The Songroom- Season 3

I have spent the past two Tuesday nights at the Northcote Social Club for tapings of Season 3 of The Songroom. While Jess McGuire has returned as host, Kris Schroeder and Tim Heath from The Basics are now overseeing things from behind the scenes. The new house band features Brett Wolfenden on percussion and Benji Miu on guitar. As with the previous seasons, veteran and newer artists come together on the day of the show, and each person gets to play two originals and two covers as they take turns singing in the round.

27 November
Brett and Benji came out first and played a couple instrumental versions of songs to warm up, including Chris Issak’s "Wicked Game." Jess McGuire then introduced each of this week's guests one by one: New South Wales singer-songwriters William Crighton and Melanie Horsnell, and Melbourne hip-hop artist Sirak Abu. The magic of The Songroom is how everyone plays on each other's songs and the unexpected things that can happen. William Crighton decided to change songs last minute, and played his song "Fire In The Empire" about a massacre of Aboriginal people on the land he had been camping on. As a response to that song, Melanie Horsnell switched up her next song and played "Sugar And White Man" about the stolen generation and loss of culture. It was an amazing moment to hear those two songs back to back. There were also some great covers with Melanie doing Edith Piaf's "La Vie En Rose" and William singing Leonard Cohen's "Bird On The Wire" and Neil Young's "Roll Another Number (For The Road)," which finished off the night.

4 December
This evening's guests were Melbourne music royalty Dave Graney and his long-time partner Clare Moore, and the band Rudely Interrupted, which features Rory Burnside on lead vocals. It was quite an upbeat show with lots of humorous moments both through the song lyrics of Dave and Clare's songs and Rory's stories. Highlights included Clare Moore's "A Lot To Drink About," Dave Graney's "Apollo 69" (which is from my favorite mid-90s Graney era), and Rudely Interrupted's "No Goodbyes." There were also some interesting covers, with Clare playing John and Beverley Martyn's "Auntie Aviator," Dave doing The Rolling Stones' "Time Waits For No One," and Rory playing Modern English's "I Melt With You." They all finished the evening playing the Rudely Interrupted track "Calculus & Tea."

Here's The Songroom episode featuring Gotye and Monty Cotton, which was taped in late December 2016 (see if you can spot me in the crowd):

The Basics- Howler

Wally's home for the holidays so that means we were treated to The Basics playing their first proper show together in over a year at Howler. I thought since tonight was sold out we were finally going to get a full rock stage show, but as I walked in and saw the instruments set up in the middle of the floor I knew it was going to be another in-the-round gig.

Opening tonight was Monty Cotton, who appeared last night at The Songroom with the boys. He played a solo set on acoustic guitar (using some looping pedals) and did a great job of engaging with the crowd. He sang a few of his own songs from last night with "Walkabout," "No Reason To Explain" and "Stay With Me Tonight." It was his covers though that really got the crowd's attention as he did a hillbilly reel (which started with "Duelling Banjos" from Deliverance), Johnny Cash's "Ghost Riders In The Sky," and off an audience request for Beyoncé sang "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" but in the voice of Johnny Cash. It was quite funny and topped his trick of doing a guitar solo behind his head.

The Basics emerged onto the floor in their matching suits, which was a bit of an indicator of the type of set list they were planning to play this evening. It was great to watch Wally back on the drums as they began the set with "So Hard For You." Everyone was gathered in close and encouraged to dance as we were treated to an old school Basics show. They went deep into the back catalogue as they played "What Have You Done?," "I Could Go On," and "Hey C'mon!" off Get Back and the live staples "My Baby" and "Yeah, Yeah" (complete with dance moves from Kris and Tim). There were also a lot of songs off of Stand Out / Fit In with the highlights being "Bitten By The Same Bug," "Memory Lane," and the classic pairing of "Hey There!" and "Just Hold On."

Often at Basics gigs there are running jokes or references throughout the night, and tonight was no exception as "ham" kept getting brought up due to Tim's written reminder to himself on his hand. The other funny moment was when Wally started singing "C is for Cookie" in his Cookie Monster voice. Of the more recent material that was played, "With This Ship" got the biggest reaction from the crowd. I loved hearing "A Coward's Prayer" as it's one of my favorite tracks off The Age Of Entitlement. Kris did a touching version of "To Think Of You," which he dedicated to two friends who had just passed away, and the harmonies on "Hey Rain!" were quite beautiful in the hushed room.

As soon as they finished the main set the call for an encore was loud and continuous from the crowd until they came back out. We got energetic versions of "Roundabout" and 'Time Poor," and considering Wally hadn't been on a drum kit for a year he did quite well to make it through the show. Another oldie that was pulled out of the vaults was "You're Already Gone," and then they played an audience request for "Home Again." The final song of the night was the always fun "Call It Rhythm and Blues," which had everyone dancing, and then the guys took their final bow after playing for nearly two hours. Unfortunately this will be it for a while as Wally heads back to New York to (hopefully) finish his Gotye album, Kris travels to Mongolia to work for an NGO, and Tim takes over ownership of the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine (where they are playing one last 2016 show for New Year's Eve). Mary and I will definitely miss seeing The Basics live, but we know at some point in the future they will reunite and play together again.

The Basics Present The Songroom- Gotye and Monty Cotton

On Wednesdays during November and December The Basics and MC Jess McGuire have been hosting the second season of The Songroom at Northcote Social Club. The Songroom pairs established and up-and-coming Australian acts in an in-the-round session of original songs and covers, with Kris Schroeder and Tim Heath from The Basics acting as the house band.

Mary and I have been a bit delinquent in attending The Songroom this time, but tonight was the last show of 2016 and featured Monty Cotton and the one and only Gotye (aka Wally "Basic" De Backer). As you can imagine, this show sold out soon after Wally was announced as the other special guest.

Wally was introduced first and kicked off the evening with "Coming Back." Tonight was an unique opportunity to get to hear Gotye tracks done in a stripped back, acoustic fashion and the versions of "Bronte" and "Hearts A Mess" (which included Wally playing a little bell) were outstanding. Jess quizzed him on what is happening in New York with the recording of the new Gotye album and Wally said that he's been working with Franc Tetaz on songs. There are also some satellite projects that are a part of the bigger picture, which is what's causing some of the delays. He is hoping to release some songs in 2017. For covers Wally chose to do Simon & Garfunkel's "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" (partially due to farewelling his Basics bandmates in a week when he heads back to the US) and Kate Bush's "Army Dreamers."

Monty Cotton, a former accountant turned musician, outed himself as a long time fan of The Basics. He is best known for his Johnny Cash tribute show called A Boy Named Cash. For his original tracks he played "Stay With Me Tonight," "No Reason To Explain" and a song he put together of different Irish reels that gradually increased in pace. It was quite funny to watch Wally on percussion keeping up with the fast beat at the end. Monty's cover songs were The Seekers' "I Am Australian" and one of his Dad's songs called "Walkabout." It was at this point that we learned some interesting facts: a) Monty's real name is Alex, and his Dad's name is Monty, and b) he is recording an album of his Dad's songs while also having taken his Dad's name as his stage name.

As the house band for The Songroom, Kris and Tim make a couple "Sultan's Choices" for cover songs each week. Midway through the set they played Stevie Wonder's "They Won't Go When I Go" (a song also covered by George Michael), and at the end they did Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" (which inspired a conversation about misheard lyrics). Normally this would have been the close of the evening, but for perhaps the first time ever there was demand for an encore. After people got Tim a beer and Kris a white wine we were treated to two more songs. Tim sang The Basics' "Hey Rain" and they finished the night with Gotye's worldwide smash "Somebody That I Used To Know" (with the women in the audience singing Kimbra's part). It was a great show and hopefully there will be future seasons of The Songroom in 2017.

The Basics Present The Songroom

The Basics have begun a new venture on Wednesdays in May at the Northcote Social Club with The Songroom. Each week features Kris and Tim playing along with two other artists in the round with special guest MC Jess McGuire.

4 May

It was a small and intimate gathering of punters for the very first Songroom event. Kris and Tim started things off with The Basics classic "Home Again." This evening's special guests were Kiwi singer/songwriter Skyscraper Stan (Skyscraper Stan and the Commission Flats) and Felicity Cripps (Hoy, Slow Galo). Each artist played a couple of their own songs, with Jess McGuire interviewing them in between tracks. Stan's love of Americana and Delta Blues suddenly became a running joke about "Delta Goodrem Blues" throughout the night. We also learned that Felicity is the songwriter in the Heath/Cripps household, but Tim contributes music (and does the dishes). There were numerous lesser known cover songs played from a range of artists, including Johnny Cash, The Triffids, The Everly Brothers, Elton John, Stevie Nicks, David Bowie and Joni Mitchell. The final song for the night was Crowded House's "It's Only Natural." It was a good first attempt at a format that I'm sure they will iron out over the coming weeks.

11 May

I think tonight's gig had at least twice as many audience members as last week. The Northcote Social Club provided bean bags for people to sit on and the "in the round" was lit by a series of large and small desk lamps. Kris and Tim began the evening with a cover of John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over" as a way to ease some tensions between the two of them from the previous week. The special guests tonight were William Crighton and Angie Hart (Frente!). The show went much smoother as there was a set list and it seemed like everyone's parts in each song had been arranged ahead of time. Jess McGuire's interview questions between songs were quite insightful, covering such topics as Cold Chisel's "Khe Sanh," the writing process, and what it was like for Angie to have fame at such an early age with Frente!. William and Angie each played a couple of their own songs as well as some covers, with highlights being Angie's duet with Tim on "Little Bridges" (a song she co-wrote with Mark Seymour), Smokey Robinson and The Miracles' "You Really Got A Hold On Me," Frente!'s "Ordinary Angels," William's song "Priest" and The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian." They finished the evening with "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks.

There are two more weeks of the The Songroom remaining so if you are in Melbourne be sure to check it out.

The Basics- Tinder Knight 2

In what may be the shortest hiatus ever, The Basics were back together again last night at Northcote Social Club for Tinder Knight 2, thanks to Wally being in town for the holidays. As was the case for Tinder Knight last February, the boys set up in the middle of the room with Kris and Tim on acoustic guitars and Wally on a Wurlitzer. The sold out crowd of over 200 people sat around them as they played covers, audience requests via sheet music, and a few Basics numbers across two sets.

The evening began with "In My Life" and "Ain't She Sweet" by The Beatles. They were revisited later on with covers of "If I Fell," "I'll Cry Instead" and "Golden Slumbers," as well as George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass." Other artist multiple tracks included The Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream," Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" and "Songbird" (another beautiful version by Wally) and David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" and "As The World Falls Down" from the film Labyrinth.

The boys did a couple of covers they played during the last tour with their fantastic version of Eric Bogle's "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and Neil Young's "Birds" (sung by Tim). In honor of Stevie Wright they played The Easybeats "I'll Make You Happy" to start off the second set, and got some Creedence Clearwater Revival in with "Someday Never Comes." Two of the more interesting cover choices of the night were Joe Jackson's "Real Men" and the 1990s classic "Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies.

The audience requests also brought up some interesting songs. They played Crowded House's "Sister Madly" and "I Got You" by Split Enz. Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" turned into a Cookie Monster mash up half way through with hilarious results. They played the Eagles track "Lyin' Eyes" despite Tim's hatred for the band, and an audience shout out for George Michael resulted in a fun version of "Faith."

Thankfully a few Basics tracks made it into the set, with Tim taking over the Wurlitzer for "Hey Rain" (complete with an extra verse about cane toads as a reprise due to the frog in Wally's throat), a lovely "Home Again" by Wally, "Memory Lane," and a brand new untitled track by Kris about lost love.

The whole evening finished with an epic version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." It was another excellent two plus hours of fun and entertainment by the boys with a wide range of song selections played. Kris and Wally were kind enough to hang around during the set break to mingle and talk with people. I had a quick chat with Wally after the show and he was once again surprised to see me as he seems to forget that I still live in Melbourne (or I have a doppelganger somewhere that is confusing him). It sounds like there might be some Basics shows in the States this year, so if they manage to time them when I'm around in May/June I may get to see them on home soil.

Here's the video for "Time Poor" off The Age Of Entitlement:

The Basics- The Age Of Entitlement Tour Finale

The Basics have been busy travelling around the country over the past few weeks and last night was the finale of The Age Of Entitlement tour at The Gasometer Hotel. Considering the size of the venue Tash, Mary and I figured it would be a normal show, but they had the world's tiniest stage set up in the middle of the floor for an in-the-round performance like their Melbourne Festival shows. The opening act was William Crighton, who played a great solo set and was even joined by The Basics for a couple songs. Next up was Benny Walker, who played with his band this time (and nearly fell off the stage at one point).

The retractable roof was opened up and the smoke machine was pumping as The Basics kicked off the night with the one-two punch of "So Hard For You" and "The Lucky Country." The set list was similar to the earlier shows, with highlights including "Whatever Happened To The Working Class," "A Coward's Prayer," "To Think Of You" and the hand clapping fun of "Roundabout." In a real throwback they played "You're Already Gone" from the first album, as well as "Second Best" and "Have Love, Will Travel" with David Bramble on the Wurlitzer. We were also treated to covers of Neil Young's "Birds" and "Out On The Weekend" (with William Crighton joining in), and a brilliant version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." The most hilarious moment though was when their cover of The Everly Brothers' "Love Hurts" morphed into Roy Orbison's "You Got It" complete with Kris imitating Roy's voice.

There was a massive and sustained call for an encore with the sold out crowd continuously clapping for a few minutes. Wally came down first and played beautiful versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" and Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" solo on the Wurlitzer. Kris and Tim then joined him on stage to play the Split Enz track "One Step Ahead." It was around this time that things nearly went off the rails as Tim was encouraged to sing lead vocals for "Rattle My Chain" and clearly wanted the show to end. However, the boys restarted the song with Wally singing and then the encore took off as they just kept seamlessly pulling out song after song they wanted to play: Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love," Eric Clapton's "Cocaine," "Tunaomba Saidia," The Police's "Roxanne" and then finished with The Kinks' "All Day And All Of The Night." It was an epic 2+ hour classic Basics gig, and while there did seem to be a bit of finality to it as they put their arms around each other at the end, I still think they might do the odd show in a few years time when all the stars align. You can never say never with these guys.

Here's the video for "Roundabout"

The Basics- Melbourne Festival

The Basics recently released their fourth studio album The Age Of Entitlement, and with Wally back briefly from New York they have hit the road for an extensive tour of Australia. For the past two nights they played at the Foxtel Festival Hub as part of the Melbourne Festival. These shows were in the round like their Tinder Knight gig in February. The opening act both nights was Indigenous singer-songwriter Benny Walker, who played a lovely solo set of his songs on acoustic guitar.

The boys came out onto the stage in the middle of the room wearing their brand new suits for this tour. Both nights opened with the one-two punch of "Whatever Happened To The Working Class" and "A Coward's Prayer." The songs off of The Age Of Entitlement were the focus of the setlist, with pretty much every song getting an airing on one or both nights. The most political tracks "Tunaomba Saidia," "Time Poor" and "The Lucky Country" still hold true even with the change of leadership nationally. There was the heartache of the songs "To Think Of You," "Every Part Of Me" and "Feels Like Love." "Ashleigh Wakes" and "Roundabout" added some fun to the setlist, especially when Wally broke his brushes during the latter mid-song on the first night. We also got some classic Basics tracks with "I Don't Need Another," "With This Ship," "Rattle My Chain," and the beautiful harmonies of "Hey Rain!" They even played the raucous b-side "My Old Mate" finish off night one.

One of the most unpredictable aspects of any Basics shows is what covers will get played, especially with these in the round shows where people are encouraged to bring the lyrics and chords of songs for the boys to play. My attempt to get them to do Journey's "Lights" on the first night failed miserably as they didn't know the song (I guess it's just the SF Bay Area that really seems to know it as we sing it at the baseball?). Someone did shout out for "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney and Wally took on the challenge and slayed it.

People has more success on night two as the boys did a hilarious version of John Farnham's "Two Strong Hearts" (with a snippet of Jimi Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" in the middle) and "Message To My Girl" by Split Enz. Earlier in the evening they played a fantastic version of another Enz track "One Step Ahead" with Kris taking a turn on drums while Wally was at the piano. On the first night they did Crowded House's "Not The Girl You Think You Are."

Both nights featured covers of The Everly Brothers' "Love Hurts" and David Bowie's "As The World Falls Down" from the 1980s movie Labyrinth. On the second night we were treated to two very special moments. One was the anti-war song "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle, which describes the experience of war from the point of view of a man fighting in Gallipoli during World War I. Then Wally did the most beautiful and heartfelt version of Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" solo on the piano. As former keyboardist Dave Bramble was in the crowd they invited him up to play along on Neil Young's "Old Man" (with Kris changing the lyrics to reflect his age of 34).

It was a wonderful opportunity to get to see The Basics play together again over two nights in such an intimate setting. With them hinting about an indefinite hiatus after this tour, who knows how long it will be until the next big outing around Australia? If you get the chance to see them live over the next couple of weeks don't miss out (and there will be one last hurrah in Melbourne on Cup Eve at the Gasometer Hotel).

Here's the video for the current single "A Coward's Prayer"

The Basics- Tinder Knight

It was billed as a secret show under the moniker Tinder Knight on the Northcote Social Club website, but those in the know realised tonight was going to be a unique and special evening featuring The Basics. They set up to play 'in the round' style in the middle of the bandroom with just a piano and two acoustic guitars. The crowd was limited to 200 people, which made for an intimate experience as everyone sat or stood around them. In addition, people were invited to bring along sheet music for any songs they would like the band to attempt to play, which added an element of unpredictability to the night.

After Kris, Tim and Wally came out and took their seats they started off with a cover of Crowded House's "Not The Girl You Think You Are." Kris explained that they called the show Tinder Knight because Tuesday's are supposed to be the nights that people go on Tinder dates. The band promised to play mostly rarely heard Basics songs and covers, so I knew we would be in for a great evening. In the first set we were treated to a number of Basics tracks, including "To Think Of You," "Wait For You," "Ashleigh Wakes," "Trouble In His Head" and "What Do You See In Me?" Some of the covers were pretty amazing as well, especially Tears For Fears' "Mad World," The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" and David Bowie's "As The World Falls Down" from the movie Labyrinth (perhaps the most random cover of the evening). The highlight though was Wally singing an audience request for George Michael's "Freedom" while trying to read the lyrics in the dark room.

After a brief intermission the guys came back out for what was a pretty eclectic second set. They began with Cold Chisel's "When The War Is Over" and then Kris sang Christina Aguilera's "Genie In A Bottle." Wally slayed Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" and they all played a beautiful version of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon." As for Basics tracks we got to hear "Hey Rain" (with Tim on piano), "Keep The Door Open," "With This Ship," "All Or Nothing" and "Home Again." One theme that ran throughout the night was Wally's excitement about having seen Roxette last week and his desire to sing "The Look." We got a few snippets here and there, including a bit of a jazzy version, but it wasn't until near the end of the set that he finally got to sing the song in full. As they were on a Swedish kick Ace of Base came up, which resulted in a little piece of "The Sign."

Kris made a request for Wally to sing the Gotye track "Bronte." It had a couple false starts around Kris and Tim not being able to do the harmonies but Wally did a gorgeous version in the end. I enjoyed hearing Kris and Wally sing Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins' "What A Fool Believes," but my favorite moment was an audience request for John Farnham's "You're The Voice" that they took on with gusto (that song is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me). Kris dedicated Neil Young's "Old Man" to himself as it's his birthday on Saturday and had everyone singing along with him. The very last song of the night was The Beatles' "The End," which was the perfect way to finish this epic 3 hour gig.

The evening felt like one of those classic Basics shows of the past with all the humor, harmonies and unique covers. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much. The guys really seemed to be enjoying themselves, but there was also a tinge of sadness as Wally is moving to New York and we don't know when The Basics will be playing together again. I'm having flashbacks to the Keep Your Friends Close era as there is a finished album (currently titled The Age of Entitlement) but no release date on the horizon. We will just have to wait and see what the future holds, but I don't think this is the end for The Basics.

St Kilda Festival- The Basics and San Cisco

Today was Festival Sunday at the St Kilda Festival, and thankfully the weather Gods were kind to us as the temperature wasn't nearly as hot as forecast earlier in the week. This year is the 35th anniversary of the festival, which is the largest of its kind in Australia. As I was walking along Jacka Boulevard I came across the Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra parade as it passed under the pedestrian bridge and people threw down rose petals from above.

I met up with Mary near the front of the main stage for the mid-afternoon set by The Basics. It was an impassioned start with "Time Poor" and "The Lucky Country" as the first two songs. Kris reminded the crowd that Monday's Liberal Party spill wouldn't result in any real change if someone else became Prime Minster. The set was a good mix of older songs, with the Stand Out/Fit In tracks "Have Love, Will Travel," "Hey There!," "Just Hold On," "Three Cool Cats" and "Rattle My Chain" (appropriate for the occasion as the album cover was shot at The Espy). Kris and Tim just returned from a quick trip to Kenya and were dressed in a dashiki and Maasai red plaid cloth. Unfortunately Wally was losing his voice as the set went on, but he made it through "So Hard For You" and "Second Best," which contained an extended drum solo. One funny moment was when he took a sip of Kris' lemonade, realized it contained alcohol, and asked Kris if he'd made a shandy (the answer was yes). By the end of their set the grey skies had turned blue and the sun was out. They closed with a great cover of Neil Young's "Old Man," and as Kris referenced Jimmy Fallon I think my tweet to him about the Two Neil Youngs bit on the Tonight Show last week may have inspired its inclusion in the set.

We managed to find Tash, who was sitting further back on the hill, and stayed there to watch San Cisco's set. Although I own all their releases this was the first time I've seen them live. They played a mix of new songs off their upcoming album Gracetown as well as some old favorites such as "Awkward," "Beach" and "No Friends." The newer single "Run" and just released "Too Much Time Together" got a good reaction, but it was the set closer "Fred Astaire" that had the huge crowd bopping along. I thought it was really brave of them to play so many new songs to a festival crowd, as it would have been easier to focus on their older, more well known tracks.

Kris Schroeder- The Drunken Poet

In order to make up for missing The Basics post-Christmas show at the Corner Hotel Mary and I made our way down to The Drunken Poet in West Melbourne this evening to catch Kris Schroeder play two sets. He started off with a cover of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and managed to lose the amplifier plug into his guitar mid-song. After quickly getting a second microphone set up the show continued. It was an epic mix of covers and original tunes. The new Basics tracks sounded really good: "What Ever Happened To The Working Class," "Tunaomba Saidia," "The Lucky Country," and "To Think Of You." It was also very interesting to hear Kris sing lead on "So Hard For You" instead of Wally.

Kris played a lot of new and interesting covers across the two sets as well, including Cold Chisel's "Cheap Wine," "After The Gold Rush" and "Old Man" by Neil Young, "Come Together" by The Beatles and "Got My Mind Set On You" by George Harrison. The most anticipated cover though had to be Kris finally playing his interpretation of Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald singing "What A Fool Believes." Things got very entertaining towards the end of the second set when during The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" an older gentleman decided to join in by playing some maracas he brought along with him (Kris even played a couple bars of "I Go To Rio" in the middle). As usual there were also a heap of Crowded House tracks played throughout: "Nails In My Feet," "Four Seasons In One Day," "Fall At Your Feet" and "Better Be Home Soon," which was the last song for the evening. Both Mary and I really enjoyed the extended second set and Kris may have continued to play even longer had he not broken another guitar string.

Songs Of Protest

I thought I had escaped right-wing, conservative governments when I migrated to Australia and left the Bush/Cheney regime behind, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party are proving to be just as bad as those two were.  During the 2013 Federal election Abbott promised there would be "no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST, and no cuts to the ABC or SBS."  One by one these promises are being broken, and when you add in this Government's denial of climate change and deplorable treatment of refugees, I feel like I'm back in the Bush/Cheney years.

Of course, extreme governments can lead to great art- especially music and songs of protest.  Two recent examples are as follows:



Joelistics' "Say I'm Good" off his second album Blue Volume is a fantastic take down of the current state of Australia, with a great video done by Oh Yeah Wow.  I love the lyric: "I don't buy the bullshit dreams of an aspirationalist modern Australia."



The Basics' "The Lucky Country" is a play off of Donald Horne's 1964 book of the same name.  It's a blistering attack on the age of entitlement in modern day Australia, with an animated video created by Andrew Mortlock (who also did the clip for "So Hard For You").  "Someone called this the lucky country, where our leadership is second rate" couldn't be a more apt lyric if you tried.

Kris Schroeder- Retreat Hotel Residency Week 3

Last night was week three of Kris Schroeder's residency at the Retreat Hotel in Brunswick.  The opening act this week was David Bramble, an occasional live contributor to The Basics.  He played solo on acoustic guitar as well as a bit of harmonica on a couple songs.  I thought he sounded good and I really enjoyed the songs which were written on a recent trip to the USA and Nashville due to their amusing story lines and country vibes.

It was a bit more packed this week as Kris played his somewhat loose set.  He has not had the best of weeks after his appearance on the Vote For Me! State Election: The Parties Bring It! panel at the Face The Music conference on Friday didn't go to plan and resulted in this opinion piece being published in theMusic.com.au.  He made references to it during the evening but didn't really go into full detail.  The set list was pretty similar to last week's show.  Highlights were the new Basics songs "To Think Of You," "Tunaomba Saidia," "What Ever Happened To The Working Class" and "Every Part Of Me," which he played solo for the first time.  We got a couple solo EP songs as well as the Keep Your Friends Close album tracks "All Or Nothing," "Keep The Door Open" and an audience request for "What Do You See In Me?"  While he once again did covers of Neil Young and Yusuf Islam, unfortunately we did not get to hear his interpretation of Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald doing "What A Fool Believes" as was promised last week.  Kris did admit this omission may add to the number of people who currently hate him.  Next week is the last week of the residency so if you are free get on down to the Retreat!

The Basics- Carters Public House

Last night Mary and I got the opportunity to see The Basics play a benefit show for The Song Room at Carters Public House in Northcote.  The Song Room is a not-for-profit organisation that delivers tailored, high quality music and arts programs to disadvantaged schools across Australia.  The boys played a gig earlier in the evening at Melbourne Airport for AirPlay! so I felt a bit sorry for them as they had to lug in all their gear and set it up as the crowd built around them in the tiny venue.

By the time they started their set with "Three Cool Cats" the place was completely packed out, with an overflow crowd of people who couldn't get in out on the sidewalk listening.  The hour and a half set was about half Basics songs and half covers.  We got to hear new songs "The Lucky Country" and "To Think Of You" as well as old favorites "Hey There!," "Just Hold On," "My Baby," "She's Gonna B. Late" and "Second Best."  Tim was on fire with "Have Love, Will Travel" and "Hey Rain."  Kris gave a little speech about his learnings over the past few weeks with the Basics Rock'n'Roll Party (BRRP).  He said, half joking, "If you're ever thinking about it, don't get into politics."  The BRRP has both Kris and Tim running for the Northern Metropolitan Region Upper House seat, and candidate Jamie McCarney for the Northcote seat in the Lower House.

What really made the evening special, besides getting to see The Basics in such an intimate venue, was the array of covers they played.  We got to hear Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See The Light" and "Proud Mary," along with Neil Young's "Old Man" and George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You."  However, it was the end of the set that really showed off their musicianship and years of playing together as they tore through AC/DC's "Jailbreak" (dedicated to Phil Rudd), Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" (with a bit of JJ Cale's "Cocaine" in the middle), The Beatles' "Get Back" and Cream's "Crossroads," which finished off the night.  It was such a great gig and I was really happy to get to see them play again as I will be overseas when they are on tour in December and January.

Here's the video for the new single "The Lucky Country" (you can buy the EP here):

Kris Schroeder- Retreat Hotel Residency Week 2

In Kris Schroeder's seeming quest to play at every venue in Brunswick he has organised a November residency at the Retreat Hotel on Wednesday nights.  This was the second week, and opening up proceedings was Louis Spoils (aka Jake Rush).  Mary and I arrived toward the end of his set and got to hear the last few songs he played, which sounded good.

It was a relaxed and casual Kris in shorts and sandals this week as he was plugged in on a borrowed electric guitar for his set.  Starting with "All Or Nothing" he played a mix of old and new tracks by The Basics.  I am still really loving the new stuff: "What Ever Happened To The Working Class," "To Think Of You" and "Tunaomba Saidia," which features on the newly released EP The Lucky Country.  An audience request for "Feels Like Love" was quite amusing as Kris alternated between playing the guitar and bass parts of the song to try and get through it.  He also played the solo tracks "I Don't Feel Safe" (Mary's favorite) and "Walk Beside White."  In addition, there were a few covers sprinkled throughout the set, including Yusuf Islam's (Cat Stevens) "Father and Son" and songs by guys named Neil: Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush" and "Out On The Weekend," and Neil Finn/Crowded House's "Not The Girl You Think You Are" and "Four Seasons In One Day," which closed the evening.  Kris is working on some Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald material for next week (we got a snippet of "What A Fool Believes") so that should be reason enough to come along.

Here's a video shot at Kris' Union Hotel gig a couple weeks ago of him singing "Tunaomba Saidia"

Kris Schroeder- The Union Hotel Brunswick

In what's becoming a bit of a trend, I spent another Sunday afternoon seeing Kris Schroeder play live, this week at The Union Hotel Brunswick.  It's hard for me not to go when he is playing at venues so close to home.  The hour long acoustic set was similar to last week with a mix of solo and Basics songs.  We were treated to three tracks off his solo EP Patience In The Face Of Control: "I Don't Feel Safe," "Worried Man" and "Walk Beside White."  The new Basics songs played included "Whatever Happened To The Working Class," "Tunaomba Saidia," "To Think Of You" and his first solo attempt at the upcoming single "The Lucky Country."  I thought Kris sounded really good this week and I was glad he did older faves "All Or Nothing" and "What Do You See In Me?" again.  Of course it wouldn't be a true Kris/Basics show without covers, and we got to hear Neil Young's "Out On The Weekend" and Crowded House's "Fall At Your Feet," which was the last song for the afternoon.  Fingers crossed that The Basics Rock'n'Roll Party (BRRP) gets enough members signed up with the Victorian Electoral Commission this week to be able to run in the November state election (and the looming deadline of the caretaker period will be absorbing a lot of time for me at work!).

Kris Schroeder- Victoria Hotel

Continuing my gigs in Brunswick weekend I headed over to the Victoria Hotel this afternoon to see Kris Schroeder from The Basics play two solo sets on acoustic guitar in the beer garden.  Kris chose a wide selection of songs, including a couple solo tracks and some of the newer Basics material such as "Tunaomba Saidia," "Whatever Happened To The Working Class" and "To Think Of You."  Kris was in good spirits as he whipped through his set list in front of the small crowd, even though some weren't really paying attention.  Melbourne may be a music town but audience chatter when musicians are playing is a continuous and annoying problem.

Having two sets allowed for some rarely played Basics songs to make an appearance, including "Memory Lane," "Feels Like Love," "I Don't Need Another," and a selection of tracks off the Keep Your Friends Close album: "Keep The Door Open," "The Day Mairead Goes Away," "What Do You See In Me?" and "All Or Nothing."  To finish things off we were treated to covers of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and Crowded House's "Better Be Home Soon."  Kris says he will be playing a number of solo shows in the coming weeks around Brunswick so I look forward to catching him again very soon!

The Basics- Gasometer Hotel

I have spent the past two nights at the Gasometer Hotel in Collingwood for a couple intimate shows by The Basics.  The opening act both nights was six piece band Sugar Fed Leopards.  Wearing fabulous leopard print and sequins outfits (with sole male member David Bramble in a gold lame suit), they sounded like a 60s girl group with a mix of songs drawing inspiration from Motown, calypso and disco.  Besides having great energy, lovely harmonies and a plethora of different dance moves, they were very entertaining and a lot of fun.

September 2

It was Mary's birthday tonight so we were excited to get to spend it with The Basics.  For the first half of the set we were treated to brand new songs from their upcoming album that has just been recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.  It was a bit of a bizarro version of The Basics as Tim was playing bass and Kris was on acoustic guitar.  I really liked the political tone of a lot of the new material, with "Whatever Happened To The Working Class" being a true stand out track.  In between the new ones we also got a few covers, including two Crowded House songs: "It's Only Natural" and "Four Seasons In One Day" which led to an interesting discussion of Neil Finn's lyrics.  Unfortunately for Kris he managed to break two strings on his guitar a few songs in, which lead to a funny search for another guitar, and then since it didn't have a strap trying to find something for him to sit on so he could play.  Someone handed him a milk crate, which was really low to sit on so Tim and Wally got to Kris' height by kneeling down, which was funny.  Thankfully they did manage to find a stool for him soon after.

After Kris did a solo version of "All Or Nothing" the boys came back on stage and Kris and Tim switched back to their normal instruments.  They launched into their more well known songs, commencing with Tim singing "Hey Rain."  Poor Wally was a bit hoarse tonight and couldn't really hit the high notes in "So Hard For You" so Kris took over half way through.  Next they played "Lookin' Over My Shoulder" which was restarted in a lower octave so Wally could sing it.  His drum solo was particularly manic as I think he was hitting out his frustrations with his voice.  We were also treated to "Feels Like Love," which included a flute solo by Gideon Brazil (who also played saxophone throughout the night), "Have Love, Will Travel," "My Baby" and the upcoming single "The Lucky Country."  It was a bit of a loose show, but still entertaining.  Mary also got "Happy Birthday" sung (although it was directed at someone else in the room) as well as a quick chat and photo with Wally after the show.

September 3

People may question why I would go to see The Basics on consecutive nights, but it's because no show is ever the same.  Tonight's set was much tighter and focused than last night.  I'm not sure if it was because the ABC was doing some filming or just the fact they had a play of those new songs under their belts.  They started the show once again with "Ashleigh Wakes," and played many of the new songs from last night including "Time Poor," "Whatever Happened To The Working Class," "Goodnight Sunshine" and a song I really like with African beats and Swahili chorus.  Hearing these new songs for a second time allows you to see which ones stick in your head, and there is a Beatles sounding song with a soaring double chorus that I think could be a bit of a sleeper hit.  They once again covered Crowded House's "It's Only Natural," which led to someone in the crowd shouting out they could go on X-Factor.  Wally then told a story about talking to an older woman, and when she asked about his music career he admitted she may have heard one of his songs.  Her response to knowing this worldwide hit was, "You should go on X-Factor!" to which Wally replied "Do I have to?"

We got some new songs in the set tonight, including "Hey There!," "Just Hold On," and newish tracks "Roundabout" (which had the audience clapping along), "I'm A Woman" and "To Think Of You."  Tim played "Hey Rain" and "Have Love, Will Travel" before they finished the main set with a blistering version of "The Lucky Country."  For the encore we once again got a cover of Crowded House's "Four Seasons In One Day" and an audience request for "Better" which was a pretty epic way to end the show.  It was such an amazing gig and I'm super excited for the new EP which is due out next month.  In addition, if the Basics Rock'n'Roll Party (BRRP) gets registered I may even get to vote for them in the Victorian State Election in November.

The Basics- The Post Office Hotel

No trip to Melbourne would be complete without heading out to a gig, and Leilani was very lucky that The Basics were playing an intimate show at The Post Office Hotel in Coburg while she was here.  We met up with Mary at the venue in time for the first act The Bluebottles.  Featuring Michael Hubbard (the original guitarist for The Basics), his brother Joe, and Sam Raines and Rich Bradbeer from The Greasers, they played a very tight set of instrumental 60s surf rock.  I found them quite entertaining in their sharp suits and we were even treated to a cover of "Walk Don't Run" by The Ventures.

The Basics were not wearing their suits for tonight's performance.  Kris came out solo and started the gig with an acoustic version of "All Or Nothing" before being joined on stage by Wally and Tim.  The set list featured a lot of new songs, which we were very privileged be able to hear.  Primarily written by Kris, we had the politically themed "The Lucky Country" and "Time Poor," "My Old Man," "I'm A Woman," and the standout new track for me "Every Part Of Me."  We also got to listen to newer tracks that were played at the shows last year such as the beautiful "To Think Of You," the hand clapping fun of "Roundabout" and their newest single "So Hard For You."  It was good they've been able to road test these songs before heading off to record at Abbey Road Studios in London in the upcoming weeks.

The extended set list also contained many old favorites including "The No. 1 Cause Of Death Amongst Youth Today," "Second Best," "Better" and the rarely played "Bitten By The Same Bug."  Tim showed his range from the acoustic beauty of "Hey Rain" to the rocking guitar and vocals of "Have Love, Will Travel."  He also demonstrated his air guitar/dance moves when his guitar cut out during the guitar solo for The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night."  "Three Cool Cats" featured Kris singing the lyrics in different accents, which was amusing.  However, the funniest moment of the night was when Wally repeatedly fluttered his drum brushes like a butterfly before one of the songs.

For the encore we got the triple Stand Out/Fit In pairing of "Hey There!," "Just Hold On" and "Rattle My Chain."  And it was a great finish to the night with old live show classics "My Baby" and The Police's "Roxanne" (see my little Vine clip) complete with Wally losing multiple drum sticks during the chorus but finally getting one to stay in his hand.  Hopefully it won't be ages until we get to see The Basics live again, but it's exciting that they are going off to record and there is the possibility of a new album on the horizon.

Here is a recent appearance by The Basics on ABC Radio National's The Music Show playing "The Lucky Country" and "I'm A Woman"

The Basics- My Brain's Off (And I Like It) DVD Launch

Back in September I was privileged to experience three nights in a row with The Basics.  The first show on 27 September at the Northcote Social Club was filmed and recorded and has now been turned into the concert DVD My Brain's Off (And I Like It), which was launched tonight at a screening at ACMI.  As we entered the theater we were treated to a mini Drumstick ice cream cone and a glass of wine.  Kris, Wally and Tim came out and welcomed us to the screening before the film started.  They joked they were going to launch this at Northcote Social Club (as they had done for the previous live album) but we would have all been gathered around an iPad so they decided to use the big screen and sound system of the ACMI cinema.

Mary and I were a bit nervous about how many crowd shots we would feature in considering we were standing in the front row for this show.  Thankfully Mr. Tim Heath blocked us from the camera's view for a lot of shots, which was a relief although you can see us throughout (and Mary has a close up shot of her singing along to one song).  The concert film itself is fantastic and captures the humor, musical talent and fun of a Basics gig.  You also would never know from the way it is edited that Wally was struggling with his drum kit throughout the night.  The hour and a half concert was edited down to 15 songs, and unfortunately none of the new ones made the cut.  However, there are still heaps of musical highlights in there and we were fully engrossed throughout and even clapping after each song by the end.

After the screening the boys and filmmaker Ryan Gaskett took questions from the audience.  They ended up using this show for the DVD because Wally's vocals from the recording on the second night didn't work, and the video from the third night at the Corner Hotel didn't turn out.  There is also interview footage that wasn't used solely due to the time it would have taken to get the film through the Australian Classification Board (they hinted that maybe one day there could be a director's cut).  There were a few people brought along by friends who were blown away by the film having not known anything about The Basics beforehand.  The best question asked though was probably "Why aren't you the biggest band in the world?"  The boys were very coy when asked a few times about the future of the band and any possible recording, which I thought was slightly odd.  They do have some festival shows coming up into the new year, so they are still playing together at least for the short term.  We will have to wait and see what 2014 holds for the band.

Here's the trailer for the DVD (see if you can spot me) and be sure to order your own copy:

The Basics- Leftover Ingredients Tour

The past three nights have been a bit of a Basics marathon as I attended all three of their sold out Melbourne shows.  I figured since they haven't played together live over the past three years that I was making up for lost time.  Besides, no Basics show is ever the same so you can expect the unexpected to happen each night (a bit similar to Crowded House in that respect).

The opening act was the wonderful Louis Spoils (aka Jake Rush) who played solo on electric guitar.  While his set was short I really enjoyed it as he has a rich tone to his voice and was quite funny with his explanations about the inspiration behind each song.  Next up was the 6 piece band Hoy, which featured Mr Tim Heath on bass.  They had a bit of a 1970s folk rock vibe to them.

As for The Basics, here is what happened at each show:

September 27

Mary and I met up at the Northcote Social Club for dinner before the show and got a high five from Kris when he walked past (I think high fives are his new thing).  Tash joined us by the time the boys hit the stage, and it was a very strong start to the set with "So Hard For You" and "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today."  The show was being filmed, which Wally admitted was making him a bit self-conscious.  The set list featured earlier material such as "She's Gonna B. Late," "Lovin' Man," "Hey C'mon!" and "Yeah, Yeah" complete with some exceptional choreographed dance moves by Kris and Tim.  Other highlights were "Besame Mucho," "Second Best," the lovely harmonies on "Hey Rain," and two new songs: "To Think Of You" and "The Lucky Country," which is a blistering commentary on Australian politics at the moment.

After doing shots backstage before coming back on for the encore we were treated to a couple Creedence Clearwater Revival covers of "Long As I Can See the Light" and "Proud Mary" before they finished with "Call It Rhythm and Blues."  Poor Wally had all sorts of trouble with his drum kit throughout the night as it kept moving around on him and he even lost the kick pedal in the bass drum mid-song.  By the end he had had enough and lightly threw off the cymbal that kept spinning on him and knocked over its stand in the most rock move I've ever seen him do.

September 28

Before the show Ruth, Danny and I had dinner at Los Hermanos Mexican Taqueria in Brunswick, which was quite yummy.  It's such a relief to have another good Mexican place to eat at (and so close to home).  We grabbed dessert at Delphi Continental Cakes on High Street before heading into the Northcote Social Club.

The Basics started their set with the one-two punch of "Hey There!" and "Just Hold On."  There was great energy from the boys right from the start as it was Grand Final night and Tim's team Hawthorn had won in the afternoon.  The set list was switched around a lot from the previous evening.  They played "Money (Gimme, Gimme)," "Feels Like Love," "Home Again," and "What Do You See In Me?"  We were also treated to more new songs: "The Lucky Country," "To Think Of You," "Roundabout" and "Come Back" (not entirely sure on some of those titles).  There were also lots of covers throughout the evening, including Ryan Adams' "Shakedown on 9th Street," and Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'" with AC/DC's "Jailbreak" mixed in.

September 29

The last Basics show was at the Corner Hotel, a venue they haven't played at in years.  The set list was pretty similar to the previous night, but there were some additional gems in there that hadn't been played on the other nights, including "My Baby" and "All or Nothing" with Kris solo on acoustic guitar (and a silent venue listening along).  This show was pretty epic and got more rockin' as the night wore on with a cover of The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night," and an encore that featured "Rattle My Chain," Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," the "Gimme Some Lovin'/Jailbreak'" medley and finished with "Call It Rhythm and Blues."

It was great to see the boys playing live over several nights.  They were very gracious with fans after each of the shows as they hung out at the merch desk to chat with people, sign albums and take pictures.  I hope the new songs that are emerging will eventually get recorded, especially "The Lucky Country" which I think should be released as a single because Australia needs a good protest song right now.

Here is a live version of "To Think of You" from 3RRR minus Wally, but featuring some lovely guitar work by Tim: