Every Sunday in April - 4-6pm front room of the Croxton Park Hotel.

Hey, we realized we hardly ever play in Melbourne, where we live, so we will be playing a  residency in April. Every Sunday 4-6pm at the Croxton Park Hotel. We'll be revisiting some favourite albums and previewing some new material.

APRIL MELBOURNE RESIDENCY - DAVE GRANEY AND THE MISTLY IN THE EXCELLENT FRONT ROOM OF THE CROXTON PARK HOTEL. 607 High St, Thornbury.
Every Sunday in April from 4-6pm. presenting different albums weekly and previewing new material. Book for the first Sunday here.

Take your pick of any of the Sundays below.

Dave Graney, Clare Moore, Stu Thomas and Stuart Perera. Dave Graney and the mistLY. Two guitars, drums, keys, vibes and bass. Acoustic guitars, electric guitars, six and twelve string guitars. And four voices.
There was the Moodists, there was Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes and there is  
Dave Graney and the mistLY.

april 1st tix link - opening set from Thomas Hugh Vecera
https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=84058
april 8th tix link - opening set from Lisa Crawley
https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=84059
april 15th tix link - opening set from the Routines)
https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=84060
april 22nd tix link- opening set from Anna Smyrk
https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=84057
april 29th tix link - opening set from ????
https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=84061
 

A debriefing of recent shows and events.

Clare Moore and myself had a run of shows booked in New South Wales. We rehearsed a great set of vibes and guitar, we were playing mostly regional areas and small rooms at that. Then tehre was a sudden illness in Clare's family in Adelaide and it was determined that I'd complete teh shows solo.

First up was a Wednesday night at Smiths Alternative in Canberra. I took three guitars  to have a bit of textural difference in the set(s). My K Yair acoustic 12 string, Maton EB808 acoustic and my '57 Ibanez Salvador archtop guitar.

In the rehearsal time I had started playing the archtop with a  slide in open G and three songs had tumbled out.  In the week leading up to leaving fo the tour I recorded one of the tracks, YOU'RE ALL WRONG. It'll probably be our next digital release after SONG OF LIFE.

On the Tuesday I did my show, BLB, at 3Triple R in Melbourne. It was an interview with old friends Dave Ruffy and Seggs who were in town to play as the RUTS , opening for the Stranglers at the Forum. You can stream the interview here.

I left town straight after the show and drove about five hours to the town of Gundagai. A pretty spot off the Hume Highway.

I mostly listened to a three disc set of 50's Kenny Burrell albums all the way.  Jazz guitar. And some Janet Jackson.

The next day I drove into Canberra. I played two sets to a sold out room. A former bookshop which will soon be expanding into the shop next door, its a great, accessable venue right in the middle of Canberra. Robin Casinader, of the Coral Snakes, lives in Canberra and joined me for the second set. He played the standup piano which is on the stage.

 

We played The Stars, The Birds and Goats, I'm Not Afraid To Be Heavy, Warren Oates, Robert Ford On The Stage , Mt Gambier Night and All Our Friends Were Stars (both of which he learned that night) and a few others. We had a great time and then sat at some tables on the street to eat some great food that Robinspartner Christine had made and we ate it in the warm summer air. (Its tough to get anything to eat in Canberra after 9pm on a week night).

I should say I'd started the 5/2 diet. Two days a week of around 600 calories only. I also hadn't eaten any meat or bread since December.

The next day I drove to Wollongong where Justin Frew put a show on at his back porch and 50 people  paid to sit in deck chairs and listen to me play for about 90 minutes. Justin had a small vocal pa and people went for a swim in his pool after I played. The venue I had been booked into had closed a fortnight before and Justin had suggested this patio show. Thanks comrade!
This was the scene before the show.

 

Justin has been collecting small dogs and they kept wandering onto the stage. Never work with animals, hey! I disciplined them after the show. Indi still licked my face.

 

I played songs like I'm A Good Hater, You Need A Kleek, Klook, Be Sad For Me, How CanYou Get Out Of London?  Drugs Are Wasted On The Young, I Held the Cool Breeze, Night Of The Wolverine, You're Too Hip, Baby, The Stars, Rock'n'Roll Is Where I Hide, Lets Kick This Mob Out, SONG OF LIFE, Warren Oates, Robert Ford, Everything Was Legendary With Robert, I Wanna Get Lost Again, Maggie Cassidy... and my three new songs You're All Wrong, Hell Is You, Babe and You've Been In My Mind. 

I asked for requests at the end of the gig  and a lady asked for I'm Gonna Release Your Soul and Rock'n'Roll Is Where I hide.

The next day I drove to Orange, New South Wales where I checked into the motel and then played at a venue called the Agrestic Grocer. A stonewashed restaurant/ store on the edge of town in a  former Oats factory. Absolutely beautiful sounding room and a sold out crowd. Had a fantastic time. 

I asked for requests here and pretty much all were for songs from the Soft'N " Sexy Sound. Songs like Dandies Are Never Unbuttoned, The Pre Revolutionary Scene (Both of which I had only ever played with a  band when the album first came out in 1995)  and Rock'n'Roll Is Where I Hide.

 

All these gigs had been very hot days. Over 30 degrees anyway. I still wore my 70s checked coat, t shirt and slacks.

The next day was very hot and bright as I drove back toward Sydney and to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. A little bit cooler but I still went for a walk in a t shirt after sound check.

This show was in a reception / ballroom of the guesthouse I was staying in. Beautiful dark wood panneling everywhere, like in the movie Barton Fink. The show was sold out and seats arranged as in a concert situation.

The sound was not as resonant to me as it had been in the beautiful high ceilinged stone room the day before. this was more of a low ceilinged, carpeted room. I did two sets of music here. I always enjoy playing in Katoomba. 

The requests here were for Am I Wearing Something Of Yours?,  Mt Gambier Night, Rock'n' Roll Is Where I Hide and My Schtick Weighs A Ton.

I encored with the Doors, The Crystal Ship and Love's ALONE AGAIN, OR. 

The next day I drove through Sydney from 9-30am to 1:30 when I arrived at Brooklyn station on the Hawkesbury River, on the way to Newcastle. I put my three guitars, effects bag and amplifier into Steve Griffiths boat and we sped over to Dangar Island. 

 

There are no cars on the island so I pushed my amp on a  trolley to the Bowls Club.

I was about half an hour late so I  set up and played straight away. I did two sets . There were people all around me, sitting on the grass in the sun and in the shade. 

I was also playing Kris Kristoffersons I've Got To Have You at these shows. 

After being at the club for about three hours and playing for two of those, I got back in the boat wth my three guitars, bag and amp and Steve drove me back to my car. I then drove back through Sydney and onto teh town of Yass. This drive took about 4 hours.

The next morning I woke early and checked the oil, filled up with petrol and gas (Van is currently at 594,000 ks of driving around Australia) and headed toward Adealaide. After about two or three hours I got to a sign where I had to turn onto the Sturt Highway. It said that Adelaide was a further 993 kilometres.

The drive took about 15 hours. I got pretty delirious. You could pull over and stop here and there but the eerie silence just creeped you out. 

  I ate a tin of Dolmades, some tinned fish and drank water from a  bottle I'd filled up. Also some almonds I had in a bag. I listed to the incredible last two albums from The Beastie Boys, To The Five Boroughs and Hot Sauce Committee Vol 2. Amazing. I had also aquired The Immortal Story, which was a compilation from The Only Ones, equally as thrilling, and the best of Helen Reddy.

I got to Adelaide at about 12:30 am and fell out of the car, which must have stunk!

The next day, I was present at the funeral for Clare's father, Brian Moore. A great South Australian, lifle-long publican, Gilbert and Sullivan society life member and all around powerful and present individual. 

Clare and I drove back to Melbourne where we had a  gig to play with our band, the mistLY at the Grand Hotel in Mornington. It was great to be back in the fold with our comrades Stu and Stuart and to play some music in a rock band in a  rock'n'roll room.

We played for two solid hours.

everything was legendary with robert
midnight to dawn
your masters must be pleased
too hip baby
feelin kinda sporty
the stars, baby
I need to be hot
I aint hi vis
are you out of your mind? 

heroic blues

blues negative
flash in the pantz
how can you get out of London?
sometimes you can see yourself
drugs are wasted on the young
we need a champion
rock n roll is where I hide
you wanna be there but you don’t wanna travel
I’m not afraid to be heavy
warren oates
bodysnatcher blues
This is the Deadest Place I’ve ever died in
all our friends were stars

SONG OF LIFE.

The next day I did  a solo show at a pub in  Collingwood.

I didn't know what to expect and it was standing on the floor in the middle of a pub. They were paying a good fee so I set my gear up and made show. A silver haired guy was yapping at me as I set up about how he'd never seen me play but loved that song  Rock 'n' Roll is Where I Hide. He went on about how Triple J voted it "the greatest song ever" and his female friend tried to stop him yelling. After a while I just said I'd be doing whatver I liked and hoped he enjoyed that too. He just yelled the name of the song and wanted to slap my back or hi - five me. 

I went and sat down to wait a half hour or so to play. I did the same two sets I had been doing in regional New South Wales and had a great time. What seemed like a rowdy bar room crowd became a listening audience after the first few bars. The silver haired drunken man left after the first two songs.

 

pic Barry Douglas 

The next day I didn't have a show..

But I had to take part in an art exhibition talk with Mick Harvey at  Heide Museum of Modern Art on the occasion of a career spanning exhibition by Jenny Watson. She had painted the portaits on the first Go-Betweens album and had taught Nick Cave at art school. She had also painted portaits of the early Boys Next Door. I arrived late but got to chat a little bit.

There is a video of the talk on the Heide Facebook page. 

APRIL MELBOURNE RESIDENCY - DAVE GRANEY AND THE MISTLY IN THE EXCELLENT FRONT ROOM OF THE CROXTON PARK HOTEL.Every Sunday in April from 4-6pm. presenting different albums weekly and previewing new material.

We have a new single out . SONG OF LIFE.

Video edited by Barry Douglas, shot by Dave Graney and Clare Moore in Luxembourg 2017. 

Its at Bandcamp now.

Get the song at all other portals-iTunes etc here...