MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW DAY 2 REPORT by Greg Phillips
After such an amazing first day at the Australian Musician presented, Melbourne Guitar Show, you’d be forgiven for thinking that day two might be a bit of a let down. It wasn’t to be. The guitar show simply picked up where it left off, packed with enthusiastic punters, offering stunning performances from Melbourne’s finest musicians, and more great deals to be had on the shop floor. With an estimated weekend crowd of around 6,000 people, some music media analysts in the audience suggested that with those figures, it was by far the biggest music event in Australia for the week.
And what a way to start the day, exhibitors waltzing in to begin preparation for their day were met with Jeff Lang’s arsenal of classic, weird and wonderful guitar tones as he soundchecked for his midday gig. Jimi Hocking and Geoff Achison paired up to lay down some early morning blues power as the opening act and not surprisingly blew everyone away with their quality playing. Like true pros, the guys stuck around post-gig to mingle with the crowd and pose for several selfies. At the other end of the spectrum, upstairs in Workshop room #2, Matthew Fagan was conducting the instant ukulele orchestra, where ukulele newbies were conjuring their first chords in minutes.
Jeff Lang hit the stage and proceeded to deliver his distinct savage yet sweet sounds. Surprisingly, while Lang, one of the event’s headline acts played outside, inside the aisles were also full with punters on the bargain hunt. On level one, the Davidson Brothers were presenting an intriguing and unique bluegrass clinic, offering tips on various fretted instruments. Kudos to the musicians who manned the Professor bass and guitar rooms over the weekend too. Surely they are the most patient and polite guys, who I’m sure would have endured a wide range of queries from an audience with varied levels of skill. I’m sure Marcel Yammouni, Jimi Hocking, Troy Male, Robbie Little and Joe Fernand lit an inspirational spark in many a young musician this weekend. It was great to see so many families at this event too, kids were everywhere, soaking up the atmosphere.
One of the most highly anticipated gigs within Melbourne’s musician community for the last couple of months has been the premiere stage performance of Racer Axe featuring two of Australia’s slickest guitarists Simon Hosford and James Ryan. We’d watched them rehearse on Facebook for months and felt like we were all preparing for this moment together. Word spread thick and fast and the crowd that the band attracted was by far the biggest of the weekend. Racer Axe is a tribute to Paul Gilbert’s American band from the 80s Racer X. That band only ever released one album but Hosford, Ryan and their mates Rod Bustos, Rob Brens and Chris Stark felt a strong attachment to it and began this cover project as a tribute. Did Racer X live up to the hype? The guys absolutely nailed it and amazed the crowd with the slickest licks you’ll ever hear. Also a revelation was the voice of lead singer Chris Stark, who matched the guitar ferocity with his own vocal force of nature.
Any other rock band was never going to match the Racer Axe event which we had just witnessed, so why not follow with a smooth funk jazz outfit? Wayne Jones took to the stage with his 10 piece funk, jazz band and proceeded to deliver a world class set of complex rhythms and virtuoso musicianship. Somebody forgot to tell Wayne Jones he’s a bass player, as he runs around that bass fretboard like it’s the slickest low set, thinline electric guitar.
Amazing performances weren’t exclusive to the main stages either. On the CMC Music stand, the guys from The Delusion were throwing their own on-stand party and gathering an ever-growing audience. Upstairs Fiona Boyes was doing her cheerful, cigar box blues thang and next door, The Davidson Brothers returned but this time in concert mode. A sudden burst of monitor foldback almost sat Hamish Davdison on his back but after a few deep breaths and ensuring himself he was still alive, he returned to the game, albeit to the unsympathetic derision of his band members. Man, those guys can jam!
As 3.30pm drew close, it was hard to believe that the final act of the weekend was about to perform. With such a constant procession of brilliant talent each day, reality dictated that it all had to come to end at some point. Lloyd Spiegel took to the stage and as always, delivered a powerful set featuring lightning fast licks and even quicker one-liners. During one tune, a city bound train across the road provided perfect timing for a ‘train solo’. In one of the most poignant moments of the show, after telling the tale of how he was mentored as a kid coming through the ranks of the Melbourne Musician fraternity, Lloyd brought to the stage Charlie Bedford, a young left handed player he’d spotted playing the previous day on one of the stands. The pair jammed on some blues and the kid’s musical resume had just begun before our very eyes. Lloyd continued to dazzle with his powerful voice and dexterous guitar picking and before we knew it, the weekend’s entertainment was done.
Back indoors, and with the public now gone, show organiser Rob Walker thanked everyone and announced that the Melbourne Guitar Show had closed. Instead of the sighs of relief from show-weary exhibitors which sometimes follows such an announcement at a music trade show, on this occasion the floor erupted into spontaneous applause. As one exhibitor summarised earlier in the day, if you were to plan the perfect music show, featuring all the key elements that you desire … then the Melbourne Guitar Show would be it. Happy exhibitors, appreciative artists and an ecstatic public. Backed and delivered by Rob Walker and the Australian Music Association committee, Australian Musician was proud to present the Melbourne Guitar Show and we hope to present it to you once again next year. Thanks for supporting it.
