Hoodoo

The Gig: The Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos 40th Anniversary Tour

The Venue: The Forum

Stars: 4.5 (but I am biased)

It's taken me three days to write this. 

My love for the Hoodoo Gurus is expansive and pure. They are my old, nostalgic love. The one that has never done you any harm, and in many ways never really went away. The love that washes over you as you walk down the aisles of Coles and one of their songs and feel instantly good about life. They are as Australian as AFL, meat pies, Skippy and the long defunct Holden. 

I last saw the Hoodoo Gurus live in around 1988. It was a New Years Day gig at one of the parks in Adelaide. They were fabulous. 

I've loved the Hoodoo Gurus back in the time when Dave Faulkner had hair and Brad Shepherd was a sexy young man. And despite the 40 years, these guys are still the absolute bomb. 

And Stoneage Romeos has always been one of my favourite albums, and always bill be. 

I remember teaching an English friend in London about the absolute brilliance of Leilani. And I was a Kamikaze Pilot was my theme song in my 20s. (See Today's Song). 

Stoneage Romeos is one of my comfort albums. It is quintessential 1980's Australian rock. And yes, I realise this is dating me and showing my parochial roots. 

So, when it was announced that the band were going to be playing a 40th Anniversary gig, I needed to be there. I found some likeminded friends, paid for our tickets and off we went. The band t-shirt was bought, partly out of reverence for a late friend, and mostly because I wanted to show my solidarity with the band. 

I am a Generation X anachronism. I own it. 

Sticking in my Loop earplugs to dial down the din, I went in and ROCKED!. 

From the first strains of Let's all Turn On, to the bass riff start of I Want You Back, to singing along with the call and response of Arthur (Do WAAAAAA), to feeling a bit mental with the tempo of Death Ship, to the glory that is Dig It Up (as we found out, it was an homage to The Cramps), to imagining walking a greyhound as My Girl came on (look at the video on YouTube - you'll understand), to the song, Zanzibar, which encouraged me to travel, although I've never been to Africa, to the brilliance that is Leilani, and Tojo, which I sing in my head every time I land in Darwin, to wondering why the put In the Echo Chamber on the album, and then finally, singing my favourite song, I Was a Kamikaze Pilot... yes, I was in heaven. 

As was the 3000 strong audience, made up of mostly 40 and 50 somethings, with sensible shoes, glasses, bald spots, grey hair and the knowledge that they were out on a school night and were going to be hurting the following day. There's no seating at The Forum. The people going to the show at The Palais on the Friday and Saturday had seats. But wouldn't have been the same. 

The second half of the set had some standards, and not so standards. Bittersweet a favourite song which seems to get a bit of airplay on Gold FM and Coles Radio. The audience lapped it up. 

The last three songs of the set, Bittersweet, Miss Freelove '69 and 1000 Miles Away brought the show to a perfect conclusion. And they played Axegrinder, What's my Scene and Like Wow, Wipeout in the encore. 

They were perfect. Old, loud, fun and perfect. 

And sure, Dave, Brad, Richard and Nik are in their 60s, they are still wonderful. 

I will look back on this night with some happy nostalgia, for I was once young, and this music is a true reflection of who I was. And who I am. 

Today's Song: