Hiya Folks!
Right now Nell and I are enjoying our first day off in over a month where we don’t have to be anywhere, see anyone, or do anything…
Delicious!
It’s nice to be Human Beings and not Human Doings for a little while. Although Human Doings sounds a bit… odd.
Of course, there’s a very good chance we’ll wind up doing a stack of other ‘stuff’ and wondering where the time (and a whole stack of energy) went as we collapse into bed tonight.
But now it’s time to get on with the show!
Tamworth Wrap-up
This was my second foray into the ten day extravaganza that is The Sheep Town Music Festival (regular readers will notice I’ve changed the name from ‘Cow Town’, because I only saw one cow the whole time we were there, but lots of sheep sweltering in their woolly coats, crammed under the shade of lone trees in vast paddocks… also, I note with interest, nobody strutting round in boots, vests and hats calling themselves Sheepboys or Sheepgirls. Can’t think why…?)
Anyway.
Let’s start with the bad stuff first, because bad news is what we love to hear (apparently).
The Bad Stuff
It was hot. Bloody hot. Eyeball drying hot. Really, really hot!
Getting the picture yet?
Then it got a tad humid. Not unfamiliar weather for those of us who live under the Tropic of Capricorn, but the locals knew it was grim when they saw the Queenslanders sweating.
Daylight savings. It sucks. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
I also wasn’t impressed by the way all the prices were jacked up on the Australia Day weekend (fuel jumped by over 20 cents per litre overnight).
But that’s not a Tamworth specific problem. We are, after all, living in the era of ‘The Great Gouging’.
Oh, and the town water tasted like it had been strained through a stockman’s sock. Happily our hosts had a plentiful supply of tank water for us to gurgle.
Finally, slow drivers towing caravans who speed up on overtaking lanes need to be… I don’t know, something horrible.
Which pretty much wraps up what I didn’t like.
Now it’s time for…
The Good Stuff
It’s such a friendly festival!
Even the cops who breath tested us were cheerful (or as cheerful as you can be in full, black, kit in 42 degrees of heat in the burning noonday sun).
Our hosts Phil and Ally were a delight to live with, and hardly seemed to mind me riffling through their fridge, pantry and liquor cabinet at odd times of day and night.
In fact everyone seemed to be in a good mood… maybe the council doctors the water supply?
Nells shows with Col Thomson’s troupe went pretty well. Crowd numbers were down a little from last years shows, but this didn’t stop the entertainers from hitting the stage and giving it their all.
And Nell blew me, and the crowd, away as the compere of the Andy Penkow and TC Cassidy Show at the Capitol Theatre.
On a sidenote I met Dr. Carl from Neighbours, Alan Fletcher, who was a very nice bloke, just like on tele. So I don’t have a ‘bad story’ to tell about him in order to regale bored diners with at our next dinner soiree… honestly, what a bastard!
In between shows, we joined thousands of others to check out some of the many artists on offer. Most were good, others great, and some a bit ordinary.
But there really was something for everyone. Which takes some doing. Of course not everyone is going to be orgasmically happy, but most people were fairly content which, in my book, is a big thumbs up.
Even for an old folkie, rocker, blues lover like myself, Tamworth CMF had a lot to offer.
Our schedule meant we didn’t get to see all the artists we hoped to catch up with, but we did our best. Uncle Bob’s Jug Band went by the way this year…
We stumbled across some gems, one in Officeworks, who was the vibrant, enthusiastic, Billie-Jo Porter, whose songs we tracked down on Spotify then we watched her play live at the Toyota Fan Zone.
Great song writer and singer, check her out!
The other band was The Mezcaltones, who played a mixture of cowpunk, Tarantino, Link Wray, inspired music… with showmanship (showpersonship?) and style.
They were playing in the beer garden at The Wests Diggers Club and the lady at the door said, ‘Show’s free, but it’d be nice if you buy a beer and some merch from the band.’
Sure!
While I was waiting to order my beer (ah… Tooheys Old on tap, magical) I was distracted by a cowboy (sheepboy) clambering over chairs and tables pretending to shoot people with his fingers.
I wandered from the bar to see how the bouncers would take this yahoo apart, when it dawned on me that this was ‘the band’.
As you can see from the video I’d found my tribe.
Plus I got to see Luke O’Shea sing some of his latest songs. And I got to see Luke O’Shea when his sound system died.
Clearly Luke’s been here before because he handled it like a pro, cracking jokes and telling stories while his roadie tore his hair out trying to find the source of the fault.
It’s comforting to know this sort of thing happens to the stars too…
The mainstage on Australia Day lit up with a lot of Oz Rock n Roll numbers and I wasn’t the only sheep-person dancing to AC/DC, Angels and Billy Thorpe songs. Trad country folk would have been a bit miffed though…
The songwriting workshops were inspirational and Nell and I have two pages of notes to work on in the coming year.
The street buskers on Peel Street were a mix of ‘wannabes’, ‘couldabeens’ and ‘gunnabes’. But they were all giving it their all. And they can all say they’ve ‘played Tamworth’ on their musical resumes.
One young bloke we saw late Friday night, had barely any voice left but was still ripping out country classics to passersby and had attracted a crowd of people dancing around him. During his third rendition of ‘Horses’ one lady, hoping to encourage him, lifted her skirt to reveal a very bare bum.
Instantly inspired, he began belting his guitar like it owed him money.
Fun times!
And that’s my wrap up, we had fun.
Got to see some amazing country:
Caught up with friends old and new, and generally had a pretty good time.
Which is probably a bit boring and non-controversial to read, but there it is.
Still, after ten days of hee-haw music, on the final night drive back to our digs out of town, I found a radio station playing Swedish Death Metal which re-balanced my inner musical see-saw… if you get my drift.
Oh, and we got engaged, onstage, but that’s another story.
Summer-time Blues
On the way home we pulled into the bustling metropolis of Nanango for the night. Upon alighting from our horseless carriage, we were immediately thumped senseless by a ‘humidity cricket bat’ that, quite literally, took our breath away.
Of course this didn’t stop us from having a rocking ol’ time in ‘The Nang’.
We got to hear and chat with muso Chris Webbe at the Commercial Hotel before enjoying a great meal, then wandering over to the Rissole for a couple of drinks (in air-con comfort).
By the way, it’s the RSL done right. A place that ‘gets it’.
Reverse Grey Nomads
Every Autumn, the caravan towing southerners swarm over the Queensland border to spend Winter in the Northern warmth.
The way summers’ are going lately, I expect we’ll be seeing Queensland nomads pouring over the southern borders with the southerners in September to escape the blistering heat, horrendous humidity, fires and cyclones of the approaching summer.
And, after a dabble with death defiance mowing the lawn this week…
I might be among them… of course, the first thing I’ll do upon crossing the Tweed will be to start an urgent campaign to eliminate daylight savings.
Until Next Time
Hey, thanks again for stopping by! Let’s do it all again next week
Cheers,
Greg