Coca-Cola Live'n'Local Tour,Rod Laver Arena, 26/03/04

Thu 8th Apr, 2004 in Gig Reviews

A rock show at Rod Laver Arena is scheduled to start at 7.30pm.  I arrive 50 mins after the gates open. Do you think I would have missed much?  Well, apparently so! In 50 mins, the organisers of the Melbourne leg of the Coca-Cola Live’n’Local Tour managed to squeeze in; all three unsigned local bands, Betchadupa (one of the headliners), and half of Jebadiah’s set!  If my calculations are correct…that’s a little over 10 mins per band – including change overs!

That pretty much summed up my experience at the Melbourne leg of the Coca-Cola Live ‘n Local Tour.  A poorly organised and shabbily run corporate promo event, of which, anyone over the age of 18 tried hard to hide their faces from the wandering film cameras at running the risk of being spotted on a Coke promo in the near future.

The remaining bands: Magic Dirt, 28 Days, and Machine Gun Fellatio entertained the young audience, as to be expected. But, wasn’t the whole concept of the tour to showcase each city’s up and coming new talent?  If this was the case, wouldn’t the event organisers have done better by spreading the performance times of the new talent over the course of the evening (interspersed between the headline acts, lets say!?).

Apart from the blatantly obvious (and quite sickening!) excessive corporate promotion of the major sponsors; Coca-Cola, Holden, and a multi-national mobile phone company – who all used promotional tracks by bands that weren’t  even on the tour! (if I heard Jet’s ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ one my time I would have screamed!), the show did have its moments.  Jay from 28 Days sporting a t-shirt with the phrase ‘I Love Frankston’ plastered across the front was well up there.  As with 28 Days’ customary set closer of, “When I say 28 Days, you say fuck You!” – the kids loved that one.  But, as to be expected,  Machine Gun Fallatio wasn’t  going to let the lads from 28 Days upstage them in the stage antics department.  Vocalist/dancer/I don’t know, KK Juggy, wasn’t shy in flashing her g-string clad behind to the easily amused audience.

Any tips for the next Coca-Cola sponsored event? Try a split sponsorship with a whiskey manufacturer!  He, he.