MUSIC-A-GO-GO!!!!!!!!
Mar. 21st, 2005 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quiregrrlMy life is fucking fantastic right now... I just spent the weekend at the Blue Mountains Folk, Blues & Roots Festival, which was just a great weekend, SO much fantastic music... when I have some spare time I'm going to write up a full report, hopefully in the next few days, before I forget too much!!! I got to have dinner with Ember Swift and Lyndall Montgomery though and that was the highlight of the festival for me (it may be the highlight of my year!), I even got to sit next to the very scrumptious Lyndall at dinner, and she's truly gorgeous and sweet and funny, and down to earth and friendly, and oh boy.... major crush... was very proud of myself for not saying anything irredeemably stupid, and even managing to contribute intelligently (well, moderately!) to the conversation a couple of times... WOOHOO!!!
Tonight I am off to see Sarah McLachlan with the lovely Ms L, who had a last minute spare ticket, very exciting indeed :o) And tomorrow monring I have a job interview and then plans to hook up with yummy C for the afternoon... feeling very happy and blissed and blessed and energetic and bouncy and just really really good about myself and my world... YAY!!!!!!!
25 March - BMFF Details
Okay, so I got to Ms L's on Friday evening about 6:45 and she arrived home shortly after... after a cup of tea and a bit of a chat we realised how late it was and dashed off to the festival in time to have some dinner and catch the last few songs of Dirty Lucy (not bad, bit loud and not as good as I remembered them... Ms L said they were disappointing at Woodford as well, trying to be rock chicks or something...) and then we managed (well, due to L's chutzpah) to get some seats in the front row for the next act... Mia Dyson... she was FABULOUS!! reminded me a lot of Melissa Etheridge, same husky smoky voice, kind of raw and fabulous song writing... the crowd adored her and I kept hearing people talking about that set for the rest of the weekend... after her we went for a bit of a wander around the festival site and caught the beginning of the Spooky Men's Chorale, but it was getting close to time for The Whitlams so we headed back to the main tent to discover they'd already started... they were great and very enjoyable, but honestly, I thought Mia was the better act of the night! Always kind of amusing when the "support" is better than the "headline" act :o)
The following morning there was a kind of full house, because V and her son J were also staying at L's... V is quite possibly the MOST negative person I have ever encountered, absolutely everything that comes out of her mouth is negative, and of the "poor me" genre... it's really draining being around someone like that... J was being a typical 9 year old boy, ie LOUD and hyperactive, which was a bit hard for me, given I'm not a huge fan of kids to start with, and not much of a fan of anyone first thing in the morning!! L wanted to go for a swim and wasn't keen to see any of the early acts of the day, so I grabbed a ride to the festival with V and J in time to catch Spooky Men's Chorale as the first act of the day... they were great, really tight fabulous singing, and very damn funny as well!! And yeah, they are kind of spooky!!! I really enjoyed their performance, particularly their version of "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, and ABBA's "Dancing Queen" *G* They were followed by Alistair Hulett, who I sat through as well.. he was a great story teller, and had a fabulous Scottish accent, which he seemed to double in his songs as he explained he sings most of his songs in middle century scots, so almost another language really! His songs were very focussed on the struggles of the Scottish people, and a curious blend of folklore, historical events, and recent history protest songs (eg regarding the mine closures and on-flowing effect thereof on parts of Scotland)... like I said, he was a fabulous story teller but I found his music a little mind-numbing... After he finished I popped outside to get some lunch and had a wander around the markets, L had said she'd meet us at Tania Bowra's set, so I headed in for that but couldn't see L there, I sat and listened for a few songs but, although her music was quite good and she had a sweet voice, she wasn't terribly engaging and I found my mind drifting off so I figured I might as well leave and find something better. I bumped into V again outside and we headed up towards the Guinness stage and as we were walking L rang to let me know she would meet us there for Sensitive New Age Cowpersons and Ember Swift. I found her sitting in the second row minding seats for us and settled in for SNAC. They are a quartet of blokes in thoroughly naff cowboy outfits (kind of like western Wiggles with sequins!!) and their mission is to play everything Bluegrass style... they were VERY talented, and VERY funny... L said they've had the same comedy routine for quite a while now, but it still makes her laugh even though she saw them only three months ago, and I laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my face... they were definitely one of the festival highlights for me! Following their set was Ember Swift on the same stage, and as SNAC were packing up and ES started setting up there was much seat shifting, including the people in front of us who got up and left so we quickly snapped the front row seats. Ember Swift were of course fabulous... I just love their music so much, and it's never a hardship to watch them, particularly Lyndell who is just SO DAMN GORGEOUS!!! yummy butch boy dyke... purrrrrrr.... Ember, Lyndell and their drummer (Adam Bowman) are just mindblowingly good musicians/songwriters/performers/poets/protestors, and such a tight ensemble, they always look like they're just having an absolute blast up on stage, as though they're just playing for themselves for the sheer fun of it and the audience is not even there... makes if feel even more special and intimate somehow... L put me in charge of her camera and I managed to snap some photos of them all, I was trying to not favour Lyndell, but I'm afraid I may have *blush* :o) When their set finished they were selling CD's at the side of the stage and we ducked around to say hi, as L has been friends with them for years and wanted to catch up with them.. I bought their latest offering and even managed to ask Ember to sign it and only gushed a little at how good they were... I was still too impossibly shy to ask Lyndell to sign it though, and besides, she was busy packing stuff up and I didn't want to interrupt her... (that's what I tell myself anyhow!! makes me seem respectful rather than just socially inept!). L chatted to Ember and organised for us to all go out for dinner, which nearly had me peeing my pants with excitement! Cassy (?sp) and two other of their friends (whose names I forget) also came along to dinner and we wandered up to an Indian restaurant in Katoomba... I couldn't quite believe I was having dinner with two of my idols, and even better, they are both so incredibly friendly and down to earth... I was very proud of myself for not spilling food on me, not knocking my water over, not blurting out anything stupid, and I even managed to contribute moderately intelligently to the conversation a couple of times... YAY ME!!!! Ember and Lyndell had to dash off as they had a combo set (Songs with Attitude) with Alistair Hulett and Tonchi to get ready for, and the rest of us wandered back down a bit later. L and I headed into the main tent to get seats early for Janis Ian, and were in time to catch the act before her, James Keelaghan. He was really good, although the thing about that set that I remember most was his other guitar player, Oscar Lopez, who was just astounding... they were both exceptional guitarists in fact and I was absolutely mesmerised and am reinspired to pick up my guitar and get back to work on learning to play it... I realise I'll never be that good, but I want to be at least competent! So that was a nice bonus to catch someone good when you're just there for good seats for the following act... which was of course Janis Ian... she was brilliant, she's this tiny little older lady and she wandered out onto stage with no fanfare, just her a guitar and a mic, and she held the packed main marquee transfixed for the next hour and a half... as well as lots of great music and a formidable voice and range, she is cheeky and witty and very entertaining when talking to the audience as well... after she finished we joined the main throng out of the marquee and headed up to the Clarendon, where was going to be selling CD's and signing them (but not listening to long-winded stories, as she pointed out whilst on stage!)... we lined up and L bought her double live CD, and had it signed and then we called it a night and headed home again.
Sunday we were up kind of late (9ish) and J was not feeling well so was much quieter and more subdued, which wasn't a bad thing... L had a call from a friend who wanted to catch up for coffee, so she headed off early and I was going to catch another ride with V & J but decided in the end to take my own car, as it would be quicker to go home straight from the festival than go back to L's with her and THEN head off home... when I went out to the car I discovered my back tyre had gone completely flat, so I had to drive the 5kms to the nearest petrol station at about 10km/hr with my hazard lights flashing as I had no spare, praying the whole way that i wouldnt' completely fuck the rim by driving on it while it was so flat... however, I made it, filled it full of air and it's been fine ever since... go figure! I headed in to the festival and straight to the Blues Room in the RSL where I snagged front row seats for Ember Swift again, I was more than a little chuffed when they both noticed me and said hi and chatted as they were setting up, and was ridiculously tempted to turn around to the baby-dykes whispering furiously behind me and go "neener neener neener!!!!!!" with my thumbs in my ears and fingers waggling... fortunately my inner child didn't get control and I managed to resist the temptation!! L joined me, and not long after V & J as well, and Ember Swift did another fabulous set... V & J headed off to see someone else and L and I stayed for a couple of songs of Alistair Hulett, but then left to get some lunch and catch Jigzag. We sat up the back of the Guiness stage area at the tables with another friend of L's who joined us and Jigzag provided good background music... they sounded pretty good but weren't captivating enough to make me want to move closer and actively listen... they were followed by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentleman however, and both L and I wanted to catch their set so we moved down in the break and got some decent seats. While we were waiting L noticed some bruises on my chest and asked if I had been playing with Ms K again, I blushed furiously and said no, and told her it was C... she looked incredibly surprised and said "Well well well, aren't you a floozy" at which I blushed even more and said "Little bit sometimes" to which she replied "given half a chance"... couldn't help grinning though :o) We then had quite an informative chat about various people we both know, but since it's not relevant to the festival i'll probably reference it later elsewhere... So, Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentleman started up and they were really great, quite amusing in a dark and twisted way, and also great music... very Italian wedding/godfather type music, which I think was due to the piano accordian and violin!! Love the piano accordion, I'm putting that on my list of instruments i want to learn to play :o) I particularly loved one of their songs, in which the chorus began with "sodomy is not just for animals, human flesh is not just for cannibals", it was perverted, twisted and truly fabulous! They were also great performers, the kind of sleazy OTT main singer coming down into the audience and laying on people, sitting on their laps, crooning in their faces... very amusing wtching the "victims" reactions! Very grateful I was sitting far enough back and to the side that he didn't pick on me!!! when they finished we headed back over to the main marquee to catch Ember Swift yet again, and yet again they played a fantastic set! I just love them...
when they were finished we both decided there was nothing else to hang around for and decided to head home... L wandered up to the carpark with me and I got in my car (with it's still inflated tyre!) and headed back home...
Truly a fabulous memorable weekend, exhausting, but oh so worth it!!!
Tonight I am off to see Sarah McLachlan with the lovely Ms L, who had a last minute spare ticket, very exciting indeed :o) And tomorrow monring I have a job interview and then plans to hook up with yummy C for the afternoon... feeling very happy and blissed and blessed and energetic and bouncy and just really really good about myself and my world... YAY!!!!!!!
25 March - BMFF Details
Okay, so I got to Ms L's on Friday evening about 6:45 and she arrived home shortly after... after a cup of tea and a bit of a chat we realised how late it was and dashed off to the festival in time to have some dinner and catch the last few songs of Dirty Lucy (not bad, bit loud and not as good as I remembered them... Ms L said they were disappointing at Woodford as well, trying to be rock chicks or something...) and then we managed (well, due to L's chutzpah) to get some seats in the front row for the next act... Mia Dyson... she was FABULOUS!! reminded me a lot of Melissa Etheridge, same husky smoky voice, kind of raw and fabulous song writing... the crowd adored her and I kept hearing people talking about that set for the rest of the weekend... after her we went for a bit of a wander around the festival site and caught the beginning of the Spooky Men's Chorale, but it was getting close to time for The Whitlams so we headed back to the main tent to discover they'd already started... they were great and very enjoyable, but honestly, I thought Mia was the better act of the night! Always kind of amusing when the "support" is better than the "headline" act :o)
The following morning there was a kind of full house, because V and her son J were also staying at L's... V is quite possibly the MOST negative person I have ever encountered, absolutely everything that comes out of her mouth is negative, and of the "poor me" genre... it's really draining being around someone like that... J was being a typical 9 year old boy, ie LOUD and hyperactive, which was a bit hard for me, given I'm not a huge fan of kids to start with, and not much of a fan of anyone first thing in the morning!! L wanted to go for a swim and wasn't keen to see any of the early acts of the day, so I grabbed a ride to the festival with V and J in time to catch Spooky Men's Chorale as the first act of the day... they were great, really tight fabulous singing, and very damn funny as well!! And yeah, they are kind of spooky!!! I really enjoyed their performance, particularly their version of "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, and ABBA's "Dancing Queen" *G* They were followed by Alistair Hulett, who I sat through as well.. he was a great story teller, and had a fabulous Scottish accent, which he seemed to double in his songs as he explained he sings most of his songs in middle century scots, so almost another language really! His songs were very focussed on the struggles of the Scottish people, and a curious blend of folklore, historical events, and recent history protest songs (eg regarding the mine closures and on-flowing effect thereof on parts of Scotland)... like I said, he was a fabulous story teller but I found his music a little mind-numbing... After he finished I popped outside to get some lunch and had a wander around the markets, L had said she'd meet us at Tania Bowra's set, so I headed in for that but couldn't see L there, I sat and listened for a few songs but, although her music was quite good and she had a sweet voice, she wasn't terribly engaging and I found my mind drifting off so I figured I might as well leave and find something better. I bumped into V again outside and we headed up towards the Guinness stage and as we were walking L rang to let me know she would meet us there for Sensitive New Age Cowpersons and Ember Swift. I found her sitting in the second row minding seats for us and settled in for SNAC. They are a quartet of blokes in thoroughly naff cowboy outfits (kind of like western Wiggles with sequins!!) and their mission is to play everything Bluegrass style... they were VERY talented, and VERY funny... L said they've had the same comedy routine for quite a while now, but it still makes her laugh even though she saw them only three months ago, and I laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my face... they were definitely one of the festival highlights for me! Following their set was Ember Swift on the same stage, and as SNAC were packing up and ES started setting up there was much seat shifting, including the people in front of us who got up and left so we quickly snapped the front row seats. Ember Swift were of course fabulous... I just love their music so much, and it's never a hardship to watch them, particularly Lyndell who is just SO DAMN GORGEOUS!!! yummy butch boy dyke... purrrrrrr.... Ember, Lyndell and their drummer (Adam Bowman) are just mindblowingly good musicians/songwriters/performers/poets/protestors, and such a tight ensemble, they always look like they're just having an absolute blast up on stage, as though they're just playing for themselves for the sheer fun of it and the audience is not even there... makes if feel even more special and intimate somehow... L put me in charge of her camera and I managed to snap some photos of them all, I was trying to not favour Lyndell, but I'm afraid I may have *blush* :o) When their set finished they were selling CD's at the side of the stage and we ducked around to say hi, as L has been friends with them for years and wanted to catch up with them.. I bought their latest offering and even managed to ask Ember to sign it and only gushed a little at how good they were... I was still too impossibly shy to ask Lyndell to sign it though, and besides, she was busy packing stuff up and I didn't want to interrupt her... (that's what I tell myself anyhow!! makes me seem respectful rather than just socially inept!). L chatted to Ember and organised for us to all go out for dinner, which nearly had me peeing my pants with excitement! Cassy (?sp) and two other of their friends (whose names I forget) also came along to dinner and we wandered up to an Indian restaurant in Katoomba... I couldn't quite believe I was having dinner with two of my idols, and even better, they are both so incredibly friendly and down to earth... I was very proud of myself for not spilling food on me, not knocking my water over, not blurting out anything stupid, and I even managed to contribute moderately intelligently to the conversation a couple of times... YAY ME!!!! Ember and Lyndell had to dash off as they had a combo set (Songs with Attitude) with Alistair Hulett and Tonchi to get ready for, and the rest of us wandered back down a bit later. L and I headed into the main tent to get seats early for Janis Ian, and were in time to catch the act before her, James Keelaghan. He was really good, although the thing about that set that I remember most was his other guitar player, Oscar Lopez, who was just astounding... they were both exceptional guitarists in fact and I was absolutely mesmerised and am reinspired to pick up my guitar and get back to work on learning to play it... I realise I'll never be that good, but I want to be at least competent! So that was a nice bonus to catch someone good when you're just there for good seats for the following act... which was of course Janis Ian... she was brilliant, she's this tiny little older lady and she wandered out onto stage with no fanfare, just her a guitar and a mic, and she held the packed main marquee transfixed for the next hour and a half... as well as lots of great music and a formidable voice and range, she is cheeky and witty and very entertaining when talking to the audience as well... after she finished we joined the main throng out of the marquee and headed up to the Clarendon, where was going to be selling CD's and signing them (but not listening to long-winded stories, as she pointed out whilst on stage!)... we lined up and L bought her double live CD, and had it signed and then we called it a night and headed home again.
Sunday we were up kind of late (9ish) and J was not feeling well so was much quieter and more subdued, which wasn't a bad thing... L had a call from a friend who wanted to catch up for coffee, so she headed off early and I was going to catch another ride with V & J but decided in the end to take my own car, as it would be quicker to go home straight from the festival than go back to L's with her and THEN head off home... when I went out to the car I discovered my back tyre had gone completely flat, so I had to drive the 5kms to the nearest petrol station at about 10km/hr with my hazard lights flashing as I had no spare, praying the whole way that i wouldnt' completely fuck the rim by driving on it while it was so flat... however, I made it, filled it full of air and it's been fine ever since... go figure! I headed in to the festival and straight to the Blues Room in the RSL where I snagged front row seats for Ember Swift again, I was more than a little chuffed when they both noticed me and said hi and chatted as they were setting up, and was ridiculously tempted to turn around to the baby-dykes whispering furiously behind me and go "neener neener neener!!!!!!" with my thumbs in my ears and fingers waggling... fortunately my inner child didn't get control and I managed to resist the temptation!! L joined me, and not long after V & J as well, and Ember Swift did another fabulous set... V & J headed off to see someone else and L and I stayed for a couple of songs of Alistair Hulett, but then left to get some lunch and catch Jigzag. We sat up the back of the Guiness stage area at the tables with another friend of L's who joined us and Jigzag provided good background music... they sounded pretty good but weren't captivating enough to make me want to move closer and actively listen... they were followed by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentleman however, and both L and I wanted to catch their set so we moved down in the break and got some decent seats. While we were waiting L noticed some bruises on my chest and asked if I had been playing with Ms K again, I blushed furiously and said no, and told her it was C... she looked incredibly surprised and said "Well well well, aren't you a floozy" at which I blushed even more and said "Little bit sometimes" to which she replied "given half a chance"... couldn't help grinning though :o) We then had quite an informative chat about various people we both know, but since it's not relevant to the festival i'll probably reference it later elsewhere... So, Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentleman started up and they were really great, quite amusing in a dark and twisted way, and also great music... very Italian wedding/godfather type music, which I think was due to the piano accordian and violin!! Love the piano accordion, I'm putting that on my list of instruments i want to learn to play :o) I particularly loved one of their songs, in which the chorus began with "sodomy is not just for animals, human flesh is not just for cannibals", it was perverted, twisted and truly fabulous! They were also great performers, the kind of sleazy OTT main singer coming down into the audience and laying on people, sitting on their laps, crooning in their faces... very amusing wtching the "victims" reactions! Very grateful I was sitting far enough back and to the side that he didn't pick on me!!! when they finished we headed back over to the main marquee to catch Ember Swift yet again, and yet again they played a fantastic set! I just love them...
when they were finished we both decided there was nothing else to hang around for and decided to head home... L wandered up to the carpark with me and I got in my car (with it's still inflated tyre!) and headed back home...
Truly a fabulous memorable weekend, exhausting, but oh so worth it!!!
