Eight Ways To Put On And Enjoy A Good Gig.
1. Assemble three top Aussie bands that are all approximately as good as each other. That way, people will actually come and see the support bands instead of retreating to quiet areas to get paralytic on beer in keeping with the Australian tradition. Having three awesome bands on the bill makes the show seem like some sort of mad rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza, a mini-festival of fun. If you’re wondering what three bands to get, may I suggest Dallas Crane, The Cops and 67 Special? They’re all quite good.
2. Have it at the Annandale, a venue small enough that the rock is incredibly concentrated. Every cubic centimetre of the place can quite easily be packed with rock goodness. Plus, it’s a venue every gig goer in Sydney is incredibly familiar with and they have Coopers Pale Ale on tap.
3. Make sure every single band refuses to play a boring song, hence forcing the crowd to give their full attention all the time. Make the punters bump and sway with rhythmic abandon. Get Dallas Crane to play No Through Road with so much gusto that people stomp their legs and nod their heads like they’re being paid to.
4. Pack the room with an eclectic mix of hipster geeks, hardened rock-lovers and girls who just want to dance. Make sure they’re all jam-packed in to the venue – see suggestion 2 for ideas – and all desperate for some intense fun. Suggestion 1 provides ideas for ensuring intense fun is delivered.
5. Make sure one of the bands has a tambourine. I just love it when lead singers have tambourines. The Cops should be able to deliver on this front.
6. Have the sound at just the right level. This way, the crowd isn’t brutally deafened but they’re still given the aural means to go a little bit buckwild. Make sure that the sound coming out of the speakers at the right volume involves scorching, gruff rock voices (Dallas Crane), awesome old-school keyboards (67 Special) and melodic guitar gold (The Cops). And tambourines.
7. Force the shoulders and hips and lips of all of the punters to move. Get every one of them (at the very least) nodding their head in satisfactory delight. At best, get the spunky indie-rock girls up the front to go wild with reckless rock-loving abandon. Force the blokes to put down their beers and applaud after every song because all the bands are just that good.
8. At the end of the gig, raise a beer to the fact that Australian rock hasn’t been this goddamn healthy for the past 10 years. Thank Dallas Crane, The Cops and 67 Special in part for this beautiful state of affairs. Congratulate the Annandale as well. Get home and listen to The Cops EP you just bought and get excited.
