Wow... we turned up around 10pm and it's the smallest pub i've ever been in and it's packed. Everyone's betting on tapes of sumo wrestling and drinking sake. The band isn't on until 11 so we chat and look freaked out.

Around 10:30pm Look Who's Toxic head out the back to set up and we follow. There is another little restaurant bit out the back with a bar that looks like it's had someone's head put through it. Some guy brings in a stressed looking rottweiler. There are a few fans there, maybe abount 20 people all up and the place was packed. A couple of people had video cameras. There was an air of tension like this was going to be something special.

There was only a small PA for vocals, so they had giant amps. They had drums, keyboard, bass, two vocals and guitar. Rob played guitar, I thought he played bass. I believe the band had already drunk their whole rider. They were a little drunk.

I'm not sure what to expect really. I'd only heard their EP (available for download at their website) and to be honest it's pretty bad but their songs are so damn simple and catchy you can hear the fun in it. I was expecting bad.

So they start with Kiara, the song my band covered once, and my god it was so loud and distorted and full of this insane energy and they're screaming so hard and beating the crap out of their instruments so damn hard and their drummer is excellent and argh!

By the third song the whole room were in love. The songs are so simple but it wasn't the songs, it was the enthusiasm. If they didn't scream randomly into the microphone something felt wrong. "If I had a gun, Bette Midler on the run". And the kind of keyboard solos that take your whole arm to play. All with the steady beat of Paul on drums never skipping once. They'd often swap instruments. Craig on keys, Rob on bass. Or Paul on guitar and Rob on bass. Craig and Rob swapped singing duties.

I felt like I was seeing Nirvana's first gig. Havn't had that much fun at a gig in ages.

Their site at MP3.com.au has more tracks.

I'm on the train from Moranbah to my dad's old work, the BHP mine. It's bushfire season and I look out the right side of the train and coming down the hill about 10km away is a big bushfire. I think, cool!, and go for my camera. Except I didn't bring my camera, I'm only in tracksuit pants and a t-shirt. I think, oh well, it's ages away, then look out the left side and up ahead there are a few trees on fire. So I get off the train and run to the road.

The road is a normal Melbourne suburban street. I stick my thumb out to hitchhike back to the city. Eventually someone stops, a delivery van. I jump in, ask if he's going to the city and he says yep and off we go. He's a really scary driver but not too bad.

I look down and I have a basket in my lap. It's cane and is full of wool and kniting needles and stuff. There are also lots of long cigarettes, abount 10 inches long. I start to think maybe they're not tobacco and if the cops pull over they're think they're mine because they're in my lap. So I'm already thinking of getting out.

Then we come to a train crossing and the crossing is down and I can see a little gap where you could drive if you were nuts, and I knew this guy was nuts so I jump out as he flys through the gap.

Now I've lost my ride so I'm sticking my thumb out again and this little tiny car pulls up and my friend Aaron is in there with about six other people and says "city"? I jump in and we're driving off, except Aaron is trying to drive while using a video camera, real expensive looking. He pulls over just before this tunnel and is fiddling with this camera. Everyone else in the car seems to have an expensive camera and they're going on about this tunnel.

Then I woke up.