Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts

[cass]

At last...the long-awaited night arrived!!
I went along with a bunch of dear friends last night and saw TOFOG aka Russell Crowe's band.
They rocked, it was a great show. We got there early and had the prime position front row and centre. ( well maybe Russ's mum had THE prime position...it was her birthday and he sat her in "the birthday chair" with other VIP guests , side of stage.)
TOFOG is a 7 piece band, 4 guitarists , including Russ,bass, a keyboard player who also plays trumpet, a cute( imho) drummer and at different points in the show, guest harmonica and tambourine players....and a female Maori roadie who took her job seriously and looked stoked to be part of it all GO GIRL!!!

Russ got off to a good start..."hello Yamba...you know Yamba means"wind"...you are the "Yamba Beneath My Wings" "Blowing In The Yamba"...did somebody just pass Yamba?"...go on laugh, I spent all morning thinking those up!" Oh RUSS

They play a real variety of music, some not so good, but at different points in the night they got good and heavy, bluesy and funky. I was wishing I had more room to dance, it got very "moshy" up the front. My dear tiny friend is a BIG Russell Crowe fan, so I spent the night being her "body guard" and making sure no one crushed her. I was so pleased for her, at one point when he was singing a song about a princess he came and gave her a long, sultry "Russell look", very special it was Unlike some of the other women front row, we were being respectful and I think he appreciated it.( I'll give some other Russell quotes from the night, but I'll put them in the journal...he said the c*** word...I quite like the c*** word and wasn't expecting to hear it...not that one..the other one ..and not Cr**d btw)

Their new album is called "Other Ways of Speaking" and I was quite moved by his light show at one point. He had pictures of hands using sign language projected on the back of the stage....I reckon he's a big softie at heart....and boy o boy, does he love to sing and perform. He may not be the greatest singer, but he performs with heart and the band really enjoy themselves.
I just remembered another bit...he was talking about "living nightmares" and said "you are all welcome to live my nightmare at times" and did a freaky thing with his eyes.I think maybe he should step back from the limelight and just hang out with us girls singing on the verandah.
They came back for 2 encores , the second one being renditions of "Burning Ring of Fire" and "Folsom Prison Blues". The whole show was filmed and I told the girls, we're going to be in the DVD. Look out...me doing my "bodyguarding" thing. I'm thinking of asking him if he needs a bodyguard, he can see in the video I'm very good at it
So good night had by all...especially me!
I told the girls it's time now to seriously save for U2 and they claim this time we are doing it in style, staying at a "nice" hotel( I quite like the YMCA) and arriving in a limousine...I asked "Why?"...but never did get an answer
But I got flowers and body lotion...an unexpected gift from the girls. I doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I love my girls nights out.
They are playing at the House of Blues in Chicago next.

Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts

 

[Angela Harlem]

I've always wondered what type of band he had. Did he do a lot of covers or mostly original stuff?

Sounds like you gals had a ball Cass

 

[IWasBored]

cool

which reminds me..cass, are you familiar with the band frenzal rhomb?

 

[Calluna]

cool

which reminds me..cass, are you familiar with the band frenzal rhomb?

I am. The video for that song is pretty funny.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

russell crowe's band

should i download it? frenzal rhomb i mean.

 

[IWasBored]

creed isn't censored anymore

 

[Angela Harlem]

the other word should be though lol

 

[Salome]

sounds like a fun night

 

[cass]

*****

*****

oh yes it is.

Yep...I know Frenzal Rhomb( they play up this way now and then at the skate festivals, Vans Warped that kind of gear)they were just here for the Splendour Festival so I heard them interviewed quite a bit John....the Butler!!
AND of course I know THAT song...I taped a brilliant Russell Crowe interview the other day, it's a CLASSIC!! what not to do in an interview( the young interviewer asked such stupid questions) of course when the interview concluded they played the Frenzal Rhomb song.
I like their song "Punisher" ..what a champion, what a punisher.It has a good film clip too. One thing you can trust about Frenzal , their film clips are energetic and funny and if you watch closely...they teach you something.
Angela..except for the encore of Johnny Cash songs, TOFOG played all originals. The guitarist Billy Dean and Russell have known each other since early teens and are a song-writing team.
His band are very talented musos, it's not all about Russell. TOFOG really go off..imho

 

[cass]

something else I just remembered

on the drive home, I thought my thoughtful girlfriend had made a specail tape for the jorney( she does that kind of thing) I heard Silverchair"Miss You Love" followed by INXS "Devil Inside".
It was just a coincidence..it was the late night local radio

AND..I was unpleasantly groped by some young dude during the TOFOG show.ewwwwwwwwwwwww. But I gave him the "death stare" and that was that. As we were leaving the club, I had to wait in the foyer chatting to the doorman( wayward girlfriend , reluctant to leave..you know how it is) The aforementioned groping young dude walked by with his forehead covered in bandage and plaster. I asked the doorman what happened ? He said someone had head-butted the dude outside in the carpark. He must have tried groping someone else?ewwwwwwwwwww. That'll learn him...the hard way.
And another thing...my girlfriend said if she was going into business, she'd go into doors. What? Doors? She hadn't been to that club before and it took her a while to find the ladies room. She said she'd never been through so many doors, the place was full of them
In the ladies room after the show, I overheard a woman say.."EXTRA LARGE!!! extra large garden gnome maybe. They wouldn't fit my thigh"
She was talking about the TOFOG tour shirts, the women's crop top style ones :LMAO:...she was a "big girl"
I told the guy with the video camera he should head into the ladies room...that is where the REAL concert reviews were going on.

And Salome...if you come back..maybe you have to experience Australian Bowling Club culture to "get" this, but as we walked in the cheeky old doorman said, "ahh, here's a lovely bunch of pullets"

pullet= young laying hen= chook

at least I think that's what he meant,
the majority of the crowd WERE middle-aged women
musiclovers everyone of them...I'm sure

 

[OzAurora]

Yo Cass,

so nice to hear your adventure seeing TOFOG- I have often wondered what they would be like live and I laughed out loud when I heard the JJJ interview with Frenzal from Splendour- gosh those guys crack me up!!!!

I just checked in here very briefly- have been very busy with uni and all, am going to see Michael Franti and Spearhead on Sat night at Festival Hall in bris, which will be great and the newest cds that I have bought have been Radio JXL by Junkie XL and the new Janes Addiction album- 'Strays'' (a band who tie with U2 for me in the stakes of 'musical freakdom!'")....

anyways keep in touch,

here be my new uni e-mail addy,

s4050806@student.uq.edu.au

cheers,

 

[IWasBored]

i figured you'd know who they were.

sounds like a fun time you had

 

[*BOOMCHAA!*]

I did not know anyone else knew of them


I saw them live 2 years ago in Austin.
I have Bastard Life or Clarity.

 

[cass]

for the reocrd

Rocking Rolling Russell

 

[cass]

if you llok closely..you can see me and the girls, well the top of our heads..shortys

they have a fan club Boomcha. I had to contend with a large American bloke standing next to me ,who got more and more excited as the show went on...and then the Kiwi hardcore female Russ fans tried to muscle in and there were fans from the UK. It was great. A crew are following htem to the USA. I think they are only doing 2 dates, Chicago and somewhere in Canada.
One of my muso friends who was at the Yamba show criricised their musicianship...but you get that. They had me grooving..genuinely, some very funky stuff emanating from the band imho.
Check out gruntland.com for more info.