Woodford in Review: Days 5 & 6

3 January 2010 by Max Easton

Wrapping up the so-called daily updates from the Woodford Folk Festival comes this combined fifth and sixth day report covering Woodford’s stunning New Year celebrations and the New Year’s day festivities.

We could talk all we like about the day of the 31st, but of course, the only thing new to read after four updates is talk of the countdown. We spent New Year’s Eve under the stars at Woodford’s natural amphitheatre with thousands of others. On our way up to the mountain , a brief detour made its way through the Chai tent for Chocolate Strings, an upbeat set of tunes that had people dancing on tables and subsequently falling off them. No names given. The night at the Amphitheatre began with a few hours of rhythm based music delivered by a range of acts from Mr. Percival to Rapskallion preceding a three minute silence. The silence coincided a hillside of candles casting a lull over the entire festival site, one that was soon lifted by Mountain Mocha Kilaminjaro taking us through to midnight. A single firework brought in 2010, followed by a flooding of vibrancy and enthusiasm which eventually made its way down into the main festival site for whatever the night brought them. Options included a much talked about set by Dubmarine or one by Juke Baritone & the Swamp Dogs, weakened massively by a complete and unfortunate replacement of their backing band.

If, from that, you managed to get to bed early enough to get a decent sleep before the most sweltering morning of the festival, then you may well have risen for New Year’s Day a functioning human being. Failing that, there was always the mid-day set by Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea, a set of which firmed itself up to be one of the festival’s top musical discoveries. Her set of country-inspired indie rock was the perfect cure to the night prior. Having a laid-back day on the first of January was one that was definitely in order, so we took to catching some of the festival’s more quirky features like the Mystery Bus and art/comedy installation Disturbia.

The Mystery Bus revolved around comedic secrecy by a couple of guys dressed up as security guards and a few stereotypical air hostesses before stepping onto an air conditioned bus to see a secret set by a performer off the line-up. Unfortunately, we’re not able to divulge that information. Disturbia on the other hand, was a purpose built village of bizarrity, a secret society of derelicts and lobotomy victims who went about their daily ritual as you walked through its paths and hallways.

Having regrettably skipped the famous Woodford fire event, we finished the night with an extremely early night…almost embarrassingly so, but having been at the festival site for the past eight days, we called it justified.

A typical blisteringly hot morning for pack-up ensued. With the bar, lounge and tarps in the trailer and the drive back to Brisbane ahead, Woodford was over. The festival was the third for myself and the fifth for Leigh and Richo, a number which made it feel like it would be our last for a while, but on the final night of the festival we’d already begun talking about next year’s set-up. I suppose time will tell. This year’s festival was widely agreed to be one of the best we’d been to; a week of spot-on weather and generally just good times all round. Pretty much, if you’ve never been, get yourself a ticket for next year on their 25th anniversary, it’s the most unique festival on Australia’s calendar and one of which you need to see to believe…and not just via our daily updated photo’s.   

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