High horse and soap box warning!!!

Right, you’ve been warned. I woke up on Sunday morning to something that I knew would be the cause of great debate in my household – a list of the top 50 Australian bands of all time. My first words to my mother were “am I going to call bullshit?” Because I’m often weary of how these lists are constructed. I’m also aware of how subjective music tastes are and how much a top 50 can vary from person to person. For example, in my house you have three different people with three very different opinions – there were, however a few things we agreed on, including a few glaring omissions:

No Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs? Excuse me? 

Particularly of those Aztecs are of the Sunbury variety. I call bullshit.

Now I will say this with full disclosure and no shame – I love Billy. He was loud, confident and made me feel like it was okay to be a bit different. Seeing Billy Thorpe live gave me an introduction to loud, live pub rock – and I fell in love with it. I fell so in love that I have a guitar called Billy. I wear a bracelet with the name billy (also for the other Billy who’s no longer in my life – now that would be a band!)

I remember running away from a friend mid conversation because I could hear Thorpie at a festival once. I didn’t care. Billy was onstage with my uncle Mike – I had to go.

Seeing Billy live was an experience I’ll never forget (I don’t think my hearing will either) Gil Matthews played with Billy, Warren Morgan played with Billy and Lobby Loyde once played with Billy. Lobby influenced Nirvana. This band influenced many with an iconic sound and ethos – nuff said.

Mondo Rock are MIA.

Empire Of The Sun but not Mondo Rock? Mate, please…. I liked Empire Of The Sun but I still can’t remember their big hit. My mum can’t either. Dad just doesn’t care. We can ALL remember the MANY, MANY Mondo Rock hits and it’s not just because I’ve been to more Ross Wilson concerts than I care to recall.

I could honestly quite happily live without hearing Come Said The Boy again and I KNOW they need to be in the top 50 bands of all time. The Ross Wilson/Eric McCusker songwriting machine deserves recognition. I was em recently at One Electric Day and everyone went nuts. There’s a good reason for that. Empire Of The Sun out, Mondo Rock in.

Where the hell are Sherbet?!

One debate has lasted longer than time – that of Skyhooks V’s Sherbet. Skyhooks came in at number 19 and Sherbet? Well they’re not on the list.

There isn’t a summer that goes by where you don’t hear Howzat. Sherbet were the ultimate pop band of their time and they created music that still attracts a strong following today.

It also launched the career of Daryl Braithwaite, a bloke who is still selling out venues all over the shop these days (he’s also still having to occasionally deal with crazy people trying to pull him off the stage – don’t y’all grow out of that, seriously?)

My point is, Sherbet should be in there. They deserve to be. People still go apeshit when they hear that cricket song and there’s a very good reason why.

And finally … Icehouse couldn’t crack the top 20.

What? Sorry, what? Ever seen Icehouse live people? They currently have a line up so impressive that the only sentence I can muster when they announce a gig is “shut up and take my money”. As far as live bands go, they could wipe the floor with so many, many other bands. I’d probably cancel my own wedding if it clashed with one of their gigs (good thing I don’t believe in marriage) because some things are just more important.

Now let’s talk about the music. Icehouse are responsible for so many hits that I would have RSI if I typed them all down, but here are some highlights – great southern land, hey little girl, sister, can’t help myself, love in motion, walls, electric blue, my obsession, cross the border (which needs to come back into the set list by the way, lads. You have the best bass player in aus, don’t waste it).

Okay, so some of those hits were technically Flowers, but they’re the same band (yes, I know my shit and I know I’m right).

Basically, icehouse should be lower. They can’t be number 21 because their song list is too good, the band are too good and their reach is too vast – not to mention the impact Icehouse had on the music scene.

I will go through this list and post my own top fifty when I have a minute, but until then stay tuned. This is not over…

I got lucky.

I am currently so sunburnt that I’m my own heat source, my back hurts, I have my glasses on because I would be blind without them and I’m probably not going to be a functioning human being without another cup of tea – but I have a massive grin on my face, had the time of my life with the girls, made some new friends and caught up with old ones and had one of those days that was so much better than anything I could have dreamed up in my own headspace. It was so good that it deserves its own sound track.

What am I talking about? Yesterday I went to One Electric Day. It serves as the precursor to the Red Hot Summer tour and damn it was fun.

I didn’t stay for the whole show due to that sun. In fact I spent a lot of time lounging about in the shade, but I heard what I didn’t see of Mondo Rock and they were on fire. Gil Matthews is a sensational drummer and a brilliant fit for that band, Daryl Braithwaite was a crowd pleaser – it seemed like a lot of people around me were there to see him and Boom Crash Opera were a good way to open the show. It was great.

Aside from a line up of no duds (which is bloody unusual) I also want to commend OED on their organization. There were plenty of toilets and there were always people around to ensure that they were clean. Not once did I go in and think “I wish this was cleaner” which is very unusual at an outdoor event. There was a smokers area, an area for deck chairs and a place for rugs. There was something for everyone.

Now bring on red hot summer – hopefully minus the horrible burn marks. I’m feeling a little sheepish today in that regard.

Have a great day y’all.

Rock out in red.

Most people in Aus know the story of Daniel. Daniel was a little boy, he could have been anyone’s little boy. He was 12 and waiting at a bus stop, just like any other kid does on a daily basis when he was abducted and killed.

In light of this, his parents set up the Daniel Morcombe foundation to teach kids about Stranger Danger and what to do if they get into a situation where they’re uncomfortable

Now, I don’t know how much stuff had changed before what happened to Daniel, but I don’t remember much being taught about Stranger Danger when I was at school. Unfortunately it’s a valuable lesson that seems to have been missed.

In order to raise funds for Daniel, the good people of Melbourne (namely Tania Wilson and Kim Valance) have done what Melbourne does best and decided to put on a concert to raise some much needed funds to help the Morcombe family keep doing what they’re doing.

There’s also going to be an auction on the night and you would not believe the stuff that’s been donated! There’s a signed and framed Michael Jackson Thriller album, a guitar signed by the Stones, a framed magazine signed by John Lennon and the chance to jump up on stage with the two acts performing that night – Ross Wilson and Daryl Braithwaite. If music isn’t your thing, there’s also a surf board and a bunch of other stuff going for auction too.

One thing is for sure – it will be a good night. It’s at Riva in St Kilda tomorrow. Tickets are $100 with all proceeds going to the foundation. Be there or miss out.

When life is just easy

Have you ever had one of those days where everything just falls into place? Well, today seems like one of those days. I went and had vegan breakfast with a friend and I have to say – it was great. It was great to catch up, the food was great, the service was great and it was actually much easier than expected.

People attach themselves to this idea that there is all this stuff you can’t have rather than focusing on the stuff that you can have – some pretty great fruit and veggies. I don’t eat a lot of meat any way, so that’s a bonus and aside from going to certain restaurants or selecting something different from the menu, I can’t imagine that being a vegan in Melbourne would be all that hard. Although it’s not something I would consider doing permanently, it’s still given me plenty to think about, even if only something for the health benefits.

After breakfast, I took a stroll down Smith St. It feels good to stretch the legs and get the blood flowing. I used to walk home from work, which is probably something I should get back into the habit of doing – some days at least. It’s much better for my back and knees to stay active. There is also a special kind of joy related to putting your iPod on, putting your hands in your coat pockets and enjoying the streets of the fine city in which I frequent. There is no place on earth I would rather live.

Another reason why I love Melbourne is for the gigs. I went and saw Daryl Braitwaite do his thing at The Caravan Club on Friday night. What a magnificent venue that is and what a surprise unit Imogen Brough, who was support is. Standing outside the venue before the gig I could hear some of what was going on inside and granted, judging someone on the way they sound through a few walls is not the best way to go about things, however what I was hearing left me none too skeptical. Once I got inside it was a different story. I also love the way that The Caravan Club has that old theatre style vibe about it. I only wish I lived closer to the venue! (Although maybe not, I’d be there a hell of a lot more if I did)

Anyway, song of the day is Need Your Love by Temper Trap. The latest song by Daryl is Not Too Late and I gotta say, I really like it. It kinda reminds me a little of Temper Trap which got me listening to them this weekend. Not Too Late would have been today’s song, however there is no bloody YouTube clip for it. Have some Temper Trap instead. They’re good too.

Moomba wrap up.

So, Moomba was a lot of fun. I’m making an effort to collect my thoughts so that the three nights don’t all blur into one, but here goes.

The support band was The Go Set and they played a bunch of tunes with your typical rock/punk feel. The thing that was most notable about them was the efforts made by the band to still put on a good show and get people involved. The lead singer’s attempts to get the crowd dancing, to the point that he jumped off stage a few times to either dance or sing with the audience. Well done to you sir. I’d go see em again.

There was also the fact that they had bagpipes. That was good too. James Reyne even got onstage early with the guys to sing Long Way To The Top.

The main event started with Ross Wilson declaring that he’s going to sing three songs beginning with “C” before bursting into Come Back Again. The band are warm, hot in fact as Geoff Wells takes the first solo for the night and makes guitar playing look like light work. I look around at the audience. They’ve risked sunburn and possible rain to be there. Everyone is happy.

Ross changes gears and kicks it up a notch with Cool World. Haydn Meggitt seems to come into his own here, reminding me once again of what a fantastic drummer he is. Maybe it’s just that Cool World gives him more of a chance to fire up?

Come Said The Boy rounds off Ross’s mini set. The audience are clapping along and participating freely, rather than having to be prompted to and suddenly, Ross is introducing Joe Camilleri who comes out and plays an extended version of Hit And Run. What a great song. Joe’s style of writing and sax brings a whole new flavour to the set. He follows it with Harley and Rose, which seems to almost take things down a tempo, but it’s brought right back up again with Chained To The Wheel. People are dancing, it’s music to move to.

There’s another change. James Reyne comes put and plays Reckless. It’s just him and Brett Kingman and it feels very intimate and gentle. It seems like the best way to perform the song. Strangely, it just wouldn’t feel right live with a full band.

The next song is a complete contrast in tempo and mood – the very fast Fall Of Rome. James’s set finished up with a sing along during Errol, before he introduced Daryl Braithwaite.

Daryl started his set with As The Days Go By and by this time, the audience were more than willing for a sing along. He then followed it with One Summer – I think judging by the audience reaction, these might have been the “great classic hits” that the MC was referring to earlier. The set was neatly rounded off with a shorter live version of Horses. It was good to see how well behaved the crowd were as this song, believe it or not, can usually create mayhem on the dance floor. It’s a crowd favourite and suddenly you have a lot of people trying to get close. This time everyone was relaxed and well behaved.

How do you follow a song like Horses? Well, you get everyone back onstage, of course and that’s exactly what happened next.

Ross seemed to have tuning problems during Howzat, but thankfully there were already some very accomplished guitarists on stage. Joe played Shape I’m In and everyone sang along. James, who daryl dubbed “shameless” played Boys Light Up before Ross finished the night off with that other song written in 1971 – Eagle Rock.

In summary, the crowd were well behaved (the lack of alcohol may have had something todo with that), the all star band of Brett Kingman, David Campbell, Chris Bekker, Hadyn Meggitt, Mark Amato and Geoff Wells is a brilliant combination, James’s solo was interesting and it was nice to see some of the interaction between four very different artists on one stage. It was a great couple of nights all round and I don’t think it was any accident that figures for the Sunday night show were around 10,000.

Song of the day will be back tomorrow.

Why am I up at this ungodly hour if there is no roll call to attend?

So, I just spent five minutes on a seat before realizing it was wet and now have a wet arse. I also got close enough to catch the last train but didn’t because running is not happening today. I feel like I’m sleep walking, which I quite possibly am.

It’s okay, though. It could always be worse. I’m happy after catching up with my best buddy yesterday and I have cake with my lunch, so it’s not all bad. I really need to start working out again, though. That’s next on the to do list, along with playing drums. I know that wont happen till tomorrow night and that’s okay.

Meanwhile, today’s song is brought to you by Pink and it reminds me of pushing a car up Punt Road in heels, drinking tea, five hour Facebook conversations and generally, a lot of laughs, madness and mayhem.

PS I’m sitting on a train and can hear the person opposite me listening to Mondo Rock. There Wilson, Camilleri, Braithwaite and Reyne shows this weekend? Don’t mind if I do.

One perfect day

It’s funny, isn’t it? How sometimes even the best laid plans can go awry? That describes yesterday. Nothing went to plan – from what I was going to wear to who I was going to go with and definitely what I was going to do beforehand. Absolutely nothing. Somehow, it ended up being one of the best days I’ve had, certainly in quite some time, if not ever.

How was the gig? Complete and utter madness. I say that with a smile on my face, purely because no one got hurt. There was a stage invasion and a couple of fights nearly broke out. Surprisingly, I wasn’t involved in either of them (although it coulda come close with the fights.) The one thing that rings through my head today is “where were security?” Because before throwing the trouble makers out, they did sweet f.a. They didn’t pull them off stage – a friend of the band did and they certainly didn’t stop the near scuffle (which actually would have prevented the stage invasion because surprise, surprise, it was the same girls. Yes, girls and young ones too. They showed up drunk and late and just wanted to be noticed by everyone. They certainly got their wish. You girls were idiots.

So, how then, despite all this, was it perfect ? Well, Daryl and band are professionals and bloody good at what they do. I also had a bunch of people I like being around in the room. That makes a difference. Chuck a couple of people in the room that I love and it’s all good. It was one of my friend’s first pub gigs – he only recently turned 18. His only drink was water. It was all I had, not knowing that he was going to be there. Afterwards we all went out for pizza, which was lovely. I think that may have been just as good as the gig, actually. My drum teacher was also there, so I better get off my lazy arse and make my way to my drum kit now. It all ended in me driving home, grinning to myself at the weekend that I’ve had and thinking “yep, I’ve got it made” and as I sit here listening to Bruce Springsteen and nursing a cup of tea I couldn’t be more sure of that.

Friday on my mind

Well, here we are, Friday morning. I have so much to do today that I don’t even know where to begin. I also feel pretty excited.

Aside from tonight (the Braithwaite CD launch – be there or be…. Some place not as fun?) it’s my cousin’s birthday tomorrow and I’m looking forward to catching up with my family again. I plan on spending Saturday playing drums so I’m excited about that, too. I have a creeping suspicion that I have something fun to do on Sunday too, but I’m not sure what.

I finished watching Bruce live at storytellers and just before I started to watch it again I wondered why we don’t do anything like that over here. I know we had the Max sessions a little while ago but it all comes back to the same thing I guess – Australia doesn’t treat their musicians and artists with the same respect that America does. It’s an unfortunate thing and slowly we’re seeing progress. It’s so hard for these guys to get airplay for new stuff that it drives me crazy. Triple R and PBS are great in what they do and there’s a certain joy in not knowing what you’re going to get or how long it’s going to go for, but to try and get across to the average listener that Normie Rowe hasn’t just done a Coles ad since Shaking All Over or to hear any of Russell Morris’s new cd, despite it’s success on the iTunes chart is so much of a struggle that there is more chance on me going up to Daryl after tonight’s gig for a congratulatory hug than hearing something from Russell Morris other than The Real Thing or occasionally Sweet Sweet Love on commercial radio.

Anyway, I’m going to end my rant now before I start to get really frustrated. Have a nice day and who knows what miracles await us tonight.

How’d that happen?!

So, we’re half way through October which means that there are only about ten weeks left in the year. What a beautiful year it’s been, too. I’ve started a new job, started playing drums again, started this blog, started taking care of my fitness and connected with my very own Calliope in a whole bunch of new and lovely ways.

Now more than ever I feel alive and determined. Although the latter has been pretty constant, I gotta say that the former is somewhat of a new experience in some ways. I see joy in music again. The fact that I see joy is probably enough of a revelation all by itself, really. It’s all been a bit crazy.

Anyway, enough reminiscing for now. I am busy today working on the balance between gym, music and work, sucking the joy out of a song (you’ll know it when you hear it) and enjoying Bruce (live at storytellers- get it now!) ohhhhh, and if you haven’t already got your tickets to catch Daryl Braithwaite’s cd launch tomorrow, get em now. Should be fun. I’m off to enjoy the sunshine, buh bye

That’s the way that it was . . . Now when’s the next one?!

Bloody hell, those APIA gigs are a good idea. No, they’re a great idea. I think that last night was even better than the Friday before. It was the same kinda set, really. Having said that, it was also a bit different. Ross still came out first, still did his thing. He seemed to have more energy. The band seemed to be out to kill. Haydn was on fire. I know he’s a good drummer, that’s obvious, but last night I was reminded that he is a great drummer. Don’t let him go Ross, he’d get a job before you know it.

After Ross, it was Joe’s turn. He came out with a newish song which I really liked. It’s got a great beat and had both those onstage and in the audience moving a little. It was nice to see. Joe seems to just have his head around writing songs with a great sense of rhythm. Joe also seems to have the easiest interaction with the crowd. He comes on, gets everyone laughing and dancing. In some respects, it could be good to have him go on first because he puts everyone at ease, but then, maybe that’s because Ross has done the ground work and by now the audience know they’re in for a night of great music. Who knows? Either way, the order works and as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It was probably around this time that I realised that the gig was suffering second gig curse – those that really wanted to be there bought tickets to the first one. They got up, they danced, they had the “time of their life”. It was gonna be harder in some senses this time. The boys still gave their all and the audience were in for a treat, even if they were dancing on the inside. Joe handed me his saxophone for a bit. It reminded me that I need to learn to play Sax. One day, Joe. One day real soon. He also plugged his new album and played Endless Sleep. I love that song. I’m going to learn to play that, too.

After Joe, it was time for interval and Ross and Joe came out to sign stuff. I really love the way that the APIA tour is geared towards the fans. It’s about the experience for everyone involved and it’s a bloody good thing too. There should be more of it.

James was first on for the second half and it was good to experience James’s set from the other side of the stage this time. It was great, it meant I got to see everyone’s point of view – well, kind of. The good thing about seeing James in this setting was seeing James interacting with other band members and having fun. It’s really nice to see, it doesn’t hurt any one and there should be more of it. James, if there’s someone on that stage that’s making you have fun. Keep em around, they’re good for you. It comes out in the music, too. A few songs in, David Campbell from the Braithy band came out and joined the boys on stage. It’s good to have him around. It’s like a Braithy reunion. Whilst I’m on band members, it’s also good to see Jason Vorherr playing with Geoff Wells again for the first time a couple of years. There should be more of that, too. Anyway, back to the music. James played Hammerhead and a tried to get the crowd moving, but sometimes when you’re dealing with stiffs, there’s nothing that you can do but grin and bear it. Reckless is great acoustically. It’s the only way to play it, really. James introduced Daryl. It’s probably the only part of the night that doesn’t really run smoothly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hilarious and a little awkward. It would be nice to have the boys do Slave of Motor City together, though. It would make things run smoother and from a music nerds point of view, they’ve both recorded songs together. Without sounding like Spock here, it’s only logical.

Anyway, Daryl came on and was Daryl. People got up and danced, it was good. Daryl played his new song too and I really liked it. It’s a great one. There are moments in there where you expect to see the band cut loose and they don’t. It kinda leaves you hanging a bit, anticipating the moment that they do. It’s very clever. Daryl also nearly fell off the stage at one point. He gets really into performing and one day, so help me, that man will do himself an injury. He is the only one out of the four of these guys that actually makes people get up and dance. If subtle hints don’t work, the out and out asking works really well. Maybe more people should try this? Once people are up, the mood changes. It’s just sad that it took Horses to make that happen.

The encore was great. Shape I’m In got everyone moving and by this time, there was no cooling the audience down. The first encore finished with Eagle Rock, which to this day makes me feel like I should be running for the for the merch stand to help Ross out. Not tonight though. I thought that at the end of that song, that was it. Music came on. I thought “there’s no more?” excitedly. Not that I wanted the night to end so desperately, but had it have been a different encore song, the boys could have played all night. The audience hung around though. They started cheering. They wanted more. The band came back out and played the song. There was no need for introductions. I’ll Be Gone filled the air. A part of me wanted to run. A part of me was out the door and down the street but I looked up and I stayed. The band do a beautiful job of the song as a fitting tribute to a beautiful man and I stayed. You should all be proud of your efforts. Goodness knows I am. Thank you.

P.S the camera I was using broke.