West Coast Blues and Roots Festival

Sunday was a mixture of fresh faces and brave faces, as the 'Sunday only' ticket holders gleefully basked in their new surroundings and the weekenders amped themselves up for another day of festival proceedings and the guilty pleasures that go with it. Early performers Amos Lee and Kaki King proved themselves to be definite artists to watch in the future and were exciting revelations to start the day with. Ben Kweller, the first of what was to be an unbelievable sequence of higher profile artists, worked his way through an infectious set of New York rock and more than held his own in amongst the talent that was on display.

If the crowd hadn’t got into the mood by this stage or the weekend revelers hadn’t yet recovered their game face, The Waifs certainly made sure they did. Making a triumphant return to their home stage after a long absence, WA’s favourite folk musicians showed no sign they’d ever been gone. The crowd showed no signs they’d forgotten them either, singing along with every word of their old favourites and attentively receiving the new songs they’d penned over their break. In a slightly too cute moment but a memorable one none the less, Donna and Vicki invited their new family members, and the reason for their extended absence, up on stage to immerse them in their parents passion and melt the crowds hearts. It was a successful ploy, the ladies in the crowd ‘awww-ing’ and the men trying to hide their smiles, this warm feeling resonated through to the end of the set and The Waifs were officially back.

Also returning from an extended break, Missy Higgins was the obvious choice to follow up the charm of The Waifs. An extremely likeable personality, Missy could’ve played the worst set of her life and the crowd would have forgiven her. She didn’t though, revealing some new songs that will no doubt become radio regulars and playing the heart out of her already well acclaimed tracks, she charmed the crowd, who were reaching peak capacity in anticipation of John Mayer, and appeared to thoroughly enjoy herself.

John Mayer was somewhat of a disappointment for a world renowned Grammy award winning artist. Yes, he played with precision and class and for the devoted fans that had crammed into The Harbour Stage dance space, his performances of 'Body Is A Wonderland' and his other radio friendly songs would have absolutely delighted them. They may as well have been listening to a live recording though, as Mayer appeared to make no effort to make his performance unique and was seemingly taking the easy way out and playing songs he would get a guaranteed reaction from. It was a solid performance but in amongst the amazing collection of musicians the festival had to offer, he could have done more to impress.

There was a painful clash at the festivals conclusion with Bo Diddley and Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, both performing at the same time. This forced the crowd to have to choose between a living legend and a living legend in waiting. Those who chose the latter bared witness to one of the most well rounded and brilliant two hours of live music one could imagine.

It wasn’t just the music which made it so, it was the amazing vibe Harper and his band managed to generate from the moment they stepped on stage. Appearing genuinely moved by the crowds total appreciation of their craft, they made everyone watching feel a distinct part of what they were producing. 'My Own Two Hands' was the track they chose to open with, it was a stunning rendition which climaxed with the crowd raising their ‘own two hands’ and forming a sea of unified roof raising. Harper, at the sight of this, could not wipe the smile from his face.

This mutual sense of unity, friendship and appreciation between artist and audience, continued through the whole set, which showcased all facets of Ben Harper and the Innocents Criminals extremely diverse catalogue. Crowd favourites, 'Steal My Kisses' and 'Burn One Down' sounded as fresh as ever, the same, as always, couldn’t be said for the air quality during 'Burn One Down' though. He had the crowd rocking with edgier tracks like 'Both Sides of The Gun' and 'Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I'm Eating' and totally silenced by the moving ‘Morning Yearning’. Friendly giant and bass player, Juan Nelson, sent the crowd into a frenzy with his own rendition of John Lee Hookers ‘Gold Digger’ and the worlds happiest percussionist, David Leach, soloed some amazing bongo work at the front of stage to showcase the incredible depth of talent the Innocent Criminals have to offer. The band completed an unforgettable set with the glorious anthem, 'Better Way' and one couldn’t help but feel that Ben Harper, like Bo Diddley, would be doing this till the day he died.

Sunset Events created a festival the likes of which Western Australia has never seen with the 2007 West Coast Blues and Roots Festival. They promoted one of the cleanest, safe and cheerful environments to enjoy world class music that one could ever experience. It wasn’t just a festival, it was its own community for two days in autumn, a community void of the troubles and turmoil in the world, a union of people across all demographics there for no reason other than to enjoy music and enjoy life. And why not?

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