Post-Bluesfest Blues.

So it's been a while. It appears this blogging caper actually requires time and effort, time and effort that seem to evade me during the average working week. I have recently been so fortunate however, as to have eleven WHOLE days off work. Eleven days in which to reacquaint myself with the hours after 10pm, eat at varied (and many) hours of the day, and fill my hours with generally enjoyable and largely non-productive activities. Bliss.

Five of these wunderbar days were spent attending the Byron Bay Bluesfest for the third Easter running. For anyone looking to while away five days in the company of good friends, amazing weather, delicious food and excellent music, I'd highly recommend it. We stayed in a charming (yes, read small yet cozy) house in nearby Brunswick Heads and enjoyed passing our mornings cafe-hopping, beach swimming and Easter egg eating, before heading to the festival in the afternoons. Unfortunately I have arrived home with a serious dearth of photos, however I blame the fact that I was far too busy having fun/eating/singing/whinging about how heavy my bag was to worry about taking too many pics. That and the fact that unless you have a super lens and a swag of practice, gig photos all tend to turn out looking rather similar.

Anyway, here are a couple of simple photos we did get around to taking..

It would be optimistic to attempt to condense five days of music into one blog post, even for me. Some of the highlights included..

Cold Chisel - I actually forgot these guys were playing until arriving on Thursday and feeling rather conspicuous with my lack of an appropriately branded t-shirt. I must admit, as the day and mullet count progressed, I began to get rather excited about singing along to some Australian pub classics. Jimmy Barnes bounded on stage come 10pm, looking resplendent in leather pants and a rockin' vest, although disappointingly the rumoured bottle of vodka was nowhere to be seen. The band played a two hour set, rather impressive considering the energy levels they maintained throughout. Despite finding it hard to suppress my nerdy horror at what Barnes must be doing to his vocal cords, the songs simply wouldn't be as much fun without his signature raspy touch.

Buddy Guy - the 75 year old appeared happy as punch to be playing Bluesfest again, treading a fine line between amusingly cheeky and slightly seedy as he bantered with the crowd. A group singalong to 'Someone else is steppin' in' was also rather fun.

Ziggy Marley - although plenty of his own songs were really quite decent, of course the one we'll all remember is his hearty rendition of his father's Jamming. The closest our generation can hope to get, awesome.

Brian Setzer - I honestly had no idea who this gentleman was, and caught his set owing only to our desire to hold our spot for the following headliner. I soon had the pleasant sensation of thinking I'd mistakenly wandered onto the set of Grease, and was simply amazed at what his band could do with a trio of double basses.

John Fogerty - Although likely nowhere near as excited as the hordes of middle aged ladies at his Saturday show, I was definitely looking forward to the mass singalong promised by the former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman. I was not disappointed. Regardless of the obvious monetary incentive, Fogerty appeared genuinely pleased to be there, and put on a brilliant show. He happily played Creedence hit after Creedence hit and it really was pretty special to sing along to such iconic songs.

Busby Marou - I had high hopes for this duo from Rockhampton and they were exceeded in every respect. Playing early in the day, we secured a prime position from which to watch guitarist Jeremy Marou weave his magic. The album belies how very talented this young man is, at one stage playing the guitar with a ukelele. Thomas Busby provided the perfect vocal accompaniment and peppered the set with amusing stories and anecdotes. The hour ended long before I was ready.

John Butler Trio - My third time jumping with joy in a JBT audience, and it certainly hasn't gotten old. Butler and his two offsiders ran through their bevy of tunes with enthusiasm, warmth, energy and simple talent, keeping the crowd positively hooked for the full two hour set. The horn section of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra joined the stage for a truly fantastic rendition of 'Zebra', and Nicky Bomba had everyone cheering during his drum solo. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face all the way home and well into the next day.

Ashleigh Mannix - This new discovery was a real highlight of day five. An acoustic set relying only on her voice and her guitar (and her lungs alone at one stage following a broken guitar string) showcased Mannix's raw and gritty vocals and amusing songwriting. We certainly weren't alone in rushing to the CD shop afterwards.