Entertain Me | Dancing to the Rhythm of WOMAD

DANCING TO THE RHYTHM OF WOMAD - PART 2

Many pilgrims would have been thinking “the gods must be crazy” with reference to the fickle summer that Aotearoa has experienced – but WOMAD 2012 was all about the sunshine – the perfect Indian summer.

Appropriate then, that Shivkumar Sharma - from Kashmir in the north of India – was my introduction to day 2 of WOMAD 2012. The revered veteran of Indian music is an avant garde pioneer, reinterpreting a traditional Kashmiri instrument the santoor – an ancient hammered dulcimer, usually associated with the trance-inducing abilities of Sufi music. With a hypnotic set that also involved tabla and tanpura - the long necked lute. It was the kind of music that turned the Brooklands stage into the Garden of Eden, pure bliss on a perfect day.

Next up was Watussi on the main stage, a band from Bondi Beach, Sydney, who played a mutant breed of Afro/Columbian roots and rock. With a name meaning ‘most handsome man at the party’, Watussi are all about stirring a hornet’s nest of good times, strutting their stuff across the water, into the volcanic amphitheatre of the TSB Bowl Stage. A recurring theme of bands possessing a healthy dose of humour was great feature of WOMAD 2012.

At some point during any 3 day festival, you’ll have a Monty Pythonesque moment and think to yourself… “Now for something completely different”. At WOMAD that spontaneous combustion is never too far away, and at 4pm I stumbled across Sivouplait – a loving duo of Japanese nut bars describing themselves as “a silent couple dressed in humourous white.” Their abstract mime was performance art at its wackiest – confounding the crowd in laughter and confusion at every well-groomed turn.

The Yoots from Wellington take the concept of a Maori waiata and inject it with a typical Welly fusion of flavours from all over the globe. With brass and horns at the fore, and a ska beat in the background, The Yoots were a joyous skankin’ good time in the blazing sunshine.

Australian Ash Grunwald (featuring sister duo Vika & Linda Bull) was a refreshing rush of junkyard soul - dirty, gritty blues that stomped like bigfoot and growled like a rabid dog. This guy has swagger in spades and aided by the gospel power of Vika & Linda was a particular highlight of Saturday.

The rock injection continued with Neil Finn’s latest project Pajama Club - joined by his wife Sharon, sonic troubadour SJD and the myriad talents of his sons Liam and Elroy. A combination of driving guitars and cosmic electronic swirls made for an intoxicating performance, as the Finn Family Four (and SJD) combined their talents to showcase the best of NZ song craft and simple joy of the jam.

This gorgeous Indian summer day finished with the gonzo maverick adventures of Melbourne’s The Bombay Royale - a Bollywood wet dream of surf guitar, movie star vocals and OTT stylings of a James Bond spoof (think ‘Casino Royale’ updated with a dash of ‘Octopussy’). With seriously good musicians - deftly tongue’n’cheek – it was entertainment of the highest order… bravo day 2! Bring on the trinity…