David Ross Macdonald will play at The Front on November 2. Photo: Supplied
Playing to full houses in the Arctic Circle is not something too many Australian musicians can boast about.
But David Ross Macdonald is not your ordinary Aussie musician.
Famed as the drummer in the Waifs, he also has an enviable solo career as a guitarist, singer-songwriter - and adventure seeker.
His grab-every-opportunity attitude recently took Macdonald on an extensive trans-Canadian tour of festivals, clubs, prisons, schools and even intimate house concerts.
That tour also included the Arctic town of Iqaluit in the far northern territory of Nunavut.
''Greenland is closer than Toronto, by a long stretch, and when you take the plane up to Iqaluit from Ottawa it costs more than a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney,'' Macdonald says. ''And you share the journey in a combi-passenger jet, where the front three-quarters of the aircraft is retrofitted to house freight supplies.''
Macdonald was a feature performer at an international indigenous festival there, and played at the local school, cafe, a homeless shelter and juvenile detention centre.
He marvels at the Arctic night sky, suggesting his time in a tiny town ''where the streets have no name'' has inspired him musically.
''Each night the clear, starry sky is given forth to the dramatic green milky mists and seemingly bioluminescent arcs, bands and eye-deceiving swirls of northern lights,'' he says. ''Impossibly beautiful and mystifyingly silent, this cosmic ray and magnetic field waltz takes centre stage a hundred or so kilometres directly overhead.''
Suitably inspired, Macdonald heads back to Canberra to share his experiences and inspire others with his beautiful musical style.
He plays a 1935 Gibson L00 acoustic guitar, which he makes sing so sweetly it is infectious.
And when it comes to singing, Macdonald's voice matches his prowess on the guitar.
As for songs, his originals are intensely melodic yet sublimely earthy.
He was last in Canberra over Easter and wowed audiences at the National Folk Festival. During one performance at the National, he commented that he was often asked how he played the guitar so well.
''Ever heard of a little thing called practise?'' is his reply.
This time, Macdonald plays a more intimate setting at the Front Cafe.
He's calling the concert his Solo and Acoustic Back from the Far North.
''I'm coming to Canberra en route to the Bega Valley, where an old dairy acre-block awaits my yet-to-be-purchased hammer and saw to build a studio-home retreat,'' he says. ''When finished, it will have nothing but buddies and dial-up YouTube.''
David Ross Macdonald
WHERE:The Front Cafe, Lyneham
WHEN: Friday, November 2, 8pm
TICKETS: $10
■ Chris Johnson is a musician and a staff writer
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