Well, i didn't go, but that's what I heard from a couple of Session bar veterans.
Ever since the "Billy Moran bar" ( yes, that's the outside, covered one with those tall gas-heaters, where you can smoke) was established a few years ago, it has become, as Hup says, a refuge from the racket or crowdedness of the main bar. And that's where you tend to get the Richard and Libby Conrick-led sessions in the evening. which though not to everybody's taste, are a very important part of the national to many of us. They lead a unique, driving and accessible session, with well-known but not hackneyed tunes, at a lovely measured pace in which the music really 'sits'.
I reckon the festival organisers should think about special unofficial institutions of the festival such as this. And only people who have been going there every year for yonks AS A PLAYER ( as I had up until last year and this), and who know the different dynamics of the session bar will know these things.
i suspect the powers that be are not familiar enough with this.
I mean let's face it although the Nash always has great music concerts, dancing and workshops, the feature that really sets it apart, the reason so many of us come form all over Australia - is the Session Bar of a night. When you walk in at about midnight, when everyone's back from the concerts and has a beer ot two in the them, and meeting with old friends, you enter that warm fug and see nothing but joy and bonhomie, it's incredible. And as you walk around and find all the sessions going on. there's probably nothing quite like it anywhere in the world.
So the session bar really has to 'go off' every year I reckon, and I heard reports it didn't. But, to be fair, that was the opinion of a few.
But however it was, i was so disappointed i couldn't make it.
There were enough Trad players around, but there's always a
shortage of people who can lead a session, it seems. People
wanted to pack into the Kelly's sessions. Then there was the
usual "Trouble" session - that's a great session if you know
the tunes and the people and keep up the pace. That rules
out most of us - LOL! I played in one small 'Richard and Libby'
session that was quite good in the early evening on Monday.
i endorse all you say about the Conrick's sessions, I gravitate towards them. This year they were mixed in with other players and the unique experience was lost. Having said that I got bulk session all weekend. I was just lucky, the best sessions happened in the slots that lead to the exit doors and its a matter of timing whether you can get into one.
The sessions at my playing level were strengthened considerably by the Kelly gang, people with a lovely session ethic. It was great to see Paddy Fitzgerald there also.
The new architecture of the session bar, making three sectioned off (side walls only) areas along the west side of the bar created a mixed result. It was as if no-one quite knew how to use it. There would never be more than three sessions along that wall so no space was lost. Nevertheless I never saw those areas full as they might have been on a night in past years.
In all I wonder if the changed conditions were a reaction to a problem that doesn't exist. The idea of the session bar having multiple sessions at once makes no sense at all but as we all know it works! But I can easily understand someone coming there from outside of the process wanting to create better traffic flow and better audio separation, not realising the adversity is part of the experience.
Having said all this, the overall numbers of people in the session bar at night were down. Even on the Sat night, traditionally the most packed, it was possible to walk through parts of the bar unmolested by music and in a relatively straight line. I have no idea why this is unless the number of people I know who said they were not coming because of perceptions of loss of quality were reflected across the board.
As the festival slowly becomes an "acoustic music festival" (these quoted words taken from the festival director in a private conversation and placed in this context by me, he was referring to aspects of the festival and might not have been offering a forward direction, but it is plain to see as the festival gets bigger the growth is in young talented musicians playing music without roots) rather than a folk festival, the rise of non traditionally based music is sure, and the session bar resounded in a few instances to the thump of acoustic basses and drums. These carry more than a dozen fiddles so noise pollution between sessions was more of an issue. To be fair, bluegrass sessions usually have a bass.
I worry the festival is orientated towards growth rather than quality. Growth cannot happen at a rate that would look good in company boardrooms and still stay inside the folk envelope. I would rather it shrank if that was what was needed to keep it quality folk, but I'm not inside the decision making tent with huge amounts of responsibility. The best I can hope for is the decision to worship growth (biggest and best festival yet, more than 55,000 patrons! etc) is being done on the grounds that the non-folk part of the festival pays for the folk part and allows it to be stronger inside the larger event.
I am painfully aware the number of people who have the same intentions as me at the Nash (bulk sessions in the session bar) is limited, let me make a guess, 300? In a crowd of 55,000 tickets we are nothing but a curio for the the masses and we might be an expensive curio at that.
As I started, I had mixed feelings about it. I had a really good time, but I know I was lucky. Then again, I've had an indifferent time when the Billy Moran tent was there and the session bar untouched. I didn't really mean to unload, must go away and do some work..!
To set the record straight - I too had a good time. Although as cag said it's only about 300/55,000, think of it as a band with 300
people in it and it becomes one of the "acts" with a really long
performance timeslot.
Does it have a high cost/benefit? Interesting question - there are
no sound techs, there is no hired equipment (except those partitions?).
There is an implied obligation on the performers to show up there,
maybe in some cases a contractual one?
When the weather's a little warmer you can have some good
sessions outside the building. I remember a particularly good one two
years ago before Dr Dow's boycott ...
"i suspect the powers that be are not familiar enough with this."
They're fully aware - they just have different priorities so choose to ignore you and go ahead with what they want to do regardless.
PS I don't WANT to boycott it. It's just that every year I have a choice - should I go and freeze my nuts off camping in Canberra so that I can have a good time and enjoy myself, or should I stay at home and miss out? Nowadays I think... "is there a chance that I might NOT enjoy myself?" and, with things being as they are, the answer ends up being "yes" so I stay at home and instead have some nice tunes in Sydney with other musicians who made the same choice. And I save on ticket price, camping fees (for a spot I might have to fight over), expensive food and petrol.
I heard from some good musos that a lot of the sessions were total sh*te this year, with a tendency for clueless ppl to barge in and ruin perfectly good sessions. That's not my opinion - it's only what I heard. Perhaps it'll be better next year.
I'm glad this thread has provoked discussion. i think we, the sessionistas, need to continue to discuss, and maybe eventually our opinions will carry some weight.
Interesting Dow, that you reckon the festival organisers are insouciant of our concerns. I say that because the new director Sebastian Flynn is an old mate of mine ( No, I don't mean THAT'S why he'd listen) who is a fiddler. he understands what sessions are about. Also, in all the music/arts organisations that he's run he's had a very big say about direction ( and generally has had great success).
NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
Well, i didn't go, but that's what I heard from a couple of Session bar veterans.
Ever since the "Billy Moran bar" ( yes, that's the outside, covered one with those tall gas-heaters, where you can smoke) was established a few years ago, it has become, as Hup says, a refuge from the racket or crowdedness of the main bar. And that's where you tend to get the Richard and Libby Conrick-led sessions in the evening. which though not to everybody's taste, are a very important part of the national to many of us. They lead a unique, driving and accessible session, with well-known but not hackneyed tunes, at a lovely measured pace in which the music really 'sits'.
I reckon the festival organisers should think about special unofficial institutions of the festival such as this. And only people who have been going there every year for yonks AS A PLAYER ( as I had up until last year and this), and who know the different dynamics of the session bar will know these things.
i suspect the powers that be are not familiar enough with this.
I mean let's face it although the Nash always has great music concerts, dancing and workshops, the feature that really sets it apart, the reason so many of us come form all over Australia - is the Session Bar of a night. When you walk in at about midnight, when everyone's back from the concerts and has a beer ot two in the them, and meeting with old friends, you enter that warm fug and see nothing but joy and bonhomie, it's incredible. And as you walk around and find all the sessions going on. there's probably nothing quite like it anywhere in the world.
So the session bar really has to 'go off' every year I reckon, and I heard reports it didn't. But, to be fair, that was the opinion of a few.
But however it was, i was so disappointed i couldn't make it.
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by Fliúiteadóir
Re: NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
There were enough Trad players around, but there's always a
shortage of people who can lead a session, it seems. People
wanted to pack into the Kelly's sessions. Then there was the
usual "Trouble" session - that's a great session if you know
the tunes and the people and keep up the pace. That rules
out most of us - LOL! I played in one small 'Richard and Libby'
session that was quite good in the early evening on Monday.
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by Hup
Re: NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
I had mixed feelings about it.
i endorse all you say about the Conrick's sessions, I gravitate towards them. This year they were mixed in with other players and the unique experience was lost. Having said that I got bulk session all weekend. I was just lucky, the best sessions happened in the slots that lead to the exit doors and its a matter of timing whether you can get into one.
The sessions at my playing level were strengthened considerably by the Kelly gang, people with a lovely session ethic. It was great to see Paddy Fitzgerald there also.
The new architecture of the session bar, making three sectioned off (side walls only) areas along the west side of the bar created a mixed result. It was as if no-one quite knew how to use it. There would never be more than three sessions along that wall so no space was lost. Nevertheless I never saw those areas full as they might have been on a night in past years.
In all I wonder if the changed conditions were a reaction to a problem that doesn't exist. The idea of the session bar having multiple sessions at once makes no sense at all but as we all know it works! But I can easily understand someone coming there from outside of the process wanting to create better traffic flow and better audio separation, not realising the adversity is part of the experience.
Having said all this, the overall numbers of people in the session bar at night were down. Even on the Sat night, traditionally the most packed, it was possible to walk through parts of the bar unmolested by music and in a relatively straight line. I have no idea why this is unless the number of people I know who said they were not coming because of perceptions of loss of quality were reflected across the board.
As the festival slowly becomes an "acoustic music festival" (these quoted words taken from the festival director in a private conversation and placed in this context by me, he was referring to aspects of the festival and might not have been offering a forward direction, but it is plain to see as the festival gets bigger the growth is in young talented musicians playing music without roots) rather than a folk festival, the rise of non traditionally based music is sure, and the session bar resounded in a few instances to the thump of acoustic basses and drums. These carry more than a dozen fiddles so noise pollution between sessions was more of an issue. To be fair, bluegrass sessions usually have a bass.
I worry the festival is orientated towards growth rather than quality. Growth cannot happen at a rate that would look good in company boardrooms and still stay inside the folk envelope. I would rather it shrank if that was what was needed to keep it quality folk, but I'm not inside the decision making tent with huge amounts of responsibility. The best I can hope for is the decision to worship growth (biggest and best festival yet, more than 55,000 patrons! etc) is being done on the grounds that the non-folk part of the festival pays for the folk part and allows it to be stronger inside the larger event.
I am painfully aware the number of people who have the same intentions as me at the Nash (bulk sessions in the session bar) is limited, let me make a guess, 300? In a crowd of 55,000 tickets we are nothing but a curio for the the masses and we might be an expensive curio at that.
As I started, I had mixed feelings about it. I had a really good time, but I know I was lucky. Then again, I've had an indifferent time when the Billy Moran tent was there and the session bar untouched. I didn't really mean to unload, must go away and do some work..!
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by cag
Re: NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
In the last par I meant to say stated, not started, I think I was thinking, "stated when I started".
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by cag
Re: NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
To set the record straight - I too had a good time. Although as cag said it's only about 300/55,000, think of it as a band with 300
people in it and it becomes one of the "acts" with a really long
performance timeslot.
Does it have a high cost/benefit? Interesting question - there are
no sound techs, there is no hired equipment (except those partitions?).
There is an implied obligation on the performers to show up there,
maybe in some cases a contractual one?
When the weather's a little warmer you can have some good
sessions outside the building. I remember a particularly good one two
years ago before Dr Dow's boycott ...
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by Hup
Re: NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
"i suspect the powers that be are not familiar enough with this."
They're fully aware - they just have different priorities so choose to ignore you and go ahead with what they want to do regardless.
PS I don't WANT to boycott it. It's just that every year I have a choice - should I go and freeze my nuts off camping in Canberra so that I can have a good time and enjoy myself, or should I stay at home and miss out? Nowadays I think... "is there a chance that I might NOT enjoy myself?" and, with things being as they are, the answer ends up being "yes" so I stay at home and instead have some nice tunes in Sydney with other musicians who made the same choice. And I save on ticket price, camping fees (for a spot I might have to fight over), expensive food and petrol.
I heard from some good musos that a lot of the sessions were total sh*te this year, with a tendency for clueless ppl to barge in and ruin perfectly good sessions. That's not my opinion - it's only what I heard. Perhaps it'll be better next year.
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by Dr. Dow
GREAT, KEEP THE FEEDBACK COMING
I'm glad this thread has provoked discussion. i think we, the sessionistas, need to continue to discuss, and maybe eventually our opinions will carry some weight.
Interesting Dow, that you reckon the festival organisers are insouciant of our concerns. I say that because the new director Sebastian Flynn is an old mate of mine ( No, I don't mean THAT'S why he'd listen) who is a fiddler. he understands what sessions are about. Also, in all the music/arts organisations that he's run he's had a very big say about direction ( and generally has had great success).
Anyway, perhaps you're right.
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by Fliúiteadóir
Re: NFF Session Bar - not so good ? or ....
Probably not up to the usual standard because I wasn't there.
I'll do my best to turn up next year.
# Posted on May 2nd 2011 by mcknowall