Brilliant.
How else can I describe the inaugural Hearing Aid family concert in Supreme Court Gardens on Sunday?
The Ear Science Institute Australia, a not-profit-organisation, organised the family event to fund vital medical research into ear and hearing disorders. After some initial audio problems, which the organisers handled extremely well, the concert got underway and featured over four hours of music from acts as diverse as the Rogue Traders, the Hooley Dooleys and Courtney Murphy with his band Murphy’s Lore.
I must admit that my favourite part of the event was seeing Ross Wilson performing live with his band the Urban Legends. Ross is certainly getting older, an affliction not unique to him alone, but he has lost none of the sound that put him on the top of Australia’s musical charts with his bands Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock. He’s still got the moves too.
He played some of his solo stuff but mainly stuck to favourites including Come Back Again, Hi Honey Ho, Bom Bom, Come Said the Boy, Summer of ’81 and several others before finishing with the song that was the inspiration for Elton John’s Crocodile Rock, Eagle Rock.
No party in Australia is complete without Eagle Rock pumping through the speakers so it was a fitting finale for Ross Wilson and the Urban Legends.
As I mentioned previously, I recently spoke to Ross Wilson during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM. You can hear our conversation using the media player at the bottom of this post.
As for the rest of the show, it was great to see Courtney Murphy performing live. At one point during his set he invited Fremantle Docker, Luke McPharlin, took to the stage and sang a couple of songs. He did quite reasonable versions of How to Save a Life and You Can Call Me Al.
The final band to take to the stage was the headline act, Rogue Traders. According to ten year old Emily, this was the act we’d all come to see. Iwasn’t quite convinced.
I listened to them and tried to enjoy their music but it all seemed to be ‘just noise’. I listened to the guitarist – he’s extremely talented. The drummer – brilliant. Keyboards – very good. Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s vocals – excellent. Even with all those great elements it just didn’t work for me. I did enjoy a couple of their songs but for the most part I couldn’t see what the fuss was about.
I was wondering about my lack of enthusiasm when it hit me. It wasn’t about them, it was about me. There comes a time in every man’s life when he becomes his father. In the same way that my musical choices sounded like ‘just noise’ to my dad, the kind of music that Emily chooses to listen to sounds the same way to me. Make no mistake, the guys in Rogue Traders are a great band, I’m just getting older.
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Ross Wilson please Come Back Again? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
