Hi Guys,
A bit of a delay with these, but I am chipping away.... It's been a busy few months!
Stand by for more.
Cheers.
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SUN 15TH NOVEMBER – THE MELBOURNE DOUBLE
Little do I need to tell you, despite the lack of alcohol the night before, there was a hangover of sorts taking effect when I awoke at 7.45am in the Locomotive Hotel Junee. My body was crying out for rest, and instead I was about to endure another 5hrs in the red oven (my car), followed by two shows in the Victorian Capital. Say nothing of the drive to Sydney that was awaiting me the following morning. Bearing in mind at this point I was still locked in the Hotel by myself, hoping that Karen had remembered her promise to come and let me out…
Fortunately, by the time I emerged from the shower (“Dusty, but clean” as promised – see previous blog), Karen had opened up the doors to the main bar, and had a cup of tea waiting for me when I descended from the presidential suite. I tried to relax a little before the drive, but it was hard to ignore the heat pouring in through the front doors of the pub (even at this hour), and the resulting knowledge that in roughly 30mins time I would be enjoying a sensation something akin to 100 women standing at my car window with their hair dryers set to “Extreme”.
The good thing about this level of discomfort of course is that it makes it extremely hard to go to sleep when you have been chasing stolen cars, running into animals, playing gigs to nobody, that sort of thing… So despite my exhaustion, there was still no need to take a “powernap” as regularly advised by the Victorian government on the side of the freeway. I imagine my body was taking all sorts of powernaps on the inside, but that wasn’t going to stop the wind keeping my eyes WIDE open.
And so it was that I arrived in Melbourne, drenched in sweat (those Rexona folks are full of crap), and with about an hour to kill before the show at Pure Pop Records. Not that there was any real opportunity to rest mind you. Because funnily enough, calling your mate to tell him you have arrived, double parking outside his apartment, loading all your gear into his apartment (up the lift to the 2nd floor), getting back into your car, finding a parking space somewhere within a 10km radius, and walking back to the venue – well all of that takes roughly about an hour.
So, once again, I imagine I probably hit the stage the polar opposite to what, say, Bruce Springsteen might feel like when he saunters out to the microphone at Madison Square Garden. Nonetheless, this didn’t deter me from putting it out there for the decent crew of punters who had turned out to watch my set. And damn it, some of them even bought a CD – can you believe it. My thanks to Dave for having me (as he does whenever I am in Melbourne), and for naming “The Arena” in Pure Pop’s Top 20 Albums of 2009! That’s quite an accolade for someone like me so I was stoked. If you haven’t been to pure pop then you should definitely check it out next time you’re in St Kilda. So much great music at that place I couldn’t begin to tell you – the type of venue where you can say “I saw this person play to 20 people…..”.
For instance, just after I finished, The Basics jumped on stage after playing to 8-900 the night before. Not a bad deal for free on a Sunday afternoon…
www.purepop.com.au
After saying my goodbyes, it was back in the car (yes I had to find it and re-load it…) for another mad dash across town to one of my most anticipated shows on the first week of the tour. A couple of months earlier, I’d played a gig with Bianca Fenn & the September Knights at the Espy. Not only did they completely blow me away, but Bianca was also kind enough to invite me to come and open up for her EP Launch at the Evelyn in Fitzroy – one of Melbourne’s iconic venues.
For once in my life, I made it to the gig with a bit of time up my sleeve. The problem being, when you are used to falling into the venue, out of breath from another frantic traffic-weaving episode, possibly also a sprint from several blocks away, you don’t quite know how to appreciate being “on time”, let alone what to do with all those extra minutes at your disposal. And so it was, as if guided by a hand from above, 30 mins before I was due to go on stage I decided it might be a good idea to jump in the car and duck round the corner to see if I could find a cheap hotel room. Of course, there was no cheap hotel room round the corner, nor round the next corner, or the next, or the next and so on…. Before I knew it I was back in familiar territory – ducking and weaving like a man possessed, trying to find my way back to Fitzroy, exploring short-cuts that led to nowhere, flying down lanes that didn’t exist, and of course (as I always do in this situation) cursing myself for ever getting in this ridiculous predicament in the first place, perhaps punching the steering wheel with my right hand, and swearing to god it will never happen again. I don’t know how many times it has happened since, but my guess is I couldn’t count it on one hand. Maybe not even two…
As fate would have it, a yet-to-be-confirmed offer of accommodation came through just as I made it back to The Evelyn, so the rush to the stage was a little less stressful than it might have been. And as an added bonus, the start time had been pushed back by 20mins, which gave me a chance to briefly collect my thoughts and grab a glass of water before hitting the stage.
I can’t vouch for my own performance, which was executed with minimal fanfare after another exhausting day on the road, but Bianca and The September Knights were just as impressive as I remember. Not only that, but a great bunch of people. And when I say that – I mean really great. With some cool tunes as well from Tom Tuena (the other support act), by the end of the night my troubles had all but disappeared. I think the same could be said for everyone in the room – it was quite a show.
www.myspace.com/biancafenn
And, my friends, that’s one of the best things about what I do. The ability to be transported, knocked off your feet, inspired by new places, new people, new songs, new sounds – no matter what sort of day you might have had. I am constantly amazed by the depth and variety of talent I come across in my travels – both in Australia and overseas. Just when you think you have seen it all – BANG – a spark, a note, a voice, a chord, and sometimes it comes from the most unlikely of sources. In essence, we are all doing the same thing, but oh how incredibly diverse and uplifting that same thing can be. I’m looking forward to seeing what Bianca can achieve. She deserves every success.
Seems a shame to spoil my moment there. So I’ll just say I slept well that night. On my friends couch (thanks Bridget). For every last second of the 6.5hrs before my alarm went off to tell me I needed to wake up and drive to Sydney.
Plenty more touring to come – we’ve only just got started. Next stop Hobart!
Bye for now.
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