Last night, after lazing much of Saturday, I headed into the city to soak up some Moomba atmosphere. Okay, so I really only got off my arse to go in because of the freeWhitlams andPaul Kelly concerts, but any excuse will do. Neither disappointed. I haven’t seen The Whitlams play before. When I first saw them on Rage many years ago, playing their signature tune "Gough", I assumed they were a flash-in-the-pan joke band. Maybe that’s how they appeared at the time, but they seem to have lasted, and they bashed out a few songs I knew, a few I didn’t, and certainly seemed to put plenty of energy into the performance.
Paul, of course, I’ve seen many times before. As the sun set, he and his band moved through a great set. From where I was near the front, the crowd seemed appreciative – better behaved than some crowds at paid venues in fact. They didn’t harangue him for singing some new (relatively unknown) songs, and nobody seemed to talk during the few quiet bits. Even a bunch of terminally D-demographic slobs near me, who had somehow managed to smuggle an entire slab of beer into the supposedly alcohol-free events precinct, were obviously loving it.
And I got to sing along to a bunch of my favourites –Door,Gravy, and a rendition ofDeeper Water
that (as always) totally went off – so though it all wrapped too soon, in time for the fireworks, I was a happy man indeed.
