Verge Festival Sydney Uni August 28, 2009

Adrian has been politely and persistently reminding me that I have not reviewed our last gig at Sydney Uni. Everybody knows that sometimes life gets in the way of art.
I have never been so excited about playing anywhere as I was about playing at Sydney Uni, my old stomping ground. I wasn't ready, however, for the huge smack of nostalgia that hit me as we stepped out of the Spacia in Manning Rd. From the corner where we played I could see at least five significant haunts of mine including the lovely lovely main quad. At 37, all the study frustration and teen frustration has eroded away and only the goodness remains. I was also surprised at the deep longing to see my brother again - my university guide, mentor and chuckle buddy.
Anyway, enough about me and my sentimental episodes.
Y'know what, I think we played the best ever so far - we were a machine we worked so well together, there was no other band's drum hogging the stage, the sound was clear and the mistakes were very very scarce. We had the very great delight of having a small crowd of friends who made the journey in to see us (big thanks to DJ Tigerlily and Jeanette, Annelise and co.) It was also an honour to meet Roslyn Russell (musician Zeta Puppis) who invited us to play in the first place and sound-guy-sorry-name-erased-from-memory, as well as Snowy's cousin, Steve, who was on tech duty at the festival and was really nice.
After some dark readings which sent Telafonica and friends scrambling for a happy place, Ellie donned her pink tutu, Adrian his top hat, and Blake his guitar about which he has some aesthetic reservations. I donned my dot-to-dot bass guitar, warmed up the typewriter and wound up the monkey. From the action on stage it was a monumental concert that true fans should be disappointed if they missed it (please excuse my self-congratulatory tone). The amount of pink face paint alone was unprecedented (thanks Courtney and friend).
I have to say, though, that the audience wasn't quite what I had imagined. Don't get me wrong. The people who stayed in the tent to listen were fantastic and when they started to move there was electricity. It's just, I thought that university students wouldn't be quite so sedate and sedentary - being young and all. Most people sat on the lawn and chatted, even when the DJ after us was playing music that was undeniably dictating the rhythm of every beating heart in hearing distance. Is this because university students have heads too full of information or is it because they have pockets too empty to buy the seemingly necessary medicines for losing one's inhibitions?
All in all, though, it was a thoroughly joyful experience. We had an absolute ball. Hey, we even got our own sound check! What more could you want?

Setlist:
Cover
I Can't Make You Love Me
Send Away
The Quest For Love Aboard The Belafonte
This Is The New Thing
Don't Speak For Me
But I Lose Myself
Voodoo Lady