From: andrewd@ecr.mu.oz.au (Andrew_John DISSELDORP)
Subject: Over zealous bouncers at Hunters & Collectors gig (Melb Aug 1st)
Organization: Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1992 13:27:14 GMT

	I've been meaning to post this for a while.......

	I went to the H & C gig at the powerhouse on Saturday August the 1st.
Supporting bands were The Welcome Mat and Ed Kuepper. 

	The Welcome Mat - I didn't see much of, as I had to find the Powerhouse
and then park. They seemed to be a fun type band, especially their last song
which was really well played. (The song is the one played on JJJ.)

	Ed Keupper - By this time we had leveraged my way up to the front. 
(This is when I hate being over 6 foot tall. Yuo cause a lot of hassle to 
smaller people behind you) Ed Keupper played brilliantly, with highlights
being Honey-steels Gold, Real Wild life, The title track of
his new album and his final song - The way you make me feel.
Other band members were in interesting states of "mind". The bass player
had to be seen. I've seen people off their nuts, but gee.
Brian - They played a real flute for Real Wild Life. Unfortunately it tended to
be drowned out.  The volume of the music had been pumped up, and a couple of
times the volume made the music was painful to listen to. 

	Hunters & Collectors opened up with Where do you go, and played mostly
music that was from Ghost Nation and Cut. The problem with the bouncers started
occuring about the 3rd song - Head above Water. A Group of people were slam
dancing, to which the bouncers decided to run straight accross stage (in front
of the band) dive through the crowd,and apprehend a couple of people. This
was repeated maybe 10 times in the next 5 songs. It was really pissing off
*everyone* around me. The slam dancers were just expressing themselves, 
just as the band were. Mark Seymour finally said to the crowd "In the interests
of doing our job safely please confine your dancing to horizontal motion only"
Just a hint - look around before you slag off the bouncers, there might be one
standing right behind you :-). He gave me a good staring down, but for a while
there I thought I was on my way to the door. The band played 2 (or 3?)
encores, but the o-ened allof themm with new songs, which is not the way
to get a crowd pumping. I was quite dissapointed with most of the new songs -
they seem to lack the raw power of early H&C, and even lacked the 
"commercial success guaranteed" recipe of newer songs (I.E. songs from 
Ghost Nation)
	If Mark Seymour wants a nice quite crowd who will only "dance
horizontally" then he better have a show at the (Insert your quiet sit down
concert venue here = Palais theatre in Melb). Don't play a huge open barn
like the Powerhouse. Was it Brendan Jones who suggested the H&C wanted both
sides of the coin (A large open venue but a quiet sedate crowd). I must agree.
	Finally I found the gig just to plain loud. My ears were ringing 
5 days later. Normally my ears will ring for an hour or two, or if its
really loud maybe the next morning. Everyone I went with had the same problem.
But then again, I was on a high from the concert for the next 3 days.
	The crowds at a Hunna gig has changed, even in the four years that I
have been (legally) able to go to Hunnas concerts. As evidence of this the 
background music between bands was initially Melissa Etheridge :-(,
However later they changed it to the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprasy :-). 
The crowd looked dumbfounded "Did he really say Television the drug of a nation"
was one of the comments I heard.....

Comments anyone
Andrew
(andrewd@ecr.mu.oz.au)