Wanstock was started in 2018 by Geoff Wansborough. “It was his way of keeping the music alive” Quote – Steve Mulry (Ted Mulry Gang). So with not a USB in sight and maybe the nursing homes were a little empty this evening. Wanstock started with a six-band line up and two extra cameo appearances. With a mixed age crowd, but mainly older punters, Wanstock started off in the afternoon at the Shoppingtown Hotel in Doncaster with:
Day Dreamers are a four-piece band with Zak Rakitic on lead vocals, his brother Jordan on bass, Nick Dordevic on drums and Aaron Franks on bass filing in for Daniel Lee. Day Dreamers are young and full of energy. They are fast and chaotic with a similar musical sound to The Chats, but with a stronger vocals. They played an all-original set of nine songs and are best described as a surf sound with a touch of punk. You can check out their music by listening to their album ‘Blue Room’ on Spotify.
DAY DREAMERS GALLERY
Standing Room Only are a three-piece band with matching vests and black and white checked ties. Headed by Aaron O’Brien on drums and lead vocals, Bill “Fozzy” Folino on guitar and vocals and Jim Currell on bass and vocals. Standing Room Only played at Wanstock last year performing covers, but this year performed an all-original set from their album ‘Lost Highway’.
Standing Room Only have an obvious fan following, all wearing their trademark black and white checks. Their dedicated fans got out of their seats and moved to the front of the stage to enjoy the talented musicians who’s voices blend beautifully together. Lead singer Aaron has a chameleon-like voice which changes from sounding like The Angels to Red Gum. Standing Room Only have great guitar riffs that at times also reminded me of The Angels sound. The highlight for me was ‘Shine like a star’, it had a wholesome 70’s sound. The Roomies (dedicated followers) loved “Sunny” which they all clapped and sang loudly too. A very entertaining act.
STANDING ROOM ONLY GALLERY
When I hear cover bands I automatically think garage band who do not do the classics any justice, but with Strait Shooters I have to eat my words. Strait Shooters gave respect and talent to every song, and I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself singing along to all nine classics ranging from The Angels, ZZ Top and The Rolling Stones. Strait Shooters are headed up by Andy Baker on lead vocals, Peppi Maio on guitar, Bruce Mountjoy on guitar, Max Coleman on bass and Adam Edwards on drums. Strait Shooters play old-style pub rock with great versatile strong vocals and musically were spot on and tight. They got the punters up dancing and pulled the crowd into party mode. I even noticed some couples doing the jive and rock ’n’ roll dancing. Strait Shooters are a great band to take you back to the songs of rock greatness.
STRAIT SHOOTERS GALLERY
Time may have aged the outside layers of The Ted Mulry Gang, but in saying that, age melts away as they start to play and they are back in their hey day. Ted’s replacement, his younger brother Steve is the only choice for the job of lead singer. He is like a clone of his brother, with great stage presence and vocals to match. Steve is surrounded by legends. Tony Mitchell on bass (ex-Sherbet), Mark Tinson on guitar (ex-Rabbit) and the original
TMG members drummer Herm Kovac (ex-Velvet underground – Australian version) and Les Hall on guitar also ex-Velvet underground.
Musically as good as ever with all songs played to perfection. To quote Steve Mulry, “Les Hall is a guitar rift maestro”. Tonight was their first gig in four years. They were on stage for fifty minutes and belted out fourteen songs. Song six was a small taste of Sherbet with a snippet of ‘Howzat’ which saw the crowd taking over the vocals. One of the highlights for me was ‘Falling In Love Again’, a beautiful acoustic moment watching Les Hall smile as the crowd choir sung the chorus loudly. TMG had the crowd out of their seats and up near the stage dancing to ‘Jump In My Car’, ‘Darktown Strutter’s Ball’ and many more hits. They also played their new song ‘La La’ released six months ago with a new album coming in the future, TMG Closed with ACDC’s ‘Long Way To The Top’ as a tribute to Malcolm Young and I, like most of the crowd wanted them to keep playing.
TED MULRY GANG GALLERY
When Dragon came on stage the eighteen year old version of me wanted Marc Hunter to be front and centre. I had a connection with the then drummer and I had seen Dragon live in the late 80’s quite a few times. But since 2006 Dragon has evolved with Mark Williams as the lead singer and when you don’t have a time machine to go back in time, this is a great line up to keep the classic Dragon hits alive and get a taste of the new. Dragon today consist of Mark Williams on lead vocals, Bruce Reid on guitar, Pete Drummond on drums and of course the legendary Todd Hunter on bass.
Todd, now seventy-two, stays seated on stage through out the performance. Musically they are very good and Marks vocals are strong. They played a twelve-song set which included all the Dragon songs you want to hear from ‘Dreams Of An Ordinary Man’ to ‘April Sun’. They also give Mark’s previous solo career a nod by playing ‘Show No Mercy’ and Todd’s wonderful lyric writing ability by playing ‘Age of Reason’, the John Farnham hit. The song ‘O Zambezi’ showed off the skills of the guitar and drum playing by their awesome solos. The crowd favourites were ‘Rain’ and ‘Are You Old Enough’ with ‘Are You Old Enough’ starting off without the drums and building up to a big finish. Dragon hits will live forever.
DRAGON GALLERY
Direct from the UK, this version of The Animals is a four-piece line up with Danny Handler on vocals and guitar, Barney Williams on keyboard, Norm Helm on bass and the original drummer and rock’n’roll hall of famer
John Steel. Did I feel like I was seeing the 60’s version of the Animals? Unfortunately no, but let me clarify, as I was not disappointed. This balance of young & old was very satisfying. They definitely had that 60’s UK rhythm & blues sound of the original line up.
Barney on the keyboards had magical Boogie Woogie fingers and Danny the lead singer is vocally very talented and really knows how to play a guitar. At eighty-three, age is no barrier to John as he still gives the drum kit a hard time. Norm is a professional bass player of pure talent . They played a thirteen-song set which included hits like ‘Bring It On Home To Me’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’.
For the last song of the evening and the encore John Steel stepped out from behind the drums to give a introduction to their hit song ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ written by Bob Dylan. In 1964 The Animals were opening for his idol Chuck Berry and decided to electrify Bob’s song. It was such a hit that they recorded it soon after in one take and the rest is history. To hear a legend like John Steel speak and play was a true music lovers dream and one the crowd will never forget. The band even stayed around after the gig to take selfies, sign merch and meet the crowd.
THE ANIMALS GALLERY
Also part of Wanstock, I have to make a special mention of a very funny man, comedian Doug Chappel. Doug was the MC and entertainment in-between the bands. He is a fast talking, Western suburbs (Melbourne) boy who gave me Dave Hughes vibes in his style of delivery. He has a infectious humour and if you like a good laugh check Doug out on the comedy circuit or his social media. You are in for a treat.
And last but not least was a pop up appearance with Tony Catz and his electric Ukulele for two fun songs, while The Animals were setting up.
With thanks to On the Map for the media accreditation, Geoff Wansborough for his hospitality and to the Shoppingtown Hotel staff for a wonderful day.
Photos by Oz Greeny’s Photography