The latest ultra-obscure gem to resurface online is a November 1, 1990 audience recording of the—as far as I know—one and only set by Gherkin Milkshakes, a Super (Rock) Group comprised of Peter Zaremba and Keith Streng of The Fleshtones and Hoodoo Gurus (Dave Faulkner, Brad Shepherd, Rick Grossman, and Mark Kingsmill). Zaremba and Streng were in Sydney to assist with the mixing of Powerstance, which Faulkner had produced.
I pick up the story in Sweat: The Story of The Fleshtones, America's Garage Band:
The mixes and album completed, Peter, Keith, and Faulkner turned to a harebrained idea that they’d batted around in New York: Hoodoo Gurus backing Peter and Keith for a one-off show. Dubbed the Gherkin Milkshakes (a slyly explicit reference to male ejaculate) they played a smashing set of Fleshtones songs at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney, a crowded venue packed with Gurus fans digging the two New Yawk frontmen doing their thing. Observed a local journalist wryly, “That night will long be remembered for its frenzied scenes, reminiscent of an old Easybeats film clip, or at the very least, a balmy summer’s evening on the Hill at the Cricket Ground.”
Kicking off with "When The Night Falls," the fellas streak through fifteen rollicking tunes, including "Way Up Here," "Cara-Lin," Buddy Holly's "Well Alright," 'Living Legends," and Custom Five's "Let's Go In '69," Get Down With It, boys!
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Above is a Google Map image of The Hopetoun Hotel, constructed between 1836 and 1839. Many bands lifted its roof down the decades; unfortunately in 2009 it was shuttered due to fines and repeated noise violations, to which this motley crew of New Yorkers and Australians certainly, grinningly, contributed on this night.
2 comments:
Awesome show, Joe, thanks for posting!
You bet!
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