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Way
Out West and INMT
1) Matt
Walker and Brod Smith interrupted by Robbo's drums at the Willy
RSL
2) Brod
does Brod 3) Rob 'the Count' Rowe and Mr Morris Nylon chat on
the patio
4) The
happy crowd take to the floor in Spectrum's splendid set at
the Willy RSL (Newman)
5) Mr
Morris Nylon goes ape in Some Good Advice
6) Bill looks positively languid in the same song (5
& 6 Newman)
7) Colin
Cook and Tony Cavanagh 8) Terry Dean and Bill 9) Terry Dean
and harpist Anthony Hurry
10) Steve
Pigram reads Shane Howard's kids' book 11) Bobby Bright tries
to look bright and happy before his spot
gig
report
Way Out West Willy RSL and In North Melbourne Tonight The Comics
Lounge Sun. 31.10.10
From
the sublime to the gorblimey..
2.11.10 - It seems ages
since we last did the Willy RSL, so we were lookuing forward
to meeting up again with Rob, (pic 3) Wendy and Ernie
- plus all the Willy regulars and a couple of Trollops. The
fact that it was a costume or Halloween party somehow eluded
90% of the audience though, but Spectrum made a token effort
at least, with Robbo a crowd favourite in his kilt, and Daryl
as Chopped Liver and me as my alter ego, Mr Morris Nylon. Bill
had wrecked all his Strathie Bill clobber in the previous night's
rain and managed only the boots, but got points for just being
there, having to navigate through a forest of fallen trees round
Strathewen.
Brod and Matt 'Steve Buscemi' Walker (pic 1) opened
proceedings with a laid-back set that drew rapturous applause.
Brod's particularly pleased with his new harp amp which has
a fascinating provenance that I've forgotten but which I'll
find out for you.
Then it was our turn. I blended our usual three sets into the
one long (90 min) set, so it could've been a little confused,
but actually I was pleased with the way it ran. The crowd liked
it too and obligingly got up and danced at just the right time.
(pic 4) Everybody seemed happy and I'm sure we'll be
back at the Willy RSL before too long.
Bill and I had to go to the Comics Lounge for the annual In
North Melbourne Tonight bash to perform IBG. This is
the first year for INMT at the Comics Lounge and Athol Guy said
it was a timely move as it was all getting too big for the Polish
Hall. Naturally the show was running well behind and Bill and
I had a considerable wait before our two minutes of fame, so
we brushed shoulders and chatted with most of the host of celebrities
and entertainers in various stages of pre and post-stage tension
in the interim, including Mark Holden, Lisa Edwards, Vicki O'Keefe,
Russell Morris, (who was very nervous about singing the Seekers'
The Carnival Is Over, especially with them all being
in the audience), Paul O'Gorman, Colin Cook, (pic 7)
(who showed me that his teeth had stuck together with chewing
gum), Terry Dean, (pic 8) Anthony Hurry, (pic 9)
Shane Howard and Steve Pigram, (pic10) Bobby Bright,
(pic 11) and a host of others.
By the time we finally got on for The Song, Bill and I were
so drained that we elected to slink away before the final shebang,
which was a shame as it was probably a lot of fun too. Tonys
Cavanagh and Healey and the rest of the organising committee
can be justifiably proud of gathering such an illustrious ensemble
for INMT and the new venue is a considerable improvement,
but the sound arrangements remain painfully inadequate and almost
all the performers were rattled by it - somebody suggested they
should have a benefit for a new PA - and one can only hope that
it's fixed by the time this worthy and uniquely Melbourne curiousity
comes round again. |
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Rock
of Ages 3
1) Part of
the crowd at last night's Rock of Ages 3 concert at Palms at Crown
-looks like a good turn out too..
 
2) Adele Spencer with a couple of Ted's offspring 3) Jan and Barry
McCaskill pose quietly with Bill before the gig
4) Brenden Mason does a run through with Ross Ryan 5) The Clefs' Les
Stacpool with Bill
 
6) Jan McCaskill, Bill, Ross Ryan and Mike do the na-na-na-nahs 7)
Jimmie Sloggett and Jim Keays offer their drinks
8) Tony Buetel and Greg McCainsh 9) Gloria and Linda are caught in
Dom and Mike's shoot-out
10) Steve Fraser and Ian McFarlane discuss rock history 11) Billy
Field and Barry McCaskill shout at each other
gig report
Rock of Ages 3 at Palms at Crown Fri. 29.10.10
Rock
of Ages 3 - the gig
30.10.10 - Aztec Music label manager
Ted Lethborg has been uncharacteristically tense for the last week
or two. Pre-sales for Rock of Ages 3 hadn't met the targets set by
the previous Rock of Ages concerts and there was muttering about the
Casino's new advertising program having been less than effective,
to the point that there was real concern the room might not provide
a decent vibe for the bill, which, by definition, had a certain air
of predictability about it. Not that efforts hadn't been made to make
RoA 3 different from its predecessors, with the Gil Matthews' house
band (The Unnatural Act) being created to help move things along and
provide an element of coherence for the eclectic mix of '70's survivors
on display.
Really there was no need to worry. The crowd rolled up (pic 1)
and they were more than ready to trade reminiscences with a very
chatty Barry McCaskill and Levi Smith's Clefs who opened the show.
Of course, it's always a delight to see Les Stacpool (pic 5)
in action - I'd forgotten he was a Clef. Whenever I see Les play the
word 'sinuous' comes to mind to describe his guitar lines that never
finish quite where you expect, (Les coined the word 'sinuousity' when
I told him that), but I enjoyed the Clefs' set overall much more that
I was anticipating.
In fact, that applies to the whole evening really. There wasn't the
usual disparity between the sound check and the actual performance
sound, which helped quite a bit, and as far as Bill and I were concerned,
The Unnatural Act acquitted themselves with distinction as the house
band, with Gil commenting about We Are Indelible that,
'It doesn't get much better than that'. And there were some
fun moments too, like when Ross Ryan, Jan McCaskill, Bill and I rushed
onto the stage to do the na-nahs in Madder Lake's 12lb Toothbrush.
(pic 6)
There was a boisterous crush of people back stage at the end of the
night and Bill and I were happy to hang around and bump into some
characters we saw at the last Rock of Ages' concerts and
some we hadn't seen for years, like Tony Buetel (pic 8) for
instance. Roll on Rock of Ages 4! (See
more great pics on Oriana's Facebook
page) |
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| Rock
of Ages 3
1)
Billy Kristian and Gil Matthews reminisce about the good times
2) Bill and Warren Pig Morgan are Indelible
3)
Gil showes Bill a part of his enormous collection of albums
4) The studio where Gil re- mastered Milesago
5)
What every home should have - a five Ferrari garage 6) Gil
serves up tea and coffee from his bar of bars
Rock
of Ages 3 - the rehearsal
27.10.10 - It's a bit of a hike to where
Aztec Music boss Gil Matthews lives in Mt Eliza, but Bill
and I were more than happy to travel there today to rehearse
our small part in the Rock of Ages 3 show with Gil's
Unnatural Act band, especially given what we'd heard about
Gil's home. At first glance you'd be hard pressed to imagine
that it's a home at all - the scale of the place from the
gates onwards is simply breathtaking.
If you'd told me it was a public building,
perhaps a museum for instance, I would've accepted that, apart
from the fact that it's in Mt Eliza, of course. Anyway, Gil
was more than happy to show us round the place; his enormous
record collection, (pic 3) his mastering studio,
(pic 4) his Ferrari garage (or showroom), ((pic
5) and finally his bar to die for. (pic 6) I
told Gil it gave Bill and me something to aspire to, and I
imagine he understood that I was being ironic.
As we arrived we saw Ross Ryan leaving, and half way through
our rehearsal Blackfeather's Neale Johns arrived, so it must've
been a busy day in Gil's wife's garage where we were rehearsing.
Brenden Mason (Madder Lake, Blackfeather) was there as part
of the UA band and was commenting on how much work was involved,
especially with the Billy Fields' material. Billy hasn't played
in public for a few years apparently and they're only getting
the one rehearsal with him on the day of the concert.
With Bill taking the bass duties in our two songs, ace bassist
Billy Kristian (pic 1) (The Invaders, Max Merrit's
Meteors) was temporarily redundant and was taking the occasional
snap to keep himself occupied. I asked him about Ray Columbus
and he said that Ray had now retired from performing due to
ill health, and then we chatted with Warren about the various
musicians who had given music away altogether - a few with
quite some prejudice.
Despite Bill and me not really being rehearsal people, we
enjoyed the rehearsal for what it was and the afternoon in
general. While I reckon Friday night's Rock of Ages 3
show is going to be quite spectacular, it won't hold
a prayer to Gil's Mt Eliza mansion. |
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1)
Greg McCainsh talks Claptrap 2) Headley oversees Jeff Jenkins
posing a question
Mike on Headley Gritter's The Party Show
24.10.10 - At 3.15 on Fiday
arvo I got a call from Headly Gritter asking if I'd be interested
in popping down to Triple R at 11.45 on Saturday night to
participate in another episode of his occasionally riotous
The Party Show. At 11.30 I pulled up in Blyth St
behind Greg McCainsh's car (pic 1) and we strolled
into the studio together to be greeted by Headley (pic
2) in his inevitable aqua-marine sweat shirt. I believe
Greg and I were on the show together the last time, as was
the third guest, Jeff Jenkins, (pic 2) writer for
the popular TV series, My Generation. and with half
a dozen book titles to his credit, including appropriately
the Skyhooks history Ego Is Not A Dirty Word.
There was an array of phone guests too, including Michael
Chugg, Dutch Tilders and Jim Keays, who happens to be on the
bill with Bill and me this coming Friday night at Palms at
Crown for the Rock of Ages 3 concert.
I managed to remember to mention that Spectrum's playing at
the Willy RSL next Sunday and Brod Smith's playing on the
bill with us. I reckon he might be able to shed some light
on Headley's legendary Lithgow Leaper.
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1)
Caterpillar boy does his thing 2) Caterpillar boy wonders what
he's got himself into
gig report
St Andrews Hotel Sun. 17.10.10
The
trio flexes its muscle at St Andrews
18.10.10 - Daryl, (or Dabble as
we now like to call him), couldn't make this one, so we had
license to go to a few places we hadn't visited for a while
repertoire-wise. There was an unusually large crowd on hand
as a birthday party was in progress when we arrived, and later
on they proved themselves by singing along as lustily as any
crowd I can remember. Mind you, the Trollops were in attendance
and made sure any newcomers were up to speed.
Caterpillar boy was disporting himself horizontally on the dance
floor as caterpillar boys do, (pic 1) and I took the
opportunity in the blues set to tower over him with mic in hand
- and although I resisted the temptation to utterly intimidate
him, he remained a little unsure of me when dad took the group
photo. (pic 2)
This week is diappointingly devoid of live gigs, so I guess
we'll all catch up again at the Willy RSL Halloween Special
on Sunday 31st. |
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Spectrum
goes inner-suburban
1) Another
Fleece gig and another gorgeously trendy Fleece crowd 2) They actually
got up and danced too! (Wazz)
3) Mike
looks far too happy, and Newton's Law decreed Bill had to suffer 4)
Mike poses with a happy punter (Wazz)
gig report
The Fleece Hotel Sth Melbourne Thurs. 14.10.10
The
Fleece - bliss in South Melbourne
15.10.10 - Today seems to have reverted
to wintery conditions, but last night at the Fleece it was warm and
humid and we were glad of the ice cold sodas that came with our Fleece-type
pizzas. We never work on a Thursday night and it's a thing
of wonder that the Fleece continues this provocative course - but
the odd thing is that it seems to work and there was a healthy group
of well-appointed punters in the room for our third Fleece appearance.(pic
1) There were some familiar faces in the audience too, including
Diane Buettel and Marilyn Rudd for instance, and there were also some
there who've made it a ritual to see us there since running into us
by accident the first time round. (pic 4)
For the players the sound there is a little odd, which I believe
I've remarked on before, and a low-mid accent made Bill's night less
than perfect, but only an astute Bill spotter would've been able to
penetrate his perennially inscrutable facade. We combined the second
and third sets, which was a bit of a marathon and we were glad of
the help provided by the staff to disgorge our gear from the first
floor (via the bloody stairs) and onto the pavement. I'd better get
in touch with Julie and see when we might get back there.. |
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1)
Shirley and Dr Wazz had a good old chin wag 2) Phil knew a lot
about Spectrum
gig
report
Westernport Hotel Sun. 10.10.10
Crudd
& Pump do San Remo
11.10.10 - I turned on ABC Classic
Radio this morning to hear the opening strains of Jupiter
from Gustav Holst's The Planets, which took me back
to a conversation Bill and I had with Phil (pic 2)
at yesterday's gig down at the Westernport Hotel in San Remo.
Phil was eager to know if I wrote Make Your Stash and
if I knew about its classical precedent, not an uncommon question
from people who know our music, and on this occasion we had
a knowledgeable crowd in the room. I was delighted to see Shirley
(pic 1) arrive as we were setting up - she'd come all
the way from Foster and was planning to stay overnight, (that's
what I call dedication!), but there were a number of other familiar
faces in the room and they all joined in heartily at the appropriate
moments and requested their favourite Spectrum songs when they
felt like it.
This is not the first time Bill and I have done the Westernport,
but it was probably the most fun. The duo format can be difficult
when the audience is not familiar with our oeuvre,
but as I said, this audience was a bunch of Spectrum-heads,
and those that weren't were either good listeners or very polite.
I was even able to perpetrate a four-number sampler of my solo
repertoire, which nobody was expecting but which seemed to go
down well
I had the added bonus of Dr Wazz (pic 1) to chat with
on the way there and back, which was quite timely as Bill hadn't
slept the previous night and just wanted to snooze. I'm now
hoping we might do another one or two forays down to San Remo
over the summer. |
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Lena
talks turkey with the Station Hotels' licensee |
gig
report
Sally's 50th b'day party Eltham Sat. 2.10.10
GF2
fails to impact on Sally's party
4.10.10 - Nobody imagined when Sally's
birthday party was being planned that there would be two
consecutive Grand Finals, meaning Pies' tragic Robbo would be
moving heaven and earth to be at both of them. At least with
Robbo recording at my place on Thursday he was able to leave
his kit with me and so could waltz in with thirty minutes to
spare and be set up right on time. (Mind you, the Djembe suffered
terminal skin damage in the process so he might be regretting
that right now).
Anyway, it was a terrific party, starting with the Kinrades'
fabulous grandscaled mudbrick house in a lush bush setting,
through to the guests, all decked out in their best '70s gear. |
The djembe wasn't the only instrument
casualty however, with my mic lead dying during the speeches,
strange alien noises intermittently coming from my amp and my
nylon-string producing only a sad, farting noise, (flat battery
most likely). Despite losing the plot on a few occasions we
had quite a deal of fun, and while a number of the guests were
clearly mystified as to who and what we were about, (same as
it's ever been), our hosts and some of their more musical guests
were obviously delighted.
Sadly I left my camera at home, so there are no party pics to
regail you with, but there is an explanation for the pic I've
included. I ran into Lena Blomfield at Rudd HQ recently and
we discussed the lapsed Station Hotel reunion idea and agreed
it was too good an idea to be abandoned. With that in mind we
went to the Station and had a chat with David Farquhar, the
licensee. (pic) A date was decided upon - the arvo
of Sat. Nov. 20th - and Spectrum will be playing, with several
other musical guests to join the bill. If you used to go to
the Station in the '70s and '80s, get in touch with Lena on
Facebook
and let her know you're interested in coming. |
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