I was having brunch yesterday with an old friend in the Canvas cafe courtyard at Fremantle Arts Centre when she asked me:
Why don't you write your blog anymore?
I rambled on about focusing on my umpteenth rewrite and getting to the end of the draft (which is developing at the pace that if I were racing against a snail with my writing speed, the snail would win) and as I heard the words come out of my mouth, I thought:
This is bullshit. You could keep blogging if you wanted to. It's good practice for writing short pieces quickly and the Husband will be happy that you are ranting here again rather than at him.
But what could I write about?
Coincidentally later on that day, Highway to Hell, the much heralded finale of the 2020 Perth Festival was taking place. On the 40th anniversary of the death of Perth local and former AC/DC lead singer, Bon Scott, the event intended to be a homage to his legacy. A logistical feat, it involved closing down 10 km of a road called Canning Highway, a strip immortalised in the AC/DC song, Highway to Hell. A convoy of eight trucks, each containing live acts would motor the length of the highway from 4pm - 9.30pm, entertaining the crowds and stopping at three key points to play one full AC/DC song of their interpretation.
Everyone in Perth knew about the event because for weeks leading up to it, event information had been splashed all around the city and you couldn't drive anywhere in the areas surrounding Canning Highway without seeing road signs stating:
CANNING HIGHWAY CLOSED MAR 1. HIGHWAY TO HELL
It was the ultimate form of advertising for Perth is car central, so much so that eventually the citizens will lose their legs and grow wheels.
My friend knew I was going but she had no plans to. Her sentiment was that she didn't understand why the Perth arts community would go to such lengths to commemorate a drunk bogan, rock icon that he was.
Why can't they have chosen someone with better qualities to honour? she asked, rather than someone who used to drive around pissed, shagging lots of women?
I could see her point but it was a question I didn't have an answer for. By definition, her description of Bon Scott probably could have been found in the dictionary under the words ROCK STAR (of a certain era. Or not)
But who else do you know that would draw the mixed crowds? I asked. Who else would three local councils AND the state government work together to shut down that road for? I can't even think of a sports person they would do that for?
I really couldn't.
Later that evening, I gathered with thousands of others under the freight container rainbow sculpture in East Fremantle, the last stopping point for the trucks where each band would play a final song. The crowd was mixed, there were families, students, pensioners, tourists, the odd bogan and everything in between. The fact that it was a free, unlicensed family event created an easy going atmosphere amongst the punters. Local acts and DJs entertained the crowd while we waited for the sighting of the first truck.
When it came, it was the Pigram Brothers; a much loved local Broome band singing a version of TNT followed by Long Way to the Top. Musically they were fantastic but their expressions suggested that they all wanted a nice lie down.
They look knackered I shouted to my friend R, just as one of the band spoke to the crowd:
We have been playing non stop for four hours.
That explains it R replied.
After that the trucks kept coming showcasing the following acts:
Dom Mariani with the Tommyhawks / Steve 'N' Seagulls / Carla Geneve with the Floors / Shonen Knife / Odette Mercy with Mathas / Amyl and the Sniffers / Abbe May with The Southern River Band.
Why don't you write your blog anymore?
 |
| A little oasis |
I rambled on about focusing on my umpteenth rewrite and getting to the end of the draft (which is developing at the pace that if I were racing against a snail with my writing speed, the snail would win) and as I heard the words come out of my mouth, I thought:
This is bullshit. You could keep blogging if you wanted to. It's good practice for writing short pieces quickly and the Husband will be happy that you are ranting here again rather than at him.
But what could I write about?
Coincidentally later on that day, Highway to Hell, the much heralded finale of the 2020 Perth Festival was taking place. On the 40th anniversary of the death of Perth local and former AC/DC lead singer, Bon Scott, the event intended to be a homage to his legacy. A logistical feat, it involved closing down 10 km of a road called Canning Highway, a strip immortalised in the AC/DC song, Highway to Hell. A convoy of eight trucks, each containing live acts would motor the length of the highway from 4pm - 9.30pm, entertaining the crowds and stopping at three key points to play one full AC/DC song of their interpretation.
 |
| Truck trundling Pic courtesy of the Twitterverse |
Everyone in Perth knew about the event because for weeks leading up to it, event information had been splashed all around the city and you couldn't drive anywhere in the areas surrounding Canning Highway without seeing road signs stating:
CANNING HIGHWAY CLOSED MAR 1. HIGHWAY TO HELL
It was the ultimate form of advertising for Perth is car central, so much so that eventually the citizens will lose their legs and grow wheels.
My friend knew I was going but she had no plans to. Her sentiment was that she didn't understand why the Perth arts community would go to such lengths to commemorate a drunk bogan, rock icon that he was.
Why can't they have chosen someone with better qualities to honour? she asked, rather than someone who used to drive around pissed, shagging lots of women?
I could see her point but it was a question I didn't have an answer for. By definition, her description of Bon Scott probably could have been found in the dictionary under the words ROCK STAR (of a certain era. Or not)
But who else do you know that would draw the mixed crowds? I asked. Who else would three local councils AND the state government work together to shut down that road for? I can't even think of a sports person they would do that for?
I really couldn't.
Later that evening, I gathered with thousands of others under the freight container rainbow sculpture in East Fremantle, the last stopping point for the trucks where each band would play a final song. The crowd was mixed, there were families, students, pensioners, tourists, the odd bogan and everything in between. The fact that it was a free, unlicensed family event created an easy going atmosphere amongst the punters. Local acts and DJs entertained the crowd while we waited for the sighting of the first truck.
 |
| East Fremantle Rainbow |
When it came, it was the Pigram Brothers; a much loved local Broome band singing a version of TNT followed by Long Way to the Top. Musically they were fantastic but their expressions suggested that they all wanted a nice lie down.
They look knackered I shouted to my friend R, just as one of the band spoke to the crowd:
We have been playing non stop for four hours.
That explains it R replied.
After that the trucks kept coming showcasing the following acts:
Dom Mariani with the Tommyhawks / Steve 'N' Seagulls / Carla Geneve with the Floors / Shonen Knife / Odette Mercy with Mathas / Amyl and the Sniffers / Abbe May with The Southern River Band.
It was a treat for me to hear the array of Australian music on offer, and also enjoy the acts from Finland and Japan. My favourite of the night was Carla Geneve and the Floors performing a sublime version of Hells Bells. I also loved Odette Mercy singing High Voltage in Tongan
The last truck came with Abbe May with The Southern River Band performing Can I Sit Next to You Girl. As they rolled off, the event ended and the barricades opened. It felt anticlimactic as we all started walking down the said Highway to Hell to wherever our next destinations were.
Is that it? I thought to myself. I wanted more but there was none to be had. Later I realised my post AC/DC malaise was due to the lack of momentum caused by the event structure. Each truck appeared for a moment and then was whisked away. It was like swiping on Tinder (I've been told), seeing only the briefest idea of a person or in this case, the band. I had gone expecting a live gig and what the event was, was AC/DC on Tinder. There was no chance to get stuck into the act or their music.
In the end though, the only music that really mattered that night was Accadacca's. Beloved by the hundreds and thousands of Perth citizens who swarmed to hear it played, it showed the power that songs can have through time and space. And that you can still be the life of the party, even when you're dead.
And the music was good and the music was loud
And the singer turned and he said to the crowd
Let there be rock
-Let There Be Rock - AC/DC
The last truck came with Abbe May with The Southern River Band performing Can I Sit Next to You Girl. As they rolled off, the event ended and the barricades opened. It felt anticlimactic as we all started walking down the said Highway to Hell to wherever our next destinations were.
 |
| Freo showed up for AC/DC Pic courtesy of Twitterverse |
Is that it? I thought to myself. I wanted more but there was none to be had. Later I realised my post AC/DC malaise was due to the lack of momentum caused by the event structure. Each truck appeared for a moment and then was whisked away. It was like swiping on Tinder (I've been told), seeing only the briefest idea of a person or in this case, the band. I had gone expecting a live gig and what the event was, was AC/DC on Tinder. There was no chance to get stuck into the act or their music.
In the end though, the only music that really mattered that night was Accadacca's. Beloved by the hundreds and thousands of Perth citizens who swarmed to hear it played, it showed the power that songs can have through time and space. And that you can still be the life of the party, even when you're dead.
And the music was good and the music was loud
And the singer turned and he said to the crowd
Let there be rock
-Let There Be Rock - AC/DC
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