Review by Wanda Hill
Photo Credit: Julius C Montes
Boomerang Festival was a huge success and will be back next year for sure. The big smiles on punters faces and huge cheers at the closing ceremony yesterday, said it all. Festival organisers affirmed that they had indeed done well, everyone had a great time and that plans are already in the pipeline for next year’s event.
Being the last opportunity to spend the day with the Billinudgel Weavers and make a basket from Lomandra leaves I escaped the heat in their tent and wove the funky sounds of Slip on Stereo and Tjupurru into my basket under the weavers excellent tuition.
Continue reading Review: Boomerang Festival 2013 – Day 3 Wrap
Festivals are such a great way to build community and nurture understanding. Boomerang is doing this in style with a stellar line up of musicians, speakers, artists and craftspeople. The festival site came alive with activity yesterday as people of all ages enjoyed the entertainment and took part in workshops and discussions. It is such a lovely feeling to sit down with complete strangers and take part in an activity like basket weaving or woodcarving. Before long, people are laughing, making friends as well as learning new skills or discovering hidden talents. 
Boomerang Festival took its maiden voyage onto the Australian festival scene yesterday at Tyagarah Tea Tree farm near Byron Bay. Boomerang is the brainchild of Rhoda Roberts who started the very successful Dreaming Festival at Woodfordia. Peter Noble (Bluesfest producer) was very proud and excited to welcome Boomerang to the home of the Byron Bay Bluesfest last night during the opening ceremony. 
As we arrive at Sydney’s Metro Theatre to a line of punters that stretches down that little side street and around the corner, we realise this will be one of this year’s more special musical events. The range of fans waiting patiently for Steven Wilson’s gig are as mixed and varied as the artist’s back catalogue, with young and old, male and female, overtly metal and overtly not… 
Melbourne has been responsible for constantly producing great bands over the years. Madre Monte upholds this responsibility alive and well with their latest EP Raza:Madre. 
Canberra based Latin ska/cumbia outfit, Los Chavos, deliver their first long play and follow on in the great tradition of Australian Latin bands like Watussi and San Lazaro. Whilst this release is completely in Spanish, don’t let that deter you from picking this outstanding Australian Latin release. Supermeng is a mature release that reflects the evolution of Los Chavos as an experienced outfit. There are slight influences from Manu Chau, Calle 13 and Juanes which will delight every Latin music lover in Australia. Supermeng starts with an upbeat “Carlos Calvo” and builds up hitting a crescendo with a good paced merengue “Como Puedo”. The closing track “Reina” is a soulful exploration of love which closes an excellent debut for Los Chavos.
There’s a long wait for rock-violinist Lindsey Stirling this evening at The Powerhouse — at least 15 minutes long, to be honest. For a touch over an hour, Kiwi DJ 1000 Ninjas labours manfully from a cubbyhole spot almost side-of-stage. In a club environment his chill-out grooves and odd samples would probably win a better reception, but this crowd is expecting action and movement, and that’s something beyond 1000 Ninjas’ scritchy-glitchy stillness tonight.
There’s a workman like edge to the stage as the steady four piece of Northern NSW’s Grinspoon launched into their set. The wild flailing and feigned punk-rock disinterest from frontman Phil Jamieson are long gone, in its stead are the once-ironic rock poses: the furious grip on the mic stand, the perfectly timed lunge on to the stage monitors and, crucially, the almost trademarked index finger thrust decisively skyward.
When Sound Awake was released in 2009, Karnivool began to receive acclaim on an international scale, with the record’s more expansive sound resonating with fans of progressive music worldwide. It was a huge step forward for the band when compared to their debut, signalling their establishment as one of Australia’s most innovative bands. Appropriately titled, Asymmetry sees the band change tack again – moving towards a sound of dissonance and adventure, while still retaining the melody of their past releases.
Debut albums are always difficult to execute for they lay out the musical platform for all aspiring bands and send out a clear statement of what the band is about. Whilst an average debut may not necessarily mean the end of a band, it can set their progress backwards. As a debut album Beautiful in Danger does not set Jericco back at all. In fact it does the complete opposite. Jericco fits quite nicely into the Australian progressive rock genre that has been pioneered by a handful of other bands. This debut cements their place amongst those bands and begins the slow process of becoming a top Australian band. The album sounds simple enough, but the devil is in the detail. Critical examination of every track reveals that simplicity is a difficult process to accomplish. Heavy drum sections coupled with bass lines that hook listeners achieve the desired outcome of getting everyone dancing.
Although the individual members of this outfit have previous experience in the music scene, Born Lion have a short history as a musical project. The first three tracks of this release are punchy, punk, danceable and aggressive. The last two tracks contrast with the first three to the extent that a question of musical direction needs to be asked. What is Born Lion trying to achieve through this self-titled release? If it is a matter of getting their material out and listened to, then this is a great release. The EP is raw and filled with incredible talent that simply needs to be refined. This EP is a demonstration of what Born Lion will become and what they have to offer as an outfit.
A varied crowd aging from early twenties to people old enough to be parents of the band themselves congregate at the Unibar in Wollongong to see Something for Kate (SFK), a town SFK haven’t visited since 2009. This kind of group creates a lovely atmosphere at a gig, people of many ages and backgrounds coming together to enjoy music from a band that have been consistently impressive for twenty years. There is not a doubtful mind in the room, SFK are sure to impress once again on this chilly May night. 
When you list the great names of rock music from across the decades, Deep Purple has got to be hovering close to the top. Blasting out rock numbers for more than 40 years they have certainly found the formula for success. Releasing the long awaited new album; this comes 8 years after the Rapture of the Deep album released in 2005; the magic is still as strong. With a title like Now What?! it makes you wonder whether the band is thinking that they have done it all. Well actually, they probably have. The current line up works well together and this can be heard from the new 11 tracks that they have laid down.
There’s always something special about country town festivals. For the locals, there’s the rare joy of rocking out with your house key in your pocket; for the ring-ins, there’s the extra heady buzz of a sugar fuelled roadtrip, or skanky train chug at the end of the night. From the get-go this buzz was palpable at Bendigo’s fifth turn on the Groovin’ The Moo carousel.