the gigs
Opening for The Human League's Sydney and Melbourne shows 2009.
The Human League OMG Tour Report
Early February
Ken was confidentially informed by THL that they were heading downunder for the V Festival. He immediately suggested to THL that TB should do any sideshows with them. Ho ho, SURE, like that will happen...
(Unbeknown to TB, THL did recommend TB to the local touring company, however, after some debate between the touring company & THL, no-one actually checked to see if TB had been contacted.)
Friday 27th March 2:55pm (3:55pm EST)
Ken got an email: “Can you please give us a call about a possible show with The Human League in Sydney?”
“PANIC!”
Ken rang George, who responded with “Shit, Shit, OMG, a lot of things will have to fall into place to pull this off, OMG! OMG!”
Ken phoned Stephen who was at the vets getting his vacci…. I mean his dogs vaccinated. His reply was “you mean THE Human League?” and “THIS coming Tuesday?!!” followed by “Holy f*ck….yeah I’m in.”
Ken rang Andy:
Re-enactment from the desk of Andrew J Walls
Ring ring……
- Andy
- “Andy speaking”.
- Ken
- “Are you sitting down”?
- Andy
- “I’m always sitting down.”
- Ken
- “I’ve just received an email asking whether Tycho would be available to support THE HUMAN LEAGUE in Sydney. The show is on Tuesday.”
- Andy
- “……………..um……………er…………………….huh……..what the?”
- Ken
- “Details are sketchy but what do you think?”
- Andy
- “I need to process this. I’ll call you back.”
Later…..
Ring ring…..
- Ken
- “Hello?”
- Andy
- “It’s The Human Fricken' League….I think this is an opportunity too good to miss.”
- Ken
- “Agreed. George is checking out airfares now.”
- Andy
- “How are you going to get us all there in 4 days?”
- Ken
- “Don’t know.”
- Andy
- “What about Steve?”
- Ken
- “He’s good to go.”
- Andy
- “We’re going to support THE HUMAN LEAGUE. YIKES!”
Saturday 28 March
The touring company finally called back – “We want you to do the Sydney show on Tuesday and the Melbourne show on Friday.”
“UBER PANIC!”
We all agreed it was insane and would be a miracle if we could pull it together in the time available, but we were all in! The following 24 hours were spent nutting out the logistics, which at such short notice and on a weekend were freaking ridiculous:
Arranged time off work supposedly?? (Ken was already on THL's guestlist for both shows so he was going regardless), organised flights, accommodation, ground transport, one rehearsal (our first full rehearsal in 5 months), to leave kids in the casino car park and then there's THE GEAR. About 200kg of it!
Ken had a brainwave and after a few calls, he organised to send the heavier music equipment to Sydney in THL's truck, departing the next day from the Gold Coast V Festival. Thus, we robbed the airlines of some revenue from their new exorbitant excess baggage fees. He had less than 24 hours to work out what gear should go, & in which flight cases, dismantle it, carefully pack it up and get it to the Gold Coast. Amidst the chaos, Ken & George managed to squeeze in a quick two piece rehearsal playing to a click track.
Sunday 29 March
9am Andy brought over two old (and we mean old) flight cases to ensure our gear was protected from the ravages of interstate transportation. One of the cases was so old, the foam rubber lining had perished, so some time was spent ripping it out, then scraping and vacuuming...rubber particles and vintage electronics don't mix. A quick threesome rehearsal was then had with a click track.
While Ken packed the heavy gear, George finalised the arrangements. It was decided that Andy, Steve and George would have to return to Brisbane between shows due to work commitments, then fly to Melbourne Friday. YIKES!! Considering our past experiences with delayed flights, this made us freaking nervous.
4pm. With THE GEAR loaded in the car, Ken & George go off to the V Festival, where crew passes await. Free entry, a car park where there is no public car parking, private porta potties and access backstage. COOL!!!
After watching Madness play, with a sea of people in pork pie hats writhing up and down, we had the sublime front row experience of watching THL perform the Dare album in its' entirety. With the occasional wave, eye brow raising and hug (George with Philip Oakey during the encore Electric Dreams), it all ended too soon.
Then off to see that the gear made it onto the right truck.
Oh! how sad, to see our poor little gear sitting in a muddy puddle, in the pouring rain, under a loading ramp, soaked ID labels peeling off.
In desperation, a roll of electrical tape was used to label the gear with “THL”, in a vain attempt to ensure it went on the correct freight truck!!
With much effort, George lured Ken away, making the Showfreight guy promise to call Ken when the gear was loaded onto the truck. Ken: “Electronics will dry out. Electronics will dry out....”
Soggy Ken & George then joined THL for drinks at their hotel, where Ken was greeted fondly and where George sent Philip Oakey off to Google a music trivia question he couldn't work out.
Explaining the soggy state of our gear when we last saw it, and looking for some reassurance:
- Ken (to Philip Oakey)
- “Electronics will dry out, right?”.
- Philip
- “Errm...sure”.
They bid farewell, and George promised to steal their drinks rider in Sydney.
Monday 30 March
Airport baggage handler strike nationwide – huge delays in all domestic airports!! Power failure in Sydney CBD - city traffic is gridlocked for hours!!! OMG Thank God it's not Tuesday!! Major freakout.
Andy was delighted to be granted impromptu leave from work (Thank God - we already bought his air tickets). Fortunately, his boss was old enough to know the significance of a THL support.
George's boss finally worked out who THL were, singing “Don't You Want Me” for the rest of the week.
Steve's boss – his Missus (and Ex-Tycho member), squealed with delight when it was confirmed he was to support THL.
That Evening
With half the gear on a truck somewhere, Ken had to cobble together a curious arrangement of the music gear, using half dead controller keyboards, bits of wire and gaffer tape, to allow the band's first proper full rehearsal since the ill fated Covenant support.
Tuesday 31 March
11am - Brisbane Airport.
Andy arrived first as usual – he's not anal at all! He didn't sit in anyone's muesli this time, and was soon joined by Steve. Ken & George arrived frazzled, sore and slightly late. (Mental note: Don't assume luggage trolleys are easily found in the airport longterm carpark and don't listen to George who assumed that. Drop the gear and then park.) We checked in under the baggage weight limit YEAH!!, but were ordered by the lovely QANTAS lady to hurry up...we love QANTAS (not).
Going through security, Ken had to drop his pants...actually he had to take off his belt and his pants fell down by themselves, due to his recent stress and adrenaline related weight loss. This is now known as The Human League Diet!
George and Steve were tested for explosives - that bloody Thunderbirds' bag must look like a bomb receptacle. Steve didn't escape testing this time - according to Andy he “looks dodgy but he smells nice”?? HMMM.
Andy had to pull the Simmons drum brain out of its case for closer inspection – once again, a briefcase filled with electronics with holes drilled in it and wires sticking out the back, didn't look suspicious at all.
Whilst boarding, we amused fellow passengers by laughing hysterically as we watched the VINTAGE GEAR being thrown about by “Derek” the baggage handler. “Oh look, there's the 25 year old keytar being THROWN upside down onto the plane. YEAH!!” Andy wasn't amused.
Maybe the lone uppity air hostess checking the passengers boarding passes wasn't so amused by our “carry on”... Steve and George got on the plane and then wondered where Ken and Andy were?
The “Little Miss Nasty” air hostess had bailed them up for too much “carry on”... Andy had thought as much, but didn’t want to say anything as he was only the bass player plus Ken, “hadn't had a problem before”!
Cries of “but we're in a band” were to no avail, so Andy did a quick shoe change into his humongous boots, then stuffed the laptop and his smelly sneakers into places where they were not meant to be stuffed. Even with one less bag, the merchandise case had to be hoofed back to be checked in with no guarantee of it making the flight. As it turned out, the case didn't make it into the hold, instead much to Little Miss Nasty's visible disappointment, the head steward, CLINT*, took pity and kept the merchandise case safely in the 1st class compartment until we landed. Screw you, Little Miss Nasty!! And Thank You, CLINT. PHEW!!!
*NB: CLINT unfortunately had a name badge in capital letters, which, if you glanced at it too quickly, the “LI” looked very much like a “U”...you figure it out.
4pm - We landed safely in Sydney, but lost an hour due to daylight saving.
We decided to cab it straight to the venue, so we couldn't visit our flamboyant “Full Cover” buddy “Ting Tong” at Hertz this time. We instead found a station wagon cab driven by “Shin Whan”, our friendly Sydney cabbie. Much to our delight, we managed to fit into the cab, gear included. The drive through pouring rain produced no swearing this time, as Steve wasn't navigating, but Andy revealed a secret obsession...He knows a little too much about every film Nicole Kidman has ever appeared in, particularly the ones where she appeared naked!!
Unfortunately, “Shin Whan” pulled up opposite The Metro, so we had to lug all the gear across busy George St in the rain and then into an alley. Clambering up the dingy stage-door steps we ran straight into THL's Joanne Catherall, sneaking a smoke on the stairs. “HI-YA”!!!!
Ken & George probably breached band etiquette when, pumped to have made it this far, they stuck their heads through THL's dressing room door and blurted out a hearty “Howdy, we made it!” Ken then defiled THL's toilet – a definite support act no-no....OOPS!!
TB started assembling their gear as THL soundchecked. Ken was especially relieved to see our poor little gear waiting, apparently unscathed and hopefully working, after its' soggy trip from the Gold Coast V Festival. HURRAH!
At some point Andy and George ducked off to check into the luxury accommodation down the road. It was a Penthouse suite on the top floor, complete with a double bed, a bunk bed, a light hanging from the ceiling on a string and a basin in front of a window with a view of some other rooms across the way. There was no fridge - obviously, they had heard about Andy and the flying beer bottle.
Soundcheck went fine - nice venue, nice PA, nice sound guys, and all our gear WORKED. Our dressing room came complete with a toilet (that locked - unlike THL's) and a shower, which wasn't expected, but we had a smelly doggy towel to share which had been hastily wrapped around some gear as protection. There was even Wi-Fi so, you could check your email on stage!!
George put Ken’s head through the mirror, but he deserved it.
8pm- TB on stage & on time.
About three songs into the set...
- Ken
- “Is OAD1965 in the audience?”
- Punter at Barricade
- “Errrm...yes?”
- Ken
- “Be very very careful what you wish for!”
(A Human League Forum member, user name “OAD1965”, had been lobbying on the forum to get TB in as support act.)
We played a great set, despite the lack of rehearsal, and the swelling crowd was increasingly enthusiastic and responsive. Ken even got a big laugh when he appealed to the crowd to buy our CDs', so we could pay for the backpackers down the road – & buy them they did.
However, someone stole our drinks rider during our set!! (Cue Tony Harrison): “This is an Outrage!!”.
The crowd went berserk when THL came on, it was a fantastic show and THL appeared to enjoy the attention. Andy got close to the front as he wanted to get a few snaps. Ken got a little emotional and felt privileged to have performed with a band that meant so much to him. Fortunately, beers kept making there way into our hands through the crowd...courtesy of Andy and Steve ($8 for a plastic cup! “This is an Outrage!!”)
Anyway, the show was awesome, it was fun to play at and fun to watch. Those Sydney kids sure know how to party, even on a wet miserable Tuesday night.
Immediately, after the show there was 30 minutes of panicked, drunken packing, as we got hassled to get our gear on THL's truck, which was leaving any minute! In the frantic drunken confusion, Ken sent most of his clothes in a suitcase filled with gear, on the truck to Melbourne. Andy reluctantly agreed to let his beloved 25 year old keytar go together with Ken's 25 year old bass guitar on THL's truck, along with most of TB's gear. A quick prayer was said.
When we walked out 45 minutes later, the truck “leaving any minute” was still sitting there. THANKS GUYS!!
Wednesday 1 April
Back at the Penthouse, Steve (he's only a little guy) revealed his Hobbit-like fear that he would fall out of the bunk bed in his sleep. Angus Rockslut (Tycho photographer/ ex-roadie along for a drink) witnessed a 20 minute drunken debate, about who was taking what gear, where, and when. He didn't understand that we were “once bitten twice shy” about carry-on luggage.
1am -It was off for kebabs and drinks at the 3 Monkeys.
Unlike sleepy Brisbane there were heaps of people about, including the lovely lady who conned Andy into donating to an Aboriginal Dance Group at 1am...the time all genuine charities do their best work??
2am -We retired to our room, at which point George got to brush her teeth whilst perving at a naked guy across the way. WHOO HOO!! George - “He had a nice butt.”
5am -Andy, Steve and George stumbled out into the street and into a cab, to catch a 6.30am flight. Thank God the room only cost $110 for the 3 hours or so we actually used it!!! The three then discovered the true meaning of a “redeye” flight, arriving 7.30am Brisbane time. George and Andy, tired but pumped, went straight to work. ROCK & ROLL. Thank God for sunglasses, “V” and “Red Bull”.
10am in Sydney, Ken switched to an even smaller room, if that is possible, and discovered his pants had safely arrived in Brisbane with Andy and the Simmons brain! This left Ken with only his sweaty black gig clothes to wear until the gear arrived in Melbourne, two days later. EEEEEYEEEW!
Thursday 2 April
2pm - Ken flew into Melbourne, luckily he had a few hours to kill at the airport, while he waited for Matt (backline manager/ best man) to arrive from Adelaide. This gave him time to lodge his damaged baggage claim with QANTAS...yes they did it AGAIN! They'd taken revenge on that innocent little merchandise case - shearing off one of the bottom feet and bending the frame.
- Baggage Lady
- “I'll fill in this form and then you have to take this letter blah blah blah.....”
- Ken (in smelly three day old gig clothes)
- “And take it to the place in West End. Yes I know. I've DONE THIS BEFORE!”
Maybe as our roadcases are being systematically destroyed and replaced by QANTAS, we may have to recognise them as a TB sponsor??
While waiting, Ken was bombarded by phone calls and SMS's - THL management, freight guys, the touring company, well wishers and ticket scavengers. Tim Crooke rang to suggest they catch up outside the venue beforehand...Ken floored him, when he said he couldn't, as TB was opening for the show!
4:20pm - Matt arrived, they picked up the baby blue Tarago and Matt drove to the hotel – no F5000 style swearing here, and no detours to Geelong, as Matt actually knew his way around Melbourne. Ken and Matt discovered their room had been upgraded due to hotel involvement with the Melbourne Comedy Festival, but the downside was that Ken's favourite bar was closed to all but Comedy Festival patrons. “This is an Outrage!!”
Matt and Ken wandered over to Little Bourke Street in search of a Chinese restaurant for dinner. Bypassing the inappropriately named “Kum Den” (which sounded more like a brothel) they settled on the “Blue Sky Restaurant” next door, ordering anything adventurous such as “Crispy Skin Pork with Chinese Donut” - delicious and highly recommended!
Friday 3 April
8am - Andy, Ken's pants and Steve flew out of Brisbane and into a massive storm in Melbourne.
A plane from Launceston was actually struck by lightning and the baggage handlers refused to unload baggage for 2 hours, because of concerns about the lightning strikes. During the delay, Ken & Matt waited with the Tarago at the nearby BP, refusing to pay airport parking fees, while the boys had a few beers at the airport bar (DEJA VU). Andy didn't normally drink before noon, but Steve said because of daylight saving it was actually closer to noon in Melbourne than in Brisbane. Steve won!
With the gear eventually loaded off the plane, it was off to the Billboard where Matt parked the Tarago in a park you needed a can opener to get out of - lucky we had “Full Cover” again. To Ken's relief once more, the gear had arrived from Sydney, (with the rest of his clothes!). But having now spent 30 hours on a rattling, bouncing truck, was it working?
3pm - We got into the venue – lovely front of house, but smelt like a urinal out back - got the gear together and waited for THL to soundcheck. They played a couple of tracks during the soundcheck that were not in the set, “Get Carter” and “I Am The Law”. Andy felt special to see a HL performance that no one else would ever see. A special moment indeed.
We were introduced to “Teddy” the nicest, friendliest sound guy, wearing a Mighty Boosh Tony Harrison T-Shirt -“This is an Outrage!!”. Which of course became a well worn catchphrase over the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile Matt went to collect George, who had a later flight due to work commitments, but found her flight had also been delayed by the storm. UH OH! When George finally arrived later than expected with the backup laptop, she was greeted by a freaked out Ken.
During the soundcheck, Ken couldn't get the laptop to recognise the firewire interface. This is the box that makes the controllers, keyboards and drum pads talk to the samplers, ie most of the live audio. (OMG not a repeat of the Brisbane Covenent gig…please!!!!). Ken, breaking out in a cold sweat, uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers 3 times, then when he tried the backup computer...the same problem! “Shit shit shit shit SHIIIIT!!!!” Then, in an “IT Crowd” moment....“Have you tried turning it off and on?”... The interface on/off switch, “which is always left switched on”, had been accidentally switched off, unnoticed, probably during the frantic drunken Sydney packing!!!
TB soundchecked – everything was good to go.
Re-enactment from the desk of Andrew J Walls
- Andy
- We left the soundcheck and checked into our hotel. Nice place but Steve and I noticed Ken and George’s room was a bit swisher than ours. What the….?????
- They’ve got air-conditioning?
- They’ve got an LCD TV.
- They’ve got a fridge.
- Hang on Steve…..we’ve been played…
- We dropped off our gear and got ready for the gig.
After a quick shower, we all walked back to the venue, Andy & Steve grabbed sushi for dinner on the way. In our second dressing room (the first was repossessed to use as THL's girls quick change room during their show), we found the drinks fridge smashed, but our drinks rider was waiting. EXCELLENT.
Now, we knew to hide it during our set, but forgot to hide it from Andy and Steve later...
8.45pm - TB hit the stage on time and pumped. There were a number of loyal TB fans at the barricade to cheer us on, which made it fun. As the large crowd got more and more enthusiastic, Ken went into full “ROCK” mode hamming it up and leaning into the crowd like a Thai stripper!
Sydney was great but Ken and Andy both felt Melbourne was easily their best live Tycho experience of all time, which for Ken's 14 years of TB gigs was saying something. Steve and George enjoyed Sydney more.
We knocked off the set, got our gear offstage and packed up ready for the truck in record time. The dressing room was chockablock but we felt great. A few interlopers even snuck into our dressing room.
Now we could finally relax, have a few?? beers & watch THL. A top night was ahead.
THL performed brilliantly & seemed to enjoy themselves once again. Ken & George watched from the side, where George found a pole to hang off, while she danced and sung to THL. It was over all so fast.
We thanked Susan, Joanne & Dave individually for the amazing opportunity to support such an important and revered band. George as promised stole their rider, finishing off Susan's chardonnay, while Andy & Steve knocked off TB's.
In the excitement, we nearly forgot the infamous merchandise case! Fortunately the merchandise girl, now long gone, had the foresight: to pack up the case, leave the money paid inside, and then hide it under the merchandise table. THANKYOU!
We then engaged those who were destined to become part of Tycho folklore, known as “The Tycho 9”, to lug our remaining gear 3 blocks to the hotel, which was awesome...Thankyou guys! Back to Ken's room for a few pics, congratulations, warm fuzzies, cheers and a bit of tomfoolery.
Off to the bar we went...
We wandered around to find a bar where we could enjoy the night. Finally, we wound up at “Fatz Bar” A.K.A. “ Blue Oyster Bar” which was closing, however, seeing the size of our entourage, they let us in and then locked the door behind us. After a fun time was had by all, the company which was delightful gradually dispersed, and TB left at 3am in search of another bar - Steve wanted more chardy's. (pic 24)
We found the Exeter, where the juke box was playing Dolly Parton's “9 to 5”, which set the mood. Somehow our frivolity attracted the attention of a friendly chap, who clearly had a few under his belt, and thought we looked like a fun bunch. (DE JAVU – see “Bloody Idiot Girl”). His name might have been John or Con....anyway, Con told us that he’d just been to see a cool band called THE HUMAN LEAGUE at Billboard.
Re-enactment from the desk of Andrew J Walls
- Andy
- “What the….? Nice. What songs do they sing?”
- Con
- Starts singing their songs. “DON’T U WANT ME BAAABBBYYYY……….”
- Andy
- “Shit, what have I done here...”
- Ken
- “Never heard of 'em....who?”
- Con
- “ The HUMAN LEAGUE...go on…go on……HEART LIKE A WHEEL……….U FEEEEEEEL...”
- Andy
- “What were the support band like?”
- Con
- “What support band???? TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAAMMMMSSSSSS WHOOO OH…!!!!!!”
- George
- “We were the support band.”
- Con
- “I’M ONLY HUMAN……FLESH and BLOOD I’M MADE………….”
- George
- “We were the support band.”
- Con
- “Huh?? AWWWWWW……….YOU WERE THE SUPPORT BAND???”
- George
- “We supported THE HUMAN LEAGUE – here's our backstage passes which say “THL Support!”
- Con
- (suddenly shuts up walks to the other side of the room, and after processing the information, comes back to give each of his new interstate singing buddies a headlock kiss on the forehead).
“AWWWWWWW – KEEP FEELING FASCINATION...WHOA WHOA!!!”
Andy then sang some of the tunes together with Con, because if you can’t beat em, join em, and hence our work entertaining the Melbourne public was done and dusted.
After singing most of the League's back catalogue in the bar, it was time to mosey on and get a “4am feed”. We walked aimlessly around for a while, (Ken spotted the Kum Den, but it was closed), so we settled for a dodgy snack bar in Swanson Street (that we had already passed 4 times).
Andy got his traditional souvlaki, George got a fake Chiko roll, while Ken & Steve got something equally as healthy. YUM.
The evening turned darker when Andy noticed George had her head on the table. Normally very talkative, seeing George in this mute state was odd. We found out soon enough why, as George blew enormous chunks, through her fingers all over the Melbourne sidewalk. Is anyone seeing a pattern here??? (refer previous tour report).
Later that morning, George, in spite of her ill state, managed to sneak in a 45 minute trip to the shops before anyone else got up. (Shopping is one of her favourite pastimes.)
11am. We checked out surrounded by wannabe comedians in cheap suits and trilby hats, packed the Tarago and headed to St Kilda, for the now traditional aftershow Greasy Joe's (Home of the “Quadruple Bypass”) breakfast.
On the way we saw a big dog/small car lover. It was a hilarious combination. (What is it with Melbourne pet owners??)
We had great breakfast at Greasy Joe's, where the staff were really friendly and helpful despite Steve’s appalling attempt at humour.
- Waitress
- “How would you like your eggs”?
- Steve
- “Just on the plate will be fine”
- Waitress
- (rolls eyes and walks off)
We had a few laughs and enjoyed a much needed coffee with breakfast.
Matt wanted to do some shopping in the city. TB wanted to go to Chapel St. We parted ways and made a commitment to pick up Matt on the way to the airport, where we would ditch the hired Tarago and check in.
Steve initially offered to navigate as Ken was now driving, however, he soon gave up when we couldn't even remember what suburb Chapel St was in. Ken, who normally has no sense of direction at home, then decided to adopt the F5000 Booty Juice tour philosophy and just wing it.
After a scary ride, where Ken took his hands off the wheel and steered with his knees to take photos of “The Dick Liquor”, in a matter of minutes Chapel St magically appeared.
Off Chapel St, Ken spied some gigantic Human League posters. But they didn’t have Tycho on them. Ken thought that needed to be corrected. (Ken will never get a career as a sign writer)
We did the obligatory pressie shopping for the rellies and went into a few music shops. So many shops so little time. Ken bought some gaffa tape for later insurance against baggage handlers.
We lost Steve for a little while and wondered if he had gone into “Manhor” for some “manscaping”.
We managed to pick up Matt near George's infamous vomit spot, and we were off to the Airport. Ken continued to take more photos while he was driving, again steering with his knees, but hey we had “full cover”. We found the petrol station this time...as Ken & Matt had staked it out the day before, topped up the Tarago's tank and returned it unharmed.
In the terminal, Ken went crazy with his gaffa tape, binding up all his cases in preparation for the coming assault from the baggage handlers. Steve got a knowing smile from Peter Garrett (Federal Minister for the Environment and Midnight Oil front man) who happened to be passing through. He obviously knew the plight of a touring band (although we suspect someone else would have lugged his gear around -but we all started somewhere!).
We got a nice QANTAS check in lady this time and were right on our 92 kg allowance. HURRAH! We wandered over to the oversize baggage counter....
- Ken
- “Can we get some 'fragile ' labels for these cases?”
- Baggage dude
- “If you want. They're a 'Shield of Protection'!”
- Ken
- “Do they make any difference?”
- Baggage dude
- “Not really.”
So taking up the challenge once more, the QANTAS baggage monkeys this time attacked Steve's cymbal case, which arrived in Brisbane with a supposedly inaccessible recessed bolt – bent sideways!!! Got to love QANTAS!
Just a short wait...
...and before long we were on the plane and the tomfoolery started. “This is an Outrage!”
On arrival in Brisbane, Andy noticed a chap walking out of the terminal with a case very similar to his keytar. He considered an interception until he noticed his case arriving on the carousel. The remaining gear appeared (upside down as expected) and our tour was at an end!
The band hugged & kissed and parted ways, exhausted but overjoyed.
We had done it!!!-with 4 days notice and against impossible odds...
We had successfully opened for THE HUMAN LEAGUE, an opportunity of a lifetime.
Happy Happy Joy Joy.
Time to relax and savour the day.
However, Ken couldn't relax just yet - the heavier gear was still in transit around the country, and he was worried it would end up at the Perth V Festival.
Wednesday 8 April
The remaining gear arrived in Brisbane safe and sound! Ken relaxes!
Special Thanks
THE HUMAN LEAGUE, Simon Watson @ Sidewinder, Roger Field @ Michael Coppell Presents, John Vasey, Jason Nonnis & Brett Murrihy @ The Harbour Agency, & Brett Mahoney and all the guys from Showfreight.
Matt, Angus, Ben, Leah, Tim, Claire, Dave, Graeme, Shelly, Gavin, Caroline, Colin, Leith & Laura (for saving the kids from the casino carpark), Kristen, Peter, Nicola & Alison (for supporting their spouses' impulsive, insane pursuits), the understanding bosses, Teddy and the other sound guys, Con the friendly punter, CLINT the head steward, naked guy, Sydney & Melbourne merchandise girls, nice QANTAS lady, Virgin Blue baggage handlers.
Additional Photographs courtesy of...
Angus Young (Sydney), Caroline Savage (Melbourne).