Bonython Park
Saturday 19 March 2022
Words – Geoff Jenke
Photos – Geoff Jenke
Under the Southern Stars finally hit Adelaide after years of cancellations / postponements. It is a big step for the live music scene in Australia, not only to have big name overseas artists finally appearing on our shores again, but also a strong line up of Australian bands as well.
Full credit to the organisors of Southern Skies for giving Adelaide three days of concerts where all other cities just had one day. It gave people the chance to see their “favourite” band twice over three days. It also gave quite a few Australian bands the chance to strut their stuff once again before a live audience.
The sun shone brightly on Bonython Park for the second of three days of concerts. The drinks tent did a roaring trade and while the crowd numbers were small to start with, people kept rolling in throughout the day, depending when their favourite band was on.
Electric Mary opened proceedings with their brand of hard rock. And there was no holding back with the sound, with amps turned up to 11. The band played a new number in Hold On To What You Got as well as the live classic My Best Friend, which got the extended treatment, complete with small drum solo. A great way to start the day off.
Flyying Colours were up next and I have to admit to being a bit of a fan of this band. Their psychedelic tinged rock made it’s way over the park. Brodie J Brummer made mention “Southern Skies, more like under the Southern Sun”. 1987, Holiday, Like you Said and In the End resonated well with the small but appreciative crowd. The ending to the set was pure loud feedback which left a few bleeding ears. Simply wonderful and I cannot wait to see them again soon.
Superjesus, Adelaide’s own, played next, after a small delay waiting for a snake catcher, as apparently a small snake had been seen in the audience area. First time I had seen that at a concert. Sarah McLeod just said “Can we just pretend the snake is gone and play” and play they did. The band started off with a small jam before Sarah donned a guitar and they blitzed into Down Again. “Rock and roll is not meant to be comfortable” said Sarah, referring to the searing heat they were playing in. Sarah is like the energiser bunny, she never stops running around the stage. They played Secret Agent Man, “to slow it down a bit” before finishing with Love and Violence and Gravity. Superjesus are Adelaide’s own band and Adelaide embraced them with love.

Rose Tattoo! The Tatts have been doing what they do for 45 years now. Nothing changes. Loud and proud, no-frill rock and roll. The current line-up includes Bob Spence on guitar, formerly from The Angels and Skyhooks as well as Mark Evans , ex AC/DC on bass, adding power to the music. Rock and Roll is King, We Can’t be Beaten, Scarred for Life, Bad Boy, Rock n Roll Outlaw were all played and the song Good Boys Don’t Play Rock n Roll summed the Tatts up nicely. “I’m not famous” Angry told us, “but I’ve been infamous for over 40 years”.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club let the music do the talking. Rather than talking between songs, they poured their souls into the music. They have now been around for over 20 years and Peter Hayes, Robert Levon Been and drummer Leah Shapiro know how to draw the audience in. Guitarist Peter Hayes was comepletly dressed in black including a black balaclava. In the setting sun he must have been very hot. With songs from all over their back catalogue, culminating in the hit single, Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘n’ Roll (Punk Song) Black Rebel Motorcycle won over awaiting Bush and Stone Temple Pilot fans with their ferocious beat.

Stone Temple Pilots By the time Stone Temple Pilots (or STP to their fans) hit the stage it was dark and the lights on the stage came into full effect. The crowd surged to the front as the band hit the stage with a bang, as the brothers Dean (on guitar) and Robert Deleo (on bass), along with drummer Eric Kretz launched into Wicked Garden, vocalist Jeff Gutt following out on stage. Vasoline followed to great crowd reaction. Jeff thanked “the band for letting him being involved with the songwriting”, introducing Meadow from the 2018 self titled album. But it was the first two albums that got the majority of airing, much to the fans joy. Big Empty, Interstate Love Song and the “song we play everynight”, Plush were played loud and hard. Sex Type Thing closed the evening with a bang. Great light show and great sound made the audience happy.
Bush simply stole the day. Bush are a band I have not had a lot to do with, but from the opening drum beat of The Kingdom, from a red light drenched Nik Hughes, to the finale of Comedown, I was hooked. This show was monstrous from the sound to the wonderful light show and to the songs the band played. And they did not shy away from the newer songs with over half the set dedicated to tracks off the 2020 album, The Kingdom. It was these tracks that also stood out during the set. Blood River, Flowers on a Grave and Quicksand had me listening non-stop to the album the next day. Flowers on a Grave was particularly wonderful. Chris Traynor on lead guitar had all the right rock moves, while singer Gavin Rossdale alternated between guitar and just singing, all evening. Gavin also played Glycerine solo, with just an electric guitar which was pretty special. He also dived down to the crash barrier to give the fans some upfront and close encounters. A great band to finish a great day of music.

Let’s hope this is the start of the big shows, but more importantly people, we need to start supporting these shows.
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