Iggy Pop rocked Bluesfest on Saturday. Pic: Brendan Radke
IGGY Pop brought crowd surfing to the Byron Bay Bluesfest as he and his band The Stooges worked themselves black and blues when they went head-to-head with Grammy-winning vocalist Robert Plant on Saturday night.
There was a whole lot of love for Led Zeppelin frontman Plant and his Sensational Space Shifters as they played a world music-flavoured set on the Mojo Stage.
Loaded with reworked, at times disconcerting versions of Led Zep classics, Plant and his players' folky version of Black Dog could have been renamed Happy Dog while What Is and What Should Never Be received more traditional treatment. The set included Heartbreaker, Rock and Roll and an extended jam of Whole Lotta Love that morphed into Who Do You Love.
"Hot and sticky, wet and fun," Plant said, likening Byron Bay to the Mississippi Delta.
His vocals were at times drowned out by the bleed of nearby noise from Pop's cranked-up rock show.
Proving there's eternal satisfaction in subversion, Pop and The Stooges previewed a couple of tracks from new album Ready to Die (out April 30) alongside a selection of dirty favourites on the Crossroads Stage, a new generation of music fans stoked at their chance to see the punk pioneer not so much in the flesh but in skin and bones.
"Thanks for showing up. Thanks for listening to our slimy little band," an obviously pleased Pop beamed as he threw his crippled, contorted frame into golden oldies including Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell and the saucy, sax-soaked Penetration.
Festival director Peter Noble and indigenous creative Rhoda Roberts used this year's Bluesfest to launch a new annual event, the Boomerang Festival. A three-day festival with onsite camping, it will be held at the Bluesfest grounds on NSW Labour Day long weekend in October.
Featuring artists from around the world, Boomerang will give audiences the chance to experience living cultures through traditional and contemporary music, featuring ancient instruments, dance and rituals, traditional arts practices and workshops with a focus on mother tongues and first instruments.
George Negus led a creative panel discussion with Noble and Roberts, Sustainability, Environment and Arts Minister Tony Burke, the Australia Council's Merindah Donnelly and Tourism Australia CEO Andrew McEvoy as part of the Boomerang Festival announcement.
The Bluesfest site, at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, stood up remarkably well following an absolute soaking on Good Friday but was hammered again during the band of storms that hit northern NSW last night.
Phone reception (there often isn't any) and car parking have proven problematic this year, with many motorists complaining of long traffic jams (up to three hours) to exit the grounds.
The use of folding chairs inside tents and the addition of "diamond" premium VIP stands have also tested the patience of patrons at some of the bigger shows, including Santana's performance on the Mojo Stage on Good Friday, with fans urging festival organisers to introduce more free seating.
Today's final-day highlights include an encore by Jeff Tweedy's wonderful band Wilco, gospel/soul star Mavis Staples' second show and talk of the country the Zac Brown Band, who land in Byron after a huge week of shows in Australia opening for Jason Mraz.
Bruce Springsteen watched Brown's set from side of stage at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne last week while Brown was part of an extended jam at the Soda Factory, in Sydney's Surry Hills last week with Mraz, Steve Miller, guitarist David Ryan Harris and members of Santana.
Brown, from Georgia, and Bonnie Raitt both hit Bluesfest tonight after playing the inaugural Deni Blues & Roots Festival in Deniliquin before Paul Simon closes the show.
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