It'd hard to know where to start with this update. Depending on which way you look at it, the tour so far has either been chaotic, inspiring, exhausting, uplifting, a train wreck or a screaming success. In reality, it's probably a combination of those things all wrapped up into one beautiful package that is otherwise known as the life and times of Renny Field. It's hard to imagine a crazier start to the release of a new album. Is it a sign of things to come? I hope so. At least I'll be able to say it was interesting! Not that I expected anything else of course...
SUN 8TH NOVEMBER - OXFORD ART FACTORY
After a couple of smaller shows north of Sydney (including one with my good friend Amy Vee in Newcastle - cheers to you), it was time for the big album launch at the Oxford Art Factory in Darlinghurst. I didn't want to get too carried away with the launch, but it was in many ways the culmination of the previous 12 months of my life, most of it spent sitting in a little room for hours on end trying to figure out what on earth I was doing. For a while there I wasn't really sure if I'd ever release anything again, so to get to that point was an achievement in itself. The night itself was a bit of a blur, but I think it's safe to say it was a pretty fitting celebration. A great turnout, the band sounded amazing (to my ears anyway!), and I was really happy that so many of the people who helped put the album together were able to be a part of the show. A couple missing but certainly not forgotten - and there will be more shows with them in the future. A big thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a memorable night!
And, in case you were wondering, here was the band:
Matt Field - Drums
Pat Savina - Bass
Simon Rudston-Brown - Electric Guitar
Scott Aplin - Keys
Sam Buckingham - BVs
Lanie Lane - BVs
Liz D'Olier - Viola
Adrian K - Violin
Michael Carney - Accordion
And Me - Vox and Guitar
Thanks also to Ten Thumb Tom and Lanie Lane for the wonderful tunes to kick things off.
MON 9TH NOVEMBER - PHOENIX BAR, CANBERRA
Monday morning it's fair to say I awoke with a real sense of achievement, but also a feeling of complete exhaustion. I wasn't going home early after the launch, but even so there was still another 8 gigs to play in the next 7 days and 3 hours sleep wasn't the best way to start the week! Add to that a very busy period leading up to the release, and you can imagine I wasn't exactly as fresh as a daisy. Little did I know that the wheels were about to fall off spectacularly that night in the nation's capital.
Somehow I managed to get away from Sydney with JUST enough time to get to Canberra (allowing for a good run...) and sure enough I made it to the venue by the barest of margins. How I continue to live my life in 5-minute windows I will never understand. I might have been ok, but of course I got lost on the way. Every time I go to Canberra I get lost. All the roads go in circles. You think you're in the right place and then there will be a one way street that takes you back to where you came from. Last time I went there I even managed to get lost in a fricking car park! Same deal - arrows point one way, road goes the other.... Anyway, I estimate I needed to perform at least 6 illegal U-turns within a 500m radius of the venue. This despite several attempts to get directions, but it appears the taxi drivers don't know where they are either!
I had imagined it would be a bit of a "come back to earth" show after playing to 180-200 people with a 10-piece band the night before, and sure enough it was a far quieter affair. I suppose there were about 10-15 people listening to me at the Phoenix Bar, but I still enjoyed it and in any case I had played to far less than that before. The gig itself wasn't so bad, it's just that when I emerged from the venue around midnight (ready to drive straight to the motel and sleep) my car was nowhere to be seen! The first night of the tour proper, and my car had been stolen. Can you believe it? On a Monday night!! Why would anyone want to steal a car like mine on a Monday night? It's not the type of vehicle you use to cruise down the main street and pick up chicks. An old red 1986 Toyota Corona with a boot that falls on your head when you want to put stuff in the back, a passenger-side window winder that has to be reattached each time you need some air, a coat hanger for an aerial, rust on both sides and no air conditioning (this last part an important detail....). Even that I could have lived with, but adding to the pain - I had left a box of my brand new CD's in the car! 125 Copies gone. The fact that I had hidden them under a few blankets was irrelevant, because the blankets were gone as well. And the microphone stands. And my sleeping bag. And a present from my friend Kim who had made the trip to Canberra with me. So instead of heading straight back to the hotel, it was off to the police station to report a stolen vehicle. Yes it was locked. Yes I am sure I checked the right car park....
Apparently, said the policeman, the young kids of Canberra steal cars to get home because there is no public transport. So whilst my car was missing, there was a chance it would be found sitting in one of the outer suburbs. This was little consolation given the next day I had to drive to Belgrave (about an hour East of Melbourne), and now had no car to make the trip. Can you imagine a better way to start a tour? I would have cried if it wasn't so ridiculous. Hey at least I still had my guitar, and a great story to tell for the rest of the tour! Rest of my life even. (And you know how I love to tell stories....) Caught a cab home to the hotel, got to bed at 1.30am, set the alarm for 7.30 knowing there would be a lot of running around to do in the morning. Despite this fairly significant setback, and despite the fact that I was now completely exhausted, I was determined to make the next show.
(I must also say a big thanks to Kim who was with me the whole time, and managed to prevent herself from laughing at my helpless situation. In reality, it was probably the company that helped me hold it together!).
TUES 10TH NOVEMBER - RUBY'S LOUNGE, BELGRAVE.
Awoke first thing in the morning to discover that no it wasn't all a dream. I really had no car, and I really needed to get to a gig which was about 9 hours drive from Canberra.
Dear.
Me.
After eating some breakfast and placing a call to the insurance company, I was delighted to discover that I had comprehensive insurance on my little red wagon, and whilst the "market value" would probably be too small for you to see in this email, the policy included free car hire in case of theft! If I was to make the gig that night, several things were going to have to go in my favour, and this was an encouraging start to the day! A few more calls and I had secured myself a much newer Toyota, a Camry in fact, with air conditioning! And as fate would have it, Victoria was bracing itself for one of the hottest days of the year. So instead of driving in a pool of sweat in my '86 Corona, I got to travel in the air-conditioned comfort of a new model Toyota Camry, with cruise control and a much better stereo system. There was the minor problem of my car and box of CD's being in the hands of some young hoodlum cruising the streets of Canberra trying unsuccessfully to get himself laid, but the rental car helped me put that information to one side and enjoy the fact that the tour was still on!
As you an imagine, there were plenty of rest stops on the way, but I managed to reach Belgrave with enough time to spare to grab myself a bit of food before I hit the stage. I think there might have been about 5 people in the crowd, one of them who managed to dance to my whole set (yes really - even to Crossfire), but after the chain of events in the previous 24hrs, it was a minor miracle that I had made the gig at all. I was that exhausted, I don't think I would have cared if I was playing to nobody.... Managed to sell a CD to the wasted dancer too! Checked in to the motel about 12, was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
WED 11TH NOVEMBER - THE ESPY, ST KILDA
Well, my car was still missing, but for the first time in ages I was able to sleep in, and I think I'd earned the rest. Took a cruise into the Dandenongs, found a nice spot for breakfast and enjoyed a pretty relaxing morning. The Dandenong Ranges (just outside of Melbourne) are just beautiful. The landscape is somewhere between pine forest and rain forest - but very different to the bushland in other parts of the country. It's amazing that it's less than an hour from the centre of Melbourne - well worth a look if you have a day to kill. The perfect environment for a good old fashioned wind-down. I wish I'd been able to stay for longer.
Upon my arrival in Melbourne that afternoon, I was greeted with some great news - my car had been found in Canberra! Apparently the guys who took it were still cruising the streets a few days later and the police had simply pulled them over and arrested them right there on the spot. You have to wonder don't you - why would they have kept driving the car all that time? Were they still on the cruise for chicks? Did they think I wouldn't report it stolen? Did they enjoy the sweltering heat in the red oven? The mind boggles... There wasn't much information on what was actually in the car, but the police were able to tell me that there was a box of "Benny Field" CD's in the boot! (I figured they were talking about my CD's and not some other bloke with an extraordinarily similar name to mine). All of this was great of course, except for the fact that now I needed to get back to Canberra to pick my car up. Whichever way I decided to do it, there would be a lot of extra miles involved, but hey at least it had been found. Apparently in one piece. (Or as "one piece" as that car gets...). So with that slightly encouraging news, it was off to the gig we went....
The Esplanade Hotel (The Espy) has a great $10 Lasagne night on Wednesday's - always a good way to re-fuel. The servings are HUGE. Joining me on stage to sing a few BV's was my good friend Rianna Gates, who did a beautiful job. She's welcome any time! A lot more people on hand than the previous 2 nights, and after another warm day in Melbourne there was a great walk-up crowd that had come down to the pub. The Espy is always a cool gig, and it's really nice to be able to play a stage like that whenever I am in town. Was also able to check out a very impressive set by Georgia Potter and her band from Brisbane. Really great stuff. It's one of the best things about being on the road - the chance to be inspired by brand new music you have never heard before. It's amazing to think back just 5 or 6 years to a time when I had only seen a handful of live gigs, and now I am fortunate enough to see them most nights of the week. Certainly something I can handle.
(By the way - my stolen car story went down a treat...)
THURS 12TH NOVEMBER - WESLEY ANNE, NORTHCOTE, With Sam Buckingham.
Well we'll keep this one brief. It was a nice day with Sam cruising the streets of Melbourne, and one of the rare occasions on this tour that I was actually able to relax for a few hours. The highlight of the day was certainly the purchase of a plain grey t-shirt from an op-shop in Windsor. Why would you buy a second hand grey t-shirt for $5? I don't know, but I have worn it twice now. I might even wear it tonight in fact. Cool.
The gig that night was really enjoyable - the Wesley Anne is a beautiful old room, and there were just enough people to make it feel pretty cosy. I am happy to play to small, even tiny crowds, if it's a nice space and they are giving me the time of day. Nice to have a few old friends come down to check it out too. I'll ignore the part where the sound engineer felt it was necessary to scream at the top of his voice any time he needed to communicate.... (WHATS THAT YOU WANT MORE GUITAR?!??!!?!) It's not like he had to yell over the top of everyone else, because nobody was talking. Maybe he just liked the sound of his own voice... Anyway in between his ramblings, I got to join Sam for a couple of songs and vice versa - it's one of the great things about doing shows with friends who know your music. And it's always a lot of fun singing with Sam.
So after two pretty cool gigs in Melbourne, it's fair to say I was feeling a lot better than a few nights earlier in Canberra. And it was just as well really, because there was more chaos just around the corner.... Wagga Wagga and Junee were the next in line, and somewhere in the middle of it all I had to collect a beaten up old station wagon in Canberra.
Might be a good time for a break here. The next part of the tour deserves it's own billing!
To be continued....
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