Excited to be heading off to Austria once again in a few days time, skiing and catching up with relatives. But first there is Womadelaide. My northern hemisphere ski trips are based around Womad which is fixture in my calendar, having been to all of them since 1995. My ski trips are either pre-Womad/Winter or in this case post-Womad/Spring. Holiday start today. Will be heading off for the start of it in just a few hours. Warming up for it with a bit of Shantel.
An enjoyable first night on a pleasantly mild evening. Saw Amjad Ali Khan & the ASO, Las Cafeteras, Fatoumata Diawara, Khruangbin and Chistime & the Queens.
Awesome day yesterday. Afternoon session was brilliant with Sona Jobarteh, My Baby, Amaru Tribe & LaBrassBanda. In the evening I enjoyed seeing Amjad Ali Khan again and finished with the return of Fat Freddy's Drop, but the absolute stand out for me was DuOud on the small zoo stage earlier on. Two guys adding beats to their Ouds. Wow! Feeling somewhat tired and sore this morning. A long day.
As a result though I did miss watching the ski racing from Kranjska Gora in Slovenia. Marcel Hirscher was only able to get 6th in the Giant Slalom but it was enough for him to wrap up a record 8th overall world cup title! Amazing
Weather has been perfect so far also - warm days around 30C and mild evenings around 20C. No need to carry extra gear.
When you next get on a chairlift, ask an Austrian what was Marcel's time for that run. Bet you they'll know.
Another brilliant day. Was a fairly easy decision to go and see both Sona Jobarteh and Fatounata Diawara a second time. Both quiet different but very talented African women. Silkroad Ensemble were very good also. Was quite crowded on some stages later in the afternoon and evening so chopped and changed plans a bit. Firmly fixed however was the much awaited Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar who duly delivered a very engertic fun performance. Loved it.
Last day today. One of the things with festivals like this is deciding whether to try and see as many different performers as possible or revisiting favourites. While I certainly would have enjoyed seeing John Butler again on Saturday I was extremely happy with the choice to go see DuOud. Looking at the program tonight though looks like a good chance to see some of my faves for the weekend a second time - My Baby, Shantel, LaBrassBanda & finishing with DuOud.
How was My Baby? One of my school mates does their sound, usually in Europe, I think he lives in Amsterdam.
Fatoumata has changed a lot I saw her in Sydney some years ago, in the Spiegeltent so a fairly small sound yesterday she was massive then Angélique last night this year’s Wom is all about African women - so great
Was a brilliant day yesterday. Took it fairly easy through the afternoon knowing what was to come in the evening. The Italian group Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino were very good, saw La Dame Blanche, then listened to a bit of Dona Onete while having a bite to eat and a beer. But then it got serious. Another great set from the Amsterdam based blues, funk trio My Baby (the guitarist is a Kiwi). Then got a good spot by the main stage for Shantel and much jumping around and singing Tsiganizatsia tsiganizatsia, Disko disko partizani! Good times. Shantel (German Stefan Hantel) does like to get the crowd involved. Then quickly to the Novatech stage very much against the flow of traffic. Looked liked everyone was keen to see The Bamboos and later the Original Gypsy Kings which I am sure would have been good but I had my agenda set. Another enjoyable time was had with LaBrassBanda, so in fact 2 quite different German based brass bands. LaBrassBanda are mostly Bavarian though the bass player is Austrian and the drummer Dutch. Good playing and a very good sense of humour - doing polka, yoga Bavarian style. Amusing doing the "Soul train shuffle" though that did create quite a bit of dust. Finally then to the pavilion in the park nearby which was mostly used for speakers over the weekend, now with most of the chairs cleared out. Got up front for DuOud - 2 guys playing Oud - An Algerian and a Tunisian. I had seen Mehdi Haddab here a few years ago with Speed Caravan which I really liked. Now though together again with Smadj who has added electronics to the mix which ramps it right up. Was loving it. Then a few other people turned up next to me up front namely Shantel and the sax and trumpet players from his group. Another aspect of Womad I love. DuOud then played their new piece 'Get Sexy, get Mad''. It got pretty wild in the Get Mad part. Shook Shantels hand as he was leaving. Womadelaide are generally pretty strict with their timing, to ensure everything runs on time which they almost always achieve. This time though at almost the very end it was a bit annoying. No one wanted to stop, so the stage manager had to almost literally pull the plug and cut the power. There was a final DJ set nearby which I wasn't really interested in, so after a bit of rest reflecting on the night I called it quits. Have always been reluctant to call any of the previous 20 Womads the best. Far to judge as a whole, but in this case for me personally this one was. Everyone has different experiences and when I see some of the reviews you wonder if they were at the same festival. Plenty of big acts that I didn't see that I am sure would have been good also. Till next year. The good thing this time though is that I don't have the thought of having to return to the real world by going straight back to work.
A few very crappy phone pics. I don't spend much time on this and prefer to live the moment and am not into selfies. Sona Jobarteh Shantel near the end of their set when the side of stage guests were invited on stage. Shantel himself and the sax player later come to DuOud. DuOud - Mehdi Haddab DuOud - Smadj
Should also add that the weather throughout was absolutely perfect. If you could pre-order weather then I would choose pretty much exactly what we had. Warm days - mid to high 20's so not the sweltering days we have had several times and not having to constantly look for shady spots, then mild and calm evenings around 20. This meant shorts and t-shirt and for me not having carry a backpack with extra gear, staying light and mobile. Just needed shorts with a cargo pocket/re-usable drink cup holder. So this Womad for me was a 10/10 allround.
Might be ok when you get there. Saalbach Hinterglemm Snow Forecast - 7 and 14 day - 12 Mar 2019 | J2Ski
Dubai airport now after an ok flight other than length. Walked the length of the terminal to stretch the legs. A couple more hours till the second leg but at least that is a shorter 7 hours.
Arrived ok in Munich, passport control took a bit longer than my last couple of arrivals in Vienna, but had to wait for bags anyway, my skis were the only ones on the flight and were the last thing to be unloaded, just as I was lining up at the baggage desk. S-bahn into town, drop gear at hotel and go for a wander. Town was rather busy, with lots of red. Soon figured that Bayern were playing Liverpool tonight in a Champions league game. Bayern fans everywhere, with a few pockets of Liverpool fans also. Stopped for a look at the Hofbrauhaus, but was very brief - it was completely packed with Bayern supporters downing Steins. Game start was still several hours away. Same story at a couple other nearby pubs, another with Liverpool fans on the street. Eventually got a spot in Haxnbauer for a halbe Schweinshaxen und eine Hefeweizen - sehr gut.
In Innsbruck now (finally actually in Austria). Skied Patscherkofel this afternoon. Having dinner now (Steirische Backhandelsalat) - missed lunch today. Just got my Austria Sim organised - took a bit longer as you have to register them now before you can activate.
Still struggling a bit with the jet lag - was a bit out of it last night. Was a drizzly evening in Innsbruck and looking much the same this morning. Was good to get the first days skiing in - got about 3 hours on hard pack pistes but snow coverage is good. Heading up to Schlick 2000 today.
ZIemlich winterlich hier oben. Etwas Neuschnee und es schneit noch. Sicht ist aber nicht optimal so fahre ich ziemlich vorsichtig.
Hab ich gehabt aber die sind ziemlich alt und die obere gummi ist weg. Das heisst jetzt war die richtige Zeit neue zu kaufen. War dann viel besser aber trotzdem war die Gelande schwierig richtig zum lesen. Unten ist es ganz feucht und ich bin jetzt ziemlich nass Sitze jetzt mit eine heisse Chocolat.
