We came to Sydney to play shows as part of Harry Howard and the NDE. We drove up with Harry in our van with all the gear and merch. It was a heavy load. Clare and I had turned flexitarian whilst in Mt Gambier. (Flexitarian is a word from the internet- it means you can enjoy all the high minded attitudes of vegetarianism but not necessarily sticking to it. You try - and when you achieve a meat free meal you tell everybody) . I had gone to my favourite bakery in my home town and whilst standing in line, started to notice the size of the customers and also the size of the cakes and pies. I had left something in the van and while walking back to it, noticed quite chubby couples sitting in cars all around the bakery, absent mindedly sucking on pastries and pies. The thought came to me that the towns folk were being killed by flour and sugar and cream. Country Australia was being murdered by bakers. We collected a small cake for our friend and left with nothing else, vowing to also stay off of bread as well.
Did I mention I was happy when I heard that the genre PITCHFOLK had been pronounced dead? Then a friend altered me to this blog where BONIVERs girlfriend writes erotic stories....
A favourite moment form our 2017 Euro tour, playing guitar with one of my heroes, Tav Falco/PANTHER BURNS.
As we arrived in the Sydney area after a long, twelve hour drive, Harry asked us where we were playing and I must admit I went awful quiet for a while. People who have been in bands must know that unexplained silences can be dangerous and all sorts of thoughts and meanings rush in to fill the void but I was stuck there for a while. Lets call it fatigue or inertia in my case. The next day, the sun came up.
The first show was at a pub on a busy intersection called the Bald Faced Stag, one of two gigs opening for Ed Kueppers band, THE AINTS. We had already played shows with THE AINTS in Adelaide and Melbourne over preceding weeks. It was a real old school black box, like there had been dozens of similar sizes and feels around Sydney in the 80s. I had my ultra short scale Kawai 60s bass due to the amount of gear we had to carry in the van. I had changed the strings and it seemed to be ok but tuning was something you had to look at after each song.
I had my Roland cube amp and we borrowed an amp for Harry from the Holy Soul. We set up in tight formation in front of the AINTS gear. Edwina was to arrive late as she had work commitments and was flying TIGER. So she arrived just as we walked onto the stage after the flight was delayed etc.
Before the gig we had eaten a vegetarian schnitzel with mushroom sauce, sauerkraut and steamed vegetables. It was everything bad I'd thought about vegetarian food that tried to approximate the fleshed fare.
The place was full and the show was tight.
The next day we played at a great venue in Marrickville called the Factory. We played a really great set. Things are always on edge with the NDE as Harry and Edwina seem to like it that way and we just play as the rhythm section. They never have set lists and often discuss what song is next between every song. We don't want to ruin their vibe but I have suggested a set list might help with having a moment before the show to collect thoughts and also to know how long the set has been going and has to go. Sometimes we end the set early as Harry and Edwina suddenly get the idea we've been playing a long time. As we seemed to be ending this gig too early I said to Harry that we should just play until somebody tells us to stop. Harry turned to the mic and said into it "Dave says we should just keep playing until we are told to stop....". Never a dull moment with NDE shows.
The AINTS were just magnificent at every gig but this was pretty stellar. These were all bigger rooms for Ed and the material was all familiar to the audience from records , even if it had songs he had never ever played before. he had Peter Oxley (Sunnyboys) on bass who was a beast of a player and Paul Larsen (Celibate Rifles) on drums, with pianist Alister Spence. there was also a three piece horn section on all dates, sax, trumpet and trombone. They played songs from all three original SAINTS albums as well as songs that didn't make those records for various reasons. All stellar material. When Ed would launch into "I'm Stranded" the room would lift off and when it was "know Your Product" with that driving horn line the roof was raised. Other highlights for me were "the Prisoner" , "the Chameleon" and the absolutely monumental guitar rave up that was "Nights In Venice". Ed had pedals on a table next to him which he used to shape his sound for each song but none at his feet as he blazed away at his Gibson SG. It was hard to figure how he kept getting more gain as that song blew up and around the room but it must have been just his hands hitting the strings. Amazing.
The band were super nice and relaxed. I saw Ed going back to talk to the drummer Paul after one song and asked him later if Ed was admonishing him for playing slow or loose but Paul said he was just saying to him that he'd liked how he'd kept the song going and that he should do that again. Ed focused on the drummer a lot.
We talked with Ed after the last gig. He was very happy and wished there were more gigs. He compared the scene to the 80s and 90s where he would play two weeks of rooms in South Sydney alone and then two weeks north side.
A few days later there were online news items of more AINTS gigs in 2018 and perhaps an album which would contain versions of those hitherto unreleased album out takes.
There were some great photos and videos taken at the show . Thanks to Emmy Etie for this clip of Harry Howard and the NDE playing LET ME GO from the Marrickville Factory .
The next day Harry Howard and the NDE played at the UNION hotel in King St Newtown. It was a really mad show. The audience was closer and the QLD election was happening up north with the One Nation Party being kicked fantastically to the curb. Goodbye Malcolm Roberts!
The WORKSHY book launch was at a house in Sydney which a very great couple throw open once a month for events, inviting strangers into their home to hear experimental jazz and free music. Its called The Peoples Republic Of Australasia and has no website or any kind of online presence. Its all word of mouth. I'd heard of it from my friend Peter Milton Walsh (The Apartments) who had done a performance there. (Peter is a very old friend I write about in WORKSHY who also played bass in Ed Kueppers post Saints band THE LAUGHING CLOWNS in the early 80s.
The book was launched by Jaimie Leonarder who gave a fantastic, free wheeling - and very complimentary speech. What a champion! Then he started to go on about Sasquatch.....
I read from the book and played some songs on my guitar. I forgot to have a QandA. Sorry about that.
Was great to see Greedy Smith there as well as Jamie Hutchings, Ken Gormley, Bleddyn Butcher, Peter Milton Walsh and Jeannie Lewis.
Thanks to everybody who came along.
We did nothing for a few days but took a trip into Sydney to visit Red Eye Records and dropped off some of our latest CD LETS GET TIGHT as well as some back catalogue items. What a great institution right there in the heart of Sydney! You can get these CDS there.
Shows start tonight in Sydney at the Brass Monkey in Cronulla and then Petersham Bowls, Hardys Bay and the Co-Op Club in Church Point before we move onto a weekend in Perth and Fremantle. The Sunday show in Perth is a WORKSHY book launch.
Dec 26th Dave Graney and Clare Moore annual Boxing Day show at the Hotel Metro in Adelaide, SA.
2017 Dave Graney memoir - WORKSHY out on Affirm press in .Order it here.
Feb 7th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at Smiths Alternative in Canberra, ACT
Feb 8th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at Jane's, North Wollongong, NSW.
Feb 9th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at the Agrestic Grover, Orange, NSW
Feb 8th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at Jane's, North Wollongong, NSW.
Feb 9th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at the Agrestic Grover, Orange, NSW
Feb 10th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at the Metropole in Katoomba, NSW
Feb 11th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at Dangar island Bowling Club, NSW,
Feb 16th - Dave Graney an the mistLY at the Grand Hotel, 124 Main st - Mornington, Victoria
Friday Feb 23rd Dave Graney and Clare Moore at the Bison Bar in Nambour, Qld
Saturday Feb 24th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at THE JUNK BAR in Ashgrove , Qld
Sunday Feb 25th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at THE JUNK BAR in Ashgrove, Qld.(4pm)
Saturday Feb 24th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at THE JUNK BAR in Ashgrove , Qld
Sunday Feb 25th Dave Graney and Clare Moore at THE JUNK BAR in Ashgrove, Qld.(4pm)
March 11th Dave Graney and the mistLY at SOUNDS IN THE SECRET GARDEN - the Events Foundry,74 Brougham st, Geelong.
"the Serge Gainsbourg/Lee Hazelwood/Jim Morrison/Scott Walker/Skip Spence/Ern Malley/ Lenny Bruce of Australian music. A genius songwriter with effortless presence and command, and yet also an invisible chameleon, a reflecting surface, an anonymous conduit. Anyone who saw his and Clare Moore’s ATP sets last year will not want to miss these. Dave is one of the all time greats. I learned much of what I know from him. Rock and Roll is where he hides”. Stewart Lee "Last nights Dave Graney gig at Leith Cricket Club was seriously one of the best gigs I've been to in a while. Imagine Robert Forster channelling Frank Zappa whilst dressed as a cowboy John Waters. So much charisma" @blasts_of_static c/o instagram Oct 2017. davegraney.com |
This Fly By Night show in Fremantle is the only one with the mistLY. The others are solo or Book oriented.
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