It was hot and sweaty on the street let alone in the Bendigo Hotel. The hotel with its impressive collection of skulls and voodoo sticks in the front bar was the perfect venue for what was to be a high energy crusty punk extravaganza. The Meanies took to the stage and a rapturous crowd were out in force... The woman with the Sherlock Holmes hat and fan, the man with the huge Mohawk, the bearded men out to do some serious stage diving and the women with their tattoos on show.
"Sorry but I'm going to let the guts out" Link Meanie informed the crowd as he took off his t-shirt. "It's fucking hot up here." Apart from the crowd favourites there was also some material from a new album that would be out soon.
"What the fuck were you doing?" asked Link of Wally the bass player after one song. "You changed the lyrics."
"Freshening it up for the fucking cunts" Wally replied.
"One more time" Link asked.
"Freshening it up for the fucking cunts" Wally obliged, singing the new words to the song. The grinding onslaught continued and Link was suddenly borne on high above the crowd before thrashing his way through then mosh pit. Cameras were pointing in every direction trying to keep up with him.
After a short break it was on with the show and before Mach Pelican could play a note the crowd were already in full voice complete with whistles and a bicycle horn:
"Let's go Mach Pelican
Let's go Mach Pelican
Walking along
Singing a song..."
They played one song after another without break... The crowd surged forwards and backwards from the stage in time to the music. 'Don't Leave Me Alone' and 'You Suck' were two of the songs they played. Halfway through they set they stopped to tune up and the crowd were at it again with their chants, whistles and bicycle horns:
"Let's go Mach Pelican
Let's go Mach Pelican
Walking along
Singing a song..."
K Rock had his microphone set low so that he could look right into the eyes of the audience as he sang. The guy with the huge Mohawk stood right in front of him lapping it up. The end came almost as suddenly as it was quick. Mach Pelican finished with a short, sharp rendition of the Ramones' classic 'Rock and Roll High School' and then they were done for the night and unlikely to be back on stage for the foreseeable future. Atsu and the boys were back into retirement. Grimshaw and Sally made their way out to the front bar for a beer and then went back inside for C.J.Ramone. It is hard to say, however, whether the legacy of the Ramones is in good hands with C.J.. He and the band played the songs and the crowd sang along but compared to the Meanies and Mach Pelican the energy levels in the room had fallen dramatically away. The Meanies and Mach Pelican had owned the stage.
Walking through the back streets of Collingwood to Fitzroy, they left behind the pounding of live music from the Tote and the Bendigo Hotel on Johnston Street. The streets were quiet and there were the odd spots of rain in a sky heavy with moisture after the heat of the day. Most of the restaurants were now closed except for the Turkish kebab shop up on the corner of Smith and Gertrude Streets. A group of women slumped to the pavement outside Trippy Tacos, presumably waiting for a taxi.
