umbria fest program no good

[no good]

see www.mijf.org

This is a sad looking program overall. I just don't see how it's going to work? No good!

[gideon]

$1000 for a festival pass!! oh my god.

[V H B]

Gideon now come on, you'll get a chance to hear those great Jazz Legends: Rockin Dopsie and Kate Ceberano.

This from Rockin's own website:

"Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. is the Mick Jagger of the marsh."

so that settles it!

Theres a few gigs I wouldn't mind catching but overall I would say they haven't done a great job of programming.

Never mind, there is always the Tuesday Melbourne Jazz Co oP gigs. Oh no, there isn't.

[Gideon]

No... but Half Bent will be doing their bit around that time to offer a bit of an aussie alternative - I am sure. Just wish some of you internet nerds would show up once in a while! Hmmm, actually kenny turned up to the tsunami benefit #2 the other week - you're forgiven.

[happy]

well....sometimes it's hard to get a full grasp of things without having a hard copy in front of you, but I have to agree with most of the comments.

Personally (ever the populist...) I don't mind a more Montreux style festival with people like Ceberano and Dopsie (who I have no doubt will do great shows to full houses) which may even encourage a wider audience to test the waters a bit broader, but I am really disappointed by the lack of depth in the Australian programming. If the aim is to bring out tourists from Europe, great, but it's hardly high tourist season!

I also really worry about the capacity of the festival to sell tickets to multiple concerts of Italian players, given the usual conservatism of the Australian audience. Maybe it will actually help build and diversify the audience.....maybe.....

[Punter]

Actually I don't know if the Aussie audience are that conservative. Some of the more adventurous programming in the past has been the most successful. There are a lot of discerning listeners out there, but I don't think this festival is really pitched at them.
This festival seems to be reaching out to a larger more mainstream audience that I fear it will struggle to pull, in the numbers it needs to make ends meet.

[Kenny]

Guest-Gideon said:

actually kenny turned up to the tsunami benefit #2 the other week - you're forgiven.

Gosh, thanks Padre Gideon, thank you for absolving me of my sins. Gush gush gush. Interesting gig - didn't know hardly a soul apart from you. Very young audience, interesting music. But having your Hammond lot, suprisingly, open proceedings was ultra neat - youse guys are sounding good!

[gideon]

thanks kenny, we just recorded last week - so I'll get you a copy... yeah, it was a young audience - mainly college kids i think - although i have heard that it's the trick - to get them while they're young...

[happy]

at the risk of flogging a dead horse...

I was just moved to check out the festival programme again, to see if I was being a bit harsh before and to see if we all should be a bit more generous. Unfortunately, I think I like it less than ever! oh well......

[Half Bent]

I think there's some really good stuff on. But, if it's not your cup of tea... stay tuned!

[bod]

without prejudice:
i rather like the bands sco and shorter are currently hawking.
i should probably disclose that i purchased tickets to their gig.
end of revelations.

[Not Albert Dadon]

i saw a program for the free evens at the Umbira jazz in Melbourne thing and it had loads of words pictures and pages dedicated to messages from the Chairman, the artistic director, the Premier, the sponsors, the minster for the arts, the mayor of Melbounre and NOTHING about the musicians other than names times and dates of gigs. AND it had LOADS of yellow space around each gig so what does this all mean?

I think I am moving to hobart