3 DAY'S OF

Rip It Up, Issue 9, 1 March 1978, Page 8

3 DAY'S OF

Louise Chunn

It’s history now so I guess anyone who wanted to now knows all about it. But strangely enough, at least for such a large gathering, Nambassa was a very personal event. You hated it/you loved it/you slept/drank/burnt through it. Veterans returned home with enormously varying stories of the organisation and the disorganisation, the excitement and the boredom, the beauty and the squalor. And with an audience of somewhere between ten and twenty thousand which ranged from the Kapiti Christian Centre to the Filthy Few from Rotorua, every tale was probably true. But from where my sleeping bag lay the most disparate forces seemed to form a un-

ique union which made Nambassa work. In those three days a tolerance, that could well be unparalleled in events of this kind, was established. The Krisna followers, who for years have been ridiculed in the streets of cities, were welcomed at Nambassa and not only for their massive free banquets. Along with most every other spiritual, political and philosophical group represented they added weight to what could have become just another rock concert. Just as Peter Terry, one of the organisers had hoped, not all the preaching was to the converted. The seminars, workshops, and lectures were well-attended by people who had come principally for the music but had

stretched themselves beyond that. Just as well, for without the ‘crafts and alternatives' side of the events Nambassa could have failed badly. I doubt whether even the most ardent disciple came home raving about the music. Those bands who are consistently good were good at Nambassa and those who are bad were boring. But no-one stood out from the big line-up of New Zealand talent. It wasn’t that the music was of a generally low level. It just wasn’t brilliant. The successful acts were those who appealed to the audience on a large scale as a mass rather than as individuals. Skyhooks and Living Force were popular because they involved the thousand or so people close to the stage. You could dance, you could chant, you could sing and so the criteria for good music were radically changed if only for a weekend. Both the smaller Aerial Railway.stage and the main stage featured non-musical acts. The audience response to these depended to a great extent on timing and venue rather than merit. And so although Limbs met an excellent response during the day on the smaller stage, when they were slotted to perform before Skyhooks on the main stage at night they came across very badly. This was perhaps one of the greatest flaws in the organisation with only the poet Gary McCormick, managing to overcome the problem of size and movement for a solo act on an enormous stage. Of course there was lots and lots more than just the music, lectures and craft stalls. There were problems too, although they were surprisingly few and minor. The overwhelming feeling though was of people everywhere. And each of them saw Nambassa as he wanted to. The arguments will never end because although it may sound corny, Nambassa was very much what the individual wanted and expected it to be. Good or bad at least it happened.