Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Pix by Sarah Gilpin Photography
With 1600 kilometres covered in two days, and travelling across two states, we eventually rolled into Broken Hill. We counted the kilometres as we counted the goats, trees and then headbanged the last 200 k’s to the Heavy Audio Mag # 14. We headed to the Mundi Mundi Bash, known for its unique outback setting in the outback of NSW and SA at Belmont Station on the Mundi Mundi Plains. The music festival, featuring 35 bands, is renowned for its unique atmosphere, and this year it will attract over 1500 attendees from all over Australia.
The drive into the site itself was jaw-dropping! There was a line of RVs and tent sites that stretched into the desert. The site was huge: a mini city with its own medical facility, police presence, markets and food options. It was an incredible feat of logistics and organisation.
The day commenced with Mundi’s Got Talent on a side stage, as Joanne from Dapto got up as the first performer. She was really brave as she kicked off proceedings with the story of her early career in country music and her man leaving, before saying she was going to perform Tammy Wynette’s Stand By Your Man – was it post-irony? – but she sang so well. Then, other Basher contestants from all over Australia got up on stage to sing or do interpretative dance (it was a thing) – and Mundi Mundi had kicked off!
Before the band’s officially started, there was an interview with Adam Thompson from Chocolate Starfish, hinting that something special was going to be delivered during their set. Then, fans from Grafton, Adelaide and Birdsville were interviewed about their journeys to the site.
The clock hit 2.45 pm, and the first band opened the Mundi Mundi Bash, the Wilcannia-based Leroy Johnson & The Waterbag Band. The band had 8 members who played a range of instruments from bass, guitars, drums, didgeridoo, bilma (clapping sticks), and everyone shared the vocal duties. With the hardest job in rock to open a huge festival, the local band did well with their version of the Warumpi Band’s My Island Home starting the four days of festivities.
Leroy Johnson & The Waterbag Band played a range of rock, blues and country rock covers to warm the crowd up and fun songs like Midnight Special, Shot Gun With The Devil, and Rodeo Road. But the band really got everyone dancing and rockin’ when they played a cover of John Mellencamp’s Hurt So Good and followed it with Run To Paradise from Choirboys. They then stepped it up with a cover of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and ended their set with a cover of Johnny B Goode from Chuck Berry. It was a great start, and the crowd were happy.
Then the Broken Hill local band, Tha Boiz, took to the stage and played an eclectic and tight set. Tha Boiz – Chong, Dan, Bilyara and Jimmy – music teachers by day, band by night – took the crowd on a wild ride through the 2000s and a wide range of genres. Their set started with a pop-punk blast of goodness with Blink-182’s Growing Up, before the crowd was taken to the R&B rap world of Outkast with Hey Ya.
They covered Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne, and the guitarist, Dan, just shredded his guitar. The crowd loved it. Then, Michael Jackson through Alien Ant Farm’s version of Smooth Criminal had the place jumping. Ginuwine’s Pony was delivered followed by a cover of Korn’s Freak On a Leash. They played more covers and ended their set with Wild Cherry’s Play That Funky Music, which went down a treat. Tha Boiz delivered an excellent set that the crowd loved.
While the stage was re-arranged there was an interview with Rose Tattoo’s Angry Anderson. Then, DJ Grand Master Baitz, who was dressed as Evel Knievel, played some tunes, followed by the ABC’s TV experiment Headliners, who had reformed to play. The band played mainly covers, but it was the original songs like Mad Broke and Harsh Weather that really shone. Those songs sounded great and had real integrity. Headliners had great control of their instruments, and the two guitarists Mikky and Kayleb were terrific, while bassist Prairie did a great job, and James held the band together playing drums.
It took a while for the singers to find their mojo as Sonnet, Aimee and Rapper MC Wheels struggled with the covers of The Divinyls’ Boys In Town and Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over. It was probably just nerves as the band hadn’t played together for a while. The set progressed well and Can’t Hold Us Back, Russell Morris’ The Real Thing and Pat Benatar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot had the crowd engaged and singing along.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Chocolate Starfish, but they had an “infinite swagger” about them. The band is in the middle of touring their extraordinary performance of Bat Out Of Hell – The Return but would they perform “The Bat” in full, or was something else cooking? They promised something special, and they delivered. It was amazing to hear Adam Thompson sing the operatic aria Nessun Dorma by Puccini while perched on the top of a caterpillar truck decked out in white feathers. It was a truly astonishing start.
The band: Zakk Zedras (guitar), John Nixon (bass), Norm Falvo (keys) and Darren Danielson (drums) waited patiently on stage before the set kicked off with Zedras’ brilliant guitar as Bat Out Of Hell rang out across the desert. Thompson came out dressed as an angel as the band performed the whole 8-minute song. The crowd loved it and singing along of over 15000 people was in full flight.
Chocolate Starfish then started to perform their original songs Beautiful Picture, the fabulous Mountain and Head. Zedras played a fantastic guitar solo interlude to give the band time to change gears, and then the band played Sign Of Victory as the crowd waved their peace signs around and 3 Words with phone lights blazing out into the cold desert night. The band changed pace again and launched into a cover of Queen’s Radio Gaga and followed it with their classic “pub song” as Thompson described it: Four Letter Word with “a chorus you can sing drunk”.
Then the set changed direction again, as Chocolate Starfish performed Australian country rock group Rattling Sabre‘s All Fired Up. The band went mash up crazy as they performed most of their version of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain as they wove in a diverse range of songs from The Proclaimer’s I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), U2’s With or Without You, Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues (about the man Adam Thompson shot at Silverton), to the 1800’s American folk classic She’ll Be Comin Round The Mountain, and Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler. Coming back full circle, Thompson then told the huge crowd to imagine a cool jazz club as he brought in finger clicks and jazz-blues tones as he finished the last verse of You’re So Vain in that style.
The crowd was going wild as the regulation set ended but, of course, Chocolate Starfish performed an encore and closed out their set with two huge songs: Jim Steinman’s Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad and a huge cover of 4 Non-Blonde’s What’s Up and the crowd sang along at full volume – and it was full volume – 15000 voices singing out in the desert. It was a flamboyant and breathtaking set.
Bring on tomorrow!
