“For me personally, live music is always been where it’s at. I don’t care how good your record is or how many hits your film clip got, if you can blow me away live then I’m sold,” Matthias told The Void. “There’s nothing better than seeing a band live for the first time (especially an unknown support band) and being converted instantly.”
Melbourne-based rock and roll connoisseur Matthias Baratheon O’Meara – an awesome member of the Void community – shares the six gigs that made his jaw drop. Fishbone, Iggy and The Stooges, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Whisky A Go Go “mystery band” Alice In Chains, Tool and Australia’s own Violent Soho, who put on such a performance that “at that moment, my faith in the rock youth of Australia was restored.”
1. Violent Soho @ Big Day Out, Melbourne (2014)
“It’d been a while since I’d seen a young rock band that blew me away live. I was suffering from Triple J ‘Mumford Syndrome’ where every band was just far too polite and had no edge, anger or rock in their bodies. It seemed like this generation would be defined by their boat shoes and interest in grooming rather than their ability to rock the f**k out. I was just about to give up when the word on the street was the Violent Soho are the must see young band at the BDO and they may even steal the day.
I popped over to the tent they were due to start in and even though it was early in the day, it was packed – a good sign. I hadn’t heard any of their music so I had no idea what to expect. VS came on and within two songs I thought – well fk me, these lads have picked up the grungy rock mantle from the 90’s, tweaked it a tad and boy do they rock! Great songs, genuine performance and a crowd that were lapping up every minute of it. Mosh Pit music was back!
The time came the crowd had been waiting for …. Covered in Chrome. I didn’t know what was coming – 5.000 people in a hot sweaty tent moshing then stopping and screaming as one “Hell f**k yeah!” At that moment my faith in the rock youth of Australia was restored.”
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2. Iggy and The Stooges & Beasts of Bourbon @ Festival Hall, Melbourne (March 27th, 2013)
“You don’t often get second chances or ‘Do Overs’ in life. I’d always deeply regretted not being at The Palace in St. Kilda in 1993 when Iggy played with The Beasts as a Big Day Out sideshow. From all reports it was legendary.
I remember seeing The Beasts at the BDO Melbourne that year. They got halfway through their last song when Tex shut the band down, yelled “Iggy is on in 3 minutes” and they all ran like maniacs from the stage. Every time Iggy played Oz since, it was always with a festival and there were never any smaller side shows. Sure the festival shows were great, but I wanted a headlining full show (magically with Beasts of Bourbon supporting – dream on!)
Finally 20 years later, the dream double bill was announced and there was no way I was going to miss it this time. Beasts of Bourbon have always been the real deal, regardless of the line up. I could write volumes about my love for them but that’ll be in another rant. They deliver in full of course. They have no choice as they know what’s coming after … There’s a reason why for the last 40+ Iggy is considered to be the ‘Undisputed Reigning Heavyweight Champion of Rock N’ Roll’ (Quoteth Henry Rollins). It’s because he’s just the raw manifestation of everything that is primal, honest and obliterating about rock at its highest (and lowest) level.
He prowls the stage like no other and whips the crowd into a frenzy. You know the songs, you know he’s going to fill the stage with fans, you know it’s going to be everything a gig should be … and it is. Getting to see Mike Watt on bass always nourishes my soul. He’s this big flannel bear that just rips into his instrument with his paw like hands in a very unique way. I could watch it all night.
Sometimes the span of time can be cruel and acts don’t live up to the hype or your memory of them. This gig ticked every box and bucket list in my mind. I can only hope Iggy lives to 100 and keeps reminding every other act on the planet to lift their game.”
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3. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band “The Wrecking Ball Tour” (2012-2014)
“I’d been waiting all my life to see Springsteen with The E Street Band. In 1985 I was too young. In 2003 I was overseas on holidays. I finally got to see him solo in Chicago in 2005 and it was great, but left me still wanting the satisfaction of seeing the full band live.
I was in the USA in late 2012 and saw that I would be in the right place at the right time. I managed to stagger out of bed and get online at 3 in the morning and miraculously get a ticket to an area show in Anaheim. Months later, I’m in California, the day has finally arrived and I head down to the town that Mickey Mouse built to see a Rock and Roll show.
I arrive at the area and there are people everywhere. Hundreds are lined up at the box office hoping some tix will go on sale at the last minute. I spot at least ten guys holding cardboard signs desperate to buy a ticket. This isn’t a stadium show with 50,000 it a relatively intimate show by Springsteen standards in a 18,000 seater.
“Springsteen is a performer like no other … he crowd surfs all over the arena without security, he runs, he stomps, he rocks, he does not stop!
He is the last one to leave the stage after a 28 song set almost 4 hours – and he’s in his sixties!”
I get to my seat and I’ve got a great view of the stage! There’s friendly people all around me who are excited for me and assure me it’s going to be one hell of a show. The vibe is electric as if like one big party is about to start. There’s no support act. Springsteen shows go for a minimum of three hours and he’d just broken his own records doing 4+ hour shows in Europe.
The arena is packed! Even the seats behind the stage are full. The intro music starts and out walk The E Street Band and Springsteen. The lights only slightly dim so that everyone in the arena can see each other, it feels like I’m at religious congregation. Wait a second! Who’s that standing with a guitar next to Stevie Van Zandt?? You’ve got to be shitting me – It’s Tom fking Morello!!! What the f**k is he doing starting the show with the band? Shouldn’t he pop out for the encore? Nope – this is the start of him touring full time with the band and he’s playing the whole show!
The band launch into Land of Hope and Dreams and its massive – full band + brass section + backing singers = a sound that quickly makes an empty arena feel like an intimate hall. One thing that captivated me is how much the band play for themselves as much as the crowd. They’re constantly forming a circle and focusing on each other’s playing and pushing each other to increase the intensity.
15 songs in, Mike Ness from Social Distortion is invited onstage and they tear through Bad Luck – come on, I must be dreaming right! The highlight of the night was Morello and Springsteen teaming up for The Ghost of Tom Joad. It floored me and did again twice more in Australia over the next two years. If you got to see it live then you know what I’m talking about or go watch the video online.
Over the next 3.5 hours I get it all – Adam Raised a Cain, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Because the Night, Badlands, Thunder Road, Jungleland. It’s Christmas so there’s even a rocking version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town before closing with Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.
Springsteen is a performer like no other; no indulgent drum/guitar solos, no going off stage for costume changes or to have a smoko/catch his breath. He crowd surfs all over the arena without security, he runs, he stomps, he rocks, he does not stop! He is the last one to leave the stage after a 28 song set almost 4 hours – and he’s in his 60’s!
I would run into Tom Morello at Young & Jacksons and we discussed that night – he described it best: ‘That show was some other worldly shit!’
A few months later in 2013 they play Melbourne Rod Laver Area and it’s the same thing again. I’d been raving to anyone who would listen that this is probably the greatest tour on earth at the moment and everyone in Melbourne (and Australia) agrees.
Word of mouth is so strong that they schedule another tour for 2014 – this time bigger: two stadium shows in Melbourne.
How can you top the previous demolition job of the Wrecking Ball Tour? You start the show by bringing out Eddie Vedder for Highway to Hell and Darkness on the Edge of Town, you throw in Just Like Fire Would by The Saints and then you play Born in the USA album in full in the middle of the set. (The next night it would be Born To Run in full!). Both those shows edged right near the 4 hour mark.
People used to regularly ask me about the best show I’d ever seen or who’s the best live. I’d always tell them that it’s an impossible ask, there’s just too many great shows, bands, performers – you can’t just pick one. Maybe a top 10 but just one can’t be done.
That all changed after seeing The Wrecking Ball Tour three times over three years. When I get asked now I tell them – The best I’ve ever seen live is Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Period.”
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4. “Mystery Band” (Alice In Chains) @ Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood (September 1991)
“I was 18, hanging out in Hollywood and spending most nights on The Sunset Strip, it was a good time to be a lover of Rock & Metal. One morning KNAC or KROQ announced that there would be a surprise gig at The Whisky A Go Go that night! My buddy and I ran to the bus stop and then raced to The Whisky to get a ticket. The whole way our minds were racing: Who could it be?!! Guns N’ Roses were just about to release Use Your Illusion I & II – maybe it was them!!!
We get to the Box Office only to discover that you had to go to a record store back in Hollywood as the mystery band was doing an instore signing and giving out show tickets there. Back on the bus, race back to Hollywood and we find the record store, phew! We’re relieved to see that there’s about 50 people already in line and not thousands. Turns out the mystery band is a newish metal band from Seattle called Alice in Chains! “Oh yeah, I’ve seen them on MTV with that Man In The Box song” was pretty much everyone’s response. I’d read about them in Hot Metal (magazine) and thought their first song was pretty damn good, so I was stoked.
“Alice in Chains made my jaw drop from the very start that night; the weird tuning on the guitars, the twin vocals, the songs, and of course Layne. I’d just seen The Doors movie earlier in the year and I kept thinking of how much this guy reminded me of Jim Morrison with his presence on the very stage the Lizard King called home.”
The instore went great, I met the guys, got some stuff signed and they were stunned to meet someone from Australia that knew who they were.
I got wrist-banded and told to go to The Whisky that night and I’d get into the gig. A few hours later I’m in a packed club with a large buzz in the air. Everyone has come out to see this show – I even meet Slash & Duff and they tell me that AIC are going to blow me away. The early 90’s was a time where there was a glut of pretty average, soft sounding, pretty boy metal bands floating around. I saw a ton of bands on that trip to the USA, but I only fell in love with one instantly.
Alice in Chains made my jaw drop from the very start that night; the weird tuning on the guitars, the twin vocals, the songs, and of course Layne. I’d just seen The Doors movie earlier in the year and I kept thinking of how much this guy reminded me of Jim Morrison with his presence on the very stage the Lizard King called home. I didn’t know what it was but I knew this band was not like all the others and they tore it up that night in a historic venue that only holds 500. Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time. There was no grunge yet. Nirvana were two weeks away from releasing Nevermind. Everything was about to change for us all.”
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5. Tool @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne (January 31st, 2007)
“It took me a long long time to get into Tool. Sure I knew who they were and seen the clips but something just didn’t connect with me and I never really listened to them in depth.
It wasn’t until 10,000 Days came out that my brain finally clicked and I woke up to what I’d been missing. Aha! Now it all made sense and I was stoked that they were doing a Big Day Out side show at one of my favourite venues (if you can get a seat and not be stuck up the back in general admission).
The show started and I was sonically and visually assaulted from every angle – Stinkfist, Forty-Six & 2, Jambi – and that was just the first three songs. My jaw hit the floor, I felt like I was tripping on acid. I’d never seen such an amazing use of sound and lights perfectly synchronised.
Danny Carey was like an Octopus King on his Drum Set throne – mindblowing to see in action. Maynard stayed elusive up the back. I wasn’t expecting that having never seen them live before but that added to the whole concept of the overall experience rather than focusing on one member of the band. It was like being at a planetarium of rock.
By the time they finished with the one-two punch of Vicarious & Aenema I was overwhelmed and needed a good few days for it all to sink in.”
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6. Fishbone @ The Palace, Melbourne (St. Kilda) (February 1992)
“Living Colour, Bad Brains, Fishbone. Sadly there’s only a handful of African American rock bands that ever made it to Oz but all of them delivered in full upon arrival.
There was a great vibe at The Palace before the show as everyone had heard great things about Fishbone.
The intro over the PA was the “Nah Nah Nah Gonna Have A Goodtime” song and the crowd started bouncing/dancing.
The lead singer (Angelo) came out in knee high boots with a huge grin on his face. Before the rest of the band could get ready, he dropped his mike and leapt deep into the crowd. The keyboard player (not a small dude by any means), had just sat down, saw this, got up, threw his keyboard off its stand and launched himself into the now writhing pit too!
The crowd energy exploded, the band started and it was on!
The show was funk, soul, blues, rock & punk all rolled into one with every person shaking their ass, mushing, dancing and rocking the fuck out.
There were bodies everywhere! Back in “the day” not only could you stage dive & crowd surf, but the awesome security at The Palace (a couple of friendly Islander guys) would assist you, make sure you were OK or gently help your feet find the floor if you got flipped upside down.
At one point in the show, Angelo yelled to the crowd to take him to the back and then leapt back into the pit with mic in hand. Somehow he managed to climb to the top level and hang onto the rail. Everyone looked at each other as if to say ‘No fucking way is he going to jump.’ Sure enough, he let go and surrendered to the crowd. Hundreds of hands went up as one and caught his fall. He was ferried to the front of the stage and the show went on.
Like any mind blowing gig, it wasn’t the theatrics that made it unforgettable, it was the band, the crowd, the music and the energy all coming together as one in a way they made everyone walk out smiling and staring at each other in disbelief.
Of all the gigs I’ve been to, it’s the one that if it comes up in conversation and the other person was there, then you both yell ‘OMG how good was it! I can’t believe you were there too!’ Then you spend the next hour gushing and reliving it.”
Words: Matthias Baratheon O’Meara
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