"Spies Like Us"
Spy V Spy @ the Maroubra Junction Hotel, Sydney
Friday 9th June, 2000
Maroubra Junction's temple to live music is a partially demolished/partially renovated disco in the basement of the hotel. The combination of bare brick and concrete, temporary barriers, scaffolding and lighting more appropriate to a bomb shelter, puts the patron more in mind of a bad night in Beirut than a good night in Sydney.
Fortunately no one had come for the decor, though while I waited for the band to take the stage I did fantasize about the sort of violent terrorist attack which could have led to it being in its current state - the image of a mortar round lobbing into the now gutted DJ's booth, ending the tedious disco beat in an explosion of blood, gristle, frilly shirt- front, shreds of sequined loon pants and molten chips of Donna Summer and Boney M was a comforting thought to this unregenerate disco despiser.
I don't know who the promoter (Kick Ass) is, but they seemed to be able to afford far more techies than is usual for a small venue, with up to five running around on stage before the Spies came on. One was clearly looking after the lights, one was the sound man and one seemed to be the band's own roadie, but quite what the other two were doing, aside from pointing at things and then touching them, I'm not sure. Whatever their purpose, they certainly seemed keen. As were the audience.
It's strange to realise that the Spies have only had two releases of new material in the last decade: one being "Fossil", which was recorded during the troubled time fairly soon after Cliff Grigg left the band and no longer features in their live set, and "Honey Island" which is closer to being a Mike Weiley solo project (despite Cliff's brief return), was only ever available direct from the band and now hardly ever features in their live set either. Yet they have retained a large following in Brazil (where they've just toured once again to promote the release of a double CD retrospective) and a significant following here (which is evidenced by the fact that the organisers of the "Boys Are Back in Town" promotion continue to advertise them on the bill, even for shows when their manager has made it clear that they won't be available...)
The Maroubra crowd was ready for a big night. As were the Spies themselves. In the last decade they've had almost as many drummers as Spinal Tap, but back behind the kit tonight was Paul Wheeler, returning (according to bass player Craig Bloxom) after a "sickie" lasting four years. While many of the last decade's passing parade have been good drummers, Paul is certainly the one who has come closest to exorcising Cliff's ghost and making the drum stool his own.
From the opening "All Over the World" to the closing "AO Mod TV Vers" and on into the encores of "Sallie Anne" and "Injustice", the band were clearly giving everything they had, much to the obvious enjoyment of the audience, all of whom seemed to know all of the words. In between, they dished out all the biggies like "Harry's Reasons", "Credit Cards", "Don't Tear It Down", "Trash the Planet", "Hard Times", "Asleep At The Wheel" and even the early "One Of A Kind", showing that while the band may be a little older now, the music hasn't aged a day.
There were however two small blemishes on this picture: I think it would have been a better omen for the future if at least some of the fans had been new enough to not know some of the words and one woman near me was not enjoying the show nearly as much as the guy behind her. She was tall and he was short, but one of those idiots who can't resist jabbing his hand into the air with index finger outstretched, so she was constantly copping it in the back of the head, much to her obvious and very vocal displeasure. Me, I loved every minute of it.
Disclaimer: Spy v Spy have always been a big favourite of mine and I went to a lot of their shows throughout the 80s and early nineties (and with the exception of Patrick's at Pennant Hills and Selina's, sadly every one of the venues where I can remember seeing them has since closed). On a good night, which seemed to be pretty often, they were about the hardest working band I've ever seen, so I went to this show with high expectations. They didn't let me down.
or, in the words of the Spies themselves in "Hooligans (on Heineken)": "Bartender, make it a double!"
