Well, The Drones are playing down the road again this weekend so I think I’ll write about the best gig I’ve in the last couple years, their have played the Sydney Opera House once before but I wasn’t going to miss it this time. Vivid Fest is pretty great too, I did see a few more shows there but this would been the highlight and Bill Callahan shows too which I’ve got to write about too soon sometime. Anyway The Drones playing there does seems like totally odd match but it was the people from Sydney Opera House/Vivid Fest who said “why don’t you do a bit of a Wait Long By The River… album ten year anniversary show?” which off course turned into a whole tour later in the year plus with a reissue of the album, which is the first time on vinyl too.
The last time I was in Sydney was when Crowded House played on the foot steps of the same place from the farewell show, god knows how long ago that was? I think I like Melbourne much better than Sydney, well I love Melbourne and been there alot more. This wasn’t the opening night but was pretty close to it or was it? Vivid is not day or weekend festival where shit loads of bands/artists play but it runs for a week or two with a shit loads playing the two stages each night at the famous venue. It’s one also with all the flashing lights and stuff which I remember Liddiard asks really early on at the start of the show “So everyone seen the lights outside?” and no one really answer, which he say then “See one flashing opera house seen them all” or something along those lines.
I’ve never sat down to watch this band so that was different and the stage so big a very sparse too so that’s all the making of such a different gig. Gareth also blow up the venue’s amp early and had to change it, Dan joked “to put that on Morrissey tab” who was playing next door, who he did get some of worse reviews I’ve read in a longtime. The Drones got some the greatest reviews for this show. It was pretty great to hear some of these songs again, some haven’t been played for a while or well I haven’t heard in a longtime. One old one I’ve never heard live before and off course there was a new song thrown into the mix too. It’s really killer, just one great track after other great track then another and another, not a boring moment on that album but they did miss out one song from the album, Another Rousing Chorus You Idiots!!!! but we got Six Ways To Sunday, The Minotaur, The Miller’s Daughter and then their cover of Carmody’s River Of Tears which I have to say now is a pretty great trade off. What else happen? Oh Gaz told a story about getting lost earlier that day and driving across Sydney Harbor Bridge, the wrong way away from the Opera House, that was pretty funny the way he told it. It was the new old drummer second gig back in the band too, original Christian Strybosch left before playing any shows for this album, the last thing he did was recording Wait Long By The River… so it was a bit of a flashback/time traveling show too. I think once again this album need a classic album post written about it too. Anyway here’s the what they played that night on the 24th of May 2015.
Setlist:
Shark Fin Blues
Baby²
The Best You Can Believe In
Locust
The Freedom In The Loot
This Time
Six Ways To Sunday
Sitting On The Edge Of The Bed Cryin’
Private Execution (live debut/new track)
The Minotaur
The Miller’s Daughter
Encore:
River Of Tears (Kev Carmody cover)
So both Sarah Blako and The Drones are playing this coming weekend on the same night and I got tickets to both before figuring out it was the same night but I think like The Drones new album than Sarah’s new one, sorry Blasko maybe next time but why are you both playing the same night? Anyone what Sarah ticket?
a1000mistakes 