Live Review: Byron Bay Bluesfest Day One – Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm (28.03.13)

Arriving a couple of hours after the music had kicked off (as it seems to be customary for our annual Bluesfest experience here at the AU), Counting Crows (pictured above) kicked things off for our 2013 Bluesfest experience in the beautiful surrounds of the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm in Byron Bay, now in its 24th year.

The set began with their popular track “Round Here”, with a passionate, emotive performance from lead singer Adam Duritz, who was donning a Rubber Soul t-shirt for their festival debut. Only took them twenty two years! Of course, Adam’s backing ensemble were mighty fine, too. Fans don’t need to be told this though – the Crows are famous for their tight, professional and powerful sets. And tonight was no exception. Also featured in the set was “Untitled (Love Song)”, “Daylight Fading”, a cover of Coby Brown’s “Hospital”, the beautiful “Colorblind” (Adam dons glasses for this one), “Omaha”, highlighting Charlie’s skills on the accordion, “Mrs Potters Lullaby”, “Raining in Baltimore” which garnered a huge response, “A Long December” featuring Adam on piano, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” with loads of mandolin (which I’m always a fan of) and “Washington Square”.

Performing with good friends The Break as his backup band, Rodriguez performed to the biggest crowd the Jambalaya stage is surely to have seen on opening night. The tent was overflowing as the crowds cheered and clapped for the man whose relative anonymity (less so locally) has made him a legend over the past three decades, helped of late of course by the Academy Award winning film Searching for Sugarman. It would be his first of two appearances at the festival, but it seemed that for many he was the main attraction of the day. He jammed, sometimes off key and generally low tempo – as is his style –  through a pile of his best known and less known tracks, which included the popular “Crucify Your Mind”, which was excellently executed live by the band, “I Think of You”, “Like Janis” and of course “Sugar Man” which sat early in the set’s second half and had everyone singing along. The Break, who feature members of Midnight Oil and Violent Femmes, were a fine backing band, never seeking to steal the limelight but certainly allowing themselves plenty of opportunities to shine. 

Meanwhile, back at the main stage, Jason Mraz was impressing the younger Bluesfest demographic. I managed to catch the ever popular “I’m Yours” as Mraz jammed with a massive band – brass and all – and did the sort of live call and response grooves that artists who have come before him, your Ben Harpers and your Michael Frantis, have done similarly well in the same venue, appropriately mixing in covers like Marley’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”; always a favourite Bluesfest singalong. “You Fucking Did It” scaled things back but saw Mraz impressing with his fast vocal skills. “I Won’t Give Up” was an epic way to end the set.

Having caught them at SXSW and falling in love with their music in the week since, I had to make sure to fit in a visit with UK’s Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls before heading along to the main stage’s closing acts. The set was loud, energetic, tight but unfortunately most of the festival was missing it for some of the bigger names. Still, those who were there were either well established fans, or new converts, so the energy was wild all the same. The set opened with Frank performing solo on “If Ever I Stray” ahead of the Sleeping Souls gradually coming onto the stage – all wearing the same white button up shirts and with the bass player proving particularly energetic throughout the set. Songs displayed by the tight ensemble included “The Road”, “Peggy Sang The Blues”, “Recovery” from their upcoming album and “Glory Hallelujah”.

Closing out the main stage were Bluesfest stalwart Ben Harper with his recent collaborator Charlie Musselwhite, who primarily appears on the harmonica. Ben was on the slide guitar when I arrived for “I don’t believe a word you say”, ahead of the brilliant “Get Up!”, one of the pair’s collaborations, which ended in a slow jam. Charlie moved onto vocals for “The Blues Overtook Me”, which was perhaps the highlight of set with its lyrics about fast women and whiskey. Ben moved back onto vocals for the powerful “Don’t Look Twice”.

An old favourite of Ben Harpers also made the cut, in “When it’s Good”, which was performed as a subdued version from the original, ahead of the pair’s track “She Got Kick”, “I’m in I’m Out and I’m Gone” and another track that saw Charlie return to the vocals. With a huge grin on his face from start to finish, as much as this was about Harper’s music, this set belonged to Musselwhite. It was a honour to see the legend at work, and it seemed no one was happier to see him up there than Charlie himself.

Chris Isaac was the other big name to close out the night, with surprise guest Wanda Jackson, who performed earlier in the day, joining the charismatic performer for a “rockabilly off”, which took place not long after Chris came down and joined punters in the crowd. He even snuck in a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”. Many left the set calling it one of the best they’ve ever seen – but yours truly regretfully was too taken up in Harper’s extraordinary performance to give it the look in it deserted. But it seemed that no matter which stage you ended your night, Bluesfest delivered the goods. But would you expect any less?

Stay tuned all week for our continuing Bluesfest coverage, direct from Byron Bay!

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.