Mojo - The Music Magazine

Episode 13. Of troglodytes and penis-masks

January 18th, Sunday, Sydney, Cockatoo Island, ATP Day 2

On top of the immense sandstone plateau that occupies the bulk of Cockatoo Island, is the so-called Barracks Stage, a makeshift platform erected in front of the roofless remains of an 1842 military guardhouse situated at the edge of the escarpment. This ruddy ruin is a perfect backdrop for the timeless music of Cretan lyre-player, Psarandonis. Warren has been championing this fellow for a while now, and although his music is a pretty esoteric affair by any measure, the stomping Byzantine rhythms are infectious enough to get a few gals swaying belly-dance-style even in this oppressive heat. In other words, chicks dig Psarandonis. The man looks older than time itself with a regal beard and head of scraggy hermit hair (he used to live in a cave according to Ellis). Accompanied by his son George Xylouris and look-alike stand-in percussionist Jim White, Psarandonis delivers a rousing set, full of manic lyre scratching and Minotaurian grunts, harrumphs and chthonic moans. Jim White looks scared; the crowd looks delighted. Surely, one of the more unique and challenging performers on our very impressively diverse roster of festival acts.

No less notable is Passenger Of Shit, Cave’s personal candidate for the festival, who appears on the Turbine Stage with a couple of decks, a sampler and a whole lot of ‘tude. Wearing a rubber mask equipped with a penis nose, Mr. Shit delights the minuscule but fervent gathering with a sort of post-Atari Teenage Riot psycho-techno frag bombardment, supplemented by rapid-fire clenched fist gesticulations and v-signs.

I haven’t time to go into detail about all the brilliant entertainers that graced our ATP, so I will have to just content myself with citing my other personal favourites: fellow Bad Seed, Fish Creek’s own Conway Savage; inimitable Japanese female duo Afrirampo; German synth artistes Harmonia (deemed by Brian Eno "the world's most important rock band"); US psychedelic boogie-meisters Dead Meadow, and Sydney’s accomplished improvisational minimalist ensemble, The Necks.

Next: Episode 14. Embrace your aural disability!