Budsbabe: Yamba gig 12th January... The heat here in Yamba is oppressive. It's
a lovely town, the people are great but the goddamn heat.... My
brain is so fried from the sun that I don't think it can function
coherently enough to compose a report on last night's gig. So I'll sum up in one paragraph (my shortest gig report
ever).... Folsom just gets better. Mr. Harris worked
perfectly (despite the umpty-odd number of times they fluffed it
in sound-check.) *wink* RSLs
are NOT the type of venue to find appreciation of insightful
lyrics and slower ballads. (Moving the rousing Barry Kable to opener
to grab the crowd, instead of having it as the finale was a commendable
tactic but just not quite enough for this raucous crowd. I appreciate
the Vanguard venue all the more now. But having said that, Coffs
is always something special and will hopefully be fun. Here's hoping
our loquacious Preacher will be tending to his flock! Oh, and isn't
Dave Kelly is one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet? BB (PS.... is that heat affecting my eyesight
or did I really see a guy wandering around setting up, in nothing
but a pair of red underpants?) *grin* |
CGee: This was a very difficult venue with a mostly 'just there because
we can be' crowd. The faithful stood at the front of the stage about
15 strong, there was an expanse of empty dance floor in back of us
and then rows of tables filled with mostly locals and vacationers who
spent most of the evening talking among themselves. Now they weren't
talking loudly, but when you have that many people talking, it's a
loud buzz. It wasn't so much the issue of audience response but more
the distance from the stage that really seemed to be the more the problem
that would be hard for any band to overcome. Russell did make an attempt
to talk a bit when he introduced Mickey but the noise was too distracting
and they just launched into the music.
The band sounded great, and they continue to get better. As much as I really want him to get a concert situation where he really can continue to combine all aspects of the evening - music, storytelling and entertainment, on this night music alone was good enough for me. What was cool was that for the first time in this incarnation of Tofog I could look at the people standing alongside of me and get a bit of the vibe of concerts past with all of us enjoying the show on the same level, singing along and having a great time. If I never see a show at an RSL or a Bowling Club again it will
be too soon. This band really is so suited (in both dress and materal
lol) to a smaller venue, where even if the audience is a tough sell,
the guys can work with them better to bring them into the music and
through his combination of storytelling and force of personality Russell
can better engage them into enjoying an evening of entertainment.
As for me, I can't wait for the Preacher's next 'thematic' and it better be all raunchy Fire and Brimstone, or he won't get much of a donation from me when the collection plate is passed along the pews!
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