three south melbourne nights

We did three nights in the old council chambers of the South Melbourne town hall. A beautiful, old and grand building on Bank street, off of Clarendon street. the area used to be called Emerald Hill. Lovely wide streets in this part of Melbourne. The council, along with port Melbourne, was amalgamated( swallowed up) by St Kilda in the Jeff Kennett era. Since then it seems to have been used by the "National music school" and as a rehearsal place for orchestras and small chamber groups. Not a real bohemian hot spot. all that trailing crew having their fun across the river in the northern suburbs.
The shows were a part of the cabaret Festival.This festival is run by two fellow who used to operate the Butterfly Club which is just next door. Very capable and inventive people.
The word cabaret is a problem in Melbourne. I made the point at teh start of each of our shows that the term is a great insult in rock music, which is our world- and we had just strayed into this one.Something about the word- full of connotations and assumptions. there is a small audience that gravitates to it and they are up for new ideas and approaches and performers. A larger part of it is up for the tried and true cabaret-circus-campery . The larger audience outside has difficulty approaching it at all.
To that end we played three nights in a lovely room all standing around a grand piano, two electric guitars, bass and drums , bringing the sound down in volume and power.
Thats how music used to be played - at some point, nothing louder than the bass drum. Only the vocals were mic'd up. We had a great time experiencing that and recorded the nights and filmed some of it. Audiences were small but appreciative.
Part of our aesthetic in playing music is that we like to play in different situations and find different audiences. Its a bit of a bummer that so much of music is played out or only looked for on the main travelled roads.

We'll be doing some more dates in September.

upon reflection- tour scoreboard

WA was not really such a bust. Had a shocking bug that coloured my mood for the flight over and the dates. Coughed for 4 hours during the flight and couldn't do much more than the shows. Met some lovely people. Including a fellow I went to catholic primary school with a thousand years ago on the south eastern side of Mt Gambier. Just across the road from the Badlands. We talked so easily of street names and characters from that pre teen world. Amazing how much of your persona is formed before you become conscious of it. You're already finished and published pretty early on in the game!
Both of us had so few options and faced the same confusing,barren, desolate streets. He went into the army . I travelled into Bohemia I guess.A footloose area of the mind.
Unusual to engage with someone who knows exactly where you are coming from. At least.

So we started this run of dates in early May and it kind of ends at the Sth Melbourne Town hall next week.

We will have done 27 shows in that time. Mostly doing TWO ONE HOUR SETS. Each set having about 13 songs. the first set concentrating on the "rock n roll is where I hide" album and also having a reading from "1001 Australian nights". We were also doing a half dozen new songs which we are intending to record some time this year.

rock'n'roll is where I hide
night of the wolverine 4
feelin' kinda sporty
I'm not afraid to be heavy
man on the make
-----------------------------------------------
mt gambier night
apollo 69
birds 'n' goats
I'm gonna release your soul
the sheriff of hell
three dead passengers in a stolen secondhand ford
let kill god again

my schtick weighs a tonne
we dont belong to anybody
I don’t wanna know myself
the stars
field records me
I will have always been here before
youre just too hip baby
sometimes you can see yourself
what if she comes?
sellout
bodysnatcher

midnight to dawn
all our friends were stars
sign o' the times
parchman farm
a lot to drink about
alphonsus will get you
field record me
midnight cats

I also did about 10 readings at Libraries and Bookshops during the tour.


Clare Moore and myself drove about 5,000 ks and we all flew about 13,100 around the rest of the country.
I broke one string and changed the whole set on my 6 string Ibanez Talman ONCE. I busted 3 guitar pedals. No acoustic guitars were used on the tour.
We were caught up by a cloud of Volcanic ash . A flood came through northern NSW a week after we left. Tiger airlines fell to pieces as soon as we booked three flights to perth. We had two bouts of Flu/cold go through the ranks at various times.

Clare Moore also completed several gigs with the Hired Guns and the Ukeladies during that time as did Stu Perera with his other regular band.

I thought the best run gig was at the Sol Bar in Maroochydore.
The worst was the Clarendon Guesthouse.
The rest were all kinds of shapes and sizes and I enjoyed all of them.
I love it when young people find their way to our shows, I also love playing to people who have come in and out of our sphere going back three decades. Thats rich.


South Melbourne Town Hall .
Old Council Chambers.
Friday 22nd to Sun 24th July 7:45 to 8:45 pm.

victorian RSLs and over to the real economy

Caravan Music Club is a very cute room in Oakleigh. Oakleigh RSL .I have always loved the name of that suburb. Deeply suburban. A venue opened by a fellow who originally had people playing in his house. A reaction to lack of venues in the area and also people who disliked the ones that were operating. Its become a thing/ a place for older people to go. We play anywhere however and this was our first visit .We'd been travelling so long and so intensely that we had no time to scope it out before hand. Stu Perera and mark Fitzgibbon couldn't make the gig. It was a power trio. Me, Mooresy and Thommo.
A beautiful room in a long quiet street.Excellent hospitality. A good crowd of people came along. The older audience is very direct and demanding. They know what they want. I know that they know what they want. They tell me what they want. I know what I want. We were playing at a highly tuned level. I can't know what they mean- know what I mean?
Excellent job for the man who created the club to get off his ass and do something for the local people.

The very next day we play at 2pm at the Williamstown RSL across the bay. While we set up I hear the strangest music over the PA. "Julia" by Pavlovs Dog. A music club called the "WILD WEST" takes over the RSL every week. The fellow who runs the club has read my book and has his ipod selection tuned to every band or song I mention in it!
We play two sets, again to a mature audience. Different socio-economic bracket I guess. Pez is with us for this one. We are packed up and driving home at 6pm. A fellow talks to us who is straight out of a Henry Lawson story. Long flowing (dyed) brown hair under a big stockmans hat with knee length riding boots and the most proper manners I have ever encountered in years. Very well spoken but so diplomatic and erudite. A country gent. The man who runs the club ( who mixed the ipod) runs a local bank and played for the local footy team and went to the local primary and high schools. A local hero. Made the weekend to meet and talk with the people there.

The next weekend we flew to WA for two gigs. Had booked tickets on Tiger which fell over immediately. Scrambled to get some other flights and got there on the Friday. Stayed at a hotel across from the city rail and bus station. They have been constructing something in this area since 1993. Its always had shit all over the street. Nowhere to eat except at the hotel after 5pm. What a sad situation for a city! Billboards for mining everywhere. Talking over the heads of the people to investors. Real people.
No evidence of a poster in the Freo gig.
People turn up. Must be due to Facebook and Twitter. The promoter doesn't. Sends a girl to work the door who is on her phone all night.
At the end of the gig a security guard throws everybody out immediately. I hate security. Not needed for the most part. Not at any gig I ever do. Superfluous insurance bullshit. Making trouble and tension all night.
Next day we walk through the city. in the shops they all moan that nobody is spending. This is the boom town!
Northbridge gig has no posters. The local promoter arrives.
I think he needs JJJ airplay and a large festival situation to get out of bed.
People are there.We make show like no others.

Fly back the next day. Bumped to Business Class. This is living!

Our next shows are at the Old Council Chambers in the South Melbourne Town Hall from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July. 7:45 - 8:45 each night. 90 people fit in the room. We'll be doing it as a 5 piece and making it a deluxe show.

http://www.melbournecabaret.com/davegraney.htm