shandy

It's hearsay but I’ve got this on good authority: Being on the end of a kicking from one of Australia’s Sharpie gangs at the end off the ‘60s or start of the ‘70s was never have been as much fun as going to a show by Brisbane band Shandy.

For the uninitiated, a shandy is an Australian beer with lemonade added. Truly a relic of the ‘60s and, personally, there’s no reason to commit a crime like this unless your grandmother is really insistent and has a doctor’s certificate to prove she’s dying from thirst. Shandy, the band, on the other hand is less offensive by a factor of double figures. Shandy rocks.

The Sharps were a uniquely Australian brand of street gang that roamed the suburbs of Sydney and especially Melbourne 50 years ago. They liked their music raw and guitar-infested. Glam and boogie were the go. You can read more about it in this reviewof "When Sharpies Rules, the landmark compilation that came out in 2015.

The pain will be real when the Psychotic Turnbuckles emerge from their palatial luxury homes in Pismo Beach and go on a two-city rampage in New South Wales in July.

The Turnbuckles play La La La’s in Wollongong on Friday, July 28 and Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday, July 29 as preparation for a Japanese tour in October.

Lame-brain failed gym flunkies, The Dark Clouds, and limp-limbed Brisbane bovver boy pretenders, Shandy, are making up the numbers on both bills .

Prepare to see them out-classed in two no-holds barred elimination bouts, courtesy of the Turnbuckles, who are rightly hailed around the Intercontinental Rock and Roll Team Champions (undefeated).

“We’re heading to Japan to ‘say no to sumo’ but first we’ll practice our moves on The Dark Clouds and Shandy,” said Turnbuckles manager Chester Chitworth.

“We visited Australia for a training camp in a remote rural location earlier in the year and worked in our new bass man, The Infliktor, but this time is the real deal.

“We’re a hot commodity in demand around the world so who knows when your sad little country will see us again? I’m outta here – we’re going surfing.”

The shows are I-94 Bar promotions. Tickets for both are on sale via Moshtix (Wollongong) and Oztix(Marrickville.)