GIG: WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING
In the 80s and 90s, Weddings Parties Anything were one of the stand-out bands of Australian music, earning a reputation for their raucous live shows. Frenzied mosh-pits, flying objects and out of control dancing were all par for the course, as the band delivered their own blend of punk-edged folk rock, connecting with fans and critics alike. On October 9 Weddings Parties Anything are reforming for a one-off gig at the Enmore Theatre – performing their acclaimed debut album, Scorn of the Women, as part of Empire Touring’s Classic Album series. Whether the fans can still bring the same energy to the floor twenty years on remains to be seen, but this is an unmissable opportunity to see a great Australian band in action.
We spoke to lead singer, Mick Thomas about the upcoming show, and what it was like to revisit the band’s early material.
The band is renowned for putting on great live shows. What can people expect from a Weddings Parties Anything gig?
Well the one at The Enmore is new(ish) territory for us for a few reasons: the first being that we are playing the first album (Scorn of the Women – from 1987) in its sequential entirety, something we have never, ever done. On top of that we have Dave Steel, the original guitarist and singer back with the band for the first time in 22 years. Add to add to that it’s a sit down theatre then it’s all a little strange but I’m sure we will rise to the occasion.
How has your performance style changed over the years?
It’s hard for me to say in that I am the one in the eye of the hurricane. I certainly know it’s not as pressured or frantic as it used to be, but I still like to think I can get a head of steam up when required.
Scorn of the Women is a classic album – why do you think it still stands up so well 20 years on?
Listening to it now we are all troubled by it sonically to some degree. I guess it was the 80s and people were just recording and arranging music in a peculiar fashion back then. So … apart from the sound of the thing I guess it’s the songs and I suppose an overriding (bordering on bombastic) sense of self-belief that permeates the whole affair. These days I doubt I would be grabbing Bertold Brecht poems and putting them alongside quotes from Kenneth Cook and samples of wobble-boards but back then we felt it was all part of some higher creative process that we alone were privy to.
How has your own musical style evolved since the early days of Weddings Parties Anything?
I still pretty much listen to the same music and aspire to the same things. I like to sing, connect, tell stories. Maybe my playing has improved a little bit and I certainly own better guitars than I did back then. I think I have reined my singing accent in a fair bit which was something that needed doing.
Are there any acts in the charts right now that stand out for you?
Megan Washington seems pretty well undeniably good. Darren Hanlon is making fantastic records. The Gin Club would have hits if radio would play them. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have been asked what I thought about the success of Mumford and Sons. I don’t really listen to chart radio so I don’t know.
Are there any plans for more gigs soon?
Not with the Weddings. We are really careful that we are not seen to be re-forming so we need a really decent reason to get back together. Apart from that Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing will be playing the Vanguard December 3 & 4 with our buddy Van Walker – come along. It’ll be a blast.
If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would do differently?
How long have you got?
Oct 9, 7pm, Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown, $85, enmoretheatre.com.au
BY TOBY BOON
