From: steve@gazellesystems.com.au   
      
   Just de-lurking for a short while to give you all a little perspective of   
   our heroes in the land down under. Sue me if I go on too long.   
      
      
      
   Last Easter Saturday I got to see Larry Carlton & Robben Ford at Sydney's   
   premier jazz club, The Basement. Got to have a short chat with Larry after   
   the show & told him that the next time he saw Don & Walt he should tell them   
   to get here ASAP. He laughed. Well, next day in the papers the news broke -   
   THEY'RE COMING! Larry sure works fast.   
      
      
      
   Sadly, I have the constraints of day to day life & could only get to 2 of   
   the shows, but managed to get 5th row seats at both the Bimbadgen Estate and   
   Sydney gigs. Bimbadgen was great because it's a chance to get away for the   
   weekend and it really is a sensational setting.   
      
      
      
   We (My wife, Sharon & I) set off from Sydney on the Friday after work &   
   stayed with friends who run a bed & breakfast about half an hour away from   
   the venue. Before going to the show, we went to a few of the wineries and   
   everyone was asking the same question - "Are you up here for the show?"   
   Anticipation everywhere.   
      
      
      
   Got to Bimbadgen about half an hour before Gangajang came on, got a drink,   
   my SD T-shirt & settled in for the evening. My mate Ian & his wife Wendy   
   turned up, having driven down 3 hours from Tamworth. Gangajang were fun,   
   then after a short break World Party came on. I'd seen a few comments that   
   we in Oz were lucky to get them as a bonus, & although I was only familiar   
   with a couple of their songs, I was looking forward to seeing them, and they   
   didn't disappoint. Now I have to become more familiar with their material.   
      
      
      
   Then it was time. I won't go on about the setlist because we all know what   
   was on it & I knew what to expect. The only surprise was Pretzel Logic, and   
   a pleasant surprise it was too. To me the highlight of the set was Black   
   Friday, not because of the local colour, as DF put it, but because it   
   cooked. The weather looked after us on the night and it was just a great   
   experience. I went crazy with the camera (about 250 shots. digital cameras   
   are great, but I've got some serious culling to do.) Wendy asked at one   
   stage if I had time to enjoy the music. Not a problem.   
      
      
      
   It was all over too quickly but the feeling was great, everyone was feeling   
   great about finally getting to see our heroes.   
      
      
      
   Next day we called in to a couple of wineries before heading back to Sydney   
   and we were surprised to hear that the word was that there were a lot of   
   people bitching that "they didn't play Rikki, they didn't play Reelin', they   
   didn't play My Old School". Sheesh! Some people I guess just don't get it.   
      
      
      
   Then it was Tuesday night & time for the Sydney show. In between, my brother   
   in Brisbane caught them there on the Sunday night & called me on Monday just   
   raving about the quality of the performance. Due to timing & work, couldn't   
   get to the Danfest, which was a shame, but took our seats ready to go. Truth   
   is, I don't think Sydney was up to the standard of the Bimbadgen show. I don't   
   know whether it was because the first show had that "here they are at last"   
   feel, or whatever, but they didn't seem to be quite so in the groove. Great   
   playing, similar setlist, just something missing. Having said that, still   
   far better than 99% of the bands going around.   
      
      
      
   So now they've gone. I suspect that it will be the one & only time for them   
   here, although I'd love to be wrong. At least we got them once. The memories   
   will linger longer.   
      
      
      
   For those interested, a small selection of my photos is at   
   http://steveinsydney.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php   
      
      
   Steve   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)