Tuesday Feb 4, 2025
Night markets at Ocean Reef began my gigging week. It’s my first time playing at these markets, hosted by the Market Sisters. The sea breeze blowing in cooled the air nicely. I met Gavin, the overseer, and he showed me where to set up. He said, “Plug into the box under the gazebo.” I said, “You’re kidding me.” He replied, “That box will run your PA no problem.” I said, “Ok,” and was fascinated by this piece of equipment that would run my PA from iTech world. It’s basically a power station in a box, obviously a rechargeable battery station with two standard power outlets. The review says they will run a coffee machine and a toaster whilst powering a Bose L1 tower speaker.
I set up, sound-checked, and was satisfied with the unit, my sound was on point. I then ordered a barista-made coffee. Next was a visit to the spud van. Gloria fixed me up with the chili con carne potato, my favorite. I engulfed the spud and was ready to start.
The crowd enjoyed my acoustic tunes as I plunked away from 4:30 pm. Kids danced like no one was watching. Parents buzzed around, bringing food back to the tables and snapping photos of their children, putting money in my tip jar whilst grooving to my music. Their expressions were adorable. A quick thank you, and then ploughing on through the set of the century. Whilst this was going on, vendors were busy selling their wares and doing a roaring trade. The mood was electric. I finished the gig with a good earn. The power box had only used 3/8 of its charge.
After, I made my way to Swan View where my best mate Mark and his partner Jane were waiting for me in their ‘70s retro-style Palm Beach house. I’d arranged to stay the night because the next day was the Burns Beach Twilight Market, only half an hour away. We enjoyed the night drinking beer and chatting until the early morning until it was time to drag the mattress out and hit the pillow for a well-earned sleep. I lay there smiling to myself as I drifted off to sleep. I love Mark and Jane and value their chats. Mark is a remarkable fellow, and it’s amazing to see his dreams and reality are one and the same.
The next day, Wednesday, February 5, I woke up to Mark and Jane boiling eggs and cooking sourdough toast with melted butter and olive oil and a lovely plunger coffee that really hit the spot. Mark played me some songs that he’s been co-writing with another friend of ours, Peter, and I couldn’t help but smile at the great contemporary songs they had written that Mark was playing in the lounge. Great times, but it was time to hit the road again to the Burns Beach Twilight Market.
Burns Beach Markets Wednesday Feb 5, 2025 Paul the overseer was sitting waiting in his recliner reading a book when I arrived. The vendors were setting up their stalls and parking their vans in position. I was nice and early as I set up the Bose L1 with the Soundcraft mixer, and the sea breeze gently licked my face as I ran leads. Mains power is provide by the council on the day of the event. The thick grass, which would be livestock’s heaven, provided a cool, soft surface to play on. My Maton 808 again delivered a solid sound and stayed in tune mostly through the evening.
“Loui”, Paul’s border collie, who usually finds comfort in fetching a ball and playing with the children all day long, was there, but however, this time he felt comfortable lying next to me in the cool grass, snoozing away as I strummed up a storm. The humidity was high, and a constant trickle of sweat ran down my spine. With a good earn and a special tip from a lady of 6 American dollars in the form of a one and five-dollar note put in my tip jar was something special, the woman who tipped me was a fan of “The Cure” as she sang along to the song I was playing at the time, “In Between Days”.
Soon enough, the kids were starting to gather in front of me, so “The Wiggles’ ‘Hot Potato’” came out. “The Wheels On The Bus” got a play. My energy levels started to decline quickly. Playing for the kids is more nerve-wracking than playing to a room full of party-goers, probably because my repertoire of kids’ songs is limited to about 5 songs. “Wake Up Jeff” isn’t so relevant anymore, seeing as Jeff is no longer a member of The Wiggles. Hi Jeff if your out there, hope you are doing well. Nevertheless, it still gets a play if the kids are still with me.
As I packed up, Shirley and I chatted and laughed and were in high spirits after the sun had gone down well below the horizon. I headed for home and had to go the long way because the freeway was closed due to maintenance. I arrived home with a weary head and decided to jump in the bath and then straight into bed to rest as much as I could before the dawn and a treasured day off. A moment to relax from the constant gigging circle that is my life.
Thursday, a day off with just me, a homemade coffee, and a few hours in the garden, which is a treasure. Then a visit to the pub where Dan and I drank down our well-deserved pints. He asked me to sing a song, and I thought, why not, and so I grabbed the acoustic off the wall and for the crowd of three, including the bar person, I sang a couple of originals. With a fairy clap applause and one more pint, I headed for home and there enjoyed a film on Netflix before texting a friend and before heading to bed later that night.
The next day was a gig at the Warnbro Tavern, Friday, February 7, from 7 till 9 pm. The music is what I live for. Food and drinks are served promptly here with a kitchen full of staff ready to deliver cuisine that’s on another level. All the pub classics, plus more. I chose the pub special spaghetti with Blue Manna crab, which hit the spot. This is part of my rider the consists with a couple of free pints. I’ve played here since 2018. The place is timeless classic with a European-styled theme. With 18 beers on tap, you’re bound to try something you’ve never had before. Shane gave me the heads up that he was coming down with his son Zac. They sat in a prime seat listening and drinking their favorite brew. Shane gave me two large bin stickers that reads “Keep the Sheep”. I too don’t want to see a ban on live export to foreign countries.
I had the crowd eating out of the palm of my hand and had them singing at top volume Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Smokie’s “Living Next Door To Alice”, screaming out “Who the F*#k is Alice?” at the top of their lungs. However, a warning from Drew, the head barman: “Don’t play that song until all the kids have left the building, please, Hayden.” At the time, it never occurred to me that there were kids in the building. I felt a little embarrassed, but nevertheless, the show went on until it was time to pack up the Bose L1 and my guitar and head for home to scramble to bed and get as much rest as possible for the Dawesville Peel Produce Markets early next morning.
5:30 am wake-up, Saturday, Feb 8, 2025. Quick bite, and off in the Ford. A picturesque one hour journey down the freeway, across the Dawesville Cut to Leprechaun Reserve where the markets are held. There I met Megan, the overseer, who was setting up her stall with various vegetables and farm-fresh eggs. “Save me a dozen, would you, please?” I asked Megan. “Yep,” she replied, and off I went with my beach trolley loaded with my battery-powered speakers: Bose S1 and Roland Street Cube. I chomped away on my Maton, playing every banger that I knew and rendered a great earn, probably my best ever. I purchased some hot biltong jerky from Bennie, and it nearly blew my head clean off my shoulders; I had shared some with Phil, who I’ve met a number of times at markets. Both he and I were nearly crying as the heat in our mouths grew more intense as the minutes went by. Sweat poured from my body as it tried to cool itself down. Next thing, stomach pain and more sweating. A bout of heat stroke hit me like an overloaded freight train. I went down so fast but had to push on through another set and then a grueling pack-up. I asked Phil to watch my things as I raced to the nearby bathroom and hurled up the contents of my stomach, which consisted of two hemp gummies, a flat white, and a half-chewed piece of biltong. With long black Levi jeans, black Bronco Akubra, and hot Blundstone boots, I think I had chosen the wrong attire again.
I walked out of that public bathroom and pulled myself and my trolley to the van. I changed into my shorts and singlet and double pluggers on my feet, and staggered down to the water’s edge, slipping arse up on the slimy timber walkway. I quickly pulled myself up and swung around to see if anyone saw me go down. Luckily, no one did, as it would have been quite an embarrassing spectacle. With my clothes wet from my waist to my feet, I sheepishly walked back collecting my eggs from Meagan on the way. Walking and dripping with estaury water to the van with what I can only describe as mild heat stroke. My internal organs were screaming, “Give me fluids, give me fluids.” I checked my water bottle to see I had not even drunk a liter of water over the space of 4 hours. I then began to constantly sip at my bottle with a nauseous feeling surging through me. It’s weird how you feel fine one minute, then the next, stomach cramps. This went on until I reached home over an hour later in agony.
I had a bottle of Hydralyte in the cupboard, so I dissolved two caps in 200 ml of water and began sipping the contents of the glass until it was all gone. I lay down in the bedroom with the air conditioning blasting my overheated body. I eventually fell asleep and woke up not long after, feeling better, and promised myself to make it to my niece Maeve’s 21st birthday party. I contacted my brother Lindsay, and he said he’d pick me up on the way and take me to the party.
It was a great time catching up with family and enjoying the coolish evening, sipping slowly on a Coopers and eating some well-prepared food. On the way home, we were stopped by a booze bus on South West Highway with a negative result. It’s a little unnerving as we both knew how much alcohol we had both had. Thank God it was mid-strength. Lindsay dropped me just after midnight. I entered my house feeling tired and found myself falling asleep soon after as my head hit the pillow.
Sunday, Feb 9, 2025. Well hydrated and feeling a little tired, I woke up around 8 am and peeled myself out of bed. A good breakfast and another Hydralyte dose, I headed off to the Premier Hotel in Pinjarra. I arrived with over an hour and twenty minutes before show time, which gave me time to order grilled snapper with potato mash and fresh garden salad, which hit the spot and set me up for a great gig playing for the punters at the front of the hotel under the veranda.
John and Sarah came along, listening and cheering me on as I mashed my way through three hours of my originals and favorite covers. I finished around 3 pm and packed up the equipment, Lindsay had sent me a text asking if a would like to join him and his family for dinner. I said I’d love too. Arriving at Lindsay’s in Serpentine around 4:30 pm. He was watching a replay of the 1990 AFL Grand Final between Collingwood and Essendon, with Collingwood winning by nearly 50 points. What a trip down memory lane with Collingwood breaking their 32-year drought of not winning a flag. An iconic win for the Magpies. Whilst we were watching the footy replay he had the “Kettle BBQ” cooking a roast pork. Around 6 pm, it was done to perfection, adding to the menu of Yorkshire pudding and mash. What a way to finish the gigging week. I returned home after 9pm and watched TV for an hour or so and took some hemp gummies and few drops of oil and found as I lay in my bed all the pain in my wrists and arms from strumming dissolve away as I fell asleep.
Today, Monday, Feb 10, 2025, a well-deserved day off as I write this blog. Please enjoy the read, and I’ll be back next week. Enjoy your day.