AIRBOURNE

GOVERNER HINDMARSH HOTEL
Adelaide, South Australia
29th November 2010

Thanks to Shane Rockpit, I had been looking forward to seeing the Airbourne dudes kick some ass for a few months, seeing as last time they played Adelaide we got too drunk when we finished opening for them and can't really remember a lot about the show!!!

We walked in the doors at 8:30pm just in time to see Melbourne hard rockers Mammoth Mammoth kick off their set. Not too familiar with the Mammoth Mammoth guys, but their tunes are like a firm punch to the face with a beer bottle in hand. It's obvious when these guys are on stage that they like the drink. And they don't say no. A quick swig of a vodka bottle passed to the singer from a punter proves this. No other way to describe these Melbourne cats other than ball kicking Rock n' f'n Roll. I’ll definitely head to one of their future shows – a great asset to open for the Airbourne dudes!

After a few conversations with punters how they remember their first time at an Airbourne show, either being an underage drunk, or the first time they took drugs, or in our case, drank a shitload (including the other support band’s rider) and played horribly! All in all everyone was beer stained and this was before the madness that was about to be unveiled.

After a brief line check, the majority of the venue was shoulder to shoulder, chanting “Airbourne Airbourne Airbourne”, and doing a bit of a Freddie Mercury inspired improv with the roadie checking mics. Next thing, The Terminator theme starts up, the flood lights are in sync and Airbourne burst onto the stage straight into "Raise the Flag" don't think I have ever seen a show as ballsy and loud from the get-go.

Then after a brief g'day and guitar change, the tempo didn't stop and they continued on to "Hellfire" and "Chewin the Fat" which Joel as usual cheekily dedicated to all the prostitutes that get down on the infamous Hindley Street in Adelaide. After more guitar changes, the crowd surfing started and the well known favourite off Runnin' Wild "Diamond in the Rough" belted out. This then lead into one of the more popular tunes off No Guts No Glory, "Blonde, Bad and Beautiful". The ladies seemed to love it, and this is when the rafter climbing started. From the punters, this time, not Joel which was a surprise.

Joel expressed his love for the ladies and then went straight into "Girls in Black". All this time they are staring everyone in the eyes and not looking like they would be slowing down. By this time everyone’s beers have spilt and it is total mayhem amongst the crowd, everybody loving every minute of it. The solo came in and Joel has run off towards the bar along some road cases and made his way to the mixing desk where he played his solo and the rest of the band kept it tight at the front, as they did the whole show. Joel got lifted back to the stage, over the barrier and kicked ass in the rest of the song. Next came "Bottom of the Well", probably the slowest tempo song of the night. That shows how rad these guys are.

After about the 7th guitar change and another bottle of water over the head, Joel shows his admiration for South Australian wine and blasted out another classic off Runnin' Wild and my personal favourite "Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women" – an absolute ball tearer of a song and everyone there seemed to be familiar with it. After no hesitation "Born to Kill" was played and then this led into their well known first single from No Guts No Glory "No Way, But The Hard Way" and yet again the fist pumping, beer skulling, and crowd surfing erupted. So now it's 10:50pm and nobody was going to move. After a solid 30-40 seconds, they burst back onto stage just like they did the first time and absolutely hammered themselves to their most well known song, "Too Much, Too Soon, Too Fast" and by this stage everyone looked like they have been kicked in the face by the Airbourne machine have no intention of slowing down the partying - either that or they are determined to take someone home and get it on like crazy.

What more can you really ask for from one of their shows? I walked out of The Gov and was keen to party. I love that about the Airbourne guys - everytime I have been around them it's been a night to remember. If you haven't seen these guys, you suck, I highly recommend it. They are one of the hardest working bands in the business and don't show any sign of fatigue.

Stace Branford
Drummer, Generation Swine

Thanks to Matt from the Airbourne management team for getting The Rockpit in to see Airbourne tear up The Gov!