It’s over! I can still remember when I stepped off the plane in the Goldie for the first Big Day Out with the hopes and expectations of a young virgin on her wedding night. Look…no knickers!
Anyway, I flew into Adelaide, the smallest of the BDOs (over 30,000), and what a hot day! Jeez Louise, I felt like I dropped a pant size from the airport to the hotel. I stayed on the outskirts of the city centre with the air conditioning turned up so that the windows were frosty. I could even write the words ‘Mark Murphy sux!’ in big, bold letters.
This one was held at the showgrounds in Adelaide and it was a little dustier than the others. This and Perth were probably the drunkest of the five, but not in a bad way, if there’s such a thing. I hit the Boiler Room which was a massive shed and was surprised to feel it was cooler than outside, which was a blessing. Played my set after Spank Rock (Lilly Allen was doing the West Coast only) and that was fun. It was apparently being broadcast live on Fresh FM but I was more concerned about my cheese platter melting in my dressing room. Oh yeah, baby, I had a rider just like the real stars!
Adelaide was a little perplexed by Peaches. I think they got her but they didn’t react until after every track, which was weird. The Streets were great. The singer was HOT! No, he really was hot. I caught him sunbaking out the back of the Boiler Room. It must've been 40 degrees!
Decided to catch some local talent but after hearing my stomach over the noise, thought better of it and headed to the food hall. Sat down with the drummer of Jet and tucked into a lovely salad and a slice of crispy bread. ROCK N ROLL!!!! He was eating some sort of rice dish. I pretended to be somebody and nodded.
Ventured back out into the heat. I had bought a hat in Melbourne so I thought I would wear it because I got really burnt there. I didn’t realise what a knob I looked until I got home and saw it in the mirror. Thank god there were no photos taken.
Hung around for a while and then headed back to the hotel. Justice were doing a gig at a small club in the city called Rocket so I went there to meet up with them and Ming (Fuzzy). Nice club and the crowd were getting into the stuff they were playing…and was that an old Madonna track I heard?
Onto the last BDO of the tour – Perth. This year it had sold out and was double the attendance of last year (42,000). I caught a cab to the hotel which was in the business district. The driver's name was Fran, a lovely lady who suddenly started telling me that where I was staying was in the middle of nowhere and that I was better off staying at Freemantle. Not knowing anything about Perth except for Rose Porteous Hancock, I started panicking. What should I do? I was here for three days. I wanted cafes and shops and people and stuff like that. It turned out she was totally wrong. There were heaps of shops and I bought a couple of pairs of pants, which I now regret.
I played in a club called Ambar on the Saturday with Dopamine which was crankin and such a good little club. I was a little worried as I think the night is usually a breaks night but the only breaks I had was the one in my knee – a little accident I had with a rocking horse when I was ten. I played my usual fare and they loved it which was really encouraging. My friend drank my entire $100 drinks card while I was playing so it was time to leave.
Arrived at the BDO on the Sunday. No private tent for me this time but I still got the beer – woohoo! The Boiler Room was a small stage outdoors around the side of the showgrounds. It was more intimate and no less fun. After I played, I decided to catch the acts I hadn't seen so we went and checked out John Butler (not my thing), Muse (good) a bit more of Tool (not my thing) and finally the Violent Femmes who were fantastic. ‘Gone Daddy Gone’ was an absolute highlight!
I liked Perth. It's certainly not what I expected. I went to the after party for one drink and had to go home to bed 'cause I was stuffed! The flight home was long and uneventful until the guy next to me had a fainting spell and had to lie down at the back of the plane. They thought it may have been a heart attack, but it wasn't. I offered him my copy of Woman's Day when he got back. Thought that may help.
Anyway, that was my first Big Day Out tour and I loved every minute of it. It's such a great event and it was great to be part of it. I have nothing left to say but goodbye and thanks for the memories, although I can't remember a thing!
Rock on.
Mark Murphy

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