Well, this is supposed to be a food and wine Blog but I see no reason why we should not include another of the world’s great things – music and some of the acts that we have seen.
The Pardoners
This is our favourite band who we see quite frequently probably once a month or more. In fact we are part of a largish group of regulars who are called “The Stalkers”.
The following is extracted from their History page.
The Pardoners are Glyn Mason and Sam See. They have been stalwarts of the Australian music scene for a helluva long time. Bands they have contributed to include The Rebels, Sherbet, Chain, Copperwine, Flying Circus, Fraternity, Ariel, Home, Goanna, John Farnham, and, of course, Stockley, See and Mason.
Sam is a genius on guitars, all all types, and piano while Glyn has an amazing voice. They have written a lot of songs over the years with Sam’s most famous being “Reasons” a big hit on Farnham’s “Whispering Jack” album. Sam is also quite a comedian.
The following photos were taken at the Carringbush during the period of PM70 – see the main Blog. They were playing with Lindsay Field which is a frequent occurrence.
I would like to make a mention of a couple of venues in which they have regular gigs.
http://www.royaloakhotelnorthfitzroy.com.au/
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1510885/restaurant/Hawthorn/Gibsons-Wine-Bar-Melbourne
6 March, 2014 – Caravan Club (Oakleigh RSL) Kevin Bennett from the Flood
Our mate Sam See was backing Kevin Bennett at the Caravan Club in Oakleigh and there were problems selling all the tickets so a number of us were invited to come along gratis. That we did. We had seen Kevin with the Flood a few years ago and really liked the band.
Well, if anything this gig was even better. He has one of the great voices in Australia and really deserves much more fame than he has achieved. Sam and the backing band, The Distance, were really good too.
http://www.caravanmusic.com.au/gigs/kevin-bennett-the-flood/
5 October, 2014 – Palais Theatre – The Dire Straits Experience
This was a Dire Straits tribute band and wow they were damn good. Original band member Chris White but the key was the lead guitar / singer TERENCE REIS was absolutely spot on as a Mark Knopfler clone.
Note that we were in the first row which also made the experience great. If you get a chance to see this guys, grab it with both hands.
http://www.direstraitsexperience.com/
21 June, 2014 – Crown The Palms – Sharkey and the Caddman
For the 6 months of 2014, Brian Cadd and Glenn Shorrock re-joined together for a tour of various venues in Australia. Present in their band were the Pardoners, Sam See and Glyn Mason, as well as Chris Stockley (and others) from the Dingos; Stockley, See and Mason etc. We got regular reports on the tour status from Sam and Glyn. The group nicknamed themselves as the Brittle Liver Band.
http://www.countryarts.org.au/show/glenn-shorrock-and-brian-cadd-sharky-and-the-caddman
Any way, a large group of the Stalkers went to see their final show at The Palms at Crown on 21 June. It was great to hear the old songs and I was especially impressed with Sam’s playing of guitar and piano – a great version of Cool Change by Glenn with Sam on piano. After the show ended, we were invited to join the backstage after party as this was the last show of their tour. That was good fun and one of the leads was well and truly under the weather – no names mentioned eh, Ginger Man.
15 February, 2014 – Crown The Palms – Colleen Hewett, Johnny Young and Normie Rowe
We went to see these old stagers at The Palms.
Highlights were:
* Johnny Young was sort of master of ceremonies. It was amazing the number of key songs that he wrote over time, e.g. The Real Thing, I think a better songwriter than a performer.
* A funny highlight was at the start a young girl band did a few songs from the era. One of their songs was the Leader of the Pack. When the motorcycle revving occurred, out came Johnny Young on a seniors golf cart with a red pennant on it. Hilarious.
* They brought out Ross D Wylie too who was badly crippled, sort of, but who did some good songs.
* Normie Rowe was good but did not totally grab me.
* I could not say the same about Colleen Hewett who was absolutely brilliant. What a voice! She naturally did the Godspell songs and my absolute favourite “The Wind Beneath My Wings”.
http://www.au.timeout.com/melbourne/music/events/9970/normie-rowe-colleen-hewett-and-johnny-young