Live Review: WOMADelaide 2018 - Day Four

By day four of WOMAD everyone was looking a bit dusty, but still keen for the day's events to come. The weather was perfect and crisp - a far cry from the Friday and Saturday scorchers.

The first musical act of the day, for us, was Mama Kin Spender. The duo, comprised of Danielle Caruana (aka Mama Kin) and Tom Spender, were a perfect welcome to start the day. The pair played with a relaxed charm, bantering between songs like siblings, their sparse set-up filling the Foundation stage with their close harmonies and slow, steady grooves. This was their third performance of the festival, over the four days, and it was clear that Mama Kin Spender were relishing the event, Caruana taking time to tell the crowd that WOMAD was on their list of goals when setting up the project and about the utopian future she hopes the festival represents: "WOMAD is a statement of hope... Hope is the punkest thing you can do."

As part of their tour, Mama Kin Spender have been bringing in a different choir for each performance, with WOMAD being no exception. The blend of two local choirs, Gospo Collective and The Jones Commentary, brought drama to the already-rich songs. Using local choirs gave an immediate energy to the performance - like it could have happened spontaneously in a church hall. It was a standstill moment. If you ever get the chance to see this fantastic duo live, do it. 

Following Mama Kin Spender was Israeli performer Victoria Hanna. Hanna grew up in an ultra-Orthodox family and took up performing to overcome her stutter; an experience that has clearly shaped her performing and songwriting. Between songs she taught us Hebrew proverbs, orthodox bathroom blessings and Israeli sign language, bringing depth to her songs and drawing the audience in further with her unaffected charm. Hanna's three-piece band played a variety of instruments, skillfully traversing a range of styles from hymns to hip hop to funk to rock - all the while sounding utterly unique - and her infectious rhythms had the small-but-dedicated audience swaying along with her in no time. A particular joy in her set was an explanation of the importance of mouth-creativity and enjoying the sounds that can come from the body to create music, giving particular insight into how she crafts her unique sound.

Naomi Keyte was next on the Zoo stage for a seated performance. There was a tangible pride in watching such a talented homegrown artist making beautiful music. Playing a range of songs from across all of her releases, including last year's debut album Melaleuca, the audience lapped up her songs that touch on topics such as love, nature and our own beloved Adelaide. The award-winning performer (she took home 2016's National Live Music Award for Live Voice Of The Year in SA) was a perfect fit for the seated crowd at the Zoo stage. Keyte even seemed a little shocked by how warm a reception she was receiving.

Her cover of Midnight Oil's Beds Are Burning was brilliant, rousing strong feelings from the crowd. The rendition was a fresh and beautiful take on a song most would have heard countless times, with a slow build that allowed for the true meaning to shine through complete with a violin solo and horn section. Running over time because of how much fun she was having, Keyte was an absolute delight and a perfect addition to the festival's growing range of locally sourced acts.

Nano Stern and his group may not have seemed like the most exciting or theatrical group in a festival full of incredible and virtuosic performances, but they did bring revolutionary flamenco-tinged folk rock peppered with politically charged statements. It was clear to see why they're repeat WOMAD line-up offenders, Stern keeping the audience swaying in the blistering heat with his deep grooves. Stern's infectious joy and bouncy melodies kept the audience clapping, singing and jumping along throughout the performance and, you know, who doesn't appreciate a good jam?

Foot-stomping, heart-thumping folk is what Le Vent Du Nord do best. Taking the stage in the afternoon, their songs sound steeped in tradition and as if they've been fuelling parties in pubs for generations. But they subverted the expectations of tradition with touches of modernity, like sneaking Europe hit The Final Countdown into the breakdown of one of their originals, inspiring a smattering of recognition as different parts of the crowd cottoned on to what was happening. Their energetic instrumentation inspired jigs and sounded straight out of the happiest scene in your favourite period piece.

Tex, Don & Charlie are all Oz rock royalty and the crowd was in safe hands as the veterans took the stage, opening with the ballad Redheads, Gold Cards And Long Black Limousines. Performing with a comfort that only comes from being industry icons, the trio and their backing band played a range of tunes from their back catalogue, telling stories both throughout and between songs in the unique Australian style of music that each performer helped build. The crowd seemed to be filled with fans that were more familiar with the trio's work outside of the group, but who were also more than happy to be made familiar with TD&C's tales that are steeped in tragedy, covered in grit and filled with sordid details. Tex Perkins' trademark rockstar persona carried the slow set for the lethargic audience on the pointy end of this hot, four-day festival.

Rajab Suleiman & Kithara were the most traditional-sounding act of the day, evoking their home country of Zanzibar through the presentation and their music. The mini orchestra was uniformly dressed in white linen and fronted by Saada Nassor in a traditional and eye-catching rose-coloured dress. Their slow, thoughtful music slowly built to a joyous peak as Nassor danced around the stage, inspiring the seated audience to get up and do the same.

Thundercat has a goofy charm, shouting out collaborators Kamasi Washington and Wiz Khalifa in the same breath as his mum and cat. The performer, who has been all over some of recent memory's most exciting releases, did not disappoint. Taking the stage in a robe, and quickly stripping back to shorts and T-shirt, he wowed the crowd with his bass prowess, playing a majority of songs off his most recent and critically acclaimed release, Drunk. The extended solos were funky and wild, veering in and out of chaos, with the audience hanging on his every note. After some beautiful and engaging performances, Thundercat's set was a much-needed chance to just dance and jam. As exciting as Thundercat's bass chops are, his talent as a showman shone through and his voice won't be forgotten, juxtaposing complicated rhythms and riffs with simple melodies that soared above the rest of the ensemble. Simpler, slow-burn grooves drew the audience in, notably in Drink Dat, and his cosmic brand of jazz-funk was definitely enhanced by being viewed under the stars.​

Thievery Corporation hit the stage hard. They were the named final main stage act of the festival on their first visit to Adelaide, which was a responsibility they took seriously. Their genre-jumping, psychedelic grooves were the perfect way to burn the audience's last drops of energy, and the crowd swayed and hollered at them as the performers bounced around to their own beats. Interestingly, Thievery Corporation utilised a rotating list of vocalists that brought life to each jam, every guest hyping the audience more than the last and growing the party that comes with the group's style.

This is some of the magic of WOMAD, jumping from one performer to the next, drinking in their performance and vibe and carrying it with you to compare with the next. From a line-up this good, you know that it's worth the four-day trek. And that, my fellow WOMAD fans, is a cap on the 2018 WOMADelaide festival. See you all next year!