With our regular columnist, local musician Dr Michael Whiticker
IT’S been over 50 years since the Woodstock festival – four days of “Peace, Love and Understanding” attended by half a million people, took place, but that message is probably even more important today as we see governments the world over using the politics of hate and divisiveness to get themselves re-elected. Returning our thoughts to Woodstock at this time is relevant as yes, it was a time for loving your fellow man and uniting in a shared dream of a greater good, but it was also an opportunity to enjoy an amazing confluence of some of the world’s greatest musical acts. Sure the weather was bad and there was little sleep being had as the music continued right through the night, but it didn’t matter. It was people sharing their love for life, each other and great live music and that was all that mattered.
Festival time is back upon us. We just enjoyed a fantastic Maleny Music Festival and there are a range others in our region. Are you attending any? Or has the internet turned listening to music into a solitary pursuit for you? We no longer go to record stores and share our musical passions and discoveries with other music fans, so the thrill of the physical search for good music has been replaced for us by… the shimmering screen? And who could be blamed for choosing the soft option of listening comfortably at home? Yes, we’ve changed the way we consume music and we have got used to good access to whatever we want, immediately. We are defining ourselves by our existing likes and dislikes in music rather than the thrill of not knowing, and sharing a new discovery on a patch of ground we might share with countless others at a music festival.
I’ll be at the Woodford Festival again this year. It’s our Woodstock and now its up and running again why don’t you try to get along, even just for one of the six days? The Glasshouse Musos are running a PA on the Cirque Bar stage. It is little known (amongst the more than 20 other stages) but that is the way the organisers like it as they can put music on our stage that has come together at the last moment, providing players with an opportunity to meet and jam. There’ll be some workshops around the bar in the morning but we‘ll be looking after the PA each day from around 12 to 12. Do drop by. Our stage may not be well advertised but going on last year there were outstanding players to enjoy!
