Yeehaa! A Muster in the mud
It had been a long time between drinks, but the last time we were at the Gympie Muster I seem to recall it was a bit damp underfoot then too. Mind you, there have probably been 18 or 20 since then, and the festival is a different and much larger beast these days. Back then, we were with the late, great John Stokes of ABC Coast FM, who was doing a live broadcast from the soggy site, and, as I recall, was a bit ambivalent about country music, although he later fell in love with its near cousin, the ukulele. Last weekend, we were again the guests of the radio station broadcasting from the Muster, the fun crowd from Zinc 96. The morning madness maestros, Nugget and Al, had just come off air when we arrived, so we hooked straight into a beer with them, as you do at the Muster. Just between us girls, I don’t think there are too many country tunes in Nugget’s top 10, although it wouldn’t surprise me if Al Doblo goes to bed with Hank Snow and wakes up with Dolly Parton.
Zinc got us in the mood for the afternoon and evening acts with a private “intimate” mini-concert featuring the great guitarist Kevin Borich (my vintage, stretching back to the La De Das) and local country sensation, Caitlyn Shadbolt, who sings like an angel. But that was about it for country. Didn’t hear a single song about a dog dying or a wife leaving for the rest of the day.
We had planned to divide our time between the headline acts (like Sheppard) on the main stage and the bluesy stuff in the smaller covered venues, but when the rains, which had been threatening all day, finally came, we found ourselves quite comfortable, thank you, in the Crowbar and the Blues and Roots tent. I caught up with old mate Tim Gaze at the Crowbar just before he led the Fender guitar jam, his first set of the day. We’ve been friends since he joined Tamam Shud as a teenaged guitar prodigy, and I have to say that the virtuoso improves with age. He was on fire from the start, trading riffs with Kevin Borich that took me back to some of the best pub rock gigs of the ’70s.
Speaking of locals, Tim was later joined on stage by the always-impressive Asa Broomhall and the evergreen Bob Abbot. Asa has played some killer gigs at the surf festival over the years, and I think he is an under-rated gem, a real crowd-pleaser. And what can you say about Big Bob? As soon as he gets this politics nonsense out of his system, he’ll be set for a killer late-life career on the blues circuit, with that growl of a voice and his excellent mouth harp licks. And why not? Willie Nelson’s still going.
And speaking of crowd-pleasers, for our last set before leaving, I finally caught up with a band I’ve been wanting to see for a couple of years now, Mason Rack from the Gold Coast. I’d been warned that they were seriously good, but this energetic trio blew my mind. Think Ash Grunwald and Xavier Rudd on steroids. Mason himself, all tatts and muscles, looks like he might be the bouncer, until he starts playing. Apart from the fact that their musicianship is superb (they play musical chairs and swap instruments mid-set, don’t see that too often) these guys put the fun back in the blues. I never wanted their hour-long set to end.
Vale Emma Freeman
Sad news last week with the passing of Emma Freeman at 93. A true-blue Noosan whose family were local pioneers, she was a wonderfully strong-spirited lady whose talents extended to writing, painting and fierce activism on behalf of her beloved environment.
When we had our surf decor and memorabilia shop in the Junction, Emma used to drop by with copies of her Hastings Street book for us to sell on consignment. I remember the first time she came in with her books, she browsed through the memorabilia and said, “I feel quite at home here, being a piece of Noosa memorabilia myself.”
She certainly was. A public celebration of her life will be held at the Noosa Leisure Centre, Noosaville, on 19 September, 1-5pm.
A night at the theatre for Molly
I’ve just booked my tickets for “Quartet” at the Noosa Arts Theatre on 16 September, and suggest you do the same. I know there are a lot of festivals and great ticketed events at this time of year, but this is a great value ($37) night for a wonderful cause, Molly’s Song, which supports the Dementia Research Foundation.
If you’ve been meaning to grab tickets for Sir Ronald Harwood’s comedy of manners and keep forgetting, then maybe that’s another good reason to come along and support the foundation. Tickets available on 5449 9343 or book online at www.noosaartstheatre.org.au
See you there!
