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May 2, 2006
Xavier Rudd in his element
Last weekend, Sarge finished up his Oz trip and got back into Melbourne. We decided to wrap up his adventure with a concert. We heard Xavier Rudd was playing in town and there really could be nothing better than seeing him at home in Australia. The show in Melbourne was sold out and the extra show they had added was the night of Sarge's flight back to Auckland. We did however notice that there was a show in El Dorado, Victoria. I looked it up and El Dorado was only 3h northeast of Melbourne, and the show had free camping. The original plan would have been to take the Landcruiser up for a good ole roadtrip, but that's another story that I'd prefer to forget (refer to previous blog entry).
Needless to say we rented a car and headed up to El Dorado to see the show. The extent of our camping would be reduced to sleeping in the car, but it's not like we were popping any cherries with that practice. Thus, without an actual camp to set up, we were way ahead of schedule so we stopped in at Glenrowan, site of the final battle between the law and the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly. It was a crazy small town with the most outlandish tourist trap shops and museums. So off-the-wall it was awesome! Read up about Ned Kelly; he holds a strange place in the minds of Aussies, not quite a hero, as so much a well-liked criminal. The story has Robin Hood connotations but lacking the purity of character.
We drove through El Dorado, not seeing any signs for the Bilyana Natural Amphitheatre. There was two other cars on the road (most seen since the highway) so we just followed them. Eventually we ended up on a gravel road weaving our way through the hills...believing we were lost. But, no, this was in fact the way as we soon came to some clearings in the bush where a ton of cars were parked with tents being set up. A parking spot was found and we toured the area to find out where the concert was gonna be held.
What a surprise, it was essentially a stage, surrounded by old carpets, rugs and about 50 couches. The whole area was also surrounded by poles supporting sheets that served to isolate the area. From these poles hung xmas lights and other silk decor and crazy shit to add atmosphere. It truly was the type of place where you'd expect to see a one man show (playing didge's, harmonica, lap guitar, and a stomp box) with opening acts ranging from Dallas Fresco, an aboriginal dance troup, and the lead singer of Epicure.
Still having some time before the actual show started, we wandered some more, encountering an old shed full of used furniture. Not wanting to be left out, we grabbed an armchair and loveseat to create our own little camp beside our vehicular tent. Queue up some 800ml bottle of VB and some vodka staminade (seriously serious stuff!) and our night started with a bang.
The show started just after sunset, so we finished up the booze and some snacks and checked it out. Wickedazz concert. Some parts are a little fuzzy, but it could not have been better. I've got some good and terrible pics of it, as well as a ton of video clips that I'll try and get online.
The morning wasn't so nice as Sarge and I woke up at 9am (in order to get the rental car back in time) and wondered where the redbulls went, and concluded that they ran away with the rest of the vodka...
Definitely an aussie experience.
Posted by Dr.Unk at May 2, 2006 9:05 PM
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