Away .

Especially enjoyable were the band Roots above Ground, their tricky beats (*Govi G*) and sinful bass actions (*Mat Meehan* ) made up a Sublime sounding outfit but maybe that is because Roots above Ground are the masters of the punk, reggae and ska genres.

For the second time for the weekend I witnessed the greatness of Band of Frequency. Their trippy mixture of musical elements engaged the audience for the last set of the Island Vibe Festival. Fantastic riffs and evenly fantastic electric backing for Soul Train made an impact. Pink and blue lights flashed along with the rhythmic beats that hypnotised and mesmerised. Sometimes funky like the Red Hot Chili Peppers (old school) and definitely more rock and soul than John Butler , Band of Frequency were gracious and grateful.

Two huge screens were mounted either side of the main stage on which Band of Frequency played and on this; sunsets, beaches, the water and dolphins were displayed alongside their catchy tunes. Shady Grey and Show Respect were lush and Goldie was impressive with synthetic sounds coming from the guitars, a xylophone and a sax to complete the ensemble.

A remarkable time was had by the revellers who did not want to leave but were escorted of the grounds by tired security. The party continued to the beach where everybody took their instruments and fire sticks and partied late into the night.