published in the October issue of "Cornstalk" - magazine of the Folk Federation of NSW
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Phil Garland - at the Loaded Dog, Saturday 28 August

Phil has been a strong voice for New Zealand's folk heritage around the antipodean folk scene for some decades now. Coming from the rock end of the spectrum he was first charmed by the honesty and relevance of folk music and then took up the task of finding both the old traditions and the continuing tradition of his homeland. His researches have ranged from the dry confines of libraries and archives … to sussing out the 'characters' in little country pubs

I was glad to hear he was coming to perform at the Loaded Dog as I have always seen New Zealand's folk song as the first cousin of our own traditions … frequently sharing people, stories and tunes (and, often enough, appropriating "each other's songs"). I wasn't disappointed.

An earnest ambassador for the songs of New Zealand, Phil always had a story, some background - something to give the song's due 'sense of place' … but this was always brief and tantalising and led straight in to his next song. Like Australia, New Zealand's songs are there to tell you something and Phil always delivered the story the song had to tell, in his warm, friendly voice, nicely supported by his 12-string guitar.

Checking through the songs, poems and yarns Phil presented in his two brackets at the Loaded Dog, I was surprised to realise that the greater proportion of them were "modern". These were mostly by New Zealanders (Phil included) that draw on traditional styles (and, sometimes, tunes) but come across as the honest voice of New Zealand. Phil has done important collecting around New Zealand, especially the South Island, but clearly sees the folklore as firmly engaged with a continuing tradition.

A personal favourite was Phil's setting of Peter Cape's poem The Stable Lad - a tale of young love thwarted by the death of the girl. I knew this song long ago … and town references in the verses have stuck at the back of my mind for decades. They resurfaced when I heard that Stephanie Pride (daughter on my long-time friends Rose & Ralph Pride) was off to Greymouth, on the west coast of NZ's South Island to study jade-carving. The last line (2nd verse): "As Cobb & Co go rolling from Buller to the Grey" rattled around my head for some time before the rest of the song broke cover!

I can recommend Phil Garland to anyone interested in Australian folklore, let alone that of New Zealand. There is so much familiar - yet always the sudden detail that tells us Kiwiland is not quite the same. Phil's presentation is quite like that … friendly, pleasant and informative - but often reminding us that a few of the songs, poems and characters we happily call "Australian" turn out to come from somewhere a bit east of our shores!

Bob Bolton