On Saturday November 17th, 2018 a number of Australian music legends donated their time to perform at Band Together Farmers, in Parkes, NSW. The event raised much needed funds for rural mental health and suicide prevention, with funds going to the Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health (CRRMH), who play a key role in supporting rural communities during the drought [Parkes Champion Post]
Squinting into the sun, amid the swirling red dust of the Parkes Showground, Mark Seymour and the Undertow add some vaguely country touches to Hunters and Collectors classics Say Goodbye and Throw your Arms Around Me. Undertow standout Castlemaine is a hand in glove fit for this occasion, but it’s the extremely apt When the River Runs Dry that brings the house down.
The always impeccably dressed Hoodoo Gurus hit the dirt running, I Want You Back causing a front of stage stampede ,the four on the floor The Right Time leading into the wheel spinning In the Wild.Phew!
Dave Faulkner discards his natty salmon jacket for the less frenetic Death Defying while Brad Shepherd growls his way through the breeze block Form a Circle. On Lelani Mark Kingsmill gives the jungle drums a thorough battering ,locking into a rock solid groove with Rick Grossman’s (the four string wielder from the imposing CV) low slung bass. My Girl and Bittersweet are touching without being mawkish (as if!) and the adoring crowd lack it up.
Crackin Up from 2010’s Purity of Essence sets a (ahem) cracking pace ,the lyrics painting a picture of despair. Miss Freelove and Like Wow Wipeout spotlight the slash n burn style of Shepherd, spraying his multi hued solos as the pyro erupts over the pit. We get Kamikaze Pilot and Captain Faulkner does know how to land, bringing the Guru plane back to base safely to end a great evening, in support of the local farming community.
