KVR Audio

ghost666 · Post by **ghost666** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 11:49 pm

I just have to say 'I had a F@#$ING wicked three days at the WOMAD festival NZ!'

Richie Havens, Dhaara J, Zap Mama, The Lucid Three, Alpha Blondie, Patrick Duff & Alex Lee... & too many others to remember, wow!

Got thrown some tickets & considered giving them away, 'coz I've never been big on so called 'World' music...

Glad I didn't... best gigs I've seen in a long time!

Anyone else go?

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:58 am

yeah ended up at a few womad gigs here in the uk.
pretty much the sameas you never thought much about it but me father in law won some tickets one year.was a bit of a trek down so all the way me n the wife "well see how it is make the best of it"
damn what a weekend,been a few years since then too always a good line up even if i never heard of half of em its always good stuff

John-Paul · Post by **John-Paul** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:16 am

A mate here at work went over the weekend down to New Plymouth -- he said it was fantastic!

He considered not only the music to be great... but also the setting: grass & trees with a nice lake nearby.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it Ghost.

If I didn't have other commitments I would have considered going myself.

Have a good weekend.
JP

CC4 · Post by **CC4** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:33 am

i went to womad back in uh... '92 i think it was...

egarrard · Post by **egarrard** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:40 am

How's Richie Havens sounding these days?

ghost666 · Post by **ghost666** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 5:00 am

John-Paul wrote: ...Glad to hear you enjoyed it Ghost.

If I didn't have other commitments I would have considered going myself.

Have a good weekend...
JP

Cheers John, you have a good one too brother! Yeah like ya mate said - the setting was magic.

My wife was the retail & merchandise manager for the event & reckons theres been talk of WOMAD NZ being a permanent festival in New Plymouth from now on & also maybe yearly rather than biannually! Great eh.

You should definitely come down next time, if ya ever need a place to stay... get in touch via PM!

egarrard wrote:...How's Richie Havens sounding these days?...
egarrard

Havens ruled. Sweet, sweet tunes & a beautiful man. Did his last track as a duet with Taj Mahal!

John-Paul · Post by **John-Paul** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 10:10 am

You should definitely come down next time, if ya ever need a place to stay... get in touch via PM!

Thanks for the generous offer Ghost!

A yearly event down Taranaki way would be fantastic!!

Sadly, I've never been down to New Plymouth -- have to grab the tent and get outta the city a little more!

--

Another friend went to the Soundsplash festival in Raglan in early Feb and he said the setting was pretty magical. The gig was held not far from the beach and the shape of the hills also creates a natural ampitheatre. That was also the last gig that Trinity Roots played before going their separate ways.

It seems like a lot of international artist's are avoiding the larger centres when touring New Zealand. Both Mark Knopfler and REM are performing down your way within the next month or so. One reason is the shortage of suitable large venues here and Auckland. Additionally, if I had to travel all the way to NZ to perform a gig... I'd rather have a setting that was memorable -- for both a audience and myself (as a participant).

Actually, the best local gig I've seen in the past while was Nathan Haines (with the whanau on bass & guitar) at the Auckland Zoo of all places. Loads of people just rolled on up with picnic baskets full of food and sat around the main rotunda for an evening of wine, conversation and jazz. Plus, the sound tech was spot on. It absolutely show when the tech knows the bands material (and has a few FX sends up his sleeves as well)

Anyhow.. best drag my sorry carcass off to bed -- been a long week

Stay cool guys!

ians · Post by **ians** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 10:33 am

Hi, I've been going to WOMAD in the U.K for some years and it's the best summer fest there is. More of a family affair, stuff for the kids and not to many wankers about. It always throws up something unexpected and amazing. Great realaxed atmosphere, mind you I don't want to talk it up too much, best keep it to yourself incase it turns into that over commercialised beasts some of the other fests have turned into.
Ian

ghost666 · Post by **ghost666** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:44 pm

Yeah Ian... my 5 year old had a ball.
No agro, no jerks, lotsa freaks... choice!

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:01 pm

I toured on WOMAD in 93 playing with L.Shankar (Gabriel's double violinist from Passion and Us). It was even better being on the tour because after we were done with our set I would watch everyone else's show and in case I missed one (because there were three stages at the same time) the next day I would catch the other. So, I got to see almost everyone play and it was fascinating to see so many different styles of music and instruments being played.

Has there been a WOMAD since then or is the first one? Glad to see it back anyway. If it comes here I will definitely go. I wonder if PG is playing in it. He usually headlines it since he started the whole thing.

ians · Post by **ians** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 6:57 pm

My best time at WOMAD is at dusk , just as the lanterns all get lit in the stalls. Go for a wander through the campsite. One year came across a woman singing eastern european folk songs and then a guy playing some wierd bagpipes. Then bumped into PG himself in a stall. Of course, I didn't have a f**cking clue what to say to him. Made an arse of myself if I remember !

ghost666 · Post by **ghost666** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:47 pm

Squids wrote:...I toured on WOMAD in 93 playing with L.Shankar (Gabriel's double violinist from Passion and Us)... Has there been a WOMAD since then or is the first one? Glad to see it back anyway...

You played WOMAD? Cool brother!

I thinks its been going for a few years at least every other year?
2005 NZ, was the second one in New Zealand, with New Plymouth set to become the permanent venue for it... but I know theres a regular one in Adelaide, Austrailia too, & also one somewhere in the UK & in Italy I think?

Yeah, seeing Gabriel would be cool I reckon.
Met his manager at last weeks gig. Nice fella.

Wow... WOMAD