Summer Rhythm Festival @Goolabri, Canberra(19-20/2/11)

Tue 22nd Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

On Saturday morning as country towned folk helped their mere city settling neighbours to erect brand new tents with no instructions and missing parts, bonds were formed and free drinks were earned.

One tent at a time, a small community was formed. These people had come together for a cause, Beyond Blue was the benefiting charity. Fit for the occasion the focus remained on depression in youth, prevention of depression and how to identify young people with mental problems.

The three stages were set throughout the grounds and named as to not confuse patrons, This Stage, That Stage and The Other Stage. These would have been great names to find missing friends if the grounds hadn’t seemed so empty. Great musicians played to tiny crowds and tiny crowds were to try and fill great empty spaces.

This Stage being the main and biggest stage, sporting bands, The Red Eyes, King Tide and The Beautiful Girls. That Stage saw the day through with mostly DJ acts. Into the night they became home to performers such as, Canyons, Ganga Giri, Space Invadas, Illy and Phrase. The Other Stage became a great shelter from the unpredictable Canberra weather under the Holy Cow tent. Coffee was served, cushions were laid upon and folk music filled the air.

Local bands such as, Beth ‘n’ Ben, The Adam Hole & Marji Curran Band, Changeable Dan, James Fahy, Readable Graffiti and Dub Dub Goose, blew the socks off an unexpecting audience and were supported by bands that had travelled interstate. Jungal the trio from Melbourne wowed a small crowd on Saturday afternoon with their all-girl folk-rock.

The Blue Ruins, a father and daughter folk duo from Bega were welcomed by a crowd enjoying coffee and the sunshine under the Holy Cow tent on Sunday morning. Their laid-back attitude and witty one liners were a great start to a glorious day.

Just an hour later across the grass on This Stage, Claude Hay showed that when you’re as talented as he is, you don’t need anyone but yourself. The one-man band from the Blue Mountains played his solo set with more energy than a four piece can often conjure up.

Among the Canberra bands there appeared to be some serious musical double-dipping by band members. The main suspects included Rafe Morris, Nicholas Peddle and Beth Monzo. Morris played bass guitar for duo Beth ‘n’ Ben, then performed shortly after with his own band, Rafe Morris and the Well-Dressed. Impressively, Peddle and Monzo appeared on stage several times throughout the weekend. Peddle played drums for, Big Score with Monzo, Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens and Joe Oppenheimer. Monzo started the weekend on That Stage with Ben Drysdale for her duo, Beth ‘n’ Ben. She then hit the Holy Cow tent on The Other Stage with her band, Big Score and returned to This Stage with 7 piece reggae/jazz/funk outfit Dub Dub Goose on Sunday.

The Red Eyes and Space Invadas drew the first night to its close. After a day of rain, showers and mud, the skies cleared so all that could be heard was the music and the joy of the crowd and the only moisture on their faces was that of sweat, after dancing into the night.

Headliner, The Beautiful Girls, closed the night with a crowd pleasing set including, Music and Blackbird. Finishing with an encore after the audience spent the set begging for an obvious favourite, Le Mar.

After two days of rain and sun, music of all genres, from all walks of life, the few who attended this hidden festival left with mud on their feet, a catchy tune in their heads and a load of new favourite bands. With such a range of performers, everybody left with a different highlight and enough festival memories to write a song about.