This year’s crowd was a clear reflection of the yesteryear lineup that headlined The West Coast Blues N Roots Festival; the majority of whom were born before the eighties, which gave the festival a casual and relaxed vibe, and a showcase of dance moves that haven’t been witnessed in years.
The Fremantle Park venue was set up well, with two stages; it meant there was more chance to see all of the bands with less overlapping set times. The overcast weather was almost perfect for an outdoor concert, cool and shady, and the threat of rain definitely didn’t scare the masses away.
The big drawcards of this year’s lineup included the likes of John Fogerty, The Pogues and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Proving age is no barrier, the mostly ‘grey-haired’ rockers took to the stage with an energy and stage presence sure to rival that of the young guns in the industry.
Feisty New Zealand born singer-songwriter Gin Wigmore played an eccentric set which was upbeat and energetic. Her hits “Oh My”, “Hey Ho” and “Black Sheep” went down a treat with her cheeky side showing through when she remarked, “Don’t make any Kiwi f***ing sheep jokes” before performing “Black Sheep”.
The charming aged rockers, Crosby, Stills & Nash were a clear crowd favourite; with their positive audience interaction and humour, they certainly transported many of the fans back to their youth, playing many of their hits including “Our House”, dedicated to Joni Mitchell, which the audience enthusiastically sang along to.
Before performing their song “Marrakesh Express”, Graham Nash joked to the audience by remarking, “Let’s roll a big fat joint and go on down to Morocco”, it was clear by the smell of things, that at that point someone in the audience did just what they were told.
After audience encouragement they played one last encore song of “Teach Your Children as Steve Earle accompanied them on stage to sing with the group; it was a great musical moment to see such an amazing collaboration.
Steve Earle took to the stage earlier in the day, confirming his musical talent by performing with just his vocals and guitar, no back up whatsoever. Bringing his country style Americana to the festival, he performed all his hits as well as some lesser-known (but just as impressive) tracks. The pleasant acoustic set was easy listening and had everyone tapping their feet and nodding along. He played songs such as “Gulf Of Mexico “and “Waitin On The sky”, finishing of course with “Copperhead Road” which completed an impressive set.
Keb Mo had the crowds gathering for his set, which he belted out with so much passion and soul. His backup band, The Keb Mo Band was impressive to say the least; they really gave the music another dimension, one of the best bands I’ve seen.
He had the whole place up on their feet breaking out in fifties style swinging dance moves, which lifted the crowds atmosphere from the previous acoustic style ‘chilled’ sets played by artists before him. His soulful songs struck a chord with many of the audience as he had them singing in unison.
As the sun went down and the cider was flowing The Specials performed upbeat tunes that definitely got the younger generations dancing some rather unusual dance moves. They delivered all of their hits along with friendly banter and the humour they are renowned for.
Their performance was highly energised and the crowd definitely enjoyed their songs, particularly, “Too Much Too Young” and “A Message To You, Rudy”. The cheeky humour added to their performance; the band’s proclamation that they loved Australia, but it was a pity Mel Gibson was a twat was met with a roar of laughter.
Many ventured over to the big top stage to see Irish folk-punk legends The Pogues perform. The only complaint was that they were in quite a confined area within a tent, which made it difficult for everyone to be able to see, however many didn’t care and were happy just to hear them, standing towards the back and dancing anyway. They performed all of their hits starting with “The Broad Majestic Shannon” and finishing with their most well known hit “Dirty Old Town”.
John Fogerty played a jam packed two hour set which definitely satisfied the audience, and was a great way to top off an astounding concert and leave on a musical high. He played hits from Creedance Clearwater Revival including “Looking Out My Back Door” and other songs such as “Heard It Through The Grape Vine”, and “Tutti Frutti”. He definitely showed the audience why he was ranked #40 on Rolling Stones top 100 Guitarists of all time.
The varied line-up of this year’s West Coast Blues n Roots including Country, rock, folk, blues and soul, produced a mixed bag of people in the crowd, proving this festival’s wide appeal. Most of the crowd enjoyed nostalgic memories of the music from their youth and being able to relive that for a day. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for this festival’s future.
– Shannon Wood
