It’s that time of the year again for Canberra’s very own Corinbank Festival!

DAY 1

For a first time Corinbank festival-goer and camper, I was dying for this weekend to start. Advised to get there early, I did and pitched my tent at The Smoker’s Gap campsite (in between the quiet and not-so-quiet campsites) later realising that no matter where you were, you couldn’t escape the early morning cries of your infant neighbour on the right or the all night snores of your neighbour on the left!

Next on the agenda was to scope out the composting toilets which is one part of Corinbank’s green vision and trust me they’re really not that bad! In fact, you’ll find they make more sense and don’t smell nearly as bad as portaloos, you just have to get used to the constant buzz of the blowies hanging around (and that’s just during the day).

After the formalities of the opening ceremony, I caught Canberra’s own Drumassault, with their high-energy African-style drumming. Followed by country blues jazz outfit The Wedded Bliss who played both old and new songs including Saturday Morning Sinner, Sunday Morning Saint to a small but attentive crowd including a bunch of kids who cut laps and blew bubbles in front of the stage. The band asks the crowd how much time they have left on stage and with no one really sure, they just shrugged their shoulders and played another song. Yes Corinbank is that casual.

After grabbing a bite to eat, I realised there was something a little weird about Corinbank. Something was missing. Eventually I realised there were next to no queues for the loos, food or drinks and I didn’t need to swim through any rubbish to get to my destination. The smaller than usual crowd was varied, from older retired couples, to young families, uni students, muso’s and hippies. No bottle-throwing-Aussie-flag-desecrating bogans (sorry I mean, flag-cape wearing people). Just a group of people with more than just music in common, a little thing called RESPECT.

The beauty of Corinbank is the variety of things to see and do. I watched the Le Petite Freak show in the Carnival tent. With no real freaks as such but freakishly talented performers including some daring acrobatics, juggling, hula-hooping, comedy and even the – œol nail up the nose trick. Also starred 2007 Greens Senate candidate Elena Kirschbaum.

After missing The Beez last time they were in Canberra, I was definitely dying to check them out – and they didn’t disappoint! Playing their German-flavoured covers, they opened with Smells Like Teen Spirit followed by a variety of tracks including Madonna’s Hey Mr. DJ, Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer and the hilarious cover of the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive. They even took the piss out of the Aussie accent saying “In Germany we know this singer as Kylie Minogue. You know her as Koi-lee Min-OWE-gue.” The Beez pulled a huge crowd and everyone joined in for the last song, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, definitely the highlight of the night!

I managed to catch the end of local latin reggae act Los Chavos’ set at the Gibraltar Grove Stage, where the crowd was up and dancing despite the night dropping to what felt like less than 10 degrees!

Hardcore folk outfit, The Crooked Fiddle Band was another act I was keen to see in the flesh, even if it was past midnight. Playing a few tracks from their new EP Rise, including The Milkman and the thunderous The Rom Rebellion, I’d never seen an audience so captivated by a mainly instrumental set (apart from a gut growl and “Yee-ha!” from guitarist Gordan Wallace and a moving middle-eastern style vocal solo from drummer Joe Gould. All eyes were on frontwoman and violin virtuoso Jess Randall who plays with ease through the different styles and time changes – she absolutely s*its on Andre Rieu! With gypsy, metal and country influences, The Crooked Fiddle Band must be seen live to truly appreciate the power of the violin and the energy of the band as a whole.

DAY 2

It’s now 12 noon and crowd numbers have definitely picked up. On the Gibraltar Grove Stage was Simone and the Soothsayers frontwoman Simone Penkethman. Having heard her new solo album Fall it was great to hear her amazing voice live. Armed with her guitar, she opened with Fall For Suzanne and also played a few covers off her record including Iggy Pop’s Cry For Love. Simone was later joined by local chanteuse Chanel Cole on backing vocals for Sober and later the Corinbank Choir (made up of keen Corinbank festival-goers) for Carnal Carnival Blues.

Up next was another well-known local performers slash comedians Funkier Than Alice. The all-girl four-piece along with their cello and keyboard played songs from their show Love, Lust and Lager (I later watched the show itself in the Carnival Tent, funny costumes and all). Sans costumes they sang their own versions of the infamous Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport and Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning. The crowd loved these guys!

I caught the multi-talented Mal Webb on the Billy Billy Stage (main stage) next. When I say multi-talented I mean it. He sings, beat-boxes, plays the trumpet and a number of other instruments and along with his loop machine, became a one-man band. The clever comedian used the loop machine to full effect when he created an awesome 38-song medley.

Mal later joined Jungal on his trombone. The blues and roots band from Melbourne including three sisters, was fronted by lead singer and middle sister Leisha Jungalwalla who played a mean slide guitar.

A big crowd was already waiting for Blue King Brown by 6pm. As the sun was setting, Natalie Pa’apa’a emerged with a band of blue paint across her eyes. The 11-piece band got straight into it playing new song Not Too Late and old favourite Come and Check Your Head. With a high energy vibe coming from every band member, there was a party both on and off the stage with everyone in the crowd up on their feet. With each band member getting a piece of the limelight, stand outs were backing vocalists Jess Harlen and Hailey Cramer each singing their own piece and are talented singers in their own right. As expected Natalie took the time to urge the crowd to do their part in reducing Australia’s carbon emissions, which was met with great applause. Closing with current single Moment of Truth, Blue King Brown sure put on a party at Corinbank!

Saturday night ended early for me with the Resin Dogs Sound System who pulled one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. The hip-hoppers provided a change in the mainly roots folksy bluesy lineup. With their drummer absent, Mark Henman aka The Ginger Wolf filled in on drums and featuring 1200 Techniques’ frontman N’Fa as guest emcee, they played oldie Definition and a medley of all their past hits.

DAY 3

The midday act began for me at the Gibraltar Grove Stage with Chanel Cole & The Darklings. The small crowd were happy to see Chanel who openly chatted telling them that although she spent the last ten minutes on the stage with sound checks, she could just go off the stage and make an entrance but admitted “I’m just not that professional!” Well known for her time on Australian Idol over five years ago, she has gone onto write her own music. Along with her keyboard she played Down in the Dark and the funny Squalor Boys.

Darren Hanlon, the man with the guitar, attracted a big sit-down audience after 2pm. He played his catchy pop-folk hits one after the other including Happiness is a Chemical, Couch Surfing, Elbows and Electric Shadows (which was named by one of his fans) and admits it’s the first time he’s ever played a festival with a smoke machine during the day! As his set went on, non-Hanlon lovers would have definitely became fans in the end because he’s just so damn likeable! Known for his impromptu acoustic performance in front of the stage at last year’s festival, he did it again this year and played a few songs “as a new tradition”. I guess we’ll be seeing him again next year!

West Australian trio Sneaky Weasel Gang played their second set of the festival after 3pm. The young blues funk outfit were enthusiastic and exciting to watch and I felt they brought a different sound to the Corinbank crowd. If their live show and 2008 WAMI nomination for Favourite New Comer was anything to go by, Sneaky Weasel Gang are one band to keep an eye out for.

If you only came to Corinbank for one thing, that would be to watch Andi & George’s last Canberra show. Strangely enough, George was nowhere to be seen. But as expected Andi and the band put on a great show for the fans. Playing all the dance-worthy favourites Man Alive and Ladies Auxiliary Club, the band were joined on stage by two kids (one was Andi’s daughter who even played a flute solo)! Unfortunately the start of their set coincided with the Rat Patrol’s tall bike jousting competition, so not all eyes and ears were on their last show. It was sad to see them for the last time in Canberra and even sadder that George wasn’t there to join them.

Mat McHugh and the Black Bird took to the stage at dusk. He was warmly received by a surprisingly smaller than expected sit-down crowd who joined him at the Billy Billy Stage. Festival goers were distracted, with some catching up with friends before the weekend was over or queuing up for dinner and the Corinteer’s were busily packing up. Sunday had less of a party vibe and Mat McHugh’s music was just the thing to wind down the end of a great festival. Playing tracks off his album Seperatista including Darling, This Scene Must End, the once sit-down crowd was now on their feet. At the end of his set, festival organiser Mark Bradley came out and told the crowd that if they cheer loud enough Mat might just come out for one more and he did. Mat joked that he was half-way to Sydney…

As you can tell it was a mammoth weekend and for those who missed out, don’t worry there’s always next year!