Saturday, December 06, 2008

Xavier Rudd


Xavier Rudd is a musician. a great musician. a great australian musician. and we got tickets to his show. more accurately, john bought tickets for my birthday (the show was on november 27th). it marked the first day that john was done school for the year, which is also the first day i get a bit of a normal life back (for 6 weeks)

the show was at the belvoir ampitheatre in the swan valley. it is an absolutely 
awesome venue. 
from the  distance it looks like you're just walking onto a field. then you note a small hill. so you keep walking. once you're at the top of the hill, you see the ampitheatre. it made me feel like i was in middle earth. it was all grassy with wooden dividers for all the levels and a big grassy area in the centre for hippies to congregate and play hackysack prior to the gig. a few giant trees added to the scene, not to mention the blue skies, the sunset. 

we got there early. obscenely early. we rented a chalet not far  from the venue so as not to fight with all the cars heading back to perth. so we parked a short distance from the venue and walked in. much to my chagrin, they wouldn't let me take a blanket in (it was a cool night). when i asked why (though it clearly states on the website not to bring blankets...) the lady said "well, some people use them to sit on" *GASP*. WHAT? who ever heard of sitting on a blanket! apparently it means that one person might take up "too much room" or something, but i think it's bollocks. it was chilly. thankfully, the venue is mostly blocked from the wind, thanks in part to it's nifty design.

the show itself was fantastic. the opener wasn't my cup of tea, but had a really raspy voice which i would've mistaken for a man's had i not seen her pink hair and skirt. she was ok. but xavier, oh xavier, was great!

xavier is a multi-instrumentalist. when we first saw him live, he was solo. this time, he had a drummer (canadian) with him. both of them had similar set ups. xavier has 3 or 4 digeridoo's, slide guitar, harmonica, chimes, cymbals, kick drum, etc. all around him. he kind of looks like he's encased in instruments. he moves between them all so quickly and fluidly, you would assume many people were playing. the drummer was much the same, though his set was entirely percussion based.

he is, according to his bio, a full-time barefooter (claiming not to own or wear any footwear). he is a very strong activist for aboriginal rights, animal welfare and the environment. he's not afraid to say so during his performances. and this clearly goes over well with the new-aged hippies that make up the bulk of his fan-base (john and i, for example). he is pretty mainstream in australia now, having had a few successful "pop" releases. and apparently, he is just as popular in canada, having toured many folk fests and having married a canadian.

john's only complaint about the show was that the PA was old. if that's all a muso can complain about, i think the show must have been pretty good. 

if you ever get a chance to see him live, you should definitely go!
xo

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