Music in Paine Res

Saturday morning, 14 Nov 09 and the NFFC provided a variety of free music for shoppers, library visitors, bus patrons and passers-by. Thankfully a nice breeze kept things cool for performers and those enjoying the performances.

Neil and Maryanne started things off - they were the only act to receive some coin from a passer-by for their efforts.

see a clip of Neil and Maryanne performing
Next, performing some Celtic and Gaelic tunes, were Rick and Nicola who invited Steve to join in with some bass.

Finishing up was a group dubbed the 'Newport Sound' consisting of Tiya on vocals, Gerry Nelson and Michael on guitar, Greg O' on fiddle and Steve adding in some bass once more. Thanks to Greg for providing sound, and to Tiya for making the trip over the bridge in difficult traffic.


Watch out for next week, when the youngsters put on their show. Parapluie, Georgina Stewart and others will be serenading the shoppers and crooning to the commuters - same time, same place.

Photo albums from Maldon

Many thanks to Peter, Marilla's other half, for providing all the photos he took over the Maldon Folk Festival weekend.

I have set these up as three slide shows for
the rotunda,
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/newportffc/MaldonRotunda
saturday night in the main street,
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/newportffc/MaldonSatNightImpromptu
and sunday at the pavilion.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/newportffc/MaldonWoodfullPavilionSun1Nov

enjoy!

p.s. 18/11 just added some photos from Ann's camera.

Steve

Newport Bush Orchestra Monday 9/11/09

After the big last couple of weeks - Maldon Folk Festival and the Melbourne Cup - it was back to work for the Bush Orchestra.

Prior to the break, Greg took the Abatayo family for a session on Jingle Bells, Paddy's Return and Black Cat Piddled in the White Cat's Eye. Bruce and the rest of the group worked out an arrangement of 'Midnight on the Water'.

We also welcomed Sean, a lovely gent visiting from Canada. He adapted well to the 'Bush Orchestra experience' and we all had a great time,both in the lesson segment of the night and the informal jam that followed.

Present: Greg O, Bruce, Sean, Michael, Simon D, Greg J, Rob R, Nancy, Christine H, Christine McD, Chris K, Rob D, Marilla, Alasdair, Pam, Annette, Kathryn, Leonie, Mary Anne, Zion, Evelyn, Czarline, Czarina, Gyrah, Zymone, AJ.

A Few Photos from Maldon Folk Festival

Top: The crowd gathers for the street jam session.
Middle: The great gig with the wonderful Gay Charmers.
Bottom: The Bush Orchestra getting set in the Maldon Band Rotunda.

Maldon 2009

It was great fun being at Maldon with the Bush Orchestra...
but who were these blokes in the black hats?


- they seemed to appear everywhere we went.

Steve

Newport Bush Orchestra at Maldon Folk Festival - A Quick Reflection

Folks

Just winding down from the Maldon festival so I want to thank all for a very successful performance on both days as well a terrific session in the street on Sat night. The barbershoppers also went down a treat. I will point out again, that although it appears that we are making it up on the spot (and indeed we are to some extent), the ability of the group to operate under very different circumstances was amply demonstrated on the weekend for the very reason that we can adapt on the run.

This adaptability enabled me to include all sorts of people, many of you have never met before and of all different levels of ability, giving you and them a chance to meet and get familiar with each other. It will in the future open up many opportunities for musical growth. These beginning friendships might go on for a lifetime.

My enthusiasm sometimes ran away with itself and  got us into musical difficulties a couple of times but it paid off! The audience appreciated the ad hoc spontaneity...........I think! So what we do may look and even sound a bit shambolic but that is the very quality that makes us accessible and believable and encourages positive reaction and new members.

I walked up and down the main street on Sat night  and as I did I said hello to a score or more of people who I have built friendships with over the years doing just this sort of thing. I used to be one of those people who thought (sub-consciously) that the only way to elevate my own social status was to bring other people down (a terrible family trait). Not a nice thing to admit to but happily I changed as I belatedly observed it was those who congratulated others on their skills, abilities and achievements who were having the better time of it. Some of those people who influenced me were there at Maldon. Harry Gardner, Tom Walsh, Maggie Duncan, all the Gay Charmers and their partners, Peter Ellis to name a few and that is why I was so keen to get you to play with them. For me the real payoff of these festival is the wonderful people I meet and interact with. I have long since stopped worrying about seeing the hottest new band or meeting the latest hot fiddler, but I do enjoy playing with talented, likable, emotionally centered people and I love searching for them.

In a similar vein, you might not have seen her, but at the pavilion concert Sarah Busuttil came and played with us for an hour . Sarah is highly trained classical fiddler who was at the festival in the Wishing Well band. Have a look at the site and the video, Sara lets loose at the end.  http://thewishingwellband.com/  What motivated her to come down to play with us? Well she is one of the most positive, open and friendly  young people I know and she seems to think we and the whole folk club as well are OK.. If only I had had her attitude at her age. I find it humbling  to be inspired by  people younger than me.

I also found it inspiring to hear the sound we were making. It was excellent, warm and invigorating. I must have received 30 comments from the listeners over the course of the festival.

One last thing, we had a low key jam in the main street at 6pm Sunday. As we were winding down a woman sat down at a nearby table. I jokingly asked her if she was waiting for a bus or some such thing. She replied that she and her partner had been searching for a place to have dinner when they heard us playing and decided to have it listening to us.

One last thing which is not a criticism, but I want to keep things in perspective, so I will point out......  had we paid for tickets, brunch (which I hope you got to)  and camping, the cost would have been around $2600. So although real money is not in the equation we need to remember that the organizers expect a certain outcome. I am proud and pleased to say they I think they got it in spades.

So well done everybody!

Greg O

Hope to get some photos up soon.

Club Night October 2009 - Halloween!

It was a night of people trying new things - always fun, sometimes surprising, sometimes challenging.
Alan and Christine had a go at All I Have To Do Is Dream in 2-part harmony, which worked...some of the time...and then everyone joined in for Jambalaya. John led us all in a swing version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot with some nice harmonies emerging from the crowd. Frank, famous for his self-penned witty songs, gave us instead some instrumentals with Moira doing the honours on fiddle - there was one nice little tune called Nice Little Tune, and another one whose name wasn't quite so obvious, so I've forgotten it.

With the Spring Racing Carnival coming up, of course Jackie's poem Phar Lap The Wonder Horse was an obvious choice, and beautifully performed too.
Adrian gave us Neil Young's Heart of Gold, which got many of us singing along.
An impromptu gathering of the string players (double bass, 2 cellos, viola and 2 violins) gave us a delightful rendition of Handel's Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and a couple of Irish tunes.
It was a good night for poetry with Dave recounting the famous rivalry between Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson in the pages of the Bulletin in the late 19th century. He recited Paterson's Clancy of the Overflow and excerpts from Lawson's The City Bushman. After the break he gave us the "7 ages of man" speech from Shakespeare's As You Like It, using audience members as living examples of the various ages from the "whining schoolboy" to the "justice in fair round belly" and beyond.
There were lots of join-in songs, from Chris K's Country Roads, Alan's Wimoweh, Christine's Mighty Quinn to Greg's I Remember You. Great to see (and hear) quite a few of the Bush Orchestra people there, especially since they were all off to Maldon the following morning for a couple of gigs. Another night of great music and socialising, with lots more musical events coming up in the next few weeks, too - see the calendar.