MELBOURNE, August 18 – The Drowsy Drivers concluded their interstate touring of KEATING! last week in a nine-day sweep of Brisbane and Darwin. Band members described the experience as "yayyyy!"
KEATING! was performed at the Powerhouse from August 8 – 12; by the
end, most performances had been sold out, and a Saturday matinee had
been added. Expert stage management skills and Dog Of Damnation finesse
had been demonstrated by the multitalented Clare Bartholomew, and all
technical aspects had been overseen with creativity and precision by TrafficLight‘s
Michael Jankie. New onstage Drowsy Driver Dan "Crash Dandicoot" Tobias
slotted comfortably into the onstage lineup, and his passionate
approach to the portrayal of Ms Cheryl Kernot won many hearts. And the Drowsy Drivers expressed a desire to hug every one of the many Brisbane citizens (and interstate travellers) who came in to see the show.
Accommodation provided by the Powerhouse was spacious and comfortable,
and the half-court tennis court attached to the premises became the
site of many pitched battles in the early afternoon sunshine. (The
weather remained in the low to mid-20s for the duration of the band’s
stay.)
A Sunday-morning flight to Darwin ushered in the altogether-surreal part of the trip. KEATING! was performed on two consecutive nights outdoors in the temporary StarShell auditorium of the Darwin Botanic Gardens, and it was a thorough hoot. Credit must be given to the aforementioned Mr. Jankie and TrafficLight for the beyond-the-call-of-duty 3am plotting session of Monday morning; the first chance the band had to see the lighting plot of the show in the StarShell was while they were playing it on Monday night, but nary a false cue was to be found. Audience response was wholehearted and overwhelming.
Extracurricular Drowsy time was spent in pools, on beaches, at markets, on scooters, and generally soaking up the Darwin sun and reminding each other that the season was "winter", even though locals only referred to it as "the Dry". (In Darwin, it hasn’t rained since May.)
The 2am flight back to Melbourne on Wednesday morning was designed to break all spirits, but thankfully Melbourne made it up to 19 degrees that day, thus easing the transition back to civilian life as much as humanly possible. Band members described themselves as "buggered" but nonetheless "exhausted". Thanks Brisbane! Thanks Darwin! – [ ]