Still playing catchup on our Australian trip. St Kilda is in the Melbourne area, a short tram ride away and is a pretty nice place. This show was actually at the St Kilda Bowls Club and was an early show (started at 5pm). Now by “bowling”, it’s not bowling like we have in the States. It’s actually “lawn bowling” which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball. And in this “bowling club” where people were playing this game outside, there was an indoor stage area where the bands played.
Wrong Turn started off the night. Total Johnny Thunders/Chuck Berry sounding vibe. So basically like the Groovie Ghoulies without all the horror. Actually, a bit louder than the Groovie Ghoulies too. They don’t play often, so I’m glad I got to see them because they rocked big time. At the end of the night, talking with bassist Pip McMullan and guitarist/singer Ian Wettenhall, they were each calling each other “legends”. And they both certainly are, with Ian having been in the Seminal Rats, Lords Of Gravity, and the Philisteins. Pip is all over the place being in several current bands including some time in the Blowers and the Exotics. He’s also currently in Plastic Section who played the next night. Drummer Myles Gallagher was also in the Double Agents who played River Rocks the previous day. Super excellent band with a great rock ‘n roll sound. Check them out on bandcamp and you’ll see what I mean.
https://wrongturnofficial.bandcamp.com/album/yeah-yeah-yeah-5-track-ep
Here’s some photos of them:
Headliners Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders totally killed it on this night. If the show at the Tote Upstairs was “great” and the show the day before this at River Rocks was “awesome”, this one was “phenomenal”. I don’t know what it is about Australia, but almost every band we saw (and we saw about 30 performances) had really great sound. And tonight was no exception. The band was on fire tonight and were excited to see friends who came to see them. Including Billy Walsh, a founding member of the Cosmic Psychos, who excitedly rushed the stage with a full glass of whiskey in the middle of the set. They opened with their super rockin’ song “All The Years #1” and they didn’t let up from there for one second. They basically played a different setlist than all the other shows this tour with the exception of “Somewhere Down The Line”, “Why Don’t You Marry Me?” and “Route 66” which had Pat going through the audience once again. And when I say they played a “different setlist”, I mean they played completely different songs for the most part (not just the order of the songs). I don’t know how many other bands have that ability, and would actually have the guts to do something like this for 6 nights. Epic performance.
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