Upping The Tempo
Author: Lauren McMenemy
Rock’n’roll all night and party every day?
It’s a cliche, we know, but the sound of revving engines won’t be all you hear at this years Clipsal Adelaide 500.
In keeping with tradition, race organisers have made sure the fun will keep going well into the night by assembling a veritable smorgasbord of Oz rock – and it’s their best line-up yet.
Kicking it off on Thursday night – the first time Clipsal’s after-race concerts have been extended to the first day of action – will be the invigorated Spiderbait. They’ve been around for eons, were one of the 1990’s best indie bands and have given us such classics as Buy Me A Pony and Shazam – but it wasn’t until last year that Spiderbait claimed a No 1 single. It was their cover of Black Betty that did it, and it gave the stalwarts a new lease on (radio) life.
The ‘Bait will be joined by 28 Days, a band still overshadowed by their hits Rip It Up and Sucker. Yeah – they’ll play ’em.
But it’s Friday night that you don’t want to miss. A night when two of Australia’s best live bands will put on a scorching show that you will be telling the grandkids about in years to come.
What line-up could bring such enthusiasm? Only the Living End and Magic Dirt. Together.
Yes, the awesome on-stage presence of TLE – Australia’s best live band, and one of the most inspiring of their generation – will hit the stage after Adalita and the boys weave their magic.
TLE, of course, played the Le Mans after-race concert a few years back, so they’re well versed in the race/party habits of Adelaide. And with drummer Andy Strachan being a formal local, they’ve got added insight into how to make the night memorable.
Not that they need it. Once Chris Cheney, Scott Owen and Strachan hit the stage, your eyes will be transfixed. Passion will flow as they storm through everything from Prisoner Of Society to I Can’t Give You What I Haven’t Got.
Magic Dirt are working on a new album, so expect some of the newies to get an airing. That won’t stop them pulling out the likes of Dirty Jeans and Watch Out Boys though. Frontwoman Adalita is a rock godess, inspiration to a generation of rock chicks, and to see them in action is magnetic.
And once you’ve recovered from that – a day at the races should do it – it’s time to grab your black akubra and get ready for Lee Kernaghan. An Australian country music legend, the boy from the bush will be joined by fellow Australian music legends the Black Sorrows.
And wrapping it all up? That’d be the Hoodoo Gurus.
From My Girl to What’s My Scene, Like Wow – Wipeout to Come Anytime, the Hoodoo Gurus have been the soundtrack to your life whether you realise it or not. A recent reunion (they called it quits in ’97) spawned the album Mach Schau.
Keeping with the tradition of iconic Australians closing the show, the Gurus will be joined by the Master’s Apprentices – and we hear Glenn Wheatley may even make an on-stage appearance this time round.