Music magic

If you've been to the Oregon Bach Festival, you know that magic happens pretty regularly during the Festival's two-week run. Now I've added the  three-day folk/blues/roots festival in the Blue Mountains of Australia as another place of music magic. What a venue! Imagine a town half the size of Ashland and twice the altitude: Katoomba is at 3,336 feet with a population of about 10,000. Place 10 stages into every nook and cranny of the hilly town, indoors or out under tents, and invite 45 soloists and groups, and be prepared for some wonderful music-making. It was cool and rainy or misty by turns, so Sydneysiders and performers from the Seychelles and Africa were whingeing about the cold, but the guest artists from Scotland were as happy as sheep in the rain. The many ops shops (used clothing stores) were selling out of hats, scarves, polar fleece and mittens by mid-day on Saturday.

I volunteered for the festival (I can't work for money on my visa for Oz) and was lucky to be partnered with a young woman from Katoomba. We managed the blues stage in the local RSL club (Retired Service League) for two days, indoors, thank you. The last day we drew one of the outdoor stages but the music kept us more than warm. Music ran from world music to jazz, blues to folk, funk to fusion, rock to country.

The best magic moment for me was on Sunday when John McCutcheon took the stage with his collection of stringed instruments, his sense of humor and his spontaneity. You may not be familiar with John's music, but you know at least one of his songs, the kindy anthem, as he calls it. I think every kindergarten graduation has featured this song, The Kindergarten Wall. Here's part of it:

When I was a little kid not so long ago
I had to learn a lot of stuff I didn't even know
How to dress myself, tie my shoes, how to jump a rope
How to smile for a picture without looking like a dope
But of all the things I learned my favorite of them all
Was a little poem hanging on the kindergarten wall
    CHORUS:
Of all you learn here remember this the best:
Don't hurt each other and clean up your mess
Take a nap everyday, wash before you eat
Hold hands, stick together, look before you cross the street
And remember the seed in the little paper cup:
First the root goes down and then the plant grows up!

John had no more begun the first four words of the verse when three Year Four girls in the front row piped up with all the words and the tune. He called them up on the stage, Stella, Grace and Jeanette, and they sang right along, all the verses, all the chorus, word perfect. He was delighted, we were all delighted, parents were delighted, flash cameras were popping off like popcorn. They called themselves "The Johnettes" and after the concert while having a proper meet and greet with John, told him that their music teacher at Katoomba Public School taught them the song and the whole school knew it. The girls had been hanging out at the festival venues all weekend in hopes of meeting John.

More magic with Dougie MacLean, my favorite Scottish singer/songwriter, who put on three shows during the weekend, the last of which was just perfect. Especially because I got to be stage manager for that one! John wanted Dougie to come up for a number; they rehearsed it for about two minutues backstage and it too was just right. Dougie then took another two minutes to get Josh White Jr in on the tune, and away they went.

I know there were some all-night sessions after the scheduled concerts, as is usual at festivals, but I was way too tired at the end of my days to enjoy those sessions too.

I stayed at the YHA Katoomba hostel, another of Australia's fine youth hostels. Because of the festival, there were a varied bunch of guests: concert goers ages 20 to 80, families, and young backpackers all mingling happily in the big, clean kitchen and relaxing in the art-deco lounge. The only potentially unhappy campers were the folks who were going to participate in the Six-Foot Track Marathon along the 45 kilometers of the Blue Mountains trail early Saturday morning. Late-night blues jams don't mix with early-morning marathoners. Ooops. Pays to check out what else might be going on if you want a peaceful night at a youth hostel! I, on the other hand, can't wait till next year...I'll come back to this festival.

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