Review: Greg Phillips Photos: Jason Rosewarne
On one hand, heading into the cooler climate of late April, the Red Hot Summer moniker being used is a bit of a stretch, yet on the other hand, this series lineup could not have been more toastier! Being offered up at Mornington Racecourse yesterday was a regal bill of rock roll kings including Texan titans ZZ TOP and Delaware’s finest George Thorogood & The Destroyers. Add to the mix some of Australia’s finest exponents of live music such as The Living End, Baby Animals, Rose Tattoo and Dallas Frasca and you have one hell of a show.
The Mornington folk like to enter their racecourse early to claim their personal turf for the day, which means that show opener Dallas Frasca had a decent sized crowd to play to. As we’ve experienced a few times this year, those ‘Force of Nature’ vocal pipes extend effortlessly to all areas of the venue. When Dallas Frasca hits the stage, you know it. Matching the intensity of her voice is the massive guitar sound which comes from the custom-built stage rig that Dallas has created for herself (Read all about it in our Musician of the Month Interview from February this year https://australianmusician.com.au/features/dallas-frasca-musician-of-the-month-february-2025/). In a power packed half dozen song set, Dallas managed to win the audience over with passionate versions of ‘Anything Left To Wonder, ‘All My Love’, ‘Let It Rain’ and the acoustic-based ‘River Queen’. However it was the Led Zeppelin medley that rocked our sox off and included Kashmir, Black Dog, Immigrant Song and Whole Lotta Love. Ms Frasca continues to impress.
Rose Tattoo are one of the most influential rock bands to ever come out of Australia. Ask any LA based hard rock group (including Guns n Roses) about Australian bands and they’ll tell you both AC/DC and Rose Tattoo are on equal pegging for influence on their own music. Mercurial frontman Angry Anderson swaggered onto the Mornington stage, picked up the water bottle beside his mic and flung it into the crowd suggesting “I won’t be needing that!,” as the band charged into ‘Scarred For Life’. The Tatts have been through many line up changes since the original all conquering band scared the shit out of us with their potency back in 1976. Almost 50 years on they may not be as frightening but they’re sure as hell still a powerful rock n roll unit, particularly with their latest acquisition, the younger Ronnie Simmons on guitar. Delivering all of the classic Tatts songs such as Rock N Roll Is King, One Of The Boys and Rock and Roll Outlaw, the crowd lapped it up. Angry behaved too. Known to wander off sometimes on long political tangents, the band seemed to quickly kick into song before he could say too much at all. ‘Hard Road’ was a great tribute to Australian music icon Stevie Wright, followed by the big guns, ‘Bad Boy For Love, ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’ and Nice Boys’, proving these guys still have what it takes to rock a large, festival audience.
By mid-afternoon the clouds circled but never threatened to rain on our parade, as yet another adored Australian band took to the stage, the mighty Baby Animals. Kicking off with one of their biggest hits Early Warning, the band was clearly on top of their game, tight and dynamic with Suze DeMarchi in total control. ‘One Too Many and ‘Painless’ followed as the crowd rose to their feet. With large screens on either side of the stage, it was easy to see just how hard guitarist Dave Leslie works to deliver his celebrated licks on his trusty Grubisa guitar. A vibrant version of Jimi Hendrix’s Fire gave Dave the opportunity to let rip even more and with Dallas Frasca on backing vocals, the effect was intoxicating. With the fabulous Ricki Rae on drums and Dario Bortolin on bass providing a solid bottom end, this classic Australian rock band was always guaranteed to deliver the goods. The Baby Animals hits such as Rush You and One Word kept coming as did their new release, a cover of Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, which was a good excuse to invite The Living End’s Chris Cheney to the stage to contribute his rousing riffs.
If a band ever owned a festival stage it’s The Living End. From the moment they launched into the opening chant of Roll On, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. There’s something about this trio of Chris Cheney, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan that makes an inordinate amount of noise for just three guys with a guitar, bass and a drum kit. Taking us back to their rockabilly beginnings with 1997’s Second Solution, the audience were out of their seats and dancing energetically in front of their deck chairs. Continuing to take us on a journey throughout their career and not giving the crowd the slightest whiff of relaxing, the brilliant Pictures in the Mirror followed. Looking out into the crowd, Cheney suggested that the Mornington throng looked much better than Coachella before rockin’ into ‘Hey Hey Disbeliever’. Swapping regularly through his collection of attractive Gretsch guitars throughout the set, Cheney easily affirmed his status as one of Australia’s premier guitar players. The ska rocker ’All Fall Down’ allowed him to display his full range of licks and feels. The band also treated us to a fierce new track ‘Alfie’ from an upcoming new Living End album. It’s a track aimed at mainstream radio which Chris declares doesn’t play enough Australian music. I wonder if people still listen to the radio anyway? A spirited West End Riot kept the momentum rolling. As Cheney strummed Waltzing Matilda the crowd raised their tinnies and sung along before the band kicked into a raging E Boogie, a country pickin’ instrumental in which Chris used his VB bottle to play slide, much to the crowd’s delight. ‘White Noise’ is such an exciting song and the version the band presented to the Mornington crowd on Sunday evening was simply epic, with each member showing their class. A chaotic ‘Prisoner of Society’ with the crowd shouting back the lyrics “Well, we don’t need no one to tell us what to do”, ended an unforgettable set from one of Australia’s finest. Good luck following these guys Mr Thorogood.
It wasn’t long before it was George Thorogood & The Destroyers turn to rip up the stage. Australian Musician had seen George and band at Bluesfest the week prior and he lit up Byron Bay then, so it was with much anticipation that we awaited our second serving of their tour. Like they did a week earlier, the band opened with a banger, the rollicking ‘Rock Party’ setting the scene for a wild celebration. Paying tribute to one of his heroes George then laid into Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love’. Anyone who has seen this band before will know that George has a wicked sense of humour and is one of the cheekiest frontmen going around, not prone to the current wave of political correctness. His naughtiness is as old school as his rockin’ tunes. His teasing intro to ’Talk To Your Daughter’ is a case in point. Then came the ‘drinkin’ portion of the show, where the crowd contributed stirring vocals to ‘I Drink Alone’, then went off entirely to the legendary ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’. Of course the engine which keeps George’s shows motoring along consists of the mighty Delaware Destroyers featuring Jeff Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar) and the amazing Buddy Leach on saxophone. Like any great rock band that has been together for so long, they gel so well, second guessing what each other’s next move is going to be and delivering an integrated energy. ‘Gear Jammer’ offered each member a moment to shine. ‘Get A Haircut’ resonated well with the crowd, which ironically consisted of a hell of a lot to bald men. If George and band didn’t already have the crowd in the palm of their hands, then ’Bad To The Bone’ certainly got them over the line. Thorogood left the stage for a breather leaving the band to rock out on the classic ‘Gloria’ before returning to sing the verse and leave the chorus to the crowd, ending the way it began, a pure rock ’n’ roll party.
It was then left to the reverend Billy Gibbons to lead us all to our destiny. Additional weight had been placed on Billy’s shoulders too being the only original member of the band on this tour. Sadly bassist Dusty Hill passed away in July 21 and it was Dusty’s wish that Elwood Francis should join the band. Then on the eve of the Australian tour, drummer Frank Beard had to pull out due to medical advice. John Douglas, who has previously appeared with ZZ Top and is fresh off the just-concluded US leg of The Elevation Tour, has continued to join forces with Billy Gibbons and Elwood Francis for the Australian dates. Douglas also covered for Frank Beard back in 2002 while the band was on tour in France. It was Douglas who commenced the band’s set with the drum intro to ‘Got Me Under Pressure’ as Gibbons and Francis entered the stage in matching colourful, sequinned jackets and stood in front of a bank of multi-coloured Magnatone amplifiers. Also notable was a giant 17 string yellow bass that Elwood was holding in his hands, which provided a substantial bottom end. A funky ‘Waiting For The Bus’ and a smokin’ ‘Jesus Just Left Chicago’, both from the Tres Hombre album offered a little travel-themed section. ‘Gimme All Your Lovin’’ supplied the first of the band’s real hits and the crowd vocal level went up a notch. ‘Pearl Necklace’ and ‘I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide’ gave us a chance to experience Billy’s unique guitar playing quirks up close on screen, while ‘My Head’s In Mississippi’ highlighted Billy’s distinct southern drawl that is such a feature of ZZ Top’s music. Sixteen Tons the Merle Travis song then gave us a taste of Billy’s penchant for country music. ‘Just Got Paid’ from 1972’s Rio Grande Mud was the last of any deep dives as we headed into hitsville. if ’Sharp Dressed Man’ sounded huge then ‘Legs’ was even more heroic. Leaving the stage for a break, the trio were always coming back for some unfinished business. We didn’t expect that it might be in the form of the slow blues of ‘Brown Sugar’. Douglas then pounded away into the gritty ’Tube Snake Boogie’, showing all the shades of the great ZZ Top and finally delivering the knock out blow of the mighty ‘La Grange’, which saw the crowd go totally loco!
Yet another awesome day of high octane rock n roll from both it’s finest international exponents and some stellar Australian rock bands too. Bravo Red Hot Summer (er Autumn!).
