A Day On The Green with ThePretenders, Paul kelly, Angusand Julia Stone @ BimbadgenEstate (04/02/07)

Mon 5th Feb, 2007 in Gig Reviews

A Day On The Green at the Bimbadgen Estate Winery is one of the most special events you can ever attend. Of course the wine was delicious, the food was sumptuous and the location was to die for on a late summery afternoon in February. Global warming be damned for a moment, let us all rejoice in the energy of rock ‘n roll!

But the line up of music we had this year in the Hunter Valley made my mouth water even more. On hand were Angus and Julia Stone, The Church, Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions and the 21st century Pretenders.

Apologies to Julia and Angus, but the party at my cabin with 9 other like minded souls, caused us to miss their set. Word has it they were very good! The friendship and the wine at the cabin were very hard to get away from and thankfully everyone of  those lovely souls came along to the gig!

We arrived as The Church hit the stage and opened with Unguarded Moment. The guitars and the sound were well defined and Steve Kilbey and Marty Wilson-Piper seemed to be truly enjoying their moment in front of the masses in the natural amphitheatre that we were lazing in. The Church played quite a few chestnuts from their large catalogue and the faithful seemed pleased, even if at times the vocals were not the highlights of the songs. A surprising cover of Wide Open Road (The Triffids) was wonderful to hear as we soaked up the country sunshine.

Paul Kelly sauntered onto the winery stage to whoops and hollers and a rush to the stage. The Dylan of the southern hemisphere is a simple definition of Mr. Kelly. With the way he changes his musical mates on record and stage, it’s always going to be something slightly different, and this also draws parallels to Bob. That is where the comparisons ends these days, mainly because you can understand everything PK sings!

Kicking off with an acoustic number, Paul soon had his Companions on stage to jam and visit quite a number of his well known compositions. From where we were dancing, everyone knew the words and danced along as he and the band laughed, smiled and jumped from the risers. The sun slowly sinking and the lovely cirrus stratus clouds and the thousands of people standing and shaking were a sight that made this old hippies heart move and groove.

Dumb Things, Careless, and Before Too Long were played with the energy and verve that Mr. Kelly has always brought to the stage. If I closed my eyes for a moment, I was back at the Hopetoun 20 years ago on a Sydney Sunday afternoon. Since Mr. Kelly has been quoted as saying they recorded a lot of new songs over many bottles of wine we certainly were in the proper setting. Mr. Kelly is not only an icon, he is a god. I will not argue this point. So go away!

After a bit of a break, Chrissie Hynde sallied out onto the stage with no introduction and was singing Before Too Long to herself prior to The Pretenders kicking in. With original drummer Martin Chambers safely banging away behind the Plexiglas, they kicked into their catalogue and left no stone unturned. Precious, Back On The Chain Gang, Don’t Get Me Wrong and Talk Of The Town to name but a few. I thought the crowd was dancing to Paul Kelly, well that was just a little bit, in comparison to the wave of bodies on the hill and down front sweating and grooving. From crazy cowboys to swaying couples, no one seemed to be using a chair for anything but a better view. Catherine, you have been warned for the last time!

The true highlights were the Crazy Horse inspired version of Dylan’s Forever Young,  the soaring Hymn To Her and the much awaited Brass In Pocket. My stopwatch was not running, but Chrissie and band gave their all until time was called by the promoters. They glowed and had shit eating grins as they came to the front of the stage and gave their final farewell to Australia on this tour. Her voice and her passion to rock have not abated and the echoes of my day on the green will certainly keep me energized for many days to come. Paul Kelly was sublime, but The Pretenders were perfection.

Even a bull ant bite could not ruin the buzz!