WILD WEEKEND
 
 

We were both delighted to find out that one of the bands, les Hurlements d'Leo, were doing a tour of the Eastern states of Australia, but not for long, as I couldn't get any time off work. At the time we didn't realise that Leo (as they're known in Australia) will be back, and this time in Western Australia as well, some 12 months later.

Unfortunately, Pizdolisieur had to go overseas, so he was not able to witness what Leo has got to offer live, but at least he can read this article and weep.

Anyway, as I said, Leo came back to our shores and they got two gigs organised in WA - one in Perth and the other in a small town of Albany, some 40k south from Perth. Of course I had to see both! And here's how it happened:

Day 1, 27 February 2004
6pm. I picked Sabakukyu from her place and we went straight to Fredric Brown Jr's home for pizza and wine. Les VRP DVD played in the background, just to get us into the right mood. Pizza was great, as usual, wine was fine, evening was beautiful, perfect for an outdoor gig.

Leo played as a part of the Perth International Arts Festival. The gig took place on the veranda of Perth Concert Hall. Nice spot if you asked me. Quite big, but not huge. Still, I was shocked to realise smoking was forbidden (it was only allowed in the back, where the bar was)!?!?! It seemed rather stupid to have a no smoking policy in the outdoor venue, especially with lots of people, many of whom tried to smoke anyway, until the apeman came over and told us off. How ridiculous!

The band started just after 8pm. The opener was a moody slow song that might be off their latest album, which I haven't heard in its entirety yet. By the second song there was a lot of commotions in the crowd. By the third song: "La Der Des Der", everyone was jumping for joy. I decided to watch and listen and to have more fun in Albany, as they were scheduled to play there two days later.

So, I just stood back and relaxed with a beer and enjoyed what was coming from the stage. It seemed that the whole band knew how to enjoy themselves live and the feeling certainly spilled to the audience. I was particularly amused by the fact that almost all band members changed their instruments according to the song. Hell, I didn't even realised that they have two, sometimes three lead singers.

Some two hours later the gig was over. I've heard pretty much all of my Leo favourites and some more, was quite happy with the gig and was looking forward to their Albany show.

So, Fredric Brown Jr and me went home and I hit the sack right away, as the wake up time was 5am.

Day 2, 28 February 2004
Fredric Brown Jr rang at 5am and some 20 minutes later (just enough time for me to get ready) he was at my door. The car was waiting, we packed our stuff and Fredric Brown Jr took off.

To get to Albany from Perth all you need to do is take the Albany Highway. Considering that I live in the suburb of Victoria Park where the Albany Highway begins I had an idea to start from the beginning of it. It required us driving back some 500 meters, but at 5.30 in the morning we couldn't be bothered. We made a stop at the local shop, bought some energy drinks to keep us awake and hit the road.
The road was not too busy, as we expected, so the drive was fast and smooths. We made a stop at some service station just outside Perth to buy some batteries and a toasted sandwich, which was pretty tasty. From then there was no stopping until Albany.

And we didn't, until we hit the first second hand shop at the outskirts of Albany. See, Fredric Brown Jr is a book lover, if he sees a book store he has to stop. And I have to be patient. By the time we came to the town centre we stopped at 4 shops, but Fredric Brown Jr couldn't find a great deal of books he was after. Still, he scored some fine goodies.

We didn't have much luck finding single rooms at the backpackers, so we decided to go for a cheap hotel and we found one! Of course, with cheap price comes the danger as well, or filth, as was the case with this hotel. I was given a key for the room number 9, but once I got into the room I realise it might have been still in use: there were some pieces of clothing laying around, as well as leftovers of pot, a cone that was used just recently, syringe, needle, spoon, some pills... I returned the key and demanded another room, which I got, no problem, together with a free beer - to keep my mouth shut.
After we got "comfortable" and unpacked it was time for lunch and a stroll through town. Although, it wasn't much of a stroll, since as soon as I ate my fish burger the fatigue overcame me and the afternoon nap was inevitable.

Since I've been doomed not to be able to have an afternoon nap (at least in 9 out of 10 times), it didn't surprise me when Xavier rang saying that him and his girlfriend Modesty Blaze were in town and they wanted to have a drink with us. Well, goodbye sleep, hello Guinness! We went down the street to one of the pubs and by 5pm I was half way through my first pint. By 6pm I started feeling the effects of alcohol and realised if I don't eat anything soon I might end up with a nasty hangover tomorrow. We went for dinner, which was pretty good, but we were hugely disappointed by the lack of decent bars in Albany. Both pubs were pretty local, small town pubs and we had to choose the one where we felt more comfortable and that was downstairs at the hotel where we stayed. The customers looked a bit suspicious, but we were left alone and the pool table was free. Soon some Japanese friends joined us and the next few hours we spent shooting pool and drinking cheap beer (cheap as in the prices were cheaper than in most pubs around here). Around midnight Fredric Brown Jr and me went to the room, shared a spliff and cried on each others shoulders for a while.

Day 3, 29 February 2004
Woke up at 9am, feeling pretty good. Fredric Brown Jr knocked on my door some 15 minutes later and we both felt like having a nice big breakfast. So, Irish Breakfast was on the menu this morning, couple of sausages, eggs, bacon, potato bread, toast... Quite healthy, the way we liked it!

With our full bellies we were contemplating the rest of the day. First we needed some coffee and we decided to find a nice place to have a cuppa. While we were walking down the main street I saw two guys, one of whom was wearing Les Hurlements d'Leo T-shirt. I elbowed Fredric Brown Jr's ribs and pointed to the guy. Fredric Brown Jr reckoned he was from the band, but I had problem recognizing the guy.

We saw both of them on the way back to the hotel and this time I decided to introduce ourselves. The guys from friendly from first we met. They were Laulo and Remi, guitarist/singer and drummer, respectively.

Four of us went for a coffee and a chat and spent a couple of hours together. We talked about everything and anything, from other French bands to politics. They wanted to meet us before the gig, so we agreed to meet after their sound check.

Fredric Brown Jr and me decided to do some sightseeing, but very soon we got bored, so we went back to our hotel for some beer and pool. We trashed some local yobs (well, it's not our fault they can't play pool for shits) and at 2pm Xavier and Modesty joined us for more drinks and more pool - you can never get tired of both!

At around 3pm we went for a bite and then took the taxi to the Esplanade Hotel, where the band was playing that evening. Once there, there was nothing much to do but drink. After a drink we went to check the venue and, boy, it was such a disappointment! First of all, it was not part of the hotel. In other words, it was not a pub, as I thought - all the time I had in mind that the band will play in a pub and it will be much more intimate than their show in Perth.

This place was a big function room and quite ugly at that. They place pink chairs around and the stage had purple curtain with small shiny stars on it behind the band. The only beer they had was the worst beer available in Western Australia and, of course, there was no smoking in the venue. I felt like shit.

We went out, bought some drinks in the liquor shop and went to the beach. I thought, at least if I'm drunk things will look better. But for some reason, I could not get totally drunk, although I was close to that all evening. Xavier was a friend enough to share some mull with me, so for a moment I got the venue out of my mind.

At 5.45pm we caught up with the guys from the band just outside the venue and we had some drinks and it was time for a show to start. The venue was pretty full, but I was not happy with the fact that most of the punters looked lost or too old. Gee, I had a feeling that the show will suck. Fortunately, the drummer invited us "backstage" (basically, just a few chairs and a bucket with ice, Cola and a bottle of Gin). Thank god I still had heaps of other stuff that we shared with pretty much the whole band. When talking to Benziz (who sings, plays guitar, keyboards and sax) I expressed my concern that the venue is ugly and that it might affect the bands playing, but he felt confident that the gig will be great. And so was Laulo when I told him the same. And they were right.

The gig started, first two songs sort of tested the audience's pulse, but once they went into "La Der Des Der" the place exploded, the dance floor was packed and all my doubts disappeared. Still, I didn't get off my chair and decided just to enjoy the concert and pay attention to every little detail, which was hard, of course, after so many opiates. The set seemed to be the same as in Perth, except they had a break after 50 or so minutes. Of course we spent it backstage.

The band played for another hour or so, did the encore with songs they haven't played in Perth and what followed then was the highlight of the show and the weekend, and a highlight of all the live shows I have ever seen (and I've seen probably hundreds in the last 20 odd years)! After finishing the last song the band got off the stage into the audience, each member carrying his instrument (drummer took only the snare, of course), and they took a spot in the middle of the venue. Then it became clear they will play an acoustic set, which I've heard they used to do after the shows, but didn't expect them to do here.

By this time, only 50 or so enthusiasts left in the place and we encircled the band, which started with awesome "Wechtival!" from their first album. I was surprised they didn't play it at their gig in Perth, but after hearing it here, in this version and this environment I realised it would not be the same. Every time the band stopped in the middle of the song the crowd would go "Heeey!" from the top off their lungs in a state of collective frenzy.

The next song started as a ska riff on a guitar and quickly turned into "Caravan" - one of the best, if not the best, songs ever written. And it made people go even crazier. We yelled, we hummed, we shouted, everybody sat down when the band told us to do so and everybody jumped when it was time for it.

Band has saved their trademark song for the end - "Leo" - originally written and recorded (and apparently covered by many French bands) by Les VRP. Les Hurlements d'Leo named themselves after that song (after the last line in the song, to be precise) and it was very uplifting to hear such a good version of already great song. And then it was over, unfortunately.

We hanged around for a while, Fredric Brown Jr got his CDs signed, the place was getting deserted.
The band went to have a dinner, but Laulo decided to hang around with us, so we bought some beers and wine and went to the beach. Soon after the rest of the band joined us and a small party took off. We were pissed off we couldn't find an open pub at 10pm (on Sunday night in a country town), so we had to be satisfied with what we got. And we were, because we spent good 2-3 hours enjoying the conversation, jokes and drinks. And then it was time to say goodbye. They said they will be back, and I'm sure they will, as this time they made a lot of fans in Western Australia.

Fredric Brown Jr, Xavier, Modesty and me went back to town. We were hungry, but nothing was open except for one petrol station where we bought some sandwiches. It was over expensive and tasted pretty average, but we didn't mind.

Day 4, 1 March 2004
Woke up, had another Irish Breakfast, drove all the way to Perth, took a shower, and put on Leo's Australian compilation CD. It was only then that it hit me hard - the show I witnessed the night before was one of the best experiences in the last 33 and half years. I had to call my girlfriend and tell her all about it.