One more show to go on The SUNS NSW Tour

Friday’s EP launch was totally wicked! To be honest, all the shows in the leadup had been slightly disappointing with either modest turnouts or brain-dead audiences but Friday’s show made up for it all. We were worried about headlining as all the past headliners we’ve seen at The Empire have suffered from late starts, with audiences either too tired to get into it, or just plain leaving to catch the last train home.

So with that in mind we had to be absolute Nazis about timing. Now if there’s one thing I hate, it’s being a stage Gestapo. I hate having to rush my fellow musicians into getting on stage and I hate giving them the dreaded “last song” signal, because I HATE being rushed myself. Ask San and Jboss! I’m the world’s biggest procrastinator, but in order for our EP launch to be a success, someone had to do the job, and I tried my best to be firm and tactful about it. Thankfully, to all the bands’ credit, they were fully supportive and cooperative so we managed to start reasonably early.

The Brazen Hearts opened the night and did a great job of warming up the room considering I had to push them to start early and cut their set a song short. Kampei were next and I was glad to finally be able to see them. I love their music and they played all my favorite songs. Even though their set was a bit messy from time to time, I’d much rather see an unpolished band with good songs than a clinical band with shithouse songs. I remember the first time I saw The Vaginals, they made mistake after mistake but I went home remembering their great songs and electric stage presence.

The amazing Bagster were up next and what more can I say! They played a totally sick set and brought a whole bunch of people up the front to really take the night up another notch. Mitch yet again demonstrated why he’s one of my favorite drummers in the world. More on Bagster later!

Much to our delight, from the moment The Lyrical Madmen finished their set, it was clear that almost everyone in the venue was there for us. Suddenly people emerged from the back bar, the front door, the pokies room, and next thing we knew the whole audience area was full! Personally, I think we played one of the best sets we’ve ever played. The Empire’s a very difficult stage from a sound perspective so it took Rajiv a song or two to get the PA system pumping, but as always he weaved his sonic magic and by the end of the second song the audience was completely into it and buzzing. We played for almost an hour! At the end of the night we sold a massive amount of merch, enough to recover all our living and transportation expenses for the last 3 weeks! Much thanks to all the bands, friends and fans for being so supportive.

Back to Bagster. We went to a party with the Bag Street Boys the next night and we discussed the idea of a Bagster/Suns national tour in 2006! We both play energetic, positive, fun music, we both don’t give a damn about trends and we stick to our guns because we believe in the music we create. So if we tour together it’ll give everyone in the country a chance to enjoy something unique and refreshing. Frankly, I think the scene’s way too saturated with the all the current “trendy” music. We’re dead excited about it, I really hope we can make it happen. There are lots of interesting things developing for us over the summer months so we’ll keep you posted. We’ve got one more show to do in Wollongong before we head back home to Melbourne. I’ve had a blast touring the past 3 weeks. I can’t wait for the next tour, but until then I’m looking forward to seeing my own bed again soon.

xxx
Wayne Thunder