Peats Ridge Festival Review: The Crooked Fiddle Band

January 1, 2012 at 14:08 (Festivals, Reviews)
Tags: crooked fiddle band, folk music, peats ridge festival

Image Courtesy of The Crooked Fiddle Band

The Crooked Fiddle Band
Friday – Lyrebird

If there’s one band that has become synonymous with the Peats Ridge Festival it’s The Crooked Fiddle Band. The Gypsy-infused Sydney foursome have been at almost all of the Peats Ridge Festivals over the years and always draw a massive crowd. The fact that they refer to the Peats Ridge stage as “home” shows just how comfortable they are at the festival.

When The Crooked Fiddle Band took to the stage at this years festival it was to a roar of a full Lyrebird tent and they did not disappoint. Their live show crackles with an energy few other bands can match and their frantic brand of gypsy-instrumental music had the audience up and dancing immediately.

Peppering their set with old favourites (like “The Rom Rebellion”) and tracks from their new album Overgrown Tales The Crooked Fiddle Band delivered an amazing show that was over far too soon (as is the trouble with stringent festival schedules). Somewhat surprisingly my favourite song from the set was not one of the danceable numbers but instead was The Hobbit inspired “Over Hill and Under Hill”, a rambling, medieval piece that really transports the listener into the narrative of the piece (no mean feat considering the track is an instrumental).

Jess Randall on fiddle continues to be an inspiration to musos everywhere – the mastery she has over her instrument is simply unparalleled both in the speed at which she can play and the huge array of sounds she can illicit from it. Mark Stevens on bass is a joy to watch and was perfectly mixed by the sound team at the Lyrebird. Gordon Wallace may be the only bouzouki-playing rock star in the country but that man just knows how to own the stage. And of course Joe Gould’s drums (and occasional vocals) brought everything together and filled the tent with that amazing energy that The Crooked Fiddle Band are known for.

Peats Ridge wouldn’t have been Peats Ridge without a show from The Crooked Fiddle Band and we’re so happy we managed to catch them. And with The Crooked Fiddle Band once again hosting their post festival party in January (more details to come) here’s hoping we get more of the same from these guys in 2012.