Mojo - The Music Magazine

Episode 9. In the footsteps of bananas (in pyjamas)

Wednesday, January 14th, Adelaide, Australia

The Thebarton Theatre (in the unanimous opinion of all band members and so declared by Nick mid-performance) is the best venue in all of Australia. Certainly our venue of choice in Adelaide, it's a former town hall with unbeatable acoustics and a beautiful look to it, reminiscent of a mid-20th Century Pentecostal church. In the backstage/dressing room area are several dedicatory plaques commemorating fallen World War II officers, soldiers and nurses, ornate gold script carved into dark old wood.

My spirits are stirred as I imagine the greats of Australian rock who have passed through these portals. These days, the Thebarton also plays host to wrestling and kickboxing matches, visiting Vietnamese entertainers, and the Bananas In Pajamas stage show (based on the popular Bananas In Pajamas TV show).

The Adelaide gig is our best since Mt. Buller, I think. Glowing, several of us repair to Cranker (short for Crown And Anchor, I think). Therein I am accosted by an irate Glaswegian, all curly ginger hair and bug-eyes, who "knows who I am" and I am an asshole (he thinks). I gently excuse myself and make for the pool tables. When Talking Heads' Psycho Killer comes on, Mr. Glasgow makes a point of racing across the room to inform me that this is "his song". More like "Psycho Chicken", if you ask me; but this ridiculous specimen is beginning to exhaust even my almost boundless patience.

Whether shaken to the core, or bored to death, I cannot say for sure; but in any case, I decide to shake a tail feather and walk on eggshells back to the hotel, lest my chickens come home to roost.

Did the scary Scottish stalker get his man? What was Nick Cave really trying to say about tinnitus? And how would Jim like his next hotel? Tune in for more Sclavunoid scribblings over the coming days...