KURBAN TOUR BLOG - PART ONE

Tuesday 15th, Dec 2009

The tour kicks off in my new home town of Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena, a venue I think I’ve only managed to play a couple of times in the past and they were some time ago.  We arrive just as Keith and his band are leaving sound check so I get the chance to say g’day again, having first met him at the Aria awards a couple of weeks back.  The man is a true gentleman.  Our sound check also doubles as a mini rehearsal with our new bass player Marc who is filling in for Hugh on this run of shows.  Hugh was unfortunately not able to do this tour due to his diplomatic obligations in Copenhagen for the summit on climate change.  He has been hand-picked to travel with Kevin Rudd’s entourage for reasons that quite frankly are beyond me although it does go some way to explaining why accusations have been raised about Rudd’s entourage being too large.  Anyway, Marc has been hand-picked by me to travel in my entourage for reasons that are very easy to justify.  He plays the bass guitar, rather well I might add.  He also plays the double bass.  The good people at Yamaha have lent me one of their electric double bass’s for this tour for him to play.  He only plays it on one song but I’ve never played in a band with a double bass so the novelty factor does appeal to me a bit.  “Don’t You Think It’s Time?” was actually recorded with a double bass so it’s nice to hear it on that song.  In addition to his bass playing skills he is also good looking and lowers the average age of the band by a few years.  It’s a bit of a baptism of fire for the poor lad, playing an arena show to a few thousand people as his first gig after just one rehearsal but he handles the occasion like a true pro!
Just before it is time to go on stage Keith and his band come in to our dressing room to say hello.  He gifts me a bottle of my favourite wine accompanied with a card with a sweet message saying how happy he is to have me on tour and if I need anything to click my heels and it will materialise.  I think I might be falling in love.
There’s a good sized crowd in when we walk on stage which is nice because sometimes when you are the support act at these kind of shows you can easily go unnoticed.  The stage is massive and includes a cat walk which I take a little wander on because I just can’t help myself, although afterwards I wonder if perhaps it is a little rude as the support act to exploit the main acts stage design.  The crowd seemed to enjoy the show and we manage to get through our gruelling half an hour set without screwing anything up.  Afterwards I head off to the merch desk to hawk my wares to the punters and manage to sell all my cd’s so I decide to take that as a good sign. 
Keith’s show is pretty epic.  I won’t go in to any detailed description of it for fear of spoiling it for anyone who may be reading this and going to the show in Sydney or Brisbane but the crowd goes pretty mental and the production is massive.
The day after the show I have off so I go and see “Where The Wild Things Are” at the Sun theatre in Yarraville, which is a beautifully restored art deco theatre that sells beer as well as popcorn that you can take in to the cinema with you.  The movie is beautifully shot and every bit as fun to look at as I thought it would be and the soundtrack is great too.  The storyline left me feeling a little unsettled though.  I didn’t really know what to expect because the original book is so short.  It kind of ends up being a bit like a tripped out therapy session on Prozac. 
Monday arrives and we fly to Sydney and drive to Wollongong for the next show at the Entertainment Centre.  Marc looks decidedly unwell and I wonder if maybe the realisation of what he has got himself in for has set in and he is having regrets about accepting the gig.  It turns out he has a stomach bug.  A quick trip to the chemist sorts him out so there are no rock star vomit moments on the plane trip.
The Gong seem to be receptive to my folk-rock-pop stylings and even laugh at some of my dodgy stage banter so I decide to reward them with my presence at the merch desk after the show even though all my cd’s sold out in Melbourne and I have none to flog in Wollongong.  There is, however, a stack of EP’s that I am selling, a “greatest hits” if you will.  It’s a bit of a shame when you’re greatest hits fit on a single EP but at just $7 it’s a real bargain that the punters seem happy to indulge in. 
So now I am in Sydney til the end of the week with the next show tomorrow night at the Entertainment Centre.  I am busy rehearsing in my spare time for the Xmas shows at the Opera House that I’m playing at on December 22nd and 23rd.  I‘ve never stepped inside the Opera House before so I’m pretty excited that my first experience in the concert hall will be singing Xmas songs backed by a 10 piece band!  Surreal could well be the word.
Til next time....
Cheers!
XXXBOBXXX

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