We arrived at
Apollo Bay around 4pm on the Friday afternoon.
Mr Merls, my son, and myself made our way to pick up our passes, then made our way to the farm where we were staying again this year.
Once we were settled in we made our way back down to the Bay in time for the Opening Parade which was mainly made up of local performers with a few ringins. All very entertaining.
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The opening parade of 2009's Festival
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I think one of the great things about the
Apollo Bay Music Festival is that it sort of reinvents itself every year.
But, alas, it was not a good year for the enthusiasts of Blues and Roots, and even that listed as such to me was more in the accoustic folk genre, whereas last years we were spoiled with a good bluesy rock-a-billy sound that we have all come to expect, this years
Festival seem to more country, folkie and world.
But this is also the Festival's strength. It is not like other ones where you what you can pretty well expect.
One of my favourite Apollo Bay venues is the Bowling Club and Mr Merls and I were soon on our way there to see
The Undesirables, two brothers from
Credit River just outside Toronto in Canada. They had just come off the plane returning to Australia after a successful tour in 2008.
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The wit of the undesirables at the Bowling Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Corin was a real showman that kept us entertained with the stories of their original music whereas Sean was more the musician. They were joined at times by
David Ross Macdonald from The Waifs on percussion.
We made our way back to the main street for a quick bite to eat, calamari rings from the stalls, before making our way off to
The Great Ocean Hotel to see
Andy Baylor.
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Festival Hilight, Andy Baylor, performing at the Great Ocean Hotel
[Photo: Og Bear] |
There is something special about Andy's songs and one can't but help feeling that this intimacy is a result of a bout with cancer several years ago were we came very close to losing one of Australia's real treasures. He was promoting his new album "The Blues is Poetry" in which he reflects the human condition.
A few familiar faces were also there including the Badges and Greg from the
Blues Club.
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We found the Badges also watching Andy Baylor at the Great Ocean Hotel
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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Greg, from the Blues Club, at Apollo Bay
[Photo: Og Bear] |
The atmosphere at night Apollo Bay is always good around the food stalls that are neatly located between the two big marquees on the beach front park. On the otherside of the main street the atmospere continues with many cafes, restaurants and shops facing the beach, and people on the balconies above them enjoying the atmospere too.
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The food stalls created a great atmosphere
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Next was
Tony Johannsen and the Land of Plenty who were playing at the Surf Club. Again, not quite what we expected, but Tony is still a showman with his blue shears t-shirt and straw rodeo hat making and impression that all were sure to remember. Some of the lyrics were very "in your face" reminding me of Dave Warner's
Suburban Boy (1978). It was a return performance after a successful debut in 2008.
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Tony Johannsen and the Land of Plenty showing some attitude at the Surf Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
As the afternoon wore on we made our way back to the Great Ocean Hotel to see rhythm and blues band
Pete Cornelius and the De Villes. This was a bit more like it. The DeVilles have their roots deep in that early American sound, when hollow-body guitars and fat gas guzzlin' cadillacs roamed the streets. They were certainly what we have come to expect at Apollo Bay.
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Peter Cornelius and the De Villes playing the blues at the Great Ocean Hotel
[Photo: Og Bear] |
We caught Kristin from the Blues Club on duty at the Street Stage. Kristin, don't let them give you a uniform, it might get scary!
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Blues Club member, Kristin, starting to look dangerous
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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The room I stayed in at the farm
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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Lady Bear's family farm at Apollo Bay where we stayed
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Next morning Mr Merls went off to a wooded area of the farm to find some space to play his accoustic guitar for about an hour while I made my breakfast.
We arrived back down at the Festival in time to catch The Round. A conglomerate of the blues and roots performers. This was a good way to get a sample of who was playing at the Festival and it all came together well, MCd by Andy Baylor, it comprised of himself,
Liz Stringer,
Pete Cornelius, the
Wild Dog Blues Band and
David Francy.
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The Round showcased the Blues and Roots acts playing at the Festival
[Photo: Og Bear] |
After that we rushed up to the church to catch the end of the trio
Soteria Bell, featuring the
ARIA award winning vocalists from the "Jindabyne" soundtrack, who performed music inspired by ancient traditions, as well as contemporary songs and improvisations, and featured layers of voice, cello & viola.
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Soteria Bell performing traditional music at the Catholic Church
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Then we made our way back to the Mechanics Institute to see the
Arrebato Ensemble, a contemporary flamenco band, whose instrumental lineup that includes flamenco guitar, cello, double bass, saxophones, percussion, harmonica, flute, oud, mandolin and featuring palmas (hand clapped rhythms). the group was awarded Best World or Folk Artist at the prestigious
Musicoz Awards.
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The flamenco band, Arrebato Ensemble at the Mechanics Institute
[Photo: Og Bear] |
On the way back we encountered a group of street performers who had set up at random in the park. This is one of the features I really like about Apollo Bay, Unlike last year, it was not as strong this year but it is an opportunity for many of the locals, especially the younger ones, to be involved and show off their talent and creature a great sense of atmosphere.
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Some of the street performers that make up the atmosphere at Apollo Bay
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Liz Stringer was on at the
Apollo Bay Hotel so that's where we headed. It was good to see her after arriving last year only to break her arm and not be able to perform.
John Lamp from Blues Club, who hosts the
Meanderings show on Geelong's
The Pulse community radio station, was there too grabbing sound bites and looking for interviews for his show.
Liz delivers a clear mature progression of an artist who’s hit her straps. Her innate musicality merged with a true storytellers soul, makes for a truly powerful and unique performance.
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Liz Stringer was performing at the Apollo Bay Hotel
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I left Mr Merls behind to watch the rest of the show as I wanted to catch Colac's Sudanese Community Choir at the Street Stage. It was more a set of dance routines than a chorale with what appeared to be courting rituals. It's simplicity and spontaneuos movement created sequences that one could have watched for hours.
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Colac's Sudanese Community Choir at the Street Stage
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I found myself sitting behind a quite intriging t-shirt and found out that it belonged to a gentleman who founded a choir of men from the
Blue Mountains in NSW. They have been to the United Kingdom three times and I thought it would be good to see them if they came down this way.
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The founder of the Spooky Men's Chorale
[Photo: Og Bear] |
The Street Performers by now were in full swing and the I found the Badges checking out the latin band that was running an all weekend session again in the BBQ pergola this year.
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The continuous three day latin session was back again under the pergola this year
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Nicky Bomba was on next at the Apollo Bay, but we didn't hang around long as we wanted to see
Mick Thomas but ended up being a bit disapointed so we moved on again.
We got our times mixed up and were supposed to be heading back to the Bowling Club, but I had lost Mr Merls so I made my way back to the main street to get a late lunch of fish and chips.
Along the way I came across some acrobats, the
Circus Firemen, were doing a set as firemen with ladders and had the crowd quite entertained.
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Street performers Circus Fireman were one of the hilights of the Festival
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Finally I made it back to the Bowling Club to see Andy Baylor. We had decided that we had enjoyed him at the pub so much that we would like to see him in the more intimate venue of the Bowling Club.
It was well worth it as it turned out to be quite a different set to the previous night and we were able to listen to the lyrics and associated stories from his latest album more clearly.
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Andy Baylor playing at the more intimate venue of the Bowling Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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An impromptu street performance
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Next it was local band, Wild Dog Blues, were playing the blues at the Great Ocean then it was back to the Surf Club to see young band The Table and find that Rick Webb was on the sound there. We made our way out to the balcony overlooking the ocean to find the Badges, Edward and Jan, already there and now being well into the evening we sat down for a long awaited rest.
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Wild Dog Blues playing the blues at the Great Ocean
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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The Table played at the Surf Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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Mr Merls and Og incognito at the Surf Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
It was getting late when we made our way up to the Mechanics Institute to see
King Marong. Despite there being a big crowd, they were still setting up, so Mr Merls and I decided to call it a night and catch them the next day.
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Mr Merls tuning his guitar in preparation for his gig later Sunday night in Melbourne
[Photo: Og Bear] |
It was Sunday morning and Mr Merls had a gig back in Melbourne that night. Whenever he has a gig he seems to need to go into a "lock down" mode about 24 hours before hand where he needs to find space practice and to mentally prepare for the gig. Whereas my other son,
Somerled, seems to be able to hop up and play at the drop of a hat.
First stop on Sunday morning was the Bowling Club to see David Francy, another performer, from Canada, accompanied by
Craig Werth. Not really roots as on the program, but more folkie as we had found with many of the other acts put down for the Blues or Roots genre he put on an excellent performance of original songs about his experiences in his native Canada. Francey's most recent CD, Right of Passage, won a
JUNO in the Best Roots and Traditional Solo category. That makes it 4 nominations and 3 JUNOs in just six years!
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David Francy, another performer, from Canada, accompanied by Craig Werth at the Bowling Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
Again I left early, leaving Mr Merls behind, as I wanted to see
The Australian Art Orchestra. Even though initially it was interesting this turned out to be really disappointing as it was more a a group of white guys being really self indulgant with their claim to be interacting with a 40,000 year old culture and I sensed that the Arnhen Land people who were there were quite uncomfortable with their position which appeared to be simply being a prop for the rest of the band.
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The Australian Art Orchestra performing at the ABC Stage
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I think the thing that took the edge off my Sunday was lunch. Friends of mine know how important food is to me. I had spotted a curry stall operated by the town's Thai restaurant. I made my way there and spotted a nice looking Pedang Curry, but when I went to order it, the person serving refused to give it to me with rice as I had requested. I took it up with the owner who was cooking who turned out to be just as recalcitrate. A big commotion and a lot of their time lost arguing with me for such a simple request.
I Quickly skipped through the Surf Club to catch solo artist
Charles Baby who was an act that almost qualified for the roots genre.
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Charles Baby performing at the Surf Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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The view from the balcony of the Surf Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I was running out of time as we have to leave early at 4pm to get Mr Merls back to Melbourne for his gig.
Dya Singh is next and this is the hilight of the Festival. The band takes the traditional Sikh spiritual music of his ancestral Punjab into the world music stage reaching out from his source indigenous music to fusion with music from other parts of the world. It is made up and embraces members from a diverse range of religious backgrounds. In explanation, Dya states that the concept of God is so big that you need many religions to work it all out!
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Hilight of the Festival, Dya Singh on the ABC Stage, is a broad church
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I just managed to squeeze in about 20 minutes of
King Marong and Afro Mandinko and I was reluctant to leave as this was looking like being another hilight but time had run out and we had to go. Another World music act, there was an emphasis on drumming and tradition instruments with members of the band coming from wide and varied backgrounds they fuse centuries old traditions of West Africa with the contemporary sounds of Western Styles.
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African drumming band, King Marong and Afro Mandinko, on the Sunday at the Colac Otway Shire Stage
[Photo: Og Bear] |
African drumming band, King Marong and Afro Mandinko, on the Sunday at the Colac Otway Shire Stage.
Back at the car we are all packed and I am waiting for Mr Merls as we seem to be crossing lines with texts and mobile messages, but after about 15 minutes Mr Merls comes around the corner and we jump in the car and set off.
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Mr Merls leaving the Bowling Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
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Og leaving his favourite venue, the Bowling Club
[Photo: Og Bear] |
I am very tired as now I am back on dialysis it seems that I have come the full circle from
last year's Festival where I was stepping out with
Eric, the Kidney, this year was the realisation of the effect that the failed transplant was going to have on me. I would have liked to have stayed for the after party, but I was tired and Merlin needed to get back to Melbourne in time toi set up for the gig.
So we headed off back over the mountains leaving Apollo Bay for another year.
[
Og Bear]
http://picasaweb.google.com/OgBear/ApolloBayMusicFestival2009#
For a slideshow go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/OgBear/ApolloBayMusicFestival2009#slideshow/
