River Rocks is an annual event that happens in Geelong, which is about an hour train ride (and then a bus ride) from Melbourne. It’s been going on for about 16 years, missing a year or two thanks to Covid. Long story short, it was born by a couple of guys who were reminiscing about “the good ‘ol days” and decided to try to make something happen.
And they did. Past River Rocks events have had bands like the Cosmic Psychos, Supersuckers, the Hard-Ons, Tumbleweed, and loads and loads of newer, local bands that are just as good. You can read a little of the history of this festival here. It’s held at the Barwon Club which is legendary in itself for having bands like Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Bored!, and Dinosaur Jr play there. Two stages, indoor and outdoor. There’s food for sale in the bar and of course, loads of beer. There was even a “rehab” show the next night, which I would’ve loved to have been at, but had other obligations.
You can read PART 1 of my highlights of this event here.
Here’s part 2.
Hot Machine: I first heard of these gals on a Donnas facebook newsgroup. Someone said “I know the Donnas aren’t around anymore, but if you like them, you should check out this band from Australia called Hot Machine”. I checked out their EP and remember it being pretty good. Live, they were excellent! Louder with a great double guitar attack and lots of attitude. My only complaint is that they seemed to use a lot of “sex appeal” to sell the songs, and for them, there’s actually no need for such a gimmick. It’s not something they need to rely on. The songs, energy, and performance are strong enough on their own. But hey, I’m not going to complain that too much! lol. A couple covers were thrown in too, including Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” and “Shoot To Thrill” by AC/DC.
Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders were up next on the outdoor stage. So nice to see Pat get shown so much respect. Pat was here in Australia last year for a solo acoustic tour that went so well, people are still talking about it! This time he was able to bring the whole band. When Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders arrived into the bar, you could feel the excitement in the air. And before they took the stage, you could feel the anticipation. And when they played, you could feel the energy. Amazing. Front row was more female than male and later on, almost all females towards the end, as more just barreled their way up to the front to rock out and dance. Geelong is a hardcore rocker crowd and everyone brings it. The band rocked, as usual. They’ve been promising a different setlist every night this Australian tour, but it wasn’t entirely a different set than the previous night at the Tote Upstairs. Maybe 90% different. I mean you got to keep some of the HUGE crowd pleasers in there like “Why Don’t You Marry Me?”, “Somewhere Down The Line”, and their cover of “Route 66”. Absolutely no one was disappointed. Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders always deliver.
Stiff Richards: Back to the indoor stage for Stiff Richards and THIS was the band that everyone came to see. I mean the whole place was in the room for the Dave Thomas Stage (named for the guitarist for the legendary band Bored!). The whole place. Lots of slam dancing (emphasis on “dancing”, not run around in a circle, punch people in the face and then run away) and crowd surfing among friends. Like Split System, this was a band I knew about beforehand, liked, and was excited to see. The sound suffered a little for them for some reason, which is weird because for the most part, the sound at every show/performance/club I attended in Australia seemed excellent. At first I thought it was because I was in a corner by the stage, near the bass amp, and all the bass was bouncing all around me, but once I got out of there, the sound was still pretty bad. Maybe it was because of so many people in there muffling everything? Still, they were great. They seemed way more faster live than on record (which is highly recommended) and it’s hard to not get into the moment when you got so many people going banana over you.
Los Chicos: SUCH A JOY to see these guys again! Saw them last Monday at the Evelyn Hotel and didn’t know much about them. Now I did. At the Evelyn Hotel, they had pitchers of Guinness onstage to enjoy while playing. This show? Bottles of wine! And it didn’t hinder their performance in the slightest. At the Evelyn Hotel, I was bummed I was in the wrong place to get pictures of them all rockin’ out during the guitar solos. For this show I made sure to be right up front. And damn, they were all over me while playing, I was practically buried in guitars. But I got some great pictures and that’s what matters. In fact, I got so many amazing pictures, I can’t post them all here. Go to the Takin’ A Ride Facebook page for more. Fantastic guys, fantastic set. Fantastic songs. These guys all have a great heart. And much love for Pat Todd who was on the side of the stage watching his friends play. They even dedicated a song to him and they all had a great time catching up with each other after the show, as they’ve shared the stage together a few times before in Spain.
Well that’s it for my River Rocks 2024 highlights. A fantastic day which, 3 weeks later, I’m still reeling from all the amazing rock I experienced on this day. Here’s to many more! In the meantime, check out these links to hear what I’m talking about:
https://itshotmachine.bandcamp.com/album/leather-and-steel
https://houndgawd.bandcamp.com/album/keepin-chaos-at-bay
https://stiffrichards.bandcamp.com/album/state-of-mind
https://stiffrichards.bandcamp.com/album/gfc-empty-barrels
https://folcrecords.bandcamp.com/album/folc257-los-chicos-never-is-too-much
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