The Red Hot Summer Tour, held at a sold out Sandalford Winery, was really living up to its name on Sunday as a full house of rock disciples baked under a scorching sun. Not only was the temperature red hot, but the line up of Australian Rock Legends delivered a searing live show that will be burnt into the retinas and ear holes for a long time to come.
Hunters & Collectors headlined the day with a powerhouse supporting cast of James Reyne, The Living End, The Angels, Baby Animals, Killing Heidi, Boom Crash Opera and not one misfire!
Sandalford is a big establishment to fill so you could expect some heavy traffic at the gates, therefore careful consideration to get there early needed to be applied. It wasn’t enough. 55 minutes to move 1km in unrelenting traffic congestion resulted in missing Boom Crash Opera opening the days proceedings. But ‘Onion Skin’ sounded pretty good from the carpark. Make no mistake about it, this was a huge crowd and the congestion would’ve been impossible to cope with, but what an atmosphere!
Ella Hooper of Killing Heidi admitted her “lily white Melbourne ass” was not prepared for the scorcher of a day Perth had decided to serve up and 3pm in the arvo, stage in full sun, was going to be tough. But regardless, she jumped, contorted & bent over backwards delivering for an appreciative crowd. Always the true professional Ella gave it everything she had and left nothing on the table. ‘Mascara’, ‘Weir’ & the punchy ‘Superman/Supergirl’ from there 2000 Album Reflector were memorable highlights.
Baby Animals made a welcome return to the stage with a sensational live show. Fronted by the uber cool Suze DeMarchi, this band commands attention from the minute Dave Leslie & DeMarchi roll volume on their guitars. Opening with their 1991 single ‘Rush You’, sun burnt fans pushed forward in droves to enjoy getting front & centre with the band. DeMarchi, dressed in black and now bathed in the full force of the afternoon sun, threw on a white wide brimmed hat for protection but it did not go with her outfit. To the rescue, a punter with a cooler black hat was spotted, and a swap ensued. Rock ‘n’ Roll priorities. ‘One Word’, ‘Early Warning’ & ‘Painless’ were all great. Special mention goes to their final song of the night ‘Ain’t Gonna Get’ that absolutely rocked and gave Leslie a chance to explode. Great guitarists in full swing giving goose bumps? Tick.
During the break, Mark the fire fighter was chosen from the crowd because of his ability to do ‘The Nutbush’. He spun a giant wheel and won $1000. I don’t know why but who cares? Good on ya Mark.
Australian rock royalty, The Angels, were a welcome sight for many in the crowd with the hordes streaming to the front of stage which was now fast becoming a dust bowl. Now fronted by Dave Gleeson of Screaming Jets fame, it’s a different Angels than we are accustomed to but the Brewster boys on guitar are undeniable. That familiar guitar crunch is unmistakable, the songs classic in all sense of the word, and an aura of true rock cred hangs in the air, wherever their black Ray Ban’s take them. You can’t fake that. With a setlist comprised of Angels classics, the crowd was won early. ‘Shadow Boxer’, ‘Take A Long Line’, ‘I Ain’t The One’, ‘Marseilles’ etc. Old school Angels at its finest. But it was ‘Am I Ever Gonna See your Face Again’ and its unofficial chorus of “No way, get f*cked, f*ck off!” that resulted in one of Sandalford’s proudest moments. Gleeson reported that this heaving crowd was officially the loudest to use the ‘F’ word they had witnessed this tour. Congratulations Perth! So proud! While it’s a shame that Doc Neeson is not with us anymore to front The Angels so ferociously as we remember he did in his youth, Gleeson does a great job filling unfillable shoes.
The Living End are renowned for their live shows and they did not disappoint. In fact, Chris Cheney baited the massive crowd into a noise competition for loudest chorus of the night, based around the rivalry of bands backstage and who got the biggest response. The Angels fans had just shaken the foundations with ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your face Again’ so it was a big ask. Opening with the hit ‘Second Solution’ and ‘Roll On’ the crowd was in fine form prompting Cheney to state, “…and people say Rock n Roll is dead.” It was very alive and well tonight, and when the boys got into ‘Prisoner Of Society’, the vocal competition was on. Dust filled the sky as a sea of bouncing fans screamed their lungs out. This was so epic; it should be seen to be believed. And it can be! Footage was captured on Chris Cheney’s Instagram story and is well worth a look. ‘West End Riot’ always goes well in the west as does a little ‘Waltzing Matilda’ guitar work inciting another full crowd singalong. Rounding out with ‘White Noise’, this was a master class of rock and how it is done right.
James Reyne was very understated in his entrance to stage. No hype man, just a bloke who’s been doing this for a while now, and he will probably just let his vast catalogue of hits do the talking. Done. ‘Beautiful People’, ‘Hammerhead’, ‘Slave’, ‘Reckless’ and attention all crowd singers… ‘Errol’ and ‘Oh No Not You Again’. ‘Things Don’t Seem’ cranked up the pace and got the dancers dancing with ‘The Boys Light Up’ finishing up James’ reign. This whole afternoon was one big arm around your mate, good natured drunken singalong, reminiscing about the good old days and nothing seems to capture this feel more than Reyne’s catalogue of work. Every song oozes and drips Australia. As night fell over Sandalford, this was a perfect set for a crowd now finally enjoying some respite from the afternoon sun.
There was huge anticipation for Hunters & Collectors as their live shows these days are as rare as a clean seat on a port-a-loo. Mark Seymour and the boys were all business as they hit the stage with ‘Talking To A Stranger’ & ‘Blind Eye’. Welcome back guys. While we can marvel at a 3 piece like The Living End being capable of producing such huge sounds live, it’s also so good to see a stage fill with musicians, especially a brass section, and produce such a full, warm sound. Seymour dedicated ‘Inside A Fireball’ to all first responders currently involved in Australia’s fire situation and spoke warmly of the sacrifices made by normal everyday Australians when called upon. Yeah sure the Hunters can write a great rock riff, but it is their song writing that helps stand apart from the crowd. They want to capture a truth and convey a message which Seymour touched on before performing ‘Everything’s On Fire’.
‘Say Goodbye’ got every woman AND man in the venue singing “You don’t make me feel like a woman anymore” Classic. The AFL’s go to song for every September ‘Holy Grail’ was played early on to a huge reception. ‘Do You See What I see’, ‘When The River Runs Dry’ & the ultimate singalong of all ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’ were all there. An epic end to what was a fantastic event from start to finish. Congratulations to all parties involved in this one, front of stage and those behind it that kept everything running like clockwork. Full access to the mosh pit for all the fans created an electric atmosphere that all the bands fed off, supercharging performances to the level witnessed tonight.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Sharon Burgess Photography
Hunters & Collectors
James Reyne
The Living End
The Angels
Baby Animals
Killing Heidi
Tickets and more information, please visit www.redhotsummertour.com.au
