Saturday
Loud it is, far closer to acoustic rock than it is to folk,
who cares, folk is a very broad church, if it can take Britney, it can take
pretty much anything.
Cerys is the possessor of one of the most distinctive
voices in music, not just folk music, music full stop and she's giving it full
range today.
Her indie sensibilities give her a different take on performance
than acts that have come up through the club scene.
Her use of the stage is
far more rock. She turns her back on the audience more. The guitar is not just
an instrument; it's a performance tool to be combined with her feminine
wiles.
Looking at the audience she has a younger front row than average. Some
of it was here for Nickel Creek, but it's definitely knocked some years off the
usual.
Cerys previews a number of songs from her forthcoming album. It's not
going to be folk in the conventional sense; it might not even be acoustic.
It
does sound like it's been well written. Cerys has something of the Faye about
her, maybe not in looks, but definitely in outlook.
In this normalised,
homogenised world, that's not a bad thing. Go for it girl and more power to your
elbow.
I miss the end of Cerys set as a couple of the FATEA team have been
buzzing about the John Butler Trio and if I nip off now I can get a flavour of
what it's all about.
My initial reluctance to cut Cerys short is quickly
overcome. I most certainly hadn't bought a dud. Hailing from America before
moving to Australia, John Butler has developed an interest fusion of blues,
folk, rock and funk with just a hint of reggae/ragga thrown in.
The first
song is just John sat in his chair with a guitar carried in the conventional
style and I'm worried that I've blown out the end of Ms. Mathews for
nothing.
I've been told never to trust a band that sits down. They want you
to come to them, not them reach out to you. It's probably less true in folk then
most genres, maybe it was a dig at folk. Whatever the origin it certainly ain't
appropriate here.
John is joined by the other two members of the band and
they steadily go about the task of ripping the roof off the joint.
Drums,
acoustic bass and a selection of guitars that include the lap variety aren't
normally considered an incendiary device, they are here, the band set the tent
on fire.
The John Butler Trio are the hit of the festival so far, which makes
my following choice all the harder and I head back to Stage One for what could
be my last view of the Chieftains.
All is not lost, The John Butler Trio are
playing another set on Stage One tomorrow. It'll be fascinating to see how they
cope with the less intimate venue.