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| People are arriving at Queenscliff and the atmosphere is building up [Photo: Og Bear] |
members Marcia Howard and Rose Bygrave. It's weird when you see a host you have only heard on radio in real life. Sorry Lindy, but I always imagined you as a blonde.The festival was already commencing with folk and soul artist Leah Flanagan
, from Darwin, on the Hippos Stage as I went past to the Lighthouse Stage where I found pop folk group Gossling , who had just been interviewed on the radio, setting up on Lighthouse Stage.For all intents and purposes the Lighthouse Stage was the ABC stage. I am not too sure about festivals where you go to find most of the larger marquees sponsored by the same organisations and therefore having the tendency to be clones of their other selves. Therefore I was worried that the line up in here might prove to be a bit mediocre, but I think in the main I was proven wrong. The big screen backdrop was very distracting with computerised sequences continually blasting the ABC logo at the audience.
After listening to a bit of Gossling I made my way back to the other end of the Festival compound to the Pelican Bar. This was effectively the RRR/MBAS tent and as a result the acts were a bit raw and in your face which I liked. What really did look lame though, was an unregistered Sandman panel van, buried front first to the side of the stage. Also here the backdrop was a bit distracting and its meaning was simply confusing. First up here were the alternative Soulful Blues-Roots band, the Widowbirds
.The Festival layout was very spread out and jumbly. There was quite a distance to venues outside of the main compound such as the Vue Grand ballroom, the Railway Station for the Queenscliff Express and the Drill Hall at the Fort. Much of the new Festival compound was South facing, open and exposed to the weather as too was the Lighthouse Stage marquee. Also, there was a lot of noise bleed from main Lighthouse Stage.
Next for me was alternate Country Folk-Rock band, President Roots
, on the Rip Stage.Passing back by the Hippos Stage I heard Richard Clapton
. It's OK, but is probably just a bit too nice for me.I decided to check out the Pavilion and the Freeza FOOT-in-the-DOOR competition where I was really surprised by Queenscliff's own Alistair Turrill
playing lap steel guitar. MBAS past president Gary Jones had come to see him as well. |
| The Puta Madre Brothers in the Pelican Bar [Photo: Og Bear] |
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| The Puta Madre Brothers create an intense aura with their show [Photo: Og Bear] |
were the first really entertaining act of the Festival with heaps of atmosphere.There was quite a frenzy in the food bottleneck between Lighthouse Stage/Rip Stage area and the rest of the compound. The crowd build up was such that I was left wondering what sort of crowd we would get for the rest of the weekend?
Talking about food, mandatory gozlemes (lamb, feta and spinach) where I queued with all the others under the same orders.
Presidents Roots was on again on the Rip Stage - Bands do a short set on the Rip Stage either side of each headline act on the Lighthouse Stage while the next headline band sets up. Though I was a bit disappointed when President Roots played the same sequence in both sets with Professor Longhair being played each time.
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| Longstanding legends, The Bondi Cigars in the Pelican Bar [Photo: Og Bear] |
completely smoked us back on the Pelican Stage!On the way back past Hippos I spotted a heap of brass coming on stage to do a sound check. I made my mind up I was coming back to listen to these guys. When I got back World music band, A French Butler Called Smith
, had the crowd up and jumping, with heaps of atmosphere. From the Gold Coast, they were an interesting Latin combination of brass and percussion. Here I found Geoff, from the Blues Club, with his partner Brenda.Had been running into quite a few familiar faces including Squizzy with Leanne.
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| The Lighthouse Stage overflows for headline band Eskimo Joe [Photo: Og Bear] |
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| Eskimo Joe on the Lighthouse Stage [Photo: Og Bear] |
. That was enough for me, but I had a bit of fun playing with the light show on my cameras. If I hadn't been waiting for Delta Rigg , I would have gone home, but I had them on my list and Squizzy had given them the thumbs up. |
| On the Rip Stage, Delta Rigg was one of my personal hilights [Photo: Og Bear] |
The Festival was going well, certainly nothing jumped out and surprised like Blue Shaddy
did last year. In all it was a lot more lightweight this year. Less venues and marquees such as Lighthouse were a lot smaller with the concentration of acts a lot sparser. |
| Busker, Guryel Ali, with daughter Jordyn Griffin [Photo: Og Bear] |
Then in the Vue Grand I found Melbourne bluegrass/folk band, John Flanagan and the Begin Agains
.Outside the newsagents there was another busker, Michelle Marie playing the keyboards.
As I made my way to the Fort, it was pissing down, but I managed to see Inertia Brass Band in the Drill Hall.
Under the Queenscliff Inn verandah David Knight
was treating his guitar as much as a percussion instrument as a stringed one.Absolutely pissing down now. Despite wet weather gear my trousers and camera gear were soaked!
Outside the Salt Contemporary Art Gallery buskers, Chris Mallory & Cara Lonergan are playing
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| Tides of Welcome with Dave Steel in Uniting Church (Stoked on Hesse) [Photo: Og Bear] |
. Quite few friends are in it including Jenny, Julian and Virginia. Tiffany Eckhardt is their new director but she was at home with pneumonia. But her partner, Dave Steel, was still here accompanying them. |
| Pouring rain takes the edge right off Saturday [Photo: Og Bear] |
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| Christine Anu on the Lighthouse Stage [Photo: Og Bear] |
was on the main stage, she is a darling and I still remember the first time I saw here.I got to the train in time to find legendary blues man, Brian Fraser
, setting up. The rain just doesn't bugger up us at the Festival, it buggers up the performers as their fingers get moist when they are strumming their guitars, but it is hard to keep the instruments in tune also. Rain didn't help my cameras either with the humidity in the freight car. The Puta Madre Brothers were playing there, rather cramped when you try to get three one man mariachi bands into such a confined space. |
| Mick Harvey loading out of the Queenscliff Express at the Station [Photo: Og Bear] |
On the way back up Hesse Street I discovered Doug Bowers and Friends playing in Salt Gallery. Doug was the designer of the Festival poster, the original of which was being auctioned that afternoon.
The Widowbirds in Stoked on Hesse were much more intimate than in the Pelicans Bar the night before. A very Loudon Wainwright III sounding vocalist!
It was also nice again to get some respite in the church after walking up from the station in the rain.
Batteries died on small camera. I had got home at 1:30 that morning and thought I had done everything. Mortal sin, not changing them over.
By now everything was soaking. I went home, turned heater up high, laid out all the camera gear etc in front of it, then got changed. It took 30 minutes for feet to dry out so I could get fresh socks on! Came back to the Festival with a thick beanie and a Driza-Bone on.
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| MBAS winner, Dreamboogie, at their best in the Pelican Bar [Photo: Og Bear] |
in the Pelican Bar were sensational, demonstrating why they had won the MBAS Blues Performer of the Year, and were off to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge in early 2012.It is 6pm but the day has been so hectic I finally get lunch in. Spinach chicken curry with lentils and veg curry from the Bollywood Bites food stall, wow!
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| West Australia's Triffids on the Lighthouse Stage; reformed with friends for the Festival [Photo: Og Bear] |
and Friends from West Australia were the headline act on the Lighthouse Stage. Sometimes you come to a Festival with a mind's eye of what a band used to be like only to find a group of sad and pathetic old men on the stage. I listened for a while, but it was all a bit dry for me so I wandered back to the Rip Stage to wait for the Bondi Cigars.Kay from Coffs Harbour was there, but now living at Anglesea. I last saw her at Apollo Bay several years ago where she remembered me from the Lighthouses of Australia Project. The Bondi Cigars were heaps better on the smaller more intimate stage.
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| Boom!Bap!Pow! made their presence felt on the Hippos Stage [Photo: Og Bear] |
, on the Hippos Stage. What a sensational band led by Novac Bull, a really sassy female vocalist.Tea was dumplings with rice and sprout salad, really bity! from Big Dumplings. Mr Merles and I had seconds when we came across them last year.
Henry Wagon's band, The Wagons
, were on the Lighthouse Stage. Not bad for country band. Saw Rob and Jane from Ocean Grove there as well. |
| I always love a bit of showmanship and brass. A French Butler Called Smith on the Rip Stage [Photo: Og Bear] |
I got the itch so I went looking for an ice cream. Good homemade ice cream is a weakness of mine. No, I am not a habitual ice cream eater. If anything I eat less because I have been spoiled by really good ice cream. It was late and the Timboon Ice Cream van was closed, but I discovered the Bella Pasta e Dolci stall had fantastic ice cream, which I indulged in then and on Sunday as well.
I cruised past the Skylines
, a great funky jazz soul band playing on the Hippos Stage.Cruised right back over to the Pelican Bar to catch Delta Rigg again. They put on a fantastic show, the best, the hilight of Festival so far.
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| Saturday night has got really wet and squally as The Cruel Sea plays on the Lighthouse Stage (no pun intended) [Photo: Og Bear] |
. They weren't too bad for a main stream band. A really wet squally southerly was now blowing right through the marquee which added to the atmosphere rather than detracting from it. |
| In the Pelican Bar James (Brothers Grim & The Blue Murderers) keeps his dialogue running with the audience [Photo: Og Bear] |
certainly looked and sounded the part with a bit of spirited showmanship and interaction with the crowd. Lead singer, James "Coconut" Grim, seemed to have this relationship with nuts and his audience which was the basis of most of the conversation.Saw Pommy John from Ocean Grove there too.
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| Ballarat band, Howl's Brothers In Violence, now Hunting Grounds pack out the Pavillion [Photo: Og Bear] |
blew the joint away. It is good to see this festival really starting to look after the younger audience that it once spurned at last.In fact this year's attendees are a much younger generation so the Festival appears to be no longer the domain of a middle class mid life crisis.
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| Red Eyes on the Lighthouse Stage was one of the few acts where the backdrop complimented, rather than distracted from the show [Photo: Og Bear] |
, a sort of reggae band on the Lighthouse Stage. Jenny, the sketcher, from the Piping Hot Chicken Shop scene was there as well.The Bamboos
were a hit in Hippos. They were not on my list, but they caught my attention so I wandered in. They had a new beautiful big singer, Kylie Auldist, who was the genii of the group and carried the night. Brass and Hammond always gets me going a bit. |
| Snowdroppers, the name should say it all. but these are bad, bad, boys! [Photo: Og Bear] |
, these boys are so bad, bad, you do need to hide your stash and tie the dog up under your washing line! In a bigger venue lead singer, Johnny Wishbone, would have been hauled back down off the gantry by the security guys for his antics. He continually took it up to the audience and dared and challenged them. This was the hi point of the whole Festival!Sunday morning and it was really hectic finding a car park again and ended up parking about three blocks away near St Georges Church again.
Started in the Lighthouse Stage with Lanie Lane who was a bit nasal and squawky for a blues act for me.
Again a long haul up the hill, but this time to the Drill Hall in the Fort to see Tides of Welcome with Mr Percival. As he is in Melbourne there were not a lot of practice sessions, so they were still struggling a bit with the repertoire, but it was good to see someone extending the capacity of this choir, "I Can See Clearly Now" was sensational!
I had meet Dominique the night before, but had not realised she was the daughter of Jenny the sketcher, who is also in the choir.
On the way back down Hesse Street I saw buskers Alex Watts and Matt Katsis, both from Melbourne.
Local pub band High Speed Steel
were playing at the front of the Queenscliff Inn.Back at the Queenscliff Express I found Festival volunteers, Geoff from the MBAS, and Julie and Henny doing their duty on the platform.
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| Justin Carter and Johnny Rollins waiting to load in once the last acts are cleared from the carriages [Photo: Og Bear] |
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| Queenscliff Express after some minor adjustments is ready haul out four more carriages with acts and audiences aboard [Photo: Og Bear] |
had all their gear on the platform. They were waiting for the previous show which had just returned to the Station to end and for everyone to alight so they could load in to car A and setup for their show. It was Justin's first time performing on the train so he took a bit of getting used to and said a mouth guard using the mic might have been handy. |
| The Dylanesque Fraser A Gorman on the Queenscliff Express [Photo: Og Bear] |
quartet on the return journey. The man himself was spookily Dylanesque. They were young and a bit rough around the edges, but the crowd liked them. |
| Matt Katsis and band busking in front of the Railway Station [Photo: Og Bear] |
Unfortunately a lot of the competitors in the busking competition had not turned up because of the inclement weather.
On the way back up Hesse Street I saw that Deb's new shop "Tobias & the Cat" was open. It was her first day and she was already off and running. Her friend Nelson was also there to give her a hand.
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| A little bit of Festival generousity goes a long way with Blackwood Jack playing to the street from the Queenscliff Inn [Photo: Og Bear] |
was playing under the verandah at the Queenscliff Inn. It is really good to see the atmosphere on the street being created by these freebies such as under the Queenscliff Inn verandah, the buskers competition and the Drill Hall. |
| Grand old man of the Blues, Brian Fraser, in the Uniting Church (Stoked on Hesse) [Photo: Og Bear] |
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| Rory, Wayne & Rosco, The Wayne Jury Three on the verandah at the Queenscliff Inn [Photo: Og Bear] |
Back in the Festival compound I was feeling a bit hot and thirsty. I had a pang for something citrusy and icy and found a fresh orange slushie stall which turned out to be the same one I had frequented at the Maldon Folk Festival.
I wandered over to the last performance of Bondi Cigars in the Pelicans Bar. Really, it was time to go, I was quite tired and I had enough.
Could I squeeze in another ice cream before it all ends; would they be sold out or even still there? Yes, an opportunity to try some different flavours!
While I was finishing the ice cream Red Eyes was finishing it all off in Hippos before the after party started.
Time to make it back to the car about 4 or 5 blocks away, at least unlike last night (1:30am) I remember where I parked it!
[Og Bear]
For more photos go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/OgBear/QueenscliffMusicFestival2011#
For a slideshow go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/OgBear/QueenscliffMusicFestival2011#slideshow/
