Sessions and Concerts in Australia

Subject: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Dickmac
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 03:43 PM

We'll be visiting Australia during November-Sydney,Melbourne and Brisbane. Can anyone provide any details for gigs sessions, etc .
We have a fairly wide taste - Iain Bruce, the Macalmans, Eddie Walker, Tanglefoot, Maurice Dickson, The Sands Family, Eric Bogle, Christy Moore etc etc and like joining in singing sessions.
Thanks

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: ad1943
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 06:46 PM

The Toongabbie Folk Club might be your cup of tea. We meet in the Scouts Hall, Whitehaven Rd Northmead, Sydney on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month. Singing, playing music and poetry are all the go. Cost $5 each and supper is provided
Allen

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: treaties1
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 07:00 PM

Thanks ad1943 I'll watch this thread with interest. Three friends Jim Ruth and me will be in Oz from Feb 9th for about a month
Theresa

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Joybell
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 07:32 PM

Always a warm welcome here in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Long way from the action, though. About 4 hours from Melbourne. Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Joybell
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 07:40 PM

Theresa, There's a great little gathering just out of Melbourne in Feb. Low key - Camping in a lovely spot. Spread by word of mouth. If you and your friends are interested send me a PM. You don't come up when I try to find you. Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 28 Oct 05 - 10:27 PM

Hi Dickmac - as regards what's happening around Brisbane and SE Qld, why not visit the website of the wonderful FOLK RAG monthly magazine & e-zine - there is a link from our website (for our monthly Folk Night at Maleny, ABOFOTS - see below) as well as many other good folk links :
http://www.peculiarhand.com/pages/abofots.html



hope to see you here!


Cheers! R-J

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Shimbo Darktree
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 12:10 AM

Fe fi fo fum. Fresh blood by gum!

Every Wednesday night excepting Christmas week and New Year week (i.e. the next one after Christmas!) Kookaburra Folk happens at the Kookaburra Cafe in Given Terrace, Paddington (an inner suburb of Brisbane) from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. It is floor-singer style, and we don't mess about with auditions etc. So we get good, bad, and indifferent - although, strangely enough, the bad is rare, and the indifferent is the MC (that's safe - it's me!), with the rest varying between good and bloody wonderful. FREE ENTRY - can't get cheaper than that (except the performers do it for love - and I haven't received mine yet!). All welcome to join in as and when it suits. Totally unplugged. What else would you like to know?

If you need more, or wish to contact me when in Brisbane, my email is [e-mail] or phone [phone]. If you would like to perform, we work on around 5 songs/20 mins (up to) but are flexible with visitors (love them with a side salad). Visitors often get preferential treatment, as we like variety. Just see me when you arrive.

We are not hidebound about what type of folk, or whether it is trad, and have even had accordionists (shudder), music hall (our original founder loved that), country, and 60's nostalgia. No Morris dancers yet, but there are no depths to which some people will not stoop!

Love to see any of you who are visiting our lovely city of Brisbane. And now my name has been published, does this mean I have to be nice to people?

Regards,

Shimbo Darktree

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 02:45 AM

Jam for NSW folkie stuff for stuff happening in NSW

some Sydney Folks Clubs -

The Loaded Dog (4th Sats Feb-Nov), Nov 26, & an extra concert this year Dec 10th
run by me, with JennyO on the door, Bob Bolton as photographer & chair mover etc, Chris Maltby as webmaster & chair mover etc, Jack Halyard moves chairs etc, JennieG as occasional caterer. (several kms west of CBD)

JennyO's club North by North West can be located on Jam (Venues) - it meets 1st Thursdays (Feb-Dec) - 12 Nov & 3 Dec. (several kms north of CBD)

Almost Acoustic - 12 Nov & 3 Dec. (several kms east of CBD)

other Sydney Folk Clubs not mentioned so far - Sutherland, Hornsby, and others (see jam for details)

singing sessions- JennyO has been known to hold one at the mere mention of visiting Mudcatters.

For years we had a great session on Friday nights in an old pub until new owners filled it with pokie (gaming!) machines & pool tables. Then we had regular sessions at members' places, now we are very irregular, but give us a good reason & we're ready.

sandra

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 02:48 AM

bugger, bugger, bugger I didn't preview - 12 Nov & 3 Dec are dates for Almost Acoustic

help, please fix my typo, Joe & clones!!

sandra

---

I'm utterly confused.
When you want someting corrected, it's best to post a second message with the COMPLETE TEXT of the previous message, with corrections made (best to note at the end that it's a [corrected message]). The Clones and I will delete the earlier message and leave the corrected one. It takes us a lot more time and leaves a lot of room for errors and misunderstandings if you expect us to insert corrections.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Dickmac
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 08:32 AM

Thanks to all for the quick response.There's some options that will fit into our travel plans and hope to get the chance to see what's happening down under.
I didn't add at the start of the thread that we're from Scotland but I'm sure some will have guessed that. The "we" are my wife Maureen and myself and are known to some around Ayrshire as the Maw and Paw part of Maw,Paw and the Wean.
Shimbo Darktree's note regarding the accordionists worries me as I play the banjo (also guitar) but I think I'll be safe as I will be travelling "unarmed".

Thanks again to all and keep the ides coming for another week as we leave Sat. 5th Nov.

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: JennyO
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 09:56 AM

Hi Dickmac! I see you won't be getting here till after my folk club North By Northwest Folk Club meets in November, but our next one will be Thursday December 1st, if you are still around. It should be a great one with The Wheeze and Suck Band and we also have plenty of time for floorspots as well.

Failing that, as Sandra said, I am apt to put on a session in the form of a BBQ in our backyard at the slightest excuse - having visiting Mudcatters is one of the best! Some of our previous Mudcatter victims er.. guests include Charley Noble, Naemanson, JudyB, Crane Driver and Sussex Carole.

Do you have any idea of the dates you will be in Sydney?

Jenny

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Shimbo Darktree
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 11:54 AM

In view of my MacLean background, I'll forgive certain unmentionable instruments. We have had the full range at the club at some stage or other, and you can always borrow a guitar (nylon or steel strung), usually a banjo, often a mandolin, and on odd occasions an accordion, uillean pipes, etc. The owner of the Kookaburra Cafe has standards, and expects all haggises to be on leads. They can be chained up out the front, and left with a sporran-full of whiskey!

Shimbo

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Charley Noble
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 01:15 PM

Be aware that Theresa (Treaties1) has an amazingly power voice. When she's leading a sea shanty, ceiling tiles are likely to become dislodged, windows blown out, and doors rendered asunder. Even the famed John Warner (Jack Halyard) may be blown away!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 06:41 PM

Hey DickMac! - we truly love banjos at ABOFOTS! (well, 'specially coz Maleny's up in "the mountains")


Cheers! R-J

PS   and that Shimbo will be Guest MC for Nov and Dec, coz Our Paul is Fire Eventing ...

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Joybell
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 07:45 PM

We love banjos here too. Joy in Western Victoria.

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: JennyO
Date: 29 Oct 05 - 11:29 PM

Well Theresa, we'll have to have a shanty session when you're here for sure. I can't wait to hear someone who can outsing John! I think Danny Spooner is one of the few who has been able to so far. Either a BBQ or one of the shanty sessions on the James Craig might be the thing. Looking forward to all these visiting Mudcatters!

By the way, Charley still has photos on his website here, of their Australian visit in 2003 and the infamous BBQ chez Jenny and John's place at Earlwood.

Jenny

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Oct 05 - 03:34 PM

JennyO-

I remember that BBQ well. The wind was blowing up strong from the SW, and the tarp was beginning to haul its stakes outta the ground. I t didn't look good! Then John raised a shanty:

There were ten of us hauling on the lee fore brace in the wind and the driving hail,
Fortified with rum and good old Scotch, and a couple of kegs of ale;
So black it was you could not see the brew before your face,
So wasted were we that we could not haul, the fiasco one bloody disgrace!

Theresa-

Do check out our journal of our 2003 visit with the link above. We look forward to your journal notes as well.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Joybell
Date: 31 Oct 05 - 04:02 PM

AND we've got shipwrecks!!! Joy

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 06:45 AM

Anything doing round Adelaide in December ?

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 07:51 AM

hello, Guest

The following might help you

sandra


Folk Fed of South Australia

Folk Alliance Australia

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Nov 05 - 09:14 AM

many thanks, sandra

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: treaties1
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:12 PM

I'm still watching the thread, it gets better and better. Jenny O , thanks for the blue clicky, Ive looked at your Journal Charley, I'm impressed. As a techno dinasoar I've a lot to learn yet but will certainly try
Thanks everyone
Theresa

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:53 PM

Theresa-

You'll certainly receive a warm welcome from the Sydney folk club gangs. Are you planning this trip with a group? Are ALL the Shellbacks going?

I do hope your visit coincides with one of the monthly sea music sings aboard the James Craig. By the way, they actually sail this lovely old bark out the harbour every other week. They've done a great job restoring her, and training younger folks how to sail her. But the sailors probably still need more experience in leading shanties.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 11:37 AM

I don't mind somebody else taking over this thread as I will leave for Oz tomorrow.
Thanks for all the info.
Shimbo Darktree's notes for Brisbane look the most promising for our schedule but there also a possibility we could be able to take in something in Sydney.

Thanks to all who are helping to keep music live

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: JennyO
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 11:49 AM

Dickmac, I've sent you a PM with some contact details for when you are in Sydney.

Jenny

Subject: RE: Sessions and Concerts in Australia
From: lamarca
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 04:13 PM

George and I had a wonderful trip to Oz this September, and were warmly welcomed by 'Catters Bob Bolton, JennyO and Jack Halyard in Sydney. Bob was all set to take us out to Toongabbie the very day we arrived - and then Air New Zealand cancelled our trans-Pacific flight, so we lost a day. Sniff. Oh, well - judging by how tired we were when we finally did arrive, we would have slept through most of Toongabbie.

Margaret Walters, who runs Sydney's Almost Acoustic club, graciously hosted a sing-around at her place at short notice, and Bob Bolton, JennyO and Jack Halyard all came out to swap songs. All the folks who were there were really nice - no-one threw things at me when I sang Randy Newman's "Political Science" (and a few folks actually sang along...)

We spent our second week with Danny Spooner and Gael Shannon, who generously acted as our own personal tourguides to Victoria, blending folkie visits and events with great birdwatching sites and sights for me. We briefly stopped by the Annual Guildford Banjo Festival (truly scary for visiting Americans; seeing all these Oz denizens toting banjos and playing American bluegrass and old-time tunes under the eucalyptus trees was one of those out-of-context experiences...) Danny took us to the monthly Guildford Folk Club sing, too, where we got to hear a whole 'nother batch of wonderful singers and insrumentalists, and sing a few American songs in exchange.

Another website that was useful in finding folk events was:

http://folkaustralia.com/

Go to their Links page for individual musicians' pages, club pages, etc.

All I can say is that almost everyone we met during our way-too-brief time in Australia was incredibly nice, and that travelling around NSW and Victoria was really easy - all the towns had Visitor Info Centers staffed with helpful people, free maps and clean public toilets. (I wish the US made things so easy...) We only saw a tiny piece of Australia, but we'd go back in a heartbeat!

Teresa, while I don't have an electronic journal of the trip, please PM me for some of our favorite spots, both musical and non...