Australia Day 2009

I have heard a lot about Australia Day before arriving in Australia, mostly from Daniel (one of my Ecuadorian traveling friends). But my Australia Day, while being brilliant, was very different from what I expected. I wandered through Darling Harbor which was not very exciting, and I was worried about my prospects for the day until I found myself in The Rocks. There was a 9 stage all Aussie band music festival going on. I saw non-stop unique music, until well after sun down. Each band was incredibly different and I am giving pandora suggestions for a few people.

Dan Sultan - Mom - A young indigenous guy who is wicked on the guitar but most of the time sings while jumping around with a moraca. Imagine James Brown growing up in the outback in a rock band.

Coco's Lunch - Zeka - All female acapella group who's songs were mostly inspired when traveling through India. A little lesbiany but I have never heard music like this.

Perry Keyes -Denise - Present day classic rock. I think the main guy with the acoustic electric guitar would sound better on his own, but the band was fun.

Watussi - Daniel - Some Columbian guys singing in spanglish and killer guitar with a salsa vibe. Incredible bongos, trumpet, saxophone, trombone.

The Herd - Brendan - Hip-hop guys that sound a little like Rage Against the Machine mixed with Linkin Park. Rappers with 2 guitars, a bass, and a guy on accordian/clarinet.

Whenever I look up music after a show I am disappointed so if anyone doesn’t like the music I picked for them, I will blame it on that. The rain started during Coco’s lunch and hasn’t stopped yet. But everyone was jumping around all day in front of the stages. Several people got arrested for jumping into the harbor in front of the main stage. Quite a day…