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diaries ADELAIDE – FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF THEM (scroll down for more diaries) It was an early flight from Perth. We arrived about 2pm in the city of festival and light. With WOMAD going on, and the Adelaide festival only out the door, the place was buzzing with people and culture. We were sceptical about the turn out but then decided the WOMAD crowd probably weren’t there to see us anyway.!?* We set out for the accommodation and some lunch. M mm m lunch. Just what we needed before another session of radiation therapy!! Somebody is looking after us. Or out to get us. I’m not sure…. The venue was pretty large, as was the hospitality. We drank champagne to celebrate the day, and set out on stage for a fun gig. Big Heavy Stuff had a great one, and Bluebottle Kiss enjoyed a memorable finale. Fletcher climbed the speaker stack, and a few of us fell onto the stage in a primal, chaotic frenzy. Waltzes gone wrong, and spectacular gone right. The front section of the bar became a club type of thing, and I think the DJ was drunk, because he kept playing songs twice. All a cozzie soundtrack to pack up to, which took a long while (see champagne reference above). We jumped in the van, and drove through the city, which was alive with pretty lights, and the sounds of people having a good time. Other people that is. With all the planes, and time zones, and rock n roll we were feeling the need for sleeping in a big way. Most of the gang set out to find some late night dinner. Apple crumble was a big hit. Apparently it’s quite cheap in Adelaide. I didn’t ask about the tasty part. Come
morning we went into town for some food, and coffee. Don’t forget
the coffee! We managed to check out Big Star, which is a pretty cool record
store. LIVE
FROM FREEMANTLE After the high of the Victorian leg, the big blue kids were ready for just about anything. We hooked up with Bluebottle Kiss in Perth. Their faces said the sunrise was magical. The only exciting things about the gig in Fremantle were the antics in the van on the “20 minute” drive there, and the antics of the PA system that night. Oh and how drunk some of us were. After the show, we drove back to accommodation for some radiation therapy from the mobile phone tower on top of the building. DAY 2 –Part One - EL HECTO BENDING OVER: MURDOCH UNI It was a busy schedule in theory, but part of adapting to life on the road is the acceptance of schedules falling into a hazy, imagined series of events in an idealistic part of one’s short term memory. Let
the revolution begin! We had arrived, and the scent of youth was rife
in the air. We had arrived. Too early… We then discovered we were part of a small festival, as two bands were playing before we did. To be precise, an acoustic duo performing an Incubus cover, which sadly I missed, followed by a local band who were there to promote a new energy drink, proudly sporting the leery t-shirts. And let me tell ya, if the shirts are that colour, there’s no way I’m drinking that stuff. As it turned out, they had arrived without amps. Curious . Maybe people who bend over expect others to bend over too. So since seeing it was so hot, the only good sport we could play that day was to lend them our amps. And they played, and it stunk like the capitalism in the air. 3 points for those stick twirls though buddy! Finally
we played some music, wearing sunglasses, to a very small group of stayers,
and the occasional passer by. If only the students had been as enthusiastic
about the rock n roll as they were about the sandwiches that the Uni had
supplied us. One young lady in particular became engaged in several spats
with different band members, over the position of the platter, and the
injustice of the bands and not the students having free food. Everybody
learned something at Uni today. It was 8pm our time and the beginning of the next gig was still four hours away. We were feeling the time difference, and the sun, and also the beer. We drove south past lots of fauna and dry landscape, discussing possible names for Simon’s “due any day now” baby to be. DAY 2 – Part Two BUN BURIED As we were loading in, the owner of the pub drove past us in the car park, hooting his novelty horn. We ate dinner, and headed for the stage, which faced a brick wall, which was in close proximity. So unless the punter wants to be blasted, they have to stand off to the side. I found this gave me neck pain , as I tried to really connect with the Bunburians. Connections were made. Like the one between Yaniv and the guy who asked him if he was ever a jockey. And like the guy who kept trying to buy me drinks. And the local bikie gang paying us a visit, without paying. Because they don’t have to because they shoot people. And then it was time to sleep tight! In the morning, we walked the streets in search of breakfast. The “best coffee in town” wasn’t that flash. Yaniv got lost inside the supermarket, whilst we waited in van. My mood was crap, but 10 minutes on the road saw me smiling.
It
was time for another dose of radiation therapy back at the accommodation.
Some took naps, others watched TV and bathed,(and managed not to get electrocuted!
) Come rock time, the turnout was great. Everybody seemed to have a good show, and Polley put on a light show for Bluebottle that could rival The Cure. One of the members of security had a problem with my enthusiasm for rock music. Literally! Showing his distaste physically and verbally. And during the pack up, was followed by another member of security yelling at us “fck off I want to go home” . If only I could lift that speaker box any faster. Two words: David Hooks. Besides
the over zealous measures to ensure our safety, the night was a fun and
memorable one. Queensland HOT HOT HOT!! Day
1: We arrived on the beautiful Sunshine Coast to a not so beautiful smelling venue, and as we were loading in, some locals drinking in the early afternoon sun asked “Are you guys Grinspoon or something??”. Even though we were not Grinspoon, we were something, and all the bands rocked. Day 2: Some of the gang hit the beach for an early morning swim, whilst Greg lined up a coffee plunger and a lengthy chat about the finer points of the beverage in the BHS motel room. We split into our cars, and it was off to the Gold Coast. We arrived at the Motel and were met by our very strange hosts Louise and her husband, who coincidently came second with his tune in the 1964 Eurovision song contest. After asking for a cassette copy of all of our music, they asked we adhere to a numerous amount of crazy rules at the risk of being charged extra money if we walked the wrong way. At the sound check, we met the lead singer of a local metal band who were playing in the room next door. In his own words, he described his band as “Midnight Oil on crystal meth”. We think he had a crush on Nick too. The rock was good, ending with Jamie wrestling audience members in an intense ending of their set. After
that it was a post gig swim at Surfers Paradise, with Yaniv stepping onto
the beach for the first time since year 3. And oh those stars in the night
sky! In the sweltering heat, BHS and Yaniv headed straight for the big smoke. The rest of us decided to catch some more waves. Around lunch we arrived in Brisbane to air that was too hot to breathe. 41 degrees I believe. Trumpy decided to smash the motel window coz he was feelin a little bit rock n roll, and everyone stayed in the comfort of air conditioning until it was time to load in up a flight of stairs. And the sweat didn’t stop. Every pore every second. The heat didn’t keep the punters away. In 35 degree heat, they rocked out. It must have been an extra 10 degrees on the stage. A mixture of adrenaline, and moments of lulling to the point of passing out. More water was consumed in several hours than in weeks. Put it this way – for the first time in history BBK played with their shirts off! This weather made India seem like a winter wonderland. Day 4 – Well it was a little bit cooler (about 5 degrees). Most of the gang flew back to Sydney, and we had a short practise of acoustic set before a drive around Brisbane. Then it was off to this venue called “The Alley”, which was part of a bowling alley visable through internal windows down one side of the room. Very cool little place. We then performed a half an hour rendition of our songs in their acoustic form, (or some form!) Then it was time to head off to Byron for a little holiday. And the most amazing storm broke out on the drive along the way. Where is the video camera????
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