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And now the last, brief instalment of the Tour Blog.

Day 11 - Final Gig

Our final show was an evening gig at The Albert, the final act of a big week.

During Scruff of your Neck, which features a line about a country girl coming to a city bar to dance, we had a local girl decide to try a bit of pole dancing around a support column :-)

I also managed to catch another bit of Mr Rix's bass solo during the same song

And a little bit of Mr Wizard on slide guitar

As the night  wore on, those people who weren't at the awards ceremony started to filter in, which led to much dancing

We'd divided out set into two sections and dropped out all the gentle songs for this last gig, much as we did on Wednesday, which led me to worry about how long we were going to run for, so I kept a weather eye on the time and as we reached the last 10 minutes I knew there was only one thing left to do; The Boogie.

Our record for the Boogie is 16 minutes and we're hoping eventually for a full 30 minutes, but it was important that we ended our set at the appropriate time to allow the next band to setup (treat other bands how you wish ot be treated yourself).

That was another big night, but thankfully, not quite as loud as the Wednesday and once again, the boys delivered a good, solid performance to an enthusiastic crowd.

Thanks to Gasman for bringing back our plate, Eli for the kind words, the Macon Belles, Ben, Elsa and Louise and all the folks that came to hang out with us for the evening.

After the gig, we were not able to collapse as it was time to head back to the house and pack the gear as Theo and Mr Rix had another gig the next day and needed to proceed early, which they did. Guess who got to sweep the floor and do the laundry at the house before we left? Hmmm.....

Day 12 - Homeward Bound

The Cleaning crew finally departed mid morning for a run home, only to find that the council responsible for the roads down the highway had decided that the busiest traffic day of the year was the right time to shut half the highway off for roadworks. 

At least we were'nt in a hurry.

After a long and slightly slow journey home, we arrived exhausted, played out and ready for sleep. the only thing that remained was....the blogging! ARGH!!

Summary

What a great week of playing, only made better by some excellent company. We are indebted to Jo for coming along and making the Wests gigs such a special event.

We could not do this without the help and support of so many people, and our thanks and gratitude go out to Carolyn, Bernie, Val, Kramer, Gasman, Elsa, Louise, Stuart, Grizz, Peter, and all the folks that spent some time up there with us, especially considering how many great acts were playing around town, we were privileged to have such a wonderful turn out to our gigs.

Now we can take a well deserved rest for...hang on....whats that? We're off to record the next album in 10 days? Noooooooo!!!!

:-)

Now where were we? 

Day 8

Jo headed home in the morning leaving us glad to have had her company but sad to see her go. Having her along made the trip very special for us folks that like harmony sounds :-)

Our next gig was the late night session at the Albert hotel. The boys were itching to play something electric by this stage, Rosie was even looking forward to Help Me and a 24 bar guitar solo.

But before we could get there, it was time for lunch, and having marinated Lamb overnight  in Theo's Red Wine (with Theo looking around going WTF happened to my wine), I realised we needed a barbie. Cooking this on the stove top would have been sacrilege.

Enter the worlds smallest (and cheapest) Hibachi!

Having spent $25 on it I was too cheap to buy firelighters and opted for paper. When I brought the thing home, the boys cheerfully pointed out the error of my thinking and went off in search of the correct way of lighting coals. It was worth the extra effort.

We enjoyed lunch with DJ Grizz, who popped in for Lamb, Couscous and fresh Hummus. Mr Wizard has suggested that we release a cookbook instead of an album. There could be something to that...

Nonetheless, we are not here to cook, although thanks to Costco, Aldi and Moree Meats, we ate rather well and I did receive a Thankyou Card from Mr Wizards Colon, ( Take the Stormcellar Fibre Challenge!), we are here to Rock. (hahaha, I cant even type that with a straight face)

That night we headed into the Albert for the 11pm show, where we planned on playing none of that nice stuff with harmonies in it.

As it was Australia Day Eve, the crowd had already started celebrating and we caught a few minutes of the band.

Meanwhile, out in the street, the boys were getting their stuff together for the gig.

I should make mention of Theo's very happy acquisition. After 28 years of playing the same Brady Snare, Theo picked up a brand new custom Brady dove tailed bamboo-wood snare drum, and this was his first chance to use it, no wonder he's so happy.

While I was standing watch over the gear, I took a couple of snaps of folks wandering along peel st.

I think the Steve Edmonds band was playing across the Street and they were rocking it out.

The it was time for us to go do our late night, all electric, no sweet song gig.

How'd we go?

On more familiar ground, I got some footage of a few moments of the gig:

Mid set, Ben from The Swampers was inspired to give me his Hat, which I was almost reluctant to return, as apparently it was 'Country Couture' :-)

How did Theo go with his new snare? Now I film whenever I can put the harps down and am not required to start singing, so I often get a lot of the boys solos etc, but even after a few years of filming Theo, I am still amazed. Check this out.

OMG.

Not to be outdone, Mike 'Redline Rix' took on the Been-Eating-Beans-All-Week Challenge and, well..

As this was the 11pm slot, we were performing as the clock rolled around to Australia day and the folks were definitely celebrating.

We should also send out a big thanks to Steve and Bernie, who stuck around for an extra day at the Festival just to come to the late night set. Cheers guys, and a shout out to Gasman for doing the Praying To The Lord dance :-)

We were also introduced to some more Southern Belles, including some all the way from Macon, Georgia.

The chap running the sound desk for the evening, who shall only be known by his nickname 'fatman' was enthusiastic to say the least.

To say more, my ears were still ringing from the on stage sound two days later. I may have evidenced a certain grumpiness after the gig due to the fact the sound was so loud they could hear us in other dimensions, but c'est la vie. What? Can you speak up?

After a frenetic, loud and fast paced set, we limped home to recover in time for the next days gig at 2pm.

Day 9...Australia Day .....What?....WHAT?

After a big night, Paul and I headed into town for a quick Radio Spot on Festival FM. Thanks John!

John managed to coax answers from us despite the fact that I felt like I'd been hit by a sledgehammer after the previous gig - and that's after drinking nothing but water and cola...

Luckily, this was in walking distance of the Albert, so duly, off we went for an Australia Day Afternoon gig at the Albert.

As we entered the car park, one of the Security Staff approached and bade me good day, shaking my hand. 

'Eh Bro' he said. 'Good set last night'

'Thanks mate" I replied.

He nodded. 'yeah mate, had to replace 5 windows' 

Me: 'Huh?" (thinking -'wtf', followed by 'Oh #^&$ are we gonna have to pay a glazing bill?)

'Yeah mate, blew out 5 on the 2nd floor. Glazier said they was too dangerous to leave, ahd to get them replaced this morning'

Me: 'Huh? 2nd floor?' (thinking "I knew it was loud, but that loud? Holy Crap!)

'Yeah' he nodded. 'Good show, but."

Ye Gods.

Fortunately, I was distracted by the excellent sounds coming from the marquee and promptly stopped worrying about calling O'briens Glass.

Wandering inside we caught the last set of Den Hanrahan in the Marquee at the Albert.

One of the great things about doing this stuff is the chance to see great music from other bands, and I loved Den's set. I video'd few moments so you can hear what he sounds like.

As Den finished and cleared stage, we got our stuff together and went up.

Whilst the boys were setting up, I took a couple of snaps some Country Gig Posters :-)

Just before we started our set, there was a noticeable change in the weather.

Typical Bloody Stormcellar Weather! It's almost like clockwork!

Meanwhile, Theo was hurriedly setting up his kit, including the New Brady Snare (drummer drool time)

You can see the dovetailed pieces of bamboo in the construction.

Better get inside guys...here comes the weather

We had a new soundo for the gig, as I think the last guy must have spontaneously combusted after the bass drum mike hit once too often the night before. Cheers Daniel!

As the weather closed in and we were awaiting the final moment to step on stage, I got a great shot of Mike Rix. 

As this was an afternoon gig after a Big Night, we started with some of the Material from Carl's Chair and then ramped it up as the afternoon progressed. We were also fortunate to be joined by Steve Passfield on Didgeridoo for a song during the last set, straight after his diggers breakfast and before another gig. 3 for the day? Now that's working hard!

We had some very special folks dancing along during the set , including a Mini-Rosie :-) 

The Hay Bales are for the Australia Day Crab Race that we ended our set early to accommodate! Go you good thing.

The downside is that the Winners of the Crab race get eaten first! Being a champion is a tough business.

We had a rousing welcome, considering the Celebrations of the night before were starting to blend in with the celebrations of the current day :-) and a good set was had by all. I could even still feel my face after we finished! (what? Whaaaat??)

As we left, the Rattlesnakes were starting up with some Rockabilly and you just new it was going to be a big night...

 Day 11

An 11am  start time the day after Australia day...Hmm...Who can back up that quick?

The answer? Den Hanrahan! Stomping it out solo and barefoot in the front bar!

I wonder if it was a Big Night at the Albert...I wonder

But have no fear, the Albert have a solution for your day-after-the-night-before

So sad Poor crabs. Mmm... Crab...

Out the back, Theo had discovered what comes of too much playing...

 'Let me go on, like a Blister on the Drum', to badly paraphrase Violent Femmes (aint I a card?)

For the early morning set we opted to start with all the gentle stuff sure to soothe a hung over head and lo and behold, we were visited by the fabulous Mr Michael 'Fettler' Kerin, who came up to play for the show.

Fettler was up for a Golden Guitar on Saturday night, I'll have to check to see whether he won.

Nonetheless, he ably lent his talents to the show, allowing Rosie and I to kick back and let him handle the solo's :-)

This now meant we had 4 Michael's onstage. We've asked Theo and Paul to change their names to Michael to keep it from getting confusing.

 We also had our youngest dancing fan yet

By the end of the set, we were out of the Nice Songs so we asked the audience if they felt like hearing some of the  Electric stuff and once again to our surprise, the answer was a resounding yes.

By  the time we finished with the Boogie, things were just starting to heat up at the Albert as the Hair Of The Dog was providing great comfort to Day-After-Australia-Day revellers.

However, for the illustrious crew, we had another gig, this time a 2 song live set on radio 2TM.

We headed off down Peel St, where I heard at least 5 simultaneous versions of Johnny Cash's Burning Ring Of Fire.

Setting up in the outdoor stage thing.

We did two songs, Lucky Streak and the new one called (tentatively) Road Rise Up. Thanks to Kramer for the interview. I think Louise recorded it so when I get a copy I'll post a link.

This left us only with one more gig to do, an evening session on the Saturday night at the Albert.

But I'll leave that for the last and final blog of the tour, part 4!

As this blog is in Chronological order, go here to read part 1.

And now, after a sleep, financial reconciliation, album pre production phone calls and various other housekeeping duties, here's the 2nd part of the Tamworth Tour Blog!

Day 6

Ah, Day 6 and Breakfast. And what's on the menu? Hi Fibre Cereal. LOL

Mr Wizard had artfully arranged his hair for the morning. I gotta say, I like it, in a Robert Smith kind of way,

We decided to go in for another of Steve Passfields breakfast sessions at the Diggers, which is always a great show, as Steve does his own thing as well as inviting a whole host of guest muso's up for a spot. Rosie and I were particularly taken with the lyrics in a couple of the songs from his guests, and it may have inadvertently led to a new song of our own, but I'll keep that under wraps for the moment.

As we drove into the Diggers, I was chauffeured by the lovely Jo,  which suits me just fine. As you may imagine, parking can be at a premium during the festival and I was amused by someones graffiti on the back of a VIP Parking sign :-)

You cant help but smile at the Parking attendant and mention it. Or, should you happen to be the gleefully malevolent person of your present interlocutor (ie: me), you might smile at the Parking Attendant and ask how long the hugs last for.

This will induce an immediate response from the now slightly-anxious young bloke manning the chair who will rush to assure you that No Hugs  Are In the Offing, until he realises you're messing with him and grins.

Heh.

Now in a sign that Cafe Culture has spread far and wide, for those  who travel to far flung places and are unhappy when the Soy Frappucino Machine is busted, please note that one of the advantages of Breakfast At The Diggers is...

Ahh...wake up and smell the Macchiato.

Mind you, I'm off the coffee, so this was purely an olfactory experience, enjoyed by our resident coffee fiends.

And so with Music in the background in the forecourt (oh, lovely alliteration eh?) thems what opted out from Fibre Plus (TM, 150% of your Fibre needs daily), chose the Country Brekkie..

We enjoyed the sunshine and songs and then retired to our gypsy encampment (ok, it was a house. Thank you Pete) to prepare for the nights gig in the Main Ballroom at the Diggers that night.

Smoky was telling'em whats what.

So to recap, we'd done two sessions int he Legends Bar, 1 in the Courtyard, 1 shopping centre gig.

The audiences were as variable as the venues and the time of day, as the Festival attracts a wide age range of attendees.

We had kept the sets mostly Acoustic, including some acoustic versions of the electric songs, such as 'Can't Tax Love', but for the evening sessions at the Ballroom we figured we'd start to introduce more electric material. Okie doke, ggood to go, lets have a look at the venue..

Yikes. That's a lot of (expletive deleted) chairs.

Here's me sounding a tad worried.

As a band that have done our fair share of Bar work, its a treat to see...

Dressing room? Ohh. Bloody Luxury.

Stage? Full lighting?

Now for some impressive muso reason, Mr Wizard is pointing at this thing. I think its an Amp. I think that's important somehow. If you figure it out, let Mr Wizard know. I am at a loss, but will behave as if suitably impressed Oh. A black box thing.

After that, its a ll a bit of a blur. No, I mean it.

The Lighting dude was enthusiastic. At one point I requested that he turn me over as I was done on that side. Here's what I got on the camera:

No, that's not the surface of the sun. Somewhere out there are People. Some where.

We had an enthusiastic audience who hooted and hollered (at least I think they were out there) and it put all the chaps (and Jo) in an excellent mood by the time we got back to base camp.

Cheers to Steve, Bernie, Val, and all the folks who came along. 

Outside, my camera regained consciousness so I got an moment of Retro-Moderno Art Deco at the entrance to Diggers.

Day...whatever the heck is the day..Monday? Thursday? Is this Belgium?

Day 7 

The next morning I was off in search of some condiment or other (yes e are a hard charging band that needs Fresh Garlic) and found that Tamworth, you can stand in line at the Supermarket and hear Guitar Legends whilst you shop. After exiting the checkout I stopped to hear a little of Phil Emmanuel playing to a big crowd.

That afternoon, we headed off early for the evening gig. I passed another knockout piece of signage, especially for a city feller like me.

Yep, that's right folks, $2 parking. I'd visit there just t pay that :-)

(sigh)

That night was our last gig at the Diggers, and our last with the lovely Jo Fitzgerald :-(

Boy can she sing.

And so, once more unto the stage as the boys did their setup.

And the artwork on the walls had its appeal.

We had a light crowd at the beginning of the evening, but as the last set rolled through, we suddenly had an influx which put me in a pickle. Do we just do our last few songs? These folks have just arrived.

With the agreement of the band, we went off the reservation, abandoned the set list (nooo!) and just asked them what they felt like hearing, which, surprisingly, turned out to be all the electric stuff!

We ended with Road Rise Up (I think..or was it Swamp Monster), either way, once again we completed our mission, took a long lingering glance at the Special Dressing Room...check the bathroom :-)

(Bravo, Bravo!)

we headed for home, knowing that our next gig was the late night session at the Albert the following evening.

The next day, Jo was due to leave, (bummer) so we enjoyed a last gig late night meal before turning in and awaiting our transition from Nice, Happy, Harmonious songs to the Dark Side as we prepared for the Albert Hotel gigs....

More to follow in Part 3. 

So many days, so little web access...It all kind of builds up on you.  Nonetheless, its time to sit back, make a cup of tea and join me in another venture into the Stormcellar as we go 

Mooooo!!!!!!

Ahem. Now where were we before I stuffed up my mobile broadband drivers? Ah yes. Packing for Tamworth!

No, Dear Reader, you wont have to suffer through another OCD induced, fully illustrated. discussion of the benefits of packing....although I am tempted to mention how we organised it but my fellow band mates will merely add another to my list of rules. Ok, fine.

The boys, will, with luck, add their own Blogs with some of the sights and sounds they captured, but as I appear to be first to post, here's my take on this years experience.

DAY 1

The Group Consensus was that we should drive up to Tamworth on the day of the first gig at the Wests, and as we had a start time of 5pm, that seemed logical....except for the whole 6am departure thing, which necessitates being up at 5am.

As far as musicians are concerned, the only things that get up at 5am are Marines and those seeking a worm.

And maybe milk delivery guys....And those people who have to be at work early and...

So, in short, a lot of people get up at that hour and so did we, for another glorious summer drive out of Sydney, bound for the heart of the country thing bits out there with Cows and such. Man, its early.

But pretty!

Did I mention also Sunny?

There's something to be said for the Road Trip, especially on a Wednesday morning, when you have this feeling that really you should be at work :-)

Instead you;re driving through New South Wales countryside in Summer and its all getting a bit dry again.

Ah, the journey, that's the thing :-)

We travelled in convoy the 5 and a half hours to Tamworth, under a blue sky with those happy white fluffy clouds. It's enough to put you in a good mood.

Except for the occasional stoppage due to road work...

At last we reached Tamworth, with Rosie driving and clutching at my ipod when the occasional Rap song appeared on the randomiser (apparently I am the only band member who likes Dr Dre...)

We arrived our our luxurious Accom (thanks to Pete H) and had enough time to unpack the huge load of groceries we had acquired for the week (the key to successful touring is Low GI and lots of fibre...more on that shortly).

Jo F had driven up from Cumnock to join us for the first five gigs, courtesy of a gentle (but forceful) prodding from her husband.

Our first gig was at the Legends Bar that afternoon, so, having rendezvous'd, off we went.

The view from the side of the stage at the Legends Lounge. Some great singing!

That's one thing I will definitely say of  the country scene, they value good singers and I heard some terrific vocalists during the visit.

As this was our first time at Legends, we had mild trepidation. Ok, maybe that's just me, but we got up and did our thing, and with the lovely Jo f there, suddenly everything seemed to work very nicely. I took a few shots of the boys onstage.

Here's Mr Wizard doing his thing. He was in such awe of the local Slide Players that he requested we refrain from using his nickname, but I declined, as that appellation stems from his choice of notes, not his slide playing :-)

Rosie and Rixie....but hang on, where are the Hats??? Hmm...

Theo? No Hat??

Mr Rix? No hat either?

Ok, so that was a no hat gig, but a good introduction to the venue and an audience that were very receptive to the material from Carl's Chair.

Now I may have mentioned that for this run, we structured our sets so that we played all the 'nice' stuff for the daylight shows and reserved the 'other' stuff for the evening shows, and with Jo F there to do the harmonies on the songs from Carl;'s Chair, it was quite a hoot. We don't often do Company of  A Friend live (for example), as folks in Pubs at Night want dancier stuff, but it seemed appropriate for these shows and was remarkably well received by the audience.

So, with the first gig ticked off, we headed back to our accom, I went back onto Kitchen Patrol (cutting up stuff on a chopping board is very therapeutic) and we had a well deserved rest until our next gig the following day at the Diggers Courtyard.

DAY 2

The Diggers Courtyard does have some sun protection, but this was definitely Hat time.

Rosie is always so friendly!

Theo looked like he had just come off set from the Blues Brothers. Aha! I see a hat!

Now one of the wonders of the tour was that Rosie, who doesn't normally rush for the Microphone got some new Mojo Working and all of a sudden started getting on the mike and sharing his thoughts on the songs. After watching various acts do that strange thing called 'communicating' with the people at the gig, I found myself standing beside a most outgoing Mr Rosenthal.Way to go Rosie!

Thankfully, we had taken advantage of the sunscreen carried by Deanne and Jo and were all be-hatted, so despite the warmth of the Tamworth sun, we had a very cool afternoon, with the onstage fans blowing up a gale and causing Mr Wizard no end of concern over their effect on the strings :-)

A shout out to Glynn for sticking around, loved the hat mate.

After an afternoon in the sun, we were pretty dehydrated, so we high tailed it home for Yet More High Fibre Food and a well deserved beverage. I chose Tea. 

Day 3

Another glorious Tamworth morning.

Some visitors on the Clothes Line

As the morning blossomed into another day, the sound of a distant thunder began to play over the house. Was this a change in the weather?

Nope, it was the annual Tamworth Biker Run. The noise seemed to go on forever so i went to investigate and filmed the following : warning, only watch this if you like counting passing motorcyclists, it goes on for ages!

 With the Thunder in retreat and he remainder of Friday to ourselves, it was time to wander around and see the sights. 

LOL...heh, sorry, couldn't resist. Just proving that Tamworth is a Cosmopolitan town! (can you imagine the conversations as the Bushy walks in with a Return?). Ahem.

As Quartermaster, I was responsible for Finding The Veggies, so off I went to the local supermarket, where my eye for curious signage caught this one. Check out the 'Nail Polish' sign down the bottom of the frame:

 Nail Plolsh! Love it.

The best thing about the Vegie Fetching Job? The nice air conditioned Mall. Ah, the joys of rural living.

Returning to the camp site, I found the boys roughing it.

 It's a hard life on the road.

DAY 4

 Mr Rix had rushed back to Sydney to attend to another gig, such is his frenzy for the Bass. Nonetheless, we were due to do a short set at the Atrium Shopping Centre (also Air Conditioned, nice) and found a good crowd assembled to see Paul Robert Burton and Friends.

Once again, thanks to Theo, I am seeing Dutch stuff everywhere. Its starting to freak me out.

We did a set at the shopping centre, with sound bouncing back from the flat, white surfaces of the atrium, making it a very lively room indeed. A shout out to Keith, Pat, Wayne, Val, Michael and those who took advantage of the cool climes of the centre while we were playing.

As Jo and I were headed back to the car afterwards we spotted a novel idea for public transport in Tamworth.

Wonder if it will catch on?

Day 5

Legends Strikes Back!

With Mr Rix on his way back up for the gig, we found ourselves once more at the legends bar, where the Toombs Brothers and friends were holding court. Boy can Andy sing!

By this stage, I had got enough sense in me to start recording some video, check out their version of The Weight.

Meanwhile, beside the stage, in the entrance to the Even Bigger room, the boys were tuning up

Behind me was the monstrous room that the Big Acts pack out at the Wests.

Yikes!

Then it was time for us to do our stuff...which we did.

I should send a special shout out to Deanne, whose presence brought out the best in our Rosie, as this was one of the first times she had seem him perform - but I shall leave the details to Rosies Blog (hint hint Rosie).

Also, in a touching moment, Jo's beloved Stuart surprised her by driving up from Cumnock unannounced. Stuart had pressed Jo into joining us for the tour and was staying home to mind the kids, but in a Sneaky Romantic way, he organised to drive up with the lovely Chantelle and surprise the heck out of Jo. that was one of those 'Awwwww.....' moments, as he got to see her do her fabulous stuff on stage in front of a crowd. Well done Mr Fitzgerald, bravo.

Once again, with the gig done, we headed back to the Campsite (lol) for a group bonding dinner.

After which, as the evening bloomed, Stuart, Jo, Chantelle and a few of the lads headed into town for a nights gig visiting, before we started the new full week of gigs.

Ok, thats a lot of pics etc. I'll blog the rest tomorrow! Stay tuned!

We're Baaack.

And ready to fall over....except for Theo and Redline, who are both off to gigs tonight (how do they do it?)

That was a long drive. I especially liked the folks who decided that today was a good day for roadworks and decided to close the only highway out of Tamworth on one of the busiest traffic days of the year. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd say theres one local council that doesnt like the festival.

Oh Lord I'm Beat. I was hoping to blog some of the vids and pics from the trip but you'll have to wait another day. I have to return a borrowed car and then collapse for a few hours. 

But first some thanks. To Grizzly, Pete, Val, PRB, Carolyn, Binnie, Bernie and all the folks who made the this last 10 day trip possible, a big thank you.

An especially big thankyou to the lovely Jo F for her fantastic singing and to Stuart for making her come along. Also, a big shoutout to Fettler for dropping in for a gig.

There's plenty to tell, just as soon as I am able.

MJEB