 PEATS RIDGE FESTIVAL 2005 - THE EVENT IN REVIEW |
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| DAY TWO A weary yet gloriously satisfying awakening. The breeze in the trees, the birds singing and the sound check from the main stage, awesome! Now where's the coffee to make it perfect? The morning was spent taking in the sights, the sounds and the smells. What a fantastic layout and set up this festival was. A coffee vendor closer to the artists camping area would have been an added bonus but that has been the ONLY semi-negative item from the whole week end. The organisers ought to have given themselves and each other a huge pat on the back. It all went so well from the spectator side. They even had warm showers! Security was plentiful and visible. I can only imagine from what we saw they would not have had too much to do. The whole show, setting, people, supplies and assistance was magical. On to the music... Day two saw the morning a little more sparse than the previous night for obvious reasons. The first cab off the rank for us was The Rhythm Hunters. Local artist Rendra Freestone did the coast proud on the main stage. The music and the musicians had the huge crowd enthralled. The Indo dancers were stunning. The Brackets and Jam tent had an open mic day. Serena Vickers was an act I, most unfortunately, just missed, but from a few reports from some familiar musical faces she did really well. One act we did catch in the B&J tent was Beautiful Mess. We didn't get a chance to chat to this duo as we had to make another stage but I have been told the lady was Carlie and she has played with artists such as Mia Dyson and is from the band Yellow Monday. When Carlie walked onto that stage she had a very commanding presence. You could not have missed her. Ironically, Carlie sang a song she had written about a guy that didn't notice her and the heartache one endures with the one way love scenario. A beautiful rendition of a beautifully touching song indeed. . I would love to hear some work from Yellow Monday as we missed them at the Festival and have been greatly chastised for doing so. Emily Maguire was an interseting and entertaining songstress apparently hailing from the UK. Although Emily was solo on stage, her talents had many punters stop look and listen to this ladies music. Caribbean Soul was just as the tag implied, a lively, happy, rhythmic, calypso, reggae chill session. Love, peace and fun, all about what life ought to be. It did feel odd to hear some covers in the set but they were done well. We took an extended lunch break in the early afternoon to regroup and sort out the plan for the night. Figuring Afro Moses, Rocwater, The Soul Sound Project, Dr Goodvibe and Freeway were definite candidates we repacked the day bag and set off again. On our wanderings we were drawn (out of timetable) back to the Bellbird Stage to what would have to be described as an energetic and entertaining gathering of musicians. The stage was full of them and they all played as one to so many very happy punters. If you didn't dance before, you did now. The Red Eyes were just one of those acts you did not want to walk away from or could stand still with and we didn't. You couldn't. The icing on this most delicious cake were the two young (12 - 15 year olds?) that were on stage with the band, at the front, dancing their little souls out and loving every second of it, as did the crowd. Poignantly at the close of the set, the lead singer (El Witeri) said thanks to the girls and then to the crowd, "this (the children) is our future, look after them, nurture them and teach them well". A sentiment agreed with by all who were in attendance I'm sure. Afro Moses promised to be a treat but he seemed uneasy and concerned for something, perhaps on stage. A perfectionist maybe? The show was still good and the support vocals were very powerful but I felt there was more to an Afro Moses show than what we saw tonight and I will look forward to catching the next one. Dr Goodvibe was wowing the audience when we arrived. Having been captured by Mr Valk and Mr Marsh's talents while listening to the CD at a friends place I have been hooked ever since. I believe the amount of captives increased dramatically from the reaction of the audience. And so it should be! King Rhythm was unable to fill out with percussion this show due to other commitments but there were no shortage of vibrant percussionists to assist on stage tonight. Freeway lost out to the long awaited chance to catch local newcomers Rocwater.  Having run into Duane on a few musical occasions the signs were there and all good to NOT miss this show... they were correct. These guys went much further than just off. A fantastic show. The audience in the B & J tent instantly increased as the sound these guys were making traveled out to the festival grounds. The sheer entertainment value and effort these guys put into the show would almost guarantee them a prime time slot on the main stage for the next Festival. Considering it was after midnight I was surprised to see so many people still so full of energy on the dance floor. They were loving it. The band slowed it down a little with a few songs from Duane, David and Andy (I think) but the audience remained transfixed. Local photog Ryan Heywood has also been an advocate of this band and their fellow musos The Soul Sound Project and his recommendations to date have never been wrong.The Coast is blessed with so many talented bands and artists that the time has come for those with the venues to see that there is a calling for our original artists. A few of them, thankfully are already showcasing these incredible acts but we need more venues to follow suit before we lose them to the Hunter and Sydney regions. Having had the perfect ending to yet another glorious day in paradise, it was time to catch some zzz's for tomorrows music and the strip down pack up scenario. |
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 CARRIBEAN SOUL |
THE RED EYES |
 ROCWATER |
To PEATS RIDGE FESTIVAL WEBSITE |
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