In Darling Harbour, where everyone was wearing either formal dresses or Connor dress shirts, the site of denim jeans and leather jackets was a stand out. For Saturday night was the right condition for a night cruise for rockstars.
By 7:30pm, crowds had gathered at Wharf 6 on King Street Wharf Darling Harbour, debating if we had missed the pick up time since there was no sign of the bands or the boat. Until a scorched like vessel arrived with the members of Wicked Things, Avalanche, The Redback Spiders, Liquid Zoo and of course Ronnie Simmons onboard. Like from a scene out of Pirates of the Caribbean with the Ronnie Simmons flag waving like the jolly roger.
The ship took off towards Sydney heads and the night began with Wicked Things first up and taking the top deck stage.
Wicked Things (Left from Right: Blade, Cooper, Gericho and Kaleb)
The Hills brothers (Kaleb, Blade, Gericho and Cooper) performed a string of their party rock anthems including The Rocker, Oh Yeah, Panama (Van Halen cover) Stand Up and Shot while battling 30 + mph winds, sailing out of the Harbour Bridge. The strong winds made their 80s style fuzzy fly over the place like if a giant fan was spinning infront of them. Despite the drum kit and Kaleb falling all over the place, they pulled off one of the most challenging but greatest gig they've ever done.
Next up was Liquid Zoo. This was my first time seeing this new band after many attempts to catch them at one of their own gigs. Having previously known Vanda Erich (frontman) from the bars of Newtown, I was glad to finally see Liquid Zoo and that they were billed along with some of Sydney's top local bands in 1 gig.
Vanda Erich jumping around on deck of the Cadman cruise ship
Vanda paid homage to his idols Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger by replicating their signature moves into the bands' set, warming up crowd from the cold breeze with their 60s & 70s punk and classic rock tunes. You could just imagine what their shows are like. Definitely on watch list.
Avalanche took the stage to a crowd of fans, flocked in Avalanche t - shirts and AC/DC patched denim jackets. God turned up the wind amps to match the high voltage rock n roll being played by Avalanche.
Avalanche (Left to Right: Veronica, Stephen, Ryan and Arthur)
A highlight among the riff filled set was sailing into Sydney Harbour to "Get Back (To F*ckwit City)" with the view of Sydney's iconic landmarks in the background. The cruise was also a prelaunch tour for their new single "Dad, I Just Joined A Rock N Roll Band" across the country which they played for the first time that night.
Appearing on stage in a black & white striped shirt, leather jacket, jeans and gloves appeared Ronnie Simmons & The Redback Spiders. Joining Ronnie was Hayden McGoogan and Sean Anderson on guitar, Tommy Hills on bass and Chip Scanu on drums.
Ronnie Simmons & The Redback Spiders performing while approaching Sydney Harbour Bridge
The band performed a string of unreleased energetic songs, full of stories and opinions from Ronnie's life as a touring musician, both the good and bad.
Ronnie Simmons & The Redback Spiders Setlist 14/9/2024 :
Little Miss
Still Here
Don't Follow Me
It Ain't Me
Alone With You
You'd Think I'd Learn
Write Me A Song
Wasn't Born
Do Anything
You May Be Right
Artificially Sweet
DUI
Miracles
Dynamite
The set showcased their debut track 'Alone With You' which has a taste of punk and pub rock influence (notably The Angels and The Radiators homage) in the mix. See the official music video at the bottom of the article. The boat we were dancing and cheering from was the same boat that was used in the music video. Guns N Roses member and guitar hero Slash quoted as saying the track was a "cool song, f*kin great sound"
The track is part their upcoming EP Bite! Part One which will be announced hopefully soon with tour dates TBA.
Check out the track on Paul Smith's How Good! Top New Songs on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5fjnHfJHqgHu9kmfMjEdoa?si=Y2D4DfytQKmami2XQi71GA
It was a hectic set and experience. It's not everyday you get to see a gig onboard a cruise ship. I've seen gigs in dim lit small dive bars, pubs, theatres, arenas and stadiums but never onboard a harbour cruise ship.
THE BOAT THAT ROCKED!
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Reviewed and Photographed by Jordan Newton
RONNIE SIMMONS & THE REDBACK SPIDERS 'ALONE WITH YOU' MUSIC VIDEO:
So dsappointed I missed this one. Sounds like it was a cracker of an evening, albeit a little windy by the looks of the photos!