The Cruel Sea

Melbourne Cup Eve always has a distinctive feel- or perhaps it’s distinctive to all public holiday eves- and that is the feeling that Melbournians are going to make the most of a chance to party. My chance was delayed when the Espy bouncers checked my boots for steel caps- it’s funny, but I didn’t even think twice about wearing boots to the Espy- though I also have never thought of kicking someone with them, when you put the two together, it’s probably not such a bad rule. So I headed home to change shoes… not an ideal start.

On my return, veteran indie pop rockers, Even, were well into their set- and the Gershwin room was swelling. The crowd had a solid representation of silver haired rockers and reminiscers, though this was not surprising with the main draw card being Even’s contemporaries and fellow Australian rock legends, the Cruel Sea. The Gershwin emptied as The Cruel Sea were due to hit the front bar stage at 11.30. I followed the crowd to see what kind of form charismatic front man Gregory ‘Tex’ Perkins was in. From past live experiences with his other acts such as the Beasts of Bourbon, the Ladyboyz and T’n’T, he has always shown impressive banter skills. These skills were initially put on ice though. “I met these guys 23 years ago when they were an instrumental band,” Tex reminded us before they kicked off their set with the instrumental title track from the 1995 album, Three Legged Dog. From the get go the front bar was uncomfortably packed. It seemed as though overlapping their slot with Even’s didn’t have the desired effect of spreading out the crowd over the two rooms.

I forged my way back through the sweaty mass to the Gershwin Room and enjoyed the last few tunes in Even’s set- including crowd favourite I Have Nothing. An inebriated gentleman to my right yelled at the band between songs, “Bring on Tex!” I informed him he was already on in the front bar- the drunk man smiled at me with an oblivious gleam in his eye and began bopping along to the bass line of Even’s following song. There were a few people disappointed that they couldn’t see the full sets of both bands- and apparently a few who were unaware the overlap altogether. Finishing up bassist Wally Meanie promised that the bar would be open briefly after their final song for his birthday and invited everyone to hang around.

Getting back into the front bar was tough, so I tried to sneak through the toilets- but only made it about half a metre out the door and that’s where I ended up watching the remainder of the Cruel Sea’s performance. This proved to be a decent, though cramped, vantage point. The long time line up of Perkins, keyboardist/guitarist James Cruikshank, Ken Gormley on bass, Dan Rumour on guitar and drummer Jim Elliot all seemed in good form and to enjoy the rare chance to play together. After playing the track Daylight Tex quizzed the room, “did you like that obscure number? Good cause we’re going to hit you with another- but don’t worry, the hits are coming”. The following ‘obscure number’ was Hard Times- with the refrain “You gotta give me something back”- the alcohol and sweat soaked crowd obliged the request. Their reward? A string of classics, including Naked Flame, the sing-a-long Anybody But You and then to finish the set, in Tex’s self deprecating words, their “masterpiece” The Honeymoon is Over, which as Tex reminisced, won the Aria award for song and single of the year in 1994.

An encore was granted without too much prodding- and they kicked off the additional four songs with another instrumental This Is What It Is which was followed by another classic track, Delivery Man (it’s still stuck in my head as I write this- ‘Whatever you want I got it by the dozen, I got it by the pound. Gimme a call. I’ll bring it round.’ Gold lyric.) The final two songs made for a mellow finish- their version of Dillinger’s Cocaine (Tex outro’d this song by warning “and let that be a lesson to you kids, never mess around with”, pause for comic effect, “reggae- if you do, you may never get out”.) And finally another cover, Groovy Situation. A funny sort of way to finish an entertaining set, with all intensity lost.

About a third of the punters stayed on for Geelong band the Frowning Clouds, an unashamedly derivative British invasion pop rock act. They continued the anti climax for me, but gave those wanting to hang around something to dance to (probably a bit harsh, they were solid- and helped initiate a discussion about the Mindbenders- a groovy situation.)

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