G’day
How’s it going? Saturday the 21st of May, we had the pleasure of playing at the Finley Ricestrippers BnS Ball. This was a gig that ticked all the boxes when you ask a musician to define a dream gig. We arrived in Finley around lunch time and made our way to the show grounds. The place was filling up fast with utes and camp sites full of people from all over the place.
As we arrived, the lads from Last Chance, the other band working with us were there and we introduced ourselves. We’d never met before this gig and we hit it off really well. Top blokes and a really good band too. So we’re hanging around back stage there for a while. We set up our gear, sound checked and spent the rest of the afternoon having a look around. We could even tell as early as 4pm that people were there to have a good time. We met people from all over NSW, Victoria and even South Australia. Many miles were traveled to get to this event.
At around 5pm we checked in to our motel and got ready. By the time we got back at 7pm, the show grounds were chockers. More cars had showed up and campfires were lit and things were starting to rev up (pardon the pun). The crew from the Finley Apex Club looked after us. They served us dinner and we were treated to the best damned roast beef rolls this side of Burke. We kicked back had a few drinks and watched as the gates opened. A huge tent was set up for this event. Think of a circus tent with open sides. It was massive. By 8pm,1500 people were in the tent area. Last Chance started up and from that point right up to the last note of the night the crowd did not stop. Both bands were warmly received by the audience, they screamed, yelled and sang along. It was a lot of fun.
But OK you say, this gig is full of young people drinking Bundy and having a huge booze-up. There certainly was Bundy flowing and more than a few sore heads the next day. But what makes these gigs unique is the fact that the 18+ crowd sang along, word for word, to songs that were written before they were even born. All requests were for Creedence, ACDC, Brooks and Dunn, Steve Earle etc. We asked why and their response was the same. “We love the old stuff. The stuff on the radio today is crap”... And mate there is nothing like the sound of 1500 people singing along to Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence.
To top it off they even liked our original material and some of the older country stuff by Merle Haggerd, Marty Stuart, Johnny Cash etc. We ended the night with both bands on stage doing the super-jam with Copperhead Road and Sweet Home Alabama and even after that the crowd wanted more. The night finished for the bands at 1am but we were sure the punters were going to keep going a while longer. Judging by the breakfast next morning, many of them will have trouble remembering the night before!! We went back for breakfast, once again hosted by the Apex Club and headed off back to Melbourne. Finley rocked that night and we are already talking about the possibility of doing it all again in 2012. Why did it tick all the boxes? A big crowd, a receptive crowd, a fun crowd who appreciated country, rock, rockabilly and who were there to enjoy themselves. It’s great to see that good songs are appreciated by all ages regardless of the genre.

Check out the crowd video from stage on the link provided.

http://youtu.be/S5CpF4lNLGQ

In other news.... We’re back at the Pascoe Vale RSL on Friday 3rd June with the Country Music Guild. If our memory serves us correctly we are very close to celebrating a five year relationship with the Guild. Reckon there’s a good excuse for a drink what ya reckon?? Check out our gig on the 4th June. It’s a fundraiser for a very interesting and worthwhile cause. Marysville Saddletramps are joining forces with Australian Trail Horse Riders Association (ATHRA) and The Brumby Alliance here in Australia as well as the American Competitive Trail Horse Association in America to stage what will hopefully be the Biggest Trail Ride In History. Clubs and riding groups all over both country’s will be hosting rides on that day to raise awareness of the plight of Australia’s Brumby’s and AmMustang’s. In conjunction with this ride they are planning a dinner and night of entertainment to raise funds for new clubrooms in Marysville to replace those destroyed in the Black Saturday fires.
The Prairie Oysters are delighted to be playing at this event and will be providing more details as they come in.
Gallipoli Park, Marysville
Pre-Booked Tickets are available for Dinner & Band only $25.00pp Saturday 4 June 8pm - 12am
Gallipoli Park, Marysville A great weekend of Horse riding, good company and FUN! $100 per rider for the Weekend $60 per ATHRA Member# Camping Available Bookings Close 20th May 2011 And lastly... It’s our birthday. Well sort of. On Saturday the 28th May it’ll be five years since our very first gig at the Ferntree Gully Hotel. What an incredible ride it has been for us too. We have been so lucky to have played at so many places and even more fortunate to have met and made friends with so many wonderful people like your good self. Thank you for all of your support and to the venues who bring us back each time and the radio people who have played our songs, thanks heaps. Hope to see you round the traps. Cheers Tony, Rob, Dave and Jamie
The Prairie Oysters