Adelaide comes alive with culture and diversity thanks to the Adelaide Festival of the Arts and this great temporary venue. During this time, the Persian Gardens could be spotted by its unique mosque style gateways, lit up across the River Torrens. The Persian Garden performances drew influence and performers from many corner of the globe including Japan, Brazil, London, Turkey, India, USA, and all over Australia. With musical genres ranging from funk, soul, fusion, hip-hop, rock, jazz, reggae, breakbeat, dnb (in addition to dance and cultural performances), this proved a great place to head to after a night on the Fringe or the Festival.

With Persian rugs and pillows to relax on, free tarot readings, massages, henna tattoos and cultural cuisine to set your taste buds on fire, this venue proved to be much more than an open bar with a temporary stage setup. The audience each night was every bit as diverse as the entertainment, drawing many recognizable faces from the Adelaide arts loop and touring performers. Not only were there belly dancers with snakes draped over them but most of the movers and shakers were eager to participate, invited or otherwise!

The Bamboos were the headline act on this night and set about sharing their 100 true funk. No mixed styles of soul, hip-hop, jazz, reggae or blues… just 100 Funk! Avoiding distraction and diffusion, this band is a truly original take on an old sound. The Bamboos don’t seem interested in broadening their sound to widen their audience and they don’t need too- they’re on a real winner.

One by one people got up to dance and groove in their own style as the irresistible rhythms drew an overwhelming crowd. The band streamed from one song to the next staying tight and melding the grooves together with finesse & grit between the frets. A mainly instrumental band, the band hardly even spoke during their set. As a change of pace the vivacious Adelaide vocalist Chivonne Aubundy featured on the album title track ‘Step It Up’ and the funk classic ‘You’re Losing Me’.

The Bamboos solo performances highlighted their talents as individuals and as a band. As the drummer belted out the breaks and the percussionist tapped ‘til his fingers were sore filling in on the drummer’s backbeat. The keyboardist scaled up and down the keys while both trumpet and saxophone players blew blue breaths. The guitarist struck licks and tricks as the bassist (like many bassists) dwelt in his own little world while delivering the steady backing grooves. They performed well together and I think their performace and album ‘Step It Up’ would leave you thinking the Bamboos have done just that. Only one gripe: I would have hoped for more complex musical ideas beyond the rhythms considering there were seven musicians on stage. The Bamboo’s served up a simple, straight up and down night of fun funk to a very keen and open minded Arts loving audience.