Peats Ridge Festival @Glenworth Valley (29/12/11 -01/01/12)

Tue 3rd Jan, 2012 in Gig Reviews

Surely few could argue that consuming cocktails at a sun-kissed music festival and stomping about in the dirt to your favourite bands and artists is the best way to romp in the new year – and about 10,000 revellers chose the three-day 2011 Peats Ridge Sustainable Arts and Music Festival to do just that just that.

The festival is billed as a sustainable, small footprint event and is set in the scenic Glenworth Valley. Acts like Gotye, Xavier Rudd, Mount Mocha Kilimanjaro and Hermitude filled a diverse line-up that suited the leafy surrounds and chilled vibe both musically and aesthetically.

Day One

From midday on Thursday of the festival, a mammoth program of bands, DJs, theatre and performance troupes, artists and gurus was rolled out. Canadian four-piece Yukon Blonde on the open-air Bellbird Stage attracted a good crowd with their style of 60s-revivalist pop rock. Tight interplay between rhythm and lead guitars punctuated by funky bass and drums was their signature style throughout the set. Lead singer and guitarist Jeff Innes’s vocals were accompanied on most tracks by harmonising from the rhythm section.

A short stroll to the big-top Lyrebird stage and Pigeon were trying to get a crowd going with a slightly confusing blend of sounds that included voice manipulation software, drum machine, synthesizer, saxophone and guitars. Their songs soared only when the ‘sax’ joined the sound intermittently and the robot vocals were swapped for natural voices. Pigeon provided smooth elements of jazz, reggae, electro-pop and hip-hop in the set but didn’t get a full grip on any one sound, making for an at times jumbled performance.

Back at the Bellbird stage and Brisbane six-piece Ball Park Music had worked up a few thousand people. Decidedly cheesy and melodramatic lyrics on tracks such as It’s Nice to be Alive and Sad Rude Future Dude were backed by energetic efforts from the band on stage. Tunes ranged from Californian surf-rock to grungier Seattle-influenced grunge. Lead singer Sam Cromak was perhaps the first artist to bring the festival to life. With the band in full swing, Cromak danced across the stage, climbed speaker boxes and goaded the crowd to match his energy.

The Ball Park Music set wasn’t matched until The Bird exceeded it later that night with one of the highlights of the festival. Playing predominantly drum ‘n bass and breakbeats live, The Bird sprung the serious dancers into action. Ben Walsh on drums and Simon Durrington on keyboard and synths, joined by a mystery tabla drummer, created sounds usually heard pre-recorded from DJs on turntables. It was intoxicating and the crowd got a kick out of Walsh’s masterful drumming.

Xavier Rudd was one of the biggest drawcards on the festival’s first night and he opened with the breathtaking Energy Song. Under stars and lasers, the biggest audience of the day stomped and danced about in the dirt, singing along. Rudd was his usual genius and enigmatic self, playing drums, didgeridoos, guitar and singing. He followed the opener with another of his more energetic songs, Food in the Belly. As always, Rudd’s gifted guitar playing – lots of finger plucking and steel slide work – and the rhythmic sounds from his dig’ were nothing short of amazing, stirring and emotive.

Unfortunately his exuberance may have caused a speaker or amp to blow mid-set. With a puff of smoke from the rear of stage, a faint crackle was added to the heavier notes. Rudd toned down the set and filled it out with some of his calmer, contemplative songs. He closed the set with Let Me Be, which roused many smiles and a sing-a-long, followed by a rendition of Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier, with slightly reworked lyrics about mining and the damage of coal seam gas mining. After a short break, Rudd returned for the encore: rumbling dig’ noises echoing amidst electropop, synths and keys.

Day Two

Chase the Sun were the first real highlight on Friday. The three-piece played blues-inspired rock with hints of rockabilly and soul. The set was defined by the incendiary fret work of lead guitarist and vocalist Jan Rynsaardt. A classy rhythm section of bass slapping from Ryan Van Gennip and heavy snare and symbol hitting from drummer Jon Howell made gutsy blues rock.

Perhaps a surprise attraction at the festival was the five-piece Benjalu from up the F3 near Newcastle. Benjalu played two sets, one Friday, one Saturday, and their audience grew the longer they played their bluesy, surf and roots rock. Combining multiple guitars, drums, bongos, tambourines and natural charisma, Benjalu’s music is all about having fun and the set was high on energy. Lead vocalist Ben Gumbleton has all the elements of a standout frontman.

Japanese funksters Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro lit up the Bellbird stage from 9.15pm with six well-dressed cats on stage playing guitars, keys, brass and drums. A few thousand people grooved to the energetic jazz and funk-influenced set. The band’s English wasn’t good and they discarded the traditional set list for extended jams, making it difficult to tell when a song changed. But with Japan’s answer to Prince at the front of the stage, no one listening was interested in much more than dancing.

Sydney hip-hop and electro duo Hermitude filled the Lyrebird stage big top and had it heaving. The pair played a classy set inspired by everything from Cuban jazz, reggae, breakbeats and drum and bass: it was impossible not to jump around and shake yourself to. Although Salmonella Dub and Canyons were billed ahead of them on the Friday, it was a toss up between Hermitude and Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro for the day’s showstoppers.

Read on for Day Three.