Tonight was the annual big birthday bash of the founder of Wanstock, Geoff Wainsborough. Wanstock started in 2018 and this was my third consecutive year. Wanstock was held over 2 big nights – Friday 20th and Saturday 21st of March, with a bill loaded with ten star acts, local and imported.
Night 1 – Friday Night
Friday night was opened by the Strait Shooters, a classic pub rock band who covers all the classic hits from ZZ top, Free and The Angels, just to name a few. They are fronted by Andy Baker on vocals, Peppi Maio on guitar, Max Coleman on bass, Greg Pedley on drums and Bruce Mountjoy on guitar. It’s a hard gig to open the show at 5pm to a venue that is just starting to fill, but Strait Shooters came on full of energy and even had a handful of dancers/punters come straight to the front of stage.
Stonetrip is a classic hard rock 5-piece band. Lead by Mark Ritchie on vocals, Simon Croft on guitar, Kevwah on bass (only for tonight, stepping in for Sebastian Barahona), Brett Spicer on drums and Mick Malusa on guitar. They play all original music, that is passionate and heartfelt, keeping classic rock alive and kicking.
Stonetrip’s music has strong pounding drum beats and guitar laden tunes. Ritchie’s clear and commanding vocals complement the beats. Stonetrip has found the perfect balance between voice and music, neither one over powering the other. They remind me of the 80’s classic big hair rock , without the glamour makeup. They obviously have built a good following of fans as I saw many punters enter with Stonetrip t-shirts on.
Stonetrip has just released an EP “The Fight” available on digital download and have great merchandise available on their facebook page. If you like 80’s hard rock, this is the band for you. I hope to see and hear more of their music soon.
I have never seen Bachelor Girl live, but like most people I can sing the chorus to the musical ear worm “Buses and Trains”. So, I was keen to see them perform live. Bachelor Girl was formed by pop duo Tanya Doko (vocalist) and James Roche (keyboard and backup vocals) in 1992. Tonight they are also joined by Hayden Meggit on drums and Shannon Trottman playing guitar.
Tanya is a pocket rocket on stage; whose small stature hides an incredibly big voice. Bachelor Girl delivered tonight with their music and vocals sounding just like their recorded albums. “Permission to shine” and “Help” (by the beatles, but sung in the John Farnham style) were stand outs. Tanya is a gorgeous woman with the biggest smile and she, James and the band have an infectious sound of happiness.
“Waiting for the day” their debut album was released in 1998 and this year something very special is about to happen. On Friday the 27/3/26 they are releasing a re-imagined single off the album “Treat me good” with a very special guest Jess Mauboy. A little birdy told me that this project is much bigger than one song and maybe a tour to back it up. So, keep a watch out to see if the rumors are true. It could be a huge year ahead for Bachelor Girl.
Sadly, Dragon has no original members on stage and at times it sounds like Mark Williams and band sing Dragon, but boy do they do it well. Though Marc, Todd Hunter and the original members can never be replaced, this is an awesome version of Dragon and a brilliant way to keep the music alive and live.
This version of Dragon is fronted by Mark Williams on vocals, Bruce Reid on guitar, Tim Firth on drums, James Gillard on bass and James Flemming on keyboard. All the hits were played; Magic, Evil, I’m still in love and Amen. The crowd took over many of the choruses and packed out the area in front of the band.
The last song of the set “Are you old enough” was dedicated to friends that have passed including Marc Hunter and Rene Gayer. They even gave a nod to Mark’s solo career with a great version of “Show no Mercy.” Dragon played a 60-minute set of 13 hit songs. Dragon really got the party started and I must say it was the biggest Wanstock crowd I have seen. The dance floor was packed.
1927 was the final act for tonight. Headed by Eric Wiedeman the only original member of the band. He has surrounded himself with very talented musicians.
1927 opened with “To love me” and the followed with the iconic hits off the Ish album including “You’ll never know” and “If I could”. Erics voice was in fine form and all the songs had the original 1927 sound. This was a great performance with the 8th song of the evening having a INXS moment (one of my kind) thrown in the middle. 1927 played a 13 song set and night one finished with some pyro techniques and a big bang.
Night 2 – Saturday Night
I first saw Day Dreamers 3 years ago. They were young boys, possibly not old enough to order a drink. Now 3 years later, the boys have turned into professional musicians. Their playing, voices and stage presence have evolved and shows great growth. They still play fast, chaotic, punky, surf music but it is now more polished.
They played mostly original music but threw in a Midnight Oil and Ramones cover. Lead by Zak Rakitic on vocals and guitar, Jordan Rakitic in bass, Ben Erbachher on drums and Daniel Lee on guitar. I would say my only complaint was that they didn’t play “We are going on a Macca’s run”, but the rest of the set made up for it. The band thanked Geoff for his support and let slip that he had paid for the transport on their last tour. Thanks Geoff for believing in home grown talent and supporting them.
Standing Room Only have been at the last 3 Wanstock I have been to. They are a 3-peice band headed by Aaron O’Brien on drums and vocals, Bill ‘Fozzy” Folino on guitar and vocals and Jim Currell on bass and vocals. They play mainly original with a sprinkle of covers for extra fun. The unique 3-peice are high energy and come with a rent a crowd called “The Roomies”.
It is always great to see these 3 perform their classic rock mix. You can check out their current album “Lost Highway” on all good streaming services. As always Standing Room only do not disappoint. Very entertaining.
I am sure I saw The Machinations in the 80’s with many other bands at a large gig at the Myer Music Bowl, but I have definitely not seen them in a long, long time. The Machinations are a synth-pop band with a touch of punk. They originated in Sydney in 1980. The band today consists of Fred Loneragan on lead vocals, Larry Doyle on keyboard, Kristy Turdgett on backup vocals, Tim Doyle on guitar, Craig Hooper on bass (ex-Reels) and Katherine Bray on drums (1st official performance with them).
Though Fred, like all of us has aged he still moves around the stage like it’s the 80’s. They played a 10 song set containing the hits “Intimacy”, “Precious way ” and “Got no say in it” and I was transported back to the 80’s like none of us had aged.
Gone is the big hair, replaced by leather and cow boy hats. Put on dark glasses and surround yourself with beautiful talent women and you never age. Brian Cadham and band have the ‘Rock Star’ look oozing out of them, but it’s one thing to look good on stage, how does Pseudo Echo sound? They sound as good, if not better than when my 16-year-old self snuck into the pub to see them in the 80’s (Sorry mum).
The current lineup for Pseudo Echo is Brain Cadham on vocals and guitar, Valentina Krakovska on backup vocals, Andrea Krakovska on guitar, Michael Kasif on keytar and backup vocals, Danny Ammar on keyboard and backup vocals and Elliott Orban on the drums. This year marks their 40th anniversary (I cannot be that old) and their sound is tight and polished. Pseudo Echo had the best sound of the night.
The crowd loved every moment of their performance. They played the hits “Living in a Dream”, “Love an adventure”, “Listening” and of course closed with “Funky town”. They did a fantastic cover of “Nutbush city limits” with the start sung by the incredible voice of Valentina. You can see Brian is the driving force behind and in front of the band and Pseudo Echo exceeded my expectations. If they are playing near you, I highly recommend you go and see them. You will not be disappointed. And lastly, how good is it to see a keytar on stage again.
The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit. They are known for their power pop and new wave music. They appeared on stage at 9.30pm and looked exactly like how you imagine an ageing American rock band to look. Fluffy hair, coloured glassed, stylish with a touch of glitz. I don’t remember The Romantics from their hay day, so I can’t compare them to their past live sound. I can only tell you what I saw tonight.
Musically they are very guitar driven with a strong, relentless drum beats. The drummer sits raised up behind the other band members, who all stand up front sharing the limelight. Most choruses are sung by all 4 up front. Many of the rhythms and beats sounded familar and I found myself singing along to “What I like about you” and “Talking in your sleep”.
The Romantics are made up of Wally Palmer on lead vocals, rhythm guitar and harmonica, Coz Canter on lead guitar, Bruce Witkin on bass, Joey Malone on rhythm guitar and Mike Rizzi on drums. The Romantics made a special trip for 2 performances only. One in Sydney at Selina’s and here is Melbourne, then straight back to the USA. They played a 14 song set and the crowd ate it up.
As always there was a special guest performance by Tony Catz and his electric ukulele, who played 3 songs both nights and led a crowd performance of “Sweet Caroline”.
Filling in the gaps between bands and also doing a great job of MC was the King of cruise ships, world touring, winner of the 2024 comedian of the year Doug Chappel Jrn. Fresh from his sold out shows at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Doug was joined by the very funny Nick Trapani and newbies Kaileb Hyland (Friday only) and Matt Coombe (Saturday only). If you love comedy you can regularly see them perform at the Comics Lounge (North Melbourne) Or if you are overseas Doug is doing a tour of Canada and the USA in September.
Most gigs are a stroll in the park compared to Wanstock. Wanstock is a marathon over 2 big nights and 10 bands. It is the biggest annual birthday party (open to everyone) I have ever been too. Happy Birthday Geoff. Thanks for supporting live music and for having Ozgreeny Photography and myself as your guests, and to everyone else; the bands, lighting, sound, crew and staff thank you for the access and for making us so welcome.
Now I just need to recover for next year.
Photos by OzGreeny Photography
With special thanks to On The Map for the media access.