Abbe May Has An Epiphany In Adelaide

It finally hits me in Adelaide - one of my all-time favourite Australian cities (the wine, you see? The wine is world class and the people are so beautifully down to earth and loyal. It is an exceptional and unpretentious place).

We are playing at The Gov and I find myself staring at the back of one of the greatest and most important Australian musical and political icons as he leaps about the stage singing: “We carry in our hearts the true country / And that cannot be stolen / We follow in the steps of our ancestry / And that cannot be broken!!!!”

It’s like standing next to the Sydney Opera House. Iconic. Surreal. Giant. Brilliant. I’m in awe of him. Peter Garrett has always been a respected voice in my house. The Oils were on high rotation throughout my childhood. My dad is over six foot tall and even dances a lot like Peter.

There’s a sense of familiarity there but in this moment I am struck by a sense of the surreal. I feel like I am watching a movie for a second. I have a moment of detachment to survey the situation I am in. Luckily, my hands keep strumming the right chords. I respect his music, his politics and his gentleness off stage. He is real. He is supremely well informed, articulate and intelligent. He has ‘guts’ and integrity. I’m struck by all of this in a funny way while playing guitar for him during this gig in particular.  It’s the sixth show of the tour and perhaps the first time I’ve not had to concentrate so hard on not fucking up the guitar parts I’ve been trusted with. “Jesus Christ. That’s Peter Garrett!” runs through my head. I laugh to myself. It’s pretty awesome. I look to the front row and realise some people are watching me watch Peter. There’s a good sense of humour between myself and these audience members during this one second of eye contact before I return to focusing on the music. They are in awe of him too, of course. They get 'it'.

Don't even get me started on playing guitar on the same stage as Martin Rotsey. If I think too much about it I will be too intimidated to play any further.

We spin on to Darwin after very little sleep. There is a buzz in the tour van even though it is an ungodly hour of the morning and all are rather bleary eyed. Everyone is excited and grateful for these experiences together. Certainly, for me, this tour is not something I will ever forget.

P.S. In spite of the greatness of Adelaide wines and the tropical heat of Darwin which is so conducive to having a good tequila or five - I am still sober. 35 days in. 65 to go before I reassess. I highly recommend taking long breaks from booze here and there. It's almost funny how clear your thinking becomes. Everything expands when you aren't trying to escape. It's not always comfortable but all you have to do is keep on strumming that guitar and the rest will take care of itself. Rock’n’roll clichés of the drunken, wild nights on tour are pretty lame and destructive.

We have shit to do. Early mornings to wake up to. Long days of travel. I almost can't believe I used to so frequently add "hangover" to my list of things to do on tour.