Saturday review by Leon Camfield
Summer lovin', had me a blast...
- Well, not lovin' as such, although there sure was love in the crowd at this years' Rhythms Of The World. For two days every July they close the roads, get out the banners, set up eight stages and have a party, and it doesn't cost the viewer a penny.
Having arrived at 11am on Saturday (deliberately an hour early to "check the vibe"), I started the weekend by scratching my hands up to buggery helping the crew shift some fencing (all staff and most of the bands don't get paid), before checking out the stalls - the food stalls alone covered French, Spanish & Thai food, as well as the usual burgers that only the real heathen would purchase over (especially) the paella and noodles on offer.
And then the music! ROTW kicked off this year with the local Brazilian Samba Drum Workshop troupe, consisting of 20-odd people with drums, bells, & one old guy with a beard playing some sort of big jingle stick, who was focusing extremely hard on his instrument, although I can't be sure, maybe he was holding in a fart.
After they'd finished, on came Tarantism, and approximately 37 seconds later I was dancing like a loon to their Celtic-influenced Dance styllie - think The Levellers meets Fatboy Slim & you're nowhere near understanding how good they were.
Once they'd pennywhistled their way offstage, I quickly nipped up to the Arcade stage (acoustic acts) to catch Pale Marble Movie. Having seen them many times before, I was already aware of this Father/Daughter act's ability to engage its audience with its blend of water-tight harmonies, intelligent songs, and a togetherness that only family can provide.
After loading up on carrot, apple and ginger juice from the nice lads on the juice stall, I caught From Celtic Roots to Oceanic Soul, a Brit/Maori combo who did separate sets and then came together for a jam. Guitar, Djembe, Accordion, Bouzouki and some rich harmonies with a blues vibe surprised me - I was expecting something more traditional, but it was still a big sound, even if they didn't do The Haka.
Having then watched Michael Berk on the main stage, I immediately went to St Mary's Church to watch him again in a more intimate atmosphere. It was worth it. This young man was truly a genius on the humble acoustic guitar. He plucked, tapped and twatted it to produce beautiful folk-tinged jazz genius, and although the non-purists among you would argue that he's terribly self-indulgent, he had me spellbound - especially when he played the bassline and melody to the Beatles' "Day Tripper" simultaneously. As we'd have said in the 70's - skill.
Then came the biggest disappointment of the day. Soname is a Tibetan singer who sings unaccompanied, and it was to her singing that I strolled back into the church after stretching my legs, and indeed, it was truly remarkable. But she sang for 30 seconds, and then chatted for 4-5 minutes before my patience snapped and I left. I didn't go to church to be preached to, you know.
I then had to clear off to The Town Hall (defined in the brochure as "Rawk Acts") for my own bands' performance. I'll leave it to our editor to comment, but I feel that My Pet Junkie did the usual rock & blag act.
(GOOD ENOUGH TO JUMP STUPID FOR!)
After catching 30 seconds of Soname, acclaimed saxophonist Lol Coxhill and tabla player Sukhi Rayat improvising in the Church, I popped my cymbals somewhere safe, before heading back to the main stage for Saturday's headliners, Motimba. Wow! With enough of them to form a cricket team, they played some unbelievably funky latin-jazz - imagine what Jamiroquai would sound like if they hadn't sold their arses to Satan's watered-down discotheque. The piano player alone appeared to be a four armed, double jointed speed addict, and the three singers shared singing and hip-gyrating duties for our pleasure.
And that was my day. I can't work out how more people haven't heard of ROTW, nor why there aren't more sponsors backing it - every year it nearly doesn't happen but somehow they find the money. May they always do so.
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