KEY POINTS:
The best thing about Womad is wandering up to a stage and coming across something you've never heard or seen before. Where else will you see a guy from the Sahara, who's draped in traditional garb, with an electric guitar slung around his neck?
Then there are those
Tuvan throat singers; the Fado diva, who looks like she'd be a right diva too; the crazy women from the Mahotella Queens who were the first act; or that Albino-African singer. And you can wash all this down with a slice of Maori bread or a curry from the Global Food Village. Yum.
Womad (World of Music Arts and Dance) is a worldwide tour showcasing the top world music groups and musicians from around the planet. It's been to New Zealand many times but after the success of New Plymouth's first Womad in 2005, organisers claimed it had found its natural home at the beautiful Bowl of Brooklands.
And on Friday night, as French/Argentine group Gotan Project woo the crowd with their saucy brand of Argentinian Tango, that claim is in no doubt. Gotan tell the crowd it's the nicest place they've ever played, and who's arguing? It is one of the world's best.
We easily find a spot near the lakeside for Gotan - the frogs and the pumas - about 8.15pm. By 9pm the entire embankment at the Bowl is packed.
The sold-out opening night attracts 15,000 people to the site, which includes six stages, an arts and craft area, and the Global Food Village, with everything from crepes, Indian, Malaysian, a carvery, and a noodle joint.
The great thing about Womad is it's not over-sold, so you can wander around effortlessly. The biggest queues (apart from the horrendous one at the racecourse entrance on Friday night) are at the coffee stands and even then you only wait five or 10 minutes.
Gotan's set looks and sounds stunning. Everything is white, including their outfits, making the giant visuals - with everything from horse racing to a gorgeous woman fanning herself - even more striking.
For one track, two rappers are beamed on to the screen and perform as if they are live. It's so well done they almost become real and the band becomes the projections.
The finale on opening night is Nigerian saxophonist, singer, and crazy dancing man, Femi Kuti (son of Afro-beat pioneer, Fela Kuti) and his band the Positive Force. They start off piercingly loud but once the sound guy sorts it out, Kuti's psychedelic, arse-shaking African funk is proof that junior is doing his dad's legacy proud.
On Saturday it's an overcast and warm day, there's the occasional waft of marijuana in the air, and the crowd has settled into that festival vibe that moves from slumber to celebration within the space of a song.
There are lots of hippies about - young and old, feral and fresh-looking - throwing their bodies round, flailing their arms and flexing their nimble fingers to the beats.
I even heard of people using the group of hippies leaping round on the lakeside, to the left of the main stage, as a meeting spot.
But this is a festival for everyone and they're all here. Mum, dad, and the kids; drunken young louts; locals, Aucklanders, Wellingtonians; politicians (Harry Duynhoven); authors and activists (Nicky Hager); and Dutch, French and Canadians.
One of the highlights is Etran Finatawa, from Niger, who combine the traditional music from their nomadic culture with electric guitars. Unlike some fusion groups, they strike a perfect balance between their traditional and modern influences.
They are almost motionless on stage but lying back on the grass, with a few quiet beers, they are captivating. I don't know whether it's the trance they induce but I go to buy their album, apparently one of the best world music albums of last year.
Over on the tiny Dell Stage, the organisers have underestimated the popularity of New Zealand act the Mamaku Project. Punters are climbing trees, clambering up banks and using the toilet steps as a grandstand to get a peek of the rootsy dub act, with a French twist, who have just released their debut album, Karekare.
Jumped up ska-funk band dDub get a similarly enthusiastic crowd on the Gables Stage at the same time.
Surprise hit, especially with the kids, are six-piece New Caledonian act Celenod, whose celebratory and fun set fires up the dance floor.
On the main stage at 6pm Don McGlashan and his Seven Sisters are a little dreary, and even well-known songs like Anchor Me seem to be played in slow motion.
Then the rain sets in for the rest of the night and makes for a soggy remainder of the weekend. It hardly dampens anyone's spirits, especially Mexican singer and guitarist Lila Downs, who wards off the evil elements with her tequila anthems inspired by hot sunny places.
They want to hold Womad every year from now. No doubt the demand is there, considering three-day tickets sold out well before the gates opened on Friday afternoon. It's just that holding it every two years makes it an extra special event, and having it annually means it will be lumped in with all the other regular festivals.
Never mind, despite this year's wild weather, most of the 40,000 who were expected over the weekend will be back whenever they have it. This festival's a treasure.
Review
* What: Womad
* Where: Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth, March 16-18
* Reviewer: Scott Kara
