Touring WA – the beautiful south

So I was making a video blog… but it’s going to take awhile to finish up and edit that after the tour, so here’s your news in writing! After a kicking Thursday night tour launch at the Ellington, Friday midday we set out from my place – 6 band members in 2 cars; 4 amps, a PA system, drum kit and various instruments, plus two trolleys loaded up under tarp in a trailer.

Took us a few stops and starts on the freeway to re-jig the trailer arrangement… first the tarp came loose from the ropes and began flapping around like a great bat. Pulled over, tied it down. Fail – it came loose again… so we thought we’d lose it – who needs tarp anyway, when it’s not raining? WRONG. We nearly lost a tom drum!! So on our third stop down the freeway (more than halfway to Mandurah at this point), we finally got it right, tying the tarp tight and low over the gear, and securing it with ropes zigzagged over the top. Still running on time, we continued without further mishaps 🙂

Arriving outside the Esplanade Hotel in Busselton, a little sunburnt, we spotted a sign outside hailing our presence. I should’ve known at this point how the gig would turn out – the sign read “Shamime Terri Taylor and band from 8pm… DJ outside at 8pm.” That’s right – I sent these guys 20 posters with my name correctly on, and still they got it wrong. And we had competition from a DJ in the beer garden. Lovely.

It continued on the same trajectory… the first compliment I received that evening was, “Very nice arse” (spoken as casually as one would say, “Nice day, isn’t it?”). Don’t get me wrong – there were some great moments to the night… at one point we had all the inhabitants of the bar all on their feet dancing along and calling for more. But the lure of the beer garden made the crowd a bit transitory… by the end of the night, I’d had a condom thrown at my feet, been hit on twice and been groped by a girl (two hands, both butt cheeks… very classy). An interesting night to say the least! 😉

When you finish playing a show at 12:45am, then spend until 1:30 or so packing up your gear, it takes you until about 3:00am to completely wind down and get yourself to bed. We were staying in the hotel’s accommodation above the bar. At approximately 7:00am, the music started. Loud 80s and 90s pop downstairs. Very loud… couldn’t block it out even with my earplugs.

So, breakfast in town and back on the road, wondering what the rest of the journey would bring, after this scandalous episode. We made it to Margaret River with no dramas. I went to locate the person-in-charge at the Settlers Tavern, and was greeted with a smiling face and offered a coffee. In short, our gig there was fabulous… by the end of the night, the venue was full of 200 people, actively listening, and the dance floor was full. Had some fantastic feedback on the music, the band, everything. To top it all off, the band got great treatment from the venue – lovely dinner, fantastic accommodation, esky full of drinks by the stage. Definitely a venue to go back to!

Sunday saw us take the breathtakingly beautiful drive through the south-west wine region and then the tall eucalyptus forests of Walpole and Denmark to Albany. As physically tired as I was, I felt no fatigue as we drove through the postcard-like scenery. The White Star Hotel has a cute, modest music room, with an intimate stage. Quickly setting up and getting the show on, we were also quick to realise that the people of Albany really crave our style of music. Although it was a Sunday evening, the bar was well-populated – we had warm applause, a lot of compliments and quite a number of CDs sold! It seems that the locals really appreciate something other than the standard 70s rock that they’re accustomed to… they kept telling us we should come back again!

Not much to say about the drive home – it was long, through pleasant terrain. As I type, I’m back in Perth, bracing myself for the northern leg of tour, starting this Friday. Hope it’s less “Shamime Terri Taylor” and more White Star Hotel!!

Here we come, Dally…