This gave us a chance to sample the local double smoked steak (very nice) and talk about normal stuff. Like the floods and geopolitics.
Day 2
The next day we were doing a radio interview with 2tm with Wayne...
Wayne at work...in Air con. Of course we were doing the thing in an Outside Broadcast Caravan on Peel Street.
I made the mistake of looking over the edge during the performance. Yikes. Ditto on the headroom. Yikes.
The 2tm Girls!
Of course, next tot he 2TM caravan they were giving out Hats and that is of course where we found out that Rosie had a certain country heritage he had not appreciated. He took to the hat so well he was rebranded 'Texas' Rosie almost on the spot. Heh.
As afternoon rolled in, so did the weather formations:
That night we had our first night time gig, complete with swing dancing couples.
The next day we got up to go see Steve Passfield at the Digger club at 8am.
That was after a late gig plus a late night...so we were keen. Good thing too because I enjoyed the heck out of the gig. Steve had written a song for his wife Renata a while back and I dig it. Here's a bit of it.
Of course, this is a country breakfast gig and what would it be without a Country Breakfast?
Steve and the guys reminded me that its possible to have a lot of fun up on stage. Great work.
After that we had to get on to our own gigs, which we did. I should send some shouts outs to Steve and Bernie, Alan and Jann, John and Glenda, Wendy and all the folks who came out to see us.
That night the boys headed off to catch the Thommy and Phil Emmanuel gigs, returning a few hours later with blown minds. and then it was time to get up and do it all over again.
While they were out , a great thunderstorm ignited in the distance over the edge of the valley:
I was still coming to terms with the new camera so I tried a bit out.
And as it cleared over the valley, all was peaceful. Until the guys got back with rave tales about the gigs. (sigh)
Then it was time to do it all over again. Here's the view over the flood plain and levee from where we were staying:
The following day we did our gig, visited a few more shows and had a wonderful dinner with Gary, Jennifer and Oya. Thank you for sharing your house with a bunch of strangers, or as Gary put it, good old country hospitality.
We also got a chance to drop by the Fiddlers Feast gig. They were amazingly tight. I look forward to making their acquaintance again soon.
.
Why is there an Orang-utan at our Merch Table? Despite Carl providing the best Quote Of The Tour, what goes on the road, stays on the road. Maybe it'll feature on a tshirt. If your mind boggles, then trust me dear reader, nothing you can possibly think is as strange as our reality. Moving on.
By Saturday the crowds had risen as people came in for the final weekend, but sad to say, both for the circumstances that led to it and the knock on results, the absence of Victorians and Queenslanders was deeply felt by the community.
Despite that, the show must go on. Our Sunday gig was cancelled as the bands all mutually decided to pack in in early and as we prepared for our last gig, we were delighted and surprised to have a drop in guest, as Mike Kerin joined us for two sets. That proved a knock out.
We tried one of the new songs (yes I know we just released two albums back to back inside a year so yes I know its nuts but yes its a new song) and I think we have found the right tone for it. Here's a sample. Damn I wish I had his fold back up in this clip (sigh)...
That was truly awesome. Michael is a heck of a fiddle player and it was an honour to have him decide to drop in on our stuff. Not everyday you get your socks rocked off by a fiddler. Ok, so that sounds weird, but still....
Thus with great happiness, we ceded the floor to Ally & Senile Delinquents and made our way over to Gasmans house for one last Barbie and then the guys went in search of the Blues Cowboys gig.
On the Sunday, we got up early (too early?)
We still had a chance to cacth one last show so we went back for breakfast at the Diggers with Steve Passfield.
They played another great set and then it was time to pack up and hit the road once more, thoroughly shagged out.
Signage outside the red cross stage
With the amount of vids and pics, I hope you get a feel for the trip, so it saves me writing stuff like 'Wow that was great' or 'we love everybody', all of which might be true, but hopefully unnecessary.
For those of you O/S or in harms way, you already know the Show Must Go On, and so it does.
We're all in one piece and we hope dear reader, that you and yours are as well.
MJEB