Review: WOMAD 2009

Chinese vocalist Sa Dingding was among the lead-off artists.

Taranaki's welcoming slogan, "... like no other", does the province little favour, but it does suit the Womad festival to a multi-coloured T.

Where else could you see unique performances from Egypt, India, Portugal, Mayotte and New Zealand artists all in the space of a few hours - and snack on foods from as many ethnic origins in between?

There is no other festival like Womad, and New Plymouth does it consistently well.

Coming on the eve of this year's three-day festival, Mt Taranaki's first dusting of snow for the year likely provided a grand backdrop for performers and audience alike.

Chinese theatrical vocalist Sa Dingding; the energetic, experimental Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traore; and our own conscious retro rockers Little Bushman all proved to be standouts under the clearing skies of the first night on Friday.

For some, the intimacy of the small-stage "workshops", where lessons are typically eschewed in favour of a more relaxed and revealing up-close performance, offered the real highlights.

With five stages alternating hourly, music and dance was always to be found somewhere.

Most artists performed twice over the weekend, giving festival-goers a good chance of catching many of the 30-plus acts. Other festival options included films, meditation, eating and shopping.

Nine New Zealand acts featured on Saturday, when a hot sun welcomed the quickly swelling crowd back, the programme running from midday to midnight on each of the weekend days.

The collaboration of the UK's Urban Soul Orchestra and a variety of developing local artists proved very successful in showcasing such musical oddities as Korean rap, Niuean soul and hip-hop reggae.

Unfortunately the performance of local legends Fat Freddys Drop at the TSB Bowl mainstage was halted just one song in, when the stage lost sound - a problem compounded three minutes later when its return was heralded by a high-volume, 10-second squeal of high-frequency noise.

The sound gremlins then moved to the second stage to thwart Nigerian Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, whose performance was likewise halted just after the band had warmed up. The crowd's patience in sticking around, despite the 15-minute delay needed to trace the fault, was well rewarded by the brassy afro-beat funksters.

In a reflection of the changing demographic of the Womad audience, UK club DJ Russ Jones performed a popular three-hour world/dance set to close out the evening.

Under yesterday's cloud cover, the vibe was more relaxed. New Zealand musicians were again prominent throughout the day's programme, and kids also got to celebrate their importance with a festival-stopping, dinner-time grand parade.

The All Star Gala is always a highlight, especially for those who set up their camp seats in one place rather than constantly move around the venue.

This year, UK guitarist Justin Adams ran proceedings before the riveting rock'n' roll of Algerian/French band Speed Caravan, our own world music legends Moana and The Tribe and the stunning voices and Marseille folklore of France's Lo Cor de la Plana brought Womad 2009 to an inspirational close.