The Prairie Oysters At The Power Ranch, Lardner Park, Warragul.
Hi Guys,
Well, we just played at The Power Ranch at Lardner's Park, near Warragul, and I must say, it's great to see some genuine people trying to enjoy and promote Live Country Music. The crowd turnout was great, with many people bringing tents, caravans, and utes, all decked out. Country & Rock & Roll music with the younger people around, is sure thriving, as the loud car stereos blasted out all over the campsites.
We shared a stage with our good mates, Ruckus, and alternated sets all night, with a rather crowded "all in" last set, which included some favourites, such as Sweet Home Alabama, and Cold Chisel's, Khe Sahn. Looked like a bus queue with all the musos on stage at once! (No bus though.....)
Brett and the guys from The Power Ranch have been trying to run a monthly event to give the locals and people from all over Victoria/NSW, something semi-regular for a live all in venue to camp at, and enjoy the music played. Unfortunately, the local council is slapping a of of unrealistic conditions to prevent this from occurring.
I don't know, you elect public servants, and they seem to grow an ego, and base a lot of decisions made on individual's $$ return, and suddenly don't represent you, the voters who put them into office!!!
Also moving the goal posts every time you attempt to comply to the new impositions and rules.
Anyway, we had a ball, and many thanks to Mark, at Lardner Park, for having us there at such short notice. People came from as far as Wangaratta, Echuca and Melbourne itself, as well as locally.
The wind died down, and it didn't rain, so the camp sites were quite dry, externally anyway. (The rums, scotches, and beer all went down very well internally!)
The night went really well with Ruckus and the Prairie Oysters alternating sets.
The music production was thanks to Mick & Baz, from Ruckus, and we shared the drum kit, thanks to Andy Giles, from the Aaron Daniels Band.
We all hope this venue, and idea keeps going, as all the Country/Rock artists are very interested in supporting this, and just so the younger ones get a shot, they also run talent nights and a, "get up and play" type night, further encouraging new bands and younger people, who generally cannot deal with the agents, managers, and corporately supported festivals and venues. Petitions were distributed for signage, to keep the music live, with generous donations offered for the fight to survive for the venue.
The night closed at around 1.00 am, with echoes of "encore", which left all of us very satisfied we played what the public wished to hear, and that they wanted more.
Hey, nothing better than playing, on stage, with all of your mates, and seeing all the faces of the people enjoying what you do.
A great night had by all, and I'm sure Brett and the guys, from The Power Ranch, will get the continued support the venue deserves. And they conquer this political crap imposed on them, restricting their continued operations.
A GREAT night had by all, and hopefully, many more to come!!!
The Prairie Oysters At The Power Ranch, Lardner Park, Warragul.
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