ok
everything back to abnormal
whatever i was gonna say yesterday
has flown from my head
i notice thre are small black ants
running all over my terminal here
its so noisy in here
hard for my imagination to take off
never mind
all that
as an incredible co incidence yesterday
i bumped into mr frankie k. a great musician
and a friend from the emerald aisle
very nice guitarist
who your humble scribbler met under
embarrassing circumstances
20 years ago
(ok oldetimer, were gonna hear it
whether we want to
or not..
aint we?)
yep
you are
it was like this…
your screen warps
you are inna limo
outside its a snowy cold day
turning into night
its 1986
your somewear up new england way
tonite your band is playing an ice rink
and for some reason
some dude has laid it all on
limos, accom thats like these
individual named winter wunderland cottages
in some little forest
now sk and boize
zipping down ye olde highway
imaginin their bigge rock starz
on their way to an important gigge
ya get to the ice rinky dinky
its huge baby-o
wow the fantasy is perpetuated…
we must be huge here…
theres fuckin’ security men everywhere
SECURITY MEN !!
wow im gonna need some protecting
from that wilde space rockin’
conneckykutt crowd
or wherever we are…
oh kay
nice catering
veggie food
guacemole dip….
BLUE corn chips, ok
im gettin impressed
this gigge could be ye olde rip snorter
oh we’re gonna feel like a real group…
we start yonder soundcheck
we are just doing myrrrhhh when
some uvver bleedin’ groop arrive
standin round staring
or glaring
at yer fave bands goode soundcheck
sk slings down his fender basse
carefully
minces off stage in a huffy
who the hell are these druids
raining on my little parade
here in this snowy forest ice rink
in the middle o nowear
tonite was gonna be our night…
nervous and long sufferin’ tour manny:
well uh steve uh theres a bitta confusion…
confusion..CONFUSION! what confusion??!!
well there two groopz playin in icy rinc tonite…
who are this uvver groop…?
theyre called CACTUS WORLD NEWS
the name sends fear into my innards
aint they from ireland?
yep.
somethin to do with you too
yep.and their album is 36 on
the blah blah blah chart
with the bullet, baybee.
sk all hot and bovvered
but says t. manny
the contract aint cleer who goes on first..
what? us open for them? us
the best aussie space rock band ever?
the guys who made heyday?
the orrible urch from bondi beach
opening for some irish unknown quantities
who may even be ..gulp…POLITICAL?
never the rose without the prick
why does every eden have a fuckin’ snake?
we hunker down into frozen silence
the 2 groups checkin’ each others haircuts
checkin’ each others guitars
checkin’ each others position in
the college crossover indy tiny chart
we aint goin on before them
we mutter to each other
angry and sullen
we watch their soundcheck
theyre kinda loud and angry
i’ll not bloody go on before loud and angry
irish groopz
how will this be resolved
were both been booked here
in this cold cavernous hall of ice
but it dont say who sposed to go on furst
we getting perplexed
what if it is sposed to be them…
(now heres a perfect example
of takin yer eye off the ball..
while we were sulking and complaining
and being all egotistical and proud
our managers were back home
rakin’ in the dollars
and laughin’)
so eventually we decide to just turn up late
that way they got no choice
and it worked before
once at a festival in norvern nsw
back in the erly daze
we didnae wanna go on before
the sonny boys
so we just turned up late
the sonny boys had to go on
ha ha
and now it was these guys turn
to learn
dont mess with the crunch
go back to my lil cabin
its even got its own name
we hang out
we hop in limos
we return to gig
the oirish fellas have been and played
we meet em backstage
they dont seem angry
or anyfing
they seem to be kinda smurking
ok whatever
sk retires to dressing room
ah this is more like it
ooowee theres my bottle of mescal
wow i drink it everynite
thinkin it contains mescaline
roll up a number
feeling like a little king here
celtic tiger vanquished for now
steve, i got some bad news for ya
i fix the t. manny with a laconic stoned gaze
not now olde been, im getting my charisma together
ok, man….it dont matter
ten minutes later
we swann onstage
to 8 people
in this enormous echoing empty
place
the security men outnumber the “audience”
ten to one
i see c.w.n. disappear out the back door
those lucky bastard escapin this frozen hell

it just goes to show…
something…
i guess
love on ya
meee