REVIEW BY: YASMIN MORRIS (Yazmindi) & MONIKA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH

A well deserved beautiful sunny day in Byron Bay was happening (before the mud fest) as punters slowly arrived for Day One of Bluesfest, getting their bearings of the site and walking around looking at what delicious local food and clothing stalls they would try over the weekend. As the local Byron Bay newspaper Echo wrote, ‘long lost friends, familiar strangers, reunited after two years of estranged times. Arriving to a sea of friendly smiling faces, the air felt decidedly electric with excitement for making the most of this well-earned moment in time.’ This was definitely the attitude in the air as it was already planning out to be a wonderful long weekend of live music that we have all desperately been missing.

Spinifex Gum are an Aussie musical collective. They are based in Cairns and it is a collaboration of an Indigenous ensemble including the Marliya Choir, Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill of the Melbourne band The Cat Empire, Lyn Williams, and Deborah Brown. They share the (emotionally fuelled) stories of the the Yindjibarndi people in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The group took to the stage in matching outfits, and choreography with the screen lit up with different snippets and scenes to go along side their songs. There were small breaks between each song as the voices of elders spoke of their stories. The entire performance was emotionally charged and had me in tears along with many others. Their harmonies and synchronised movements on the stage were mezmerising and captivating from start to finish.

After a stellar guitar performance from front man Paul George, the 4 piece local electronic and world music group from Gold Coast, Tijuana Cartel drew us in and the entire tent was silent. You could hear a pin drop. The suspense was a long, endearing and highly enjoyable 5 minute build up of flamenco guitar while Paul casually sat on his chair being one with his guitar. When the pulsing beat finally dropped with bongos, bass, synth and trumpet, he arose from the chair dancing side to side and the crowd went wild! The Mojo tent was pumping! Without a pause, each song melted into another keeping the crowd engaged. Alongside a mesmerizing light show, this was a great warm up for the crowd who were about to be hit with the final show of The Cat Empire.

The original line-up has now been celebrated and they definitely went out with a bang here at Bluesfest! It’s been 21 years since the group's very first show together (May 2001) and it’s now time for them to venture off on their own musical journeys leaving Felix and Ollie to steer the group in the next direction. Performing a 1hr 40min set with a 15 minute encore, you could tell the boys were having the time of their life performing their classic well loved songs in which the sea of people knew every word too alongside their newer songs from recent albums. It was a nice blend of keeping it current and going back in time to the songs we grew up too. The crowd was moving and grooving! At one point the entire tent was jumping up and down in time together. The emotions were flowing as Felix continuously thanked their team, manager and the devoted fans who have been supporting their music since they started in Melbourne during the late 90’s. It was the sweatiest happiest mosh when Harry sang his classic ‘The Wine Song’ that is always a fun crowd pleaser. We're eagerly awaiting to see what the Cats do next!

PHOTOS BY: MONIKA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH

Spinifex Gum