Womadelaide 2018: Saturday reviews
READ highlights from day two of programming at WOMADelaide 2018. SEE OUR GALLERY
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READ highlights from day two of programming at WOMADelaide 2018.
Ghada Shbeir
Throughout all the strife that Lebanon has suffered in the past century it has somehow continued to be place of culture and the arts. Ghada Shbeir has dedicated her art to preserving and developing her homeland’s cultural heritage. She had a richly expressive voice; supported by excellent musicians, she gave a taste of Lebanon’s musical riches. Unfortunately she was unable to explain what the songs were about, which was a barrier to full appreciation.
Stage 3 Saturday, 2.30pm
-Stephen Whittington
San Lazaro
San Lazaro is a salsa party band with a big Brass and percussion sound.
This is the first return to Womad in 10 years and features players from South America and Catalonia to Cuba who all get together in Melbourne.
The band has that seductive ability to switch rhythm and get everyone up and dancing even in Saturday’s hot sunny conditions.
The songs are passionate from a great vocalists and the band has the talent to work through jazz and improvisations.
Sunday, 4pm, stage 3
-Tim Lloyd
Lure
Beautiful in a white summer frock Lura sings peaceful songs of her Cape Verde islands home in Portuguese.
She is here to sing to us of homelands, especially those of lost and displaced people.
But these are lyrical and loveable memories.
They rely on the lyrical jazz sounds of the morna music styles of Cape Verde.
Then she moves on to the livelier samba dance music of Cape Verde, because this small culture seems to have music for every occasion and Lura can certainly dance as well as sing.
That is best shown on the wonderful women’s rhythm of Cape Verde the batuque, the hugely lively dance. In this case our singer turns into a dancer swinging those hips until everyone is mesmerised.
The backing band, though short of the traditional accordion, knows precisely when Lura wants more colour and emphasis.
Sunday: 3pm workshop, stage Z
Monday: 4pm Stage 3
— Tim Lloyd
Dayme Arocena
Cuban tradition and contemporary jazz meet in the art of Dayme Arocena who while still in her mid-twenties has risen to prominence in Latin music. Her deep, resonant voice is redolent of everything Cuban, and is counterpointed by the extraordinary improvisations and rhythms from her musicians.
Her pianist went so far out at times he seemed to be channelling Cecil Taylor.
Stage 3, 4.30pm
— Stephen Whittington
Hypnotic Brass
With a musical heritage stretched back through their father to the immortal Sun Ra Arkestra, I was expecting something different from the seven brothers of Hypnotic Brass.
There were no calls to Planet Earth from outer space, alas. Instead of the Egyptian mysteries there was an unrelenting high energy performance that was exhausting to listen and even more so to perform, no doubt. Take a break sometimes, guys, to contemplate the cosmos.
— Stephen Whittington
Place des Anges
Mortgage the house. Sell your possessions. Do anything that makes it possible to see Place des Anges from French geniuses Gratte Ciel, showing nightly at WOMADelaide. It is absolutely wonderful, with dozens of gleaming white angels sailing high above the crowd, a seemingly endless rain of feathers gently falling on the thousands upon thousands of delighted faces. It is uplifting, affirming, and sheer beauty.
The towering cranes dotted around the site merely hint at the technical underpinning of this amazing spectacle. Place des Anges is unforgettable.
Nightly
— Peter Burdon
Dustyesky
A 28-man choir from Mullumbimby may seem like an outside chance for WOMADelaide, but here we have Dustyesky, whose love of vodka and Russian music has made them the unlikeliest of hits. Far from the customary slurred rendition of Workin’ Class Man, here we have stirring renditions of everything from arch-nationalist Red Army perennials to traditional folk songs, all sung with feeling, and gusto when needed. Rough as bags, and great fun. A microcosm of Adelaide’s expat Russian community happened to be nearby. Nodding approval led to foot tapping, and ultimately a few nostalgic bars. Enough said.
Daily
— Peter Burdon
The Manganiyar Seduction
The Manganiyar are a caste of desert musicians from the inhospitable Thar Desert in Rajasthan, and a chance meeting some years ago led to a wildly successful touring show that combines the infectious, instantly appealing music of the Manganiyar with the visual stimulus of—wait for it—Amsterdam’s red light district! Individual performers, thirty or more, sit in little curtained cubicles, four stories high and surrounded with Hollywood lights that come on when they perform. The Manganiyar Seduction is a visual as well as a musical feast, with complex rhythms and shapely melodies, and a wonderful variety of odd and appealing instruments. It’s a seated event, but not for those dancing at the back.
Daily
— Peter Burdon
Fringe seeks cash injection to revive in 2021
Struggling artists need more help over the next year so they can put on the 2021 Fringe. Event director Heather Croall says that means a $1 million funding boost – a 50 per cent increase – from the State Government.
Look inside all-new Her Majesty’s as first show announced
Take a tour inside Her Majesty’s Theatre following its $66 million revamp – the first show at the new-look venue has been revealed and will start in less than two weeks.