_{The Rip-Offs.}

"THUMP 2020"
Perdition + The Toss + Fear and Loathing
+ Chainsaw Preachers + Lumpsucker
+ The Rip Offs + Surfer Rosa
The Gov, Adelaide
Saturday, September 26, 2020

It's probably bad for me, but lately I've been thinking a bit. 

Mostly about the continuous nature of rock'n'roll. Sure, the stupidvirus has thrown a spanner in the works, but spanners were surely forged with the express intent of being chucked into the smooth-running of rock'n'roll. 

I put on Little Richard's very first album (on CD) as I drive toward Port Adelaide; I realise that his extraordinarily-controlled shrieks and vocalising are the origin of so much we hold dear, from the Beatles to the Stones to Smokin' Bones to  whatever new shit you just heard. 

Glen Matlock Band
100 Club, London, UK
March 7, 2020

Glen Matlock is a member of a pretty select club, that of the (S)ex Pistols, and that tumultuous time of '76/77 has defined him and his musical output ever since.

"Good to Go", his most recent album, has been out for a while now, and while it’s no landmark release, it is a sturdy collection, and has reunited Matlock with ex-Bowie sideman Earl Slick for a short UK tour before a planned US jaunt (cut down now by coronavirus.) 

_{Greg Atkinson of Ups and Downs.} 

"Shake Yer Popboomerang 3" Sydney Launch
Ups and Downs
Halfway
The Aerial Maps
Marrickville Bowling Club
Friday February 29, 2020
Photos by Mark Fraser of Redback Rock

This isn’t going to be one of those reviews where someone walks you through a song-by-song recreation of the gig. For starters, I’ve seen Aerial Maps once, Halfway never, and Ups and Downs twice. None of them are really big on song introductions either. So I have no idea what any of the tunes were called, besides a couple from the headliners.

I guess a dedicated reviewer would have gone and had a squiz at the set lists, or maybe bailed up a hapless band member, but to be honest I was too busy drinking with a dear friend I hadn’t seen in ages to worry about that. So it’s going to be more about the vibe, man, and a few observations I jotted down in a notebook.

Gonna Rock Tonight: A Tribute To Roy Loney
The Chapel, San Francisco, USA
Friday, February 21, 2020

Roy Loney’s passing on December 13, 2019 was a very sad day for the music and arts community. He last appeared on stage May 29th, 2019 at the the second warm up show for the Flamin’ Groovies' "Teenage Head" European tour. Always the trooper, Roy continued to perform live despite his declining health. Sadly Roy was forced to pull out of the tour after collapsing at San Francisco Airport.

"Gonna Rock Tonight: A Tribute To Roy Loney" brought together many of the musicians he’d worked with, musical friends and fans for a night to remember Roy.

_{Blackie, Julien and Ray from Nunchukka Superfly.}

Nunchukka Superfly
White Knuckle Fever
Bitchcraft
Babymachine
Garry David
Marrickville Bowling Club, Sydney
Friday, February 21, 2020
                                                       
Friday night and gig-bound, I really had no idea what to expect. Part of the thrill of seeing a multi-band bill is to be blown away by a group you're unfamiliar with although I was armed with the knowledge that only one, Nunchukka Superfly, is familiar so I was attending with an open mind.

First up was Garry David. Without previous knowledge who Garry David was, I was expecting, maybe, a solo guitarist singing busking style songs with an inner city bent? Wrong.

^{Hoody from The Johnnys revels in a pair of undies last seen on a stage when Tom Jones played Marrickville Bowlo.}

The Johnnys
Molting Vultures
Jupiter 5
Marrickville Bowling Club
Friday, February 14, 2020

After a hard day of work at the end of the week, the temptation to see three A-class bands at Marrickville Bowling Club was hard to resist.

I don’t usually plug bistros but I have to say that what might appear to be basic club or pub food was done exceptionally well at the Bowlo. Hats off to the Marrickville Bowling Club for having a fantastic diner.

After that meal and time well spent watching planes from around the world fly over as the sun set over the greens of the club with a Young Henrys Newtowner beer in hand, it was time to see Jupiter 5.