Sydney Festival time is upon us once again and this year the festival passed on its usual “Festival First Night” branding and introduced us to “Day One: An Opening in Three Acts”, which was a rather artistic way of telling us there would be three events happening in the Sydney CBD on the first day of Sydney Festival 2013. Though a much more downscaled approach to things (with the exception of rubber ducks), especially from the music point of view, the event felt just as big as ever, culminating in a huge party in the Domain.
The first event, “Fun Run”, was held in the morning at Hyde Park and unfortunately we didn’t make that one, but sounded like great fun for the whole family. Then there was “The Arrival”, which you can read about and look at some photos of HERE. But really it was all about the party in the Domain, which in true Sydney Festival style was 100% free and featured some amazing musicians.
The event was dubbed the “Daptone Super Soul Revue”, and featured the family of artists that help make up the Daptone Records label in Brooklyn, New York. Over the last decade, the indie label has produced some of the finest contemporary soul, funk, gospel and afrobeats artists, helping keep the genres alive.
Things kicked off with Sugarman 3, who feature Saxophonist and Daptones Records founder Neal Sugarman. With a focus on the organ, the instrumental group got the crowd in the mood early, as we got revved up for the main attractions. Likewise, The Menahan Street Band – a collaboration of musicians from The Dap-Kings, Antibalas and The Budos Band – followed with more instrumental beauty.
But if these guys were the warm up act, then no one told Charles Bradley that he wasn’t headlining. The man who has been nicknamed the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” showed us why he’s one of the world’s most celebrated performers. It was a tear-inducing set for many, with the emotive performer capturing the hearts of the crowd and never failing to show his appreciation for the opportunity, ending just about every song proclaiming his love for us all. “Lovin’ You Baby” was a highlight of the set. He’s a performer not to be missed.
The Budos Band were next, making their Australian Debut, and it was clear that many people had come just to see them, gaining huge cheers from certain parts of the crowd. Their music has been quite popular on the underground scenes over the years and their live shows are something of legend. They certainly delivered tonight, but I daresay I would have been captured up in the music a little more had I not been in such a massive outdoor venue. They’re definitely meant to be enjoyed in a smokey jazz club in the middle of Berlin or Brooklyn – as with most instrumental music of this genre. Still, a wonderful act who justly set the scene for our esteemed headliner.
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are no strangers to Sydney Festival. They’ve played first night before and we’d already seen The Dap-Kings perform with most of the other artists on the stage tonight. Sharon’s incredible energy was infectious – she’s been hailed as “the female James Brown” after all – and throw in some incredible music from her back catalogue, and you have yourself a very fine show indeed. We sang and danced along from start to finish – but no one in the crowd could outshine Sharon herself, who definitely gave it her all.
What you had on display tonight was quite simply an incredible night of musicianship. Whether you had charismatic front men and women like Sharon or Charles, or were just performing as an instrumental group, the music from the Daptones label is as exhilarating as it is awe-inspiring. This was an incredible, if not daring opportunity for the label to show off their wares in style in Australia, and I certainly hope everyone in that crowd goes home and listens to more music from their label, and more music from the genre(s). Someone’s got to keep the soul in music alive, and they’re doing it with style and grace… with some great beats to accompany it, too!
