Day One – Baby Animals, Rattlincane, Taxiride featuring Jason Singh, Rattlincane, Strait Shooters
Wanstock originally started in 2018 as a birthday bash for founder Geoff Wainborough, but has evolved into an annual celebration of the music he grew up with. Wanstock 25 was bigger than ever this year, running over two nights. It was the only way to fit in all the great bands and their music. Wanstock ’25 was held once again at Shoppingtown Hotel in Doncaster, Victoria and was home to nine live acts with comedic interludes between the performances.
The show was opened on Friday by Strait Shooters. They are a raw, pub-rock cover band who play no nonsense good live music. Led by Andy Baker on vocals, Peppi Maio on guitar, Max Coleman on bass and Adam Edwards on drums (unfortunately they were missing Bruce Mountjoy on guitar due to personal reasons), Strait Shooters belted out 11-classic rock songs from Stevie Wright, ZZ Top to The Angels. Strait Shooters have a huge repertoire of classic rock tunes and closed their set with Andy saying “Long live rock’n’roll” and with bands like this the classics will never die.
Next on stage was Rattlincane, a 4-piece band led by Greg Prow on vocals and guitar, Stephen Biddlestone on guitar, John Dynon on bass and Greg Ratten on drums. Rattlincane play music with a toe tapping country twang mixed with a touch of rock, to produce their own unique sound. At times they reminded me of ‘Red Gum’, but I could also hear a Paul Kelly influence and the guitarist had a ‘Shadows’ quality to his playing. Rattlincane played a 10-song set of all original songs and was thoroughly entertaining.
The third act of the night was Taxiride featuring Jason Singh. The band, all dressed in white featured David Jones on guitar, Fabrizio Giorgio on drums, Alan Dinh on bass and Jeremy Diffey on keyboard and saxophone. Then lead singer Jason Singh appears in red and black and bang, straight into their hit “Get Set”. Though the band is not composed of the original Taxiride members, Jason (who is the original vocalist) has surrounded himself with top notch musicians.
Their whole performance was energetic and got the punters out of their seats. Jason knows how to work a crowd and the set of 14-songs had an infectious playful feeling. One of the highlights of the set was an INXS medley, including an awesome saxophone solo. Taxiride closed with “Creepin’ Up Slowly” and the crowd were singing and dancing to every pop rock note. If you are lucky enough to live in Adelaide, Taxiride will be at The Gov on Saturday 29th of March.
Main and last act of the night was Baby Animals, fronted by Australia’s original rock goddess Suze DeMarchi, the amazing Dave Leslie on guitar, Dario Bortolin on bass and Ricky Rae on drums. They were on stage for just over an hour and played thirteen of their iconic tracks starting with “Rush”.
This gig had an intimate feeling and was a great chance to view their performance up close and personal. Mine and the audience’s favourite track of the night was “Painless” which was sung loudly by all. Suze and band left everything on stage with Baby Animals never disappointing when seen live. Always a good rock show!
Day Two – The Babys, Mi-Sex, Ted Mulry Gang, Standing Room Only, Daydreamers
We returned on the Saturday to Wanstock ’25, on an incredibly hot night in Melbourne.
Opening tonight are Daydreamers with Zak Rakitic on vocals, Jordan Rakitic on bass, Nick Dordevic on drums and Daniel Lee on guitar. Daydreamers also opened Wanstock ’24 last year with their youthful loud and fast punk/rock sound. They played an 8-song set of originals and great covers of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and The Cure’s “In Between Days”. But I must admit “We Are Going On a Maccas Run” had me wanting McDonalds all night.
Second on stage was Standing Room Only, and again these were an act from previous years. Standing Room Only is a 3-piece band with Aaron O’Brien on drums and vocals, Bill ‘Fozzy’ Folino on guitar & vocals and Jim Currell on bass and vocals. Standing Room Only came with a guaranteed crowd of “Roomies” (their fans) and they were in full voice on all of their eleven original tunes played, “Shine Like a Star” being their obvious favourite. Standing Room Only is an entertaining and talented threesome.
Third up tonight was the Ted Mulry Gang. Fronted by Ted’s brother Steve on vocals, Tony Mitchel on bass, Mark Tinson on guitar, and the original members of TMG, Herm Kovas on drums and Les Hall on guitar. This version of TMG is made up of Australian rock music legends and though their bodies may have aged, their talent and stage presence is a master class of perfection.
They played fifteen songs which were a mixture of their old and new playlists. A highlight for me was “Falling in Love Again” and of course “Jump In My Car”. They closed with AC/DC’s “Long Way to the Top”. Let’s hope retirement is never an option for these vintage rockers.
Mi-Sex formed in 1978 but now tour with the only surviving member and brilliant keyboardist Murray Burns. Murray is surrounded by the wonderful Steve Balbi on vocals, Jordan McDonald on drums, Travis New on bass and James Van Cooper on guitar. Mi-Sex sounds just like the original and play all the hits “People”, “Fallin In And Out With You”, “Space Race” and “Computer Games”.
“Blue Day” is dedicated to all the past members of rock bands and to quote the band “Just because people die, their legacy of the music doesn’t have too”. I loved their sound and front man Steve Balbi made me feel as if I had fallen into Alice’s rabbit hole with his theatrical performance. Mi-Sex is a trippy ride through a great catalogue of music.
Tonight’s main act was The Babys. As special guests, The Babys came out just for this one off show. With Tony Brock (the only original member) on the drums, John Bisaha on vocals & bass, Holly Bisaha on backing vocals, Joey Sykes on guitar and Steve on keyboard and guitar, this line up has the blessings of past members and I can see why, as they are perfect to carry on the classic songs. 2025 is the 50 year anniversary of the beginning of The Babys.
The band play melodic hard rock with classic ballads. Tonight they played a sixteen song set, starting with “Back on My Feet Again” and including everyone’s favourite, “Everytime I Think of You”. This version of The Babys are well worth seeing, but unfortunately if you live in Australia they are already on the plane heading home.
Special mention to the multi award winning, King of the cruise ship comedians Doug Chapel and his sidekicks Nick Trapani and Brett Hunter for filling in the stage resets with their classic Aussie humour. You can check out these three when in Melbourne at the Comic Sound in North Melbourne. And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Geoff and thank you for allowing myself and Ozgreeny Photography to be your guests and part of your celebrations. Boy! Do you know how to throw a birthday bash.
With special thanks to Nadia from On The Map PR for the media access.
