Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Sunday 22 September 2019
The chatter outside the Enmore Theatre was all about fond memories, the bands we have seen, the company we have kept. Damien Lovelock’s life had weaved itself into the Australian music scene and our own over decades of passionate self-belief, and it is on his passing we are here on a Sunday afternoon in Newtown, just milling around out the front waiting for the doors to open.
Damo the Musical is a pretty apt title to give to the day’s celebration which was full of humour and joy, and a long list of friends stepping on stage. Our MC’s for the evening, Steve Cannane and Francis Leach, guided us through an evening of fine music, hilarious videos and tall stories, and did their best to keep things moving along smoothly.
Damien’s cover band project, Centrelink Surfers, gave us an insight into the music that inspired him, what he would have loaded onto his jukebox – Stones, Stooges, Easybeats. It was lovely to see Died Pretty’s Brett Myers make an appearance late in the set to deliver some impressive guitar work on Iggy’s ‘Gimme Danger’.
To pay tribute to Damien’s solo work, Wigworld were formed, a ‘supergroup’ featuring a Divinyl, a Saint, a New Christ, and an Aint. In the crowd I also spied a Sunnyboy and a Wiggle…. it was a night like that. It was a short set of debut solo album work, with ‘Pretty Pictures’ and ‘Ghost Town’ being highlights.
The Celibates Rifles set was big and long. It cut deep into their catalog with the guest vocalist all taking their turn to honouring Damien. Early cuts began the night – ‘Tubular Greens’, ‘Kent’s Theme’ and ‘Tick Tock’ all being 30 years old. The opening drum / guitar salvo of ‘Johnny’ was a joy to hear, even more so the drop into the chorus, “You used to look so golden, now you look so grey.”
Guest highlights – the stylish Jeff Duff grabbing hold of the Rifles to deliver a wonderful ‘Sweet Jane’, a fighting fit Bill Gibson taking on ‘Wild Desire’, and Jello Biafra ripping into ‘Back in the Red’. Set highlight – an encore of ‘Dirty Deeds’, ‘Saturday Night is Alright for Fighting’, and ‘I’m Stranded’ was a mighty fine way to finish up a celebration amongst friends.
And it did feel like a celebration amongst friends. Cheers to you Damien Lovelock, I’m off to put on 5 Languages.
Reviewer : Catherine Shelvey
Photographer : Kevin Bull
