Bamboo in the Blue Moutains

As if the WSF weren't enough, my friend Kirsty had organised an additional concert, Call of Bamboo, in the Blue Mountains a few night after. I took the train to Katoomba and found myself with freezing temperatures and strong winds. A big change for this Northern Rivers boy. I did manage to have a short trek along the mountain's edge and snap the above picture.

The concert was a great success. It was held at the Carrington Hotel's Ballroom. It was almost sold out. Kirsty did a great MC job with little interesting intros for the pieces. Unfortunately, the bipod of my arms swaying above my head did not produce any publishable pics. I do have the following glimpse of a post concert gathering of the performers and friends as well as a bit of local colour. A major plus for me was a one hour lesson with Kaoru the morning after the concert. Following on from the experiencing of so many great performances, it was the perfect finish to my shakuhachi adventure.



A cute little coffee shop that I wandered into was called Common Ground. The shop is owned the Twelve Tribes Community. They are kind of sixties style jesus freaks. The men all wear beards and the women all dress in long dresses with no make up and long hair. You can learn more about them at this link. http://www.twelvetribes.com/whereweare/global/australia/katoomba.html. A new member came up and talked to me with gleaming eyes. Otherwise, it was a pleasant environment and good coffee. I remember eating at their food venue at the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland and it was just very good food that time.