Sticky carpet forever
March 25, 2020 10:29 AM Subscribe
Anthony Clarke spent quite a lot of the 1990s capturing chunks of the Melbourne live music scene on Video8 and Hi8 tape, and for the last three years has been progressively uploading his entire archive to YouTube. Many of these are the only extant video recordings of these bands.
In particular, I had no idea until very recently that there existed any video of my favourite guitar player of all time: the incomparable Max Meredith, now sadly deceased; the gentlest guide to that place where there is no Max, no guitar, only the moment.
Max was part of the legendary Checkerboard Lounge Blues Band during their long running Sunday afternoon residency at the equally legendary Great Britain Hotel. Here they are on 16 Dec 1990 and here's Max guesting with the Warner Brothers at the Albion Inn the previous evening.
Here's Checkerboard playing the Brit on 8 July 1991: sets 1 & 2, sets 3 & 4, this time with Al McInnes on guitar.
Al is half of Dan & Al, as recommended in the previous gig's introduction. Here they are at the Brit, 9 July 1991: sets 1 & 2, set 3; again on 6 August 1991, this time with mixing desk audio: sets 1 & 2, set 3; at the Punters Club, 16 October 1994 and 21 April 1996.
The other half of Dan & Al is Dan Warner, among whose projects are the aforementioned Warner Brothers and Overnight Jones, caught here at the Armadale Hotel on 17 May 1996 supported by The Dog. If their blistering Hey Hey Mama from that gig doesn't have you out of your seat and bouncing about like a thing on a spring there's something wrong with you.
That's the tiniest tip of Anthony's astonishing iceberg. Enjoy!
In particular, I had no idea until very recently that there existed any video of my favourite guitar player of all time: the incomparable Max Meredith, now sadly deceased; the gentlest guide to that place where there is no Max, no guitar, only the moment.
Max was part of the legendary Checkerboard Lounge Blues Band during their long running Sunday afternoon residency at the equally legendary Great Britain Hotel. Here they are on 16 Dec 1990 and here's Max guesting with the Warner Brothers at the Albion Inn the previous evening.
Here's Checkerboard playing the Brit on 8 July 1991: sets 1 & 2, sets 3 & 4, this time with Al McInnes on guitar.
Al is half of Dan & Al, as recommended in the previous gig's introduction. Here they are at the Brit, 9 July 1991: sets 1 & 2, set 3; again on 6 August 1991, this time with mixing desk audio: sets 1 & 2, set 3; at the Punters Club, 16 October 1994 and 21 April 1996.
The other half of Dan & Al is Dan Warner, among whose projects are the aforementioned Warner Brothers and Overnight Jones, caught here at the Armadale Hotel on 17 May 1996 supported by The Dog. If their blistering Hey Hey Mama from that gig doesn't have you out of your seat and bouncing about like a thing on a spring there's something wrong with you.
That's the tiniest tip of Anthony's astonishing iceberg. Enjoy!
I like how the band videos are interspersed with footage of industrial hemp decorticators and road trips.
posted by zamboni at 12:02 PM on March 25, 2020
posted by zamboni at 12:02 PM on March 25, 2020
To be fair, the decorticator is at least as danceable as some of its musical contemporaries.
posted by flabdablet at 1:17 PM on March 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 1:17 PM on March 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
See also the work of Carbie Warbie, (aka Robert Carbone), who's been employed as a broadcast camera op as well as freelancer, for gems like the Cozzers, TISM, Blackeyed Susans, and many more...
posted by prismatic7 at 9:17 PM on March 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by prismatic7 at 9:17 PM on March 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Thanks for this!
Australian 90s alternative nostalgia seems to be having a moment; only in the past month or so, a Facebook group named Sound As Ever (Australian Indie 90-99) was created. I've seen a lot of set lists, gig flyers, photos of venerable CD collections and photos of the Punters Club there.
posted by acb at 10:03 AM on March 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Australian 90s alternative nostalgia seems to be having a moment; only in the past month or so, a Facebook group named Sound As Ever (Australian Indie 90-99) was created. I've seen a lot of set lists, gig flyers, photos of venerable CD collections and photos of the Punters Club there.
posted by acb at 10:03 AM on March 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Nice to see footage of the Punters. I missed the '90s there because in '89 I decamped to the Hunter Valley to look after my dying mother and ended up staying. But in the '80s I lived and worked in Fitzroy and of all the oh so many pubs within walking distance my feet took me most often to the Punters' s-s-s-sticky carpet.
posted by valetta at 7:25 PM on March 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by valetta at 7:25 PM on March 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
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