Yesterday was a HUGE day at the Acacia Ridge Hotel - Lori Lee must be very proud of how it all came together. I had a fantastic time and the warm sunny day was the perfect way to enjoy the glinting rods and kustoms in the car park. It was so great to see the car park packed with all manner of hot rods, rat rods, bikes and kustoms as well as Mimsy's iconic Trailer Trash Tattoo trailer park set up.

After checking out the cars we headed up to see Almon Loos in sharp shaving action as he barbered gents into bay rum scented and pomade perfection before moving into the air conditioned luxury of the sprawling range of stalls. Selling all manner of vintage, repro, accessories, homewares, western wear and mexicana, I was on my best behaviour and headed down stairs to the band room before I could spend too much money.



We just missed local lads West Texas Crude but we were just in time to see Almon Loos taking a break from his pop up barber shop to rock out with some tunes performed with Brissie band staples Dan Dualtone, Jon Flynn and Mark Stephens. A somewhat short set, Almon made the most of his time in the spotlight and had the dancefloor moving with a sea of people.



After a short break to catch our breath, Charlie Hightone took to the stage for a high energy set of jump blues inspired rockabilly. He set the pace (fast!) for the perfect dance beat and this little dame couldn't help but dance her little butt off for practically his whole set. What an afternoon! The band room was set in an underground, basement style area of the hotel that made you forget what time of day it was, made you forget about everything except workin up a sweat to these rockin tunes!



The Kitten Katwalk was next up but we'd worked up such a sweat to Charlie that we needed to catch our breath and grab some fresh air before The Go Getters took to the stage for a thunderous set that the crowd really got into. There was plenty of dancing and lots of cheering and hollering. This Swedish trio make a helluva lotta noise for just three guys but again, there were some great dances and all round just a lot of fun.



The day came to a roaring close with a full throttle set from The Jim Rockfords. These guys (and gal) were no wind down for the night, their loud and pounding style was truly appreciated by the dedicated rockers that stayed around to enjoy it. They also performed a cover of The Runaways classic Cherry Bomb which of course we turned into the words Sheri Bomb and involved a lot of pointing at me by my friends. There may have been a tad too much alcohol consumed at this point but it was an absolute riot and a great way to finish a fantastic day!

I have to say, as a new type of gig and new venue for the Robot Productions crew, the day was a huge success and the size, scale and layout of the whole shindig just worked perfectly. It was big enough (in size and acts) to feel like a real treat but not so big that you felt like you were missing out on anything. It really was an outstanding day and I can't wait for the next gig on March 10 with the Los Straitjackets (and another big name to be announced)!


Oh yeah, what do you think of my new hair!?