Homesick with The Waifs

Hello again,

I had another homesick moment last week. I went to see an Aussie band at The Commodore Ballroom called The Waifs, from Perth. (www.thewaifs.com) They're a five-piece, and have been around for about 12 years now, their music a rootsy-folky-country and mainly acoustic brand of music, with sweet, sentimental songs about life, love and being on the road. They've been slogging it out on the road in Australia and around the world solidly almost non-stop in that time, for a long time playing to small pubs and hippy folk festivals, slowly but surely gaining a reputation for giving amazing shows and building a loyal, if small following. Only in the last 2-3 years or so, with the release of 'Up All Night' have they been making serious inroads into the national Aussie psyche and gaining popularity overseas.

I saw them once before in 2003 at the Womadelaide World Music and Dance Festival in Adelaide and was blown away. They then came across my path again in Dublin last year, and now here in Vancouver. They get around.

Anyway, a funny little story about this band. They had released a single from "Up All Night" called "London Still", a song about living in London and being homesick for Australia - a song that thousands of Aussies can relate to no doubt! I first heard this song at Womad, and hundreds of times on the radio in the ensuing months right up until I left on this trip in July 2003. It's such a sweet, melancholy song, that while still living in Melbourne, it made me want to be in London so that I could be homesick for Australia. And every time I heard the song it literally sent a chill up my spine, and nearly brought a tear to my eye. Every time. Strange huh?
Then in Dublin I came across the album again (thanks Kita!), and proceeded to be homesick, substituting London for Dublin in the lyrics.

So, when I saw the gig announced in the street press back in April, I snapped up tickets immediately. Australian patriotism is rife, everywhere you go if there is an Aussie band or Aussie-related event happening, we come out in droves. Arriving at The Commodore, you'd swear to God you were in Sydney, what with 95% of the accents you heard being the distinct twang typical of Aussies. It was great, but it did make me feel homesick.

Since I've been away from Melbourne, the following of The Waifs seemed to have grown manifestly in size - apparently they're HUGE now, thanks to the success of "Up All Night" and high-rotation of that album on youth radio network Triple J. So, when they came on stage, the noise and cheering was fever pitch and deafening. The show opened on a sombre note tho, happening on the same day as the London Bombings, and so the band began with a slow, sad and reflective version of London Still. No speech or comment, just the song and a quiet 'thank-you' afterwards. That was all that was needed to be said on the matter. On with the show. the show must go on, as those in London stoically proved.

Needless to say, despite the two girls, Vicki and Donna, both being heavily pregnant, they put on a huge and awesome performance, throwing in a lot of old crowd favourites, mixing up the slow songs with the faster finger-picking guitar tunes, road testing some new songs and whipping the crowd into a lather with a barnstorming version of their classic "Crazy Train". The crowd response was loud and long, and the band seemed genuinely overwhelmed and touched by the energy feeding back at them..."Oh gee, thanks guys!". No, Thank You. Awesome.

Cheers, Tony