Like a football final, tonight's Clash of the Titans is most special in its anticipation. And like everyone else at the show tonight, I have history with this super line-up of The Stems, Radio Birdman and Hoodoo Gurus.
The Stems
They were one of the great pointy toed shoe power pop bands of the 80's. Not as popular as The Church but cool as fuck. Wear a Stems t-shirt and a tiny bit of that coolness would be yours.
I went out with a girl drummer for a little while. She was a bit of a freak but hell, she liked me and I liked her and whatever, she was a girl drummer for crissakes! Her family house bedroom was a single bed, big arse drumkit and a heap of Cure posters.
Thrilled to be showing off the kit she gets on and drums a short solo.
"What's this?"Radio Birdman
Dah dee de doh doh. De doh doh. De doh doh. De doh doh.
"No idea."
"At First Sight by The Stems, you dickhead!"
"Of course. I am a dickhead."
If The Stems were cool, Radio Birdman were scorching. There wasn't a band back in my olden days who came near. Their symbol (pictured) was a calling for our rock'n'roll regiment to fight our way out of whatever you would wanna fight out of. There's gonna be a new race and the kids are gonna start it up!
Back then it cost stupid amounts for any of their stuff on vinyl. Collectors all over would charge hundreds for any of it. I found a copy of the Burn My Eye EP at my local record shop for $20 which was a shitload back then. Bought it on the day I did my HSC Biology exam.
Didn't do to well in that exam.
The Hoodoo Gurus
Australia's most special band since The Easybeats. Cool, daggy and fun all at once. I reckon I saw them play at least 20 times.
Almost the best night of my life was the night they played at Deakin in Geelong. Under controversial circumstance I was one of the two to make the decision to book the band to play the uni. Young Labor AND the Young Liberals hated the idea and they did their best to get the show canned. Legal and bomb threats aside, the gig went ahead.
Working the bar, I was passing free beer all night to an attractive girly from my journo class. After the show she was soaked with beer and the sweat of a hundred surfers. That's what you get when you're feisty and it's your duty to endure the moshpit because you never missed a Gurus show no matter what.
On the way home in the taxi I was so drunk and excited cos the gig kicked arse despite the major parties push against it and most excellentally I had the girly's phone number in my back pocket. So excited that when I went to throw up out the taxi window I rolled the window UP instead of DOWN! The driver was a good sport, cleaning the chunder and offering to drive me to emergency. Bless 'im!
Me and the girly hooked up a week after that gig at Outlaw Hard'n'Fast and it lasted um... over 12 years.
Better get me shit together. The Stems go onstage at 8.
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