Loon Lake Diary: 25 Dim Sims, 13 Pints, 20 Chicken & Garlic Balls

Hi everyone, it's Tim from Loon Lake. As you may or may not know, we have decided to head out on the road to celebrate the release of our second EP, Thirty Three. Here is the first instalment of a little diary we are putting together so that you lovely people have an idea of what it is like on the road with Loon Lake.

Day 1 – Adelaide

We started the day really early. The little money we make from this band was definitely not going to stretch far enough for us to fly from our hometown of Melbourne to the wonderful city of churches. So all of us squeezing into Sambo's van and hitting the open road had to do.

This was the first trip that our sound guy Andy has been on tour with us. Let's just say that he soon got use to the complete and utter juvenile rubbish we talk about when we are trying to fill in the time in the van. It was good to have him on board. We've become good mates with Andy since he recorded us a few years back and has done our sound at live shows ever since. The trip took around eight hours and Sime managed to devour nine fried dimmys, seven steamed dimmys (all with no soya souce, complete weirdo I know) and six lamingtons in that time.

We arrived in Adelaide at about 3pm and went straight to the hotel; I managed to squeeze in a quick 30 min power nap before we were off to the venue for sound check.

Jive is an awesome venue. This was the second time we had played there but the first for our own show so we were super excited. It has a wicked sound system and the room, when it's full, turns into a huge party. We had found out that the show had sold out a few days before and being that it was the first show of the tour we were real eager to get out there and play. It was also our drummer Nick's birthday so that made it all that more special.  

We watched the two support bands; Cub Scouts and Glass Towers play some awesome sets that blew us away and stoked that we have them for the rest of the tour.

When it was our time to come on we had a ball couldn't of asked for a better show. Highlight for me was the birthday boy Nick's drum solo that dropped the beat down to around three beats per hour before erupting and got everybody in the room dancing. Adelaide has a pretty incredible crowd. I've never walked onto stage and see so many smiling and happy people in the one room. Everyone is super friendly and after the show it was good to drink 13 pints and mingle with everyone.

Here's everyone

 Day 2 – Warrnambool

After waking up far too late and extremely worse for wear, it was time to jump back in the van and make the seven hours trip to Warrnambool. We are all a bit hungover but a lot of fun was had on that trip. We discussed everything from women to science and after several hours of confusion we managed to crack the mystery around how national radio and the different time zones work. We got to Warrnambool several hours late so it was straight to the venue for sound check then back to the motel for shower. It was here that Dan pointed out the huge resemblance between Sime and a young Leo Sayer, who we had a pleasure of meeting while we were in Mackey about a year ago.

When we got back to the venue we were horrified to find out that our rider wasn't sent through. We cried for sometime until the lovely venue manager Kim came to our rescue with a couple of slaps. We are relieved to be able to call Nick back who was on his way to the local supermarket to pick up a bottle of mentholated spirits and a litre of vanilla essence.

We weren't sure what to expect from the Warrnambool crowd, as it was the first time we had played there. But they were fantastic and very energetic. After the show we were keen to head out for a few more beers somewhere but we shocked to find out that the whole of Warrnambool was in lock down after 1am. Kim however, came to our rescue again with a note to give to the bouncers that allowed us access to anywhere. Kinda like a note you use to get from your parents so you didn't get in trouble for being late at school.

After the pub while we were on our way home and Sime was chowing down on another nine dimmys, the greatest thing on the tour happen. From a distance me Sime and Dan spotted what looked like a $20 note. We all charged for it. Sime went down first. A quick left jab and his was on the pavement with broken nose. Dan was a little trickier. He came at me with wild haymaker, which I ducked. He then swung a right hand jab straight at my face. I quickly stopped it by grabbing his fist with my left. I squeezed and heard his hand break in 4 places. I then finished him off with and uppercut to the chin. Spent that $20 on 20 chicken and garlic balls that I didn't share with anyone.

All in all we were stoked with the first leg of tour and can't wait till Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast next weekend.

Cheers,
Timmy