The National: A First-Timer's Perspective

Yep, it’s my first National. I’ve been to Canberra before, and despite the uninspiring architecture and the reason for its existence (pollies), I’ve always quite enjoyed myself here. And of course we’re in autumn, so all the beautiful oaks, silver birches and maples are on the turn, something which I love (and makes me a bit homesick!). It’s still warm here during the day (and it’s that dry air that sneaks down from the mountains) but the nights are lovely and cool. It’s always a nice moment when I have to pull my big brown jacket out of the cupboard.

The thing I’m discovering about Australian folk festivals is that they all seem to have their own personalities, and that’s a very special thing. Woodford is a week long side-step into another realm, Port Fairy is a beautiful, gentle seaside adventure, and the Tasmanian ones are like coming home. A lot of people regard the National as the Festival, but that just depends on one’s perspective I think. So far (and I’m writing this very early on a Sunday morning with the infamous Canberra magpies chortling outside my window and a couple of day to go) it’s been great; intense, saturating, exciting, almost overwhelming.

We’ve had some moments. The gig at the Troubadour was wonderful, as it always is, and it was great to see a lot of familiar faces (as well as a many new ones) in the audience. Thank you to everyone that has come up and had a chat or bought a cd. I’m really not lying when I say it took us three hours to get from one end of the festival to the other because we were either stopped or had bumped into someone we knew. We have another gig at the Merry Muse this afternoon that we’re really looking forward to as well. We’re actually in quite good company here as ‘stealth’ performers who are not on the official program. Kavisha Mazella is here, half of our good mates the To’Rags, and John & Nic from Cloudstreet did a glorious set at the Troub last night (complete with John borrowing my guitar as he’d left his at home –it was quite surreal sitting in the audience watching)

But there have been down moments too.

Pierre Bensusan stole my shirt.

It’s true. We were both in the same shop trying on clothes and he took the last XXL (we are about the same height). Of course he did offer it to me first but who am I to refuse one of my truly lifelong inspirations (Pierre is probably the greatest master of DADGAD guitar tuning alive. This is a man that can effortlessly play jazz in any key in this tuning). In exchange for the shirt, I asked for a photo, but in his ineffably cool French accent, he said,

“Non.”

Unless he could have a picture with Sarah and Bridget first. For some reason the girls didn’t mind! And so it was that we ending up spending much of the first night wandering around with him shopping and introducing him to the now legendry Súnas ‘numpty shot’ (and a very special 'Numpty Gallery' is coming soon!).

The next evening, we bumped into Pierre sitting at a table in Central Park. While I went off to get us all a round of coffees (and the coffee here is most excellent) and meet Bridge, Sarah lingered. We returned to find the two of them jamming along to ‘My Lagan Love’, Pierre on his breathtaking Lowden, Sarah singing. Nano Stern and his lovely manager Brian joined us, the great David Hyams, and pretty soon the jamming was on for all. It was also great craic altogether to watch Sarah’s face as Nano and Pierre spoke to each other in delicious French/Spanish accents.

And so we get to my favourite part of the festival so far. Liz Frencham and her partner Steve wandered past, caught one look (and listen) of the table, stopped, Liz said, “I am SO getting my bass!” and hared off to the lockup. I just cracked up! What followed was one of the most eclectic sessions I’ve ever experienced, everything from Liz’s originals to Etta James.



Wish you could have been there. It was grand.