Review and gallery: JD Garrahy

Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave. Two bands that carved a solid path in the metal and revolutionary rock industries. You can attribute it to the political drive that saw RATM become modern day revolutionaries, or the haunting lyrics of the late great Chris Cornell, each are iconic in their own right. But they have something in common. Tom Morello, the guitar virtuoso of both incredible bands.

Tonight is Good Friday at Bluesfest and the vibe for today’s festivities have definitely turned the clientele from the usual hippies of Byron to people that have travelled far and wide to bear witness to the fret work of this amazing musician. These are the devoted metalheads that previously had no reason to descend upon the Tyagrah Tea Tree Farm grounds. That changed today. From George Thorogood to Toto and Gary Clark Jr., there is something for everyone to sink their teeth into at Bluesfest on this epic Good Friday.

The amount of people here today is massive, and possibly the busiest I have seen Bluesfest in recent years. After the announcement last year that this would be the final hurrah (it’s not, so don’t panic), we were all poised on the edge of our seats to see what artists were going to make up this year’s lineup. From the moment Morello was announced, the anticipation for the 2 sets he was scheduled to perform at was intense to say the least. Luckily, the two setlists were almost identical, so there was minimal FOMO.

From the moment Morello arrives, the packed-out Mojo Stage tent is a hive of energy. We are about to witness one of the greatest guitarists of our generation and it’s not too long into the set that we see just how truly talented this guy is with experimental riff work and using the instrument to its fullest potential, and beyond. When you’re 2 metres from such a great, watching the way he manipulates not only the strings, but also the electrical element to it, you cannot help but be completely gobsmacked at the sounds emitted tonight.

“I’ve been waiting so long to play this for you all” Morello proclaims before launching into a medley of ‘Testify’, ‘Take The Power Back’, ‘Freedom’ and ‘Snakecharmer’. Oh, my fucking god, we are in for some deep cuts tonight and Morello is guaranteed to provide them. The man not only can play guitar in an otherworldly fashion, but like to talk to the crowd as well, “I was booked for Bluesfest, so I better play you some blues I guess”, he humbly states before providing a finger tapping blues line while switching his guitar pickups back and forth.

The blues was never played like this, but it truly is a display of just what made Morello stand out in the first place. Experimentalism at its finest and a master of his craft, Morello can honestly do no wrong here.

As if his impressive resume isn’t enough, he melts flawlessly into a cover of MC5’s ‘Kick Out The Jams’ to thunderous applause. You also know that it would not be a Morello setlist without a heavy feature of some RATM brilliance. We all know it’s coming, but you cannot be prepared for the onslaught of ‘Bombtrack’, ‘Know Your Enemy’, ‘Bulls on Parade’, ‘Guerilla Radio’, ‘Sleep Now in the Fire’, ‘Bullet in the Head’ and ‘Cochise’ as a massive medley of their finest works. Mine, and so many other 90’s kids are incredibly satisfied right now.

Chasing it up with a moving tribute to Chris Cornell as they play ‘Like A Stone’ with a mic stand in centre stage with a single tower light upon it, the feeling of what Cornell brought to this song is unmatched and unforgotten, Myself and I’m sure quite a few others shed some tears to this rendition.

The closing of the set is partially what you’d expect from such an iconic musician, but not without a cover of Springsteen’s ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ before a crowd participation heavy version of ‘Killing In The Name’ ringing out through the massive tent (I’m sure we were all heard from MANY kilometres away as well). As it comes to the last song, Lennon’s ‘Power To The People’ is the perfect way to close out and summarize this incredible performance. Core memory achieved.

If you came to the Good Friday of Bluesfest, I hope not only did you make it a Great Friday with Morello, but also caught some of the other bands that truly make Bluesfest the standout festival that it is. See you all next year for what promises to be yet another epic Easter weekend.