Stray Cats: Australia 2009

Thanks Rocky, even though i have the worst memory, i do try...lol.
Guitar Rag...Man that was the greatest...

Interview with Jim in advance of the A/NZ tour:
http://www.slimjimphantom.com/BiographyPress.htm

so no one met Brian this time?
Sam, have your feet touched the ground yet?

Patience, Kelley. There's stories to be told but they must be told properly!

looks like a few folks were busy in Brisbane:

https://www.youtube.com/user/jwin71
https://www.youtube.com/user/tozriot
https://www.youtube.com/user/DreaMorsby

...

kelleyM wrote:

so no one met Brian this time?
Sam, have your feet touched the ground yet?

Well as I sit here on a pay per use computer, drinking a Corona, in the Tiger Terminal, I can't help but think the special week end I spent.

And Kelley..................you wouldn't believe what happened to us!!

Gotta go now and catch the flight home...........


THANKS to everyone, especially Sam, Andi, Rene and his wife Arnu, and especially BRIAN for making my week end special.

Pistol Pete wrote:

kelleyM wrote:

so no one met Brian this time?
Sam, have your feet touched the ground yet?

And Kelley..................you wouldn't believe what happened to us!!

hmmmmmm.......

Aussie_Sam wrote:

Review of March 1st concert plus more...
Where do I start? The night was sensational and so was the day. Brian and the Cat's tore the house down AGAIN! The place was sold out and packed to the rafters for the fourth time. Couldnt believe it when Brian played Guitar Rag, the place went nuts! All the classics were played and Brian had us all shouting along. One of the roadies dressed as a giant Kangaroo made a few appearances throughout the night lol. Brian had a good laugh. The night had a slight bit of sadness attached to it for me because the tour was ending and Brian was leaving us. BUT as I reflect on the last couple of weeks I find myself thanking God that ALL my dreams came true, everything I've wanted to do for the last 25 years came true..I still pinch myself and say "WOW" "Did all this really happen?" Thank you Brian and Julie for making me and Caroline the happiest people in the universe, love you from the bottom of our hearts.
The day leading up to the concert was fantastic, I spent it with the most wonderful people you could ever meet, Pickin Pete, Andi, Rene and his lovely wife. Thank God for this forum and the friends i have made because of it. Pickin Pete is beyond words, the man is amazing, he was in my hometown and he was hosting me!!! Such a generous, great guy, best you could ever meet, thank you Pete. The beautiful Andi is a doll, it was a pleasure to meet you, thanks for the great pic's and cool stories, love to do it all again, us Aussies are lucky to have you xxoo. Rene and, sorry if I spell it wrong Arnu. Thanks for coming down and sharing the special night together, you two are are awsome...Arnu, remember to carry ID with you next time lol, I saw you freez when the guy asked you for it hahaha. Im 37 you told him and with a look of "im sorry" he let you in, priceless...thanks again guys.
Plenty of pics were taken and I'll leave it to the experts to post them.

Thanks again
Too Hip Gotta Go - back to work..
Sam.

Man, where do I start??
First and foremost, Thanks goes out to Brian, Jim and Lee for coming to our shores and giving us the chance to relive those precious memories of yesteryear. I felt young and alive again, something that I haven't felt in a long time. Thanks Stray Cats, I owe you a BIG one!
No doubt ever crossed my mind as to whether the concert was going to be an awesome one. Brian said this when we spoke to him LAST Sunday. Yeah, I know I didn't say anything but, I wanted the guys to see out the rest of their tour without too much info getting out in regards to where they were staying, movements,etc. Sorry for this, but I just felt it was something I owed to the guys. To cut out the long stories, we got to meet Brian after the show last night as well. In the photos I took, you can see that he's geniunely happy to be hanging out with his fans, signing stuff, shooting the breeze and taking pics.
What REALLY made my whole tour was when I went up to him last night to introduce myself, and before I could say anything, he pointed to me and said "Hey, I know who YOU are! You're Pickin Pete!" Man, I was completely blown away! I did exactly what Sam did, I gave him a hug! To ALL his derailers out there I have a message for you...... FUCK OFF....... this guy IS the REAL DEAL, no bullshit about him. He showed us great respect and to be honest, I almost felt that this was his way of saying thank you to us. He stayed at least 40-45 minutes in all, while his wife waited patientely in the car. Thanks goes out to Julie as well, you are a beautiful lady and a beautiful person, thanks. He spoke to each of us, one on one, and paid attention to what we had to say. The hugs, kisses and handshakes were heartfelt from all of us, including Brian. My heart goes out to my beautiful wife Tania, Sam and his wife Caroline for not being able to be there, but I look at it as a goal for the future.
My trip this week end wouldn't have been as memorable without the time I spent with Rene and his wife Arnu, Sam and his wife Caroline and brother whose name escapes me now (SORRY!) and of course Andi. Kid, I told ya make it down! Those memories of our time together go hand in hand with the ones of meeting the guys.

I thank everyone immensely and the life long friends I made are ones I'll treasure for ever,
Cheers Pete

Great story Pete!

Yeah I know!! I am kicking myself about not being able to make it to the last show - I just didn't have the money for the flights

I wanna meet Brian!!

Ahhhh well, guess I better start saving for a flight to the states then..

Wow, you`re a lucky one.
"you are Pickin Pete"
He must know you from the old official Forum, didn`t he.

Cool story. Seems for me this Australien Tour was very special for everybody.

Brett wrote:

Wow, you`re a lucky one.
"you are Pickin Pete"
He must know you from the old official Forum, didn`t he.

Cool story. Seems for me this Australien Tour was very special for everybody.

This Tour was special Brett, thanks to the Cats and to my friends on this forum. I only hope that everyone else on here had some enjoyment from what we've posted. You Brett are my friend and I know one day we'll meet, and you'll be able to tell ME about stories that mean as much to you as these have to me, and I WILL enjoy them too!
Cheers Pete

The day leading up to the concert was fantastic, I spent it with the most wonderful people you could ever meet, Pickin Pete, Andi, Rene and his lovely wife. Thank God for this forum and the friends i have made because of it. Pickin Pete is beyond words, the man is amazing, he was in my hometown and he was hosting me!!! Such a generous, great guy, best you could ever meet, thank you Pete. The beautiful Andi is a doll, it was a pleasure to meet you, thanks for the great pic's and cool stories, love to do it all again, us Aussies are lucky to have you xxoo. Rene and, sorry if I spell it wrong Arnu. Thanks for coming down and sharing the special night together, you two are are awsome...Arnu, remember to carry ID with you next time lol, I saw you freez when the guy asked you for it hahaha. Im 37 you told him and with a look of "im sorry" he let you in, priceless...thanks again guys.
Plenty of pics were taken and I'll leave it to the experts to post them.

Thanks again
Too Hip Gotta Go - back to work..
Sam.[/quote]

These are my friends...

kelleyM wrote:

wanna see pics wanna see pics!!!

Does this look as if he wanted to be with his fans or what????

Hey TV, sorry man, no Glenlivet, but I had a Glenmorangie for ya! Rene is a Jacks and dry dude!

Brett wrote:

He must know you from the old official Forum, didn`t he.

.

By speaking about it, anybody did not see Tommy? He was nevertheless very present on the farewell european tour.

sweet story Pete!

That's so cool to see all the Aussies together in one pic. You guys really know how to get together and party it up. Cheers to you all.

Pistol Pete wrote:

Hey TV, sorry man, no Glenlivet, but I had a Glenmorangie for ya! Rene is a Jacks and dry dude!

good times indeed my friends!!


Cheers to all you guys for sharing your time seeing Setzer in one of his finest hours it seems..
the HDVDL also raises a glass to you for including us yanks!

I'm very excited for you all that the tour was such a success, both for you guys and the Cats. I would agree that the best thing about being a Setzer fan are the other Setzer fans you meet in the process. Brian just seems to attract some of the nicest and coolest fans an artist could have.

It does suck when people accuse Brian of not caring about his fans just because he chooses not to greet his fans after every show. Jim and Lee get compared with Brian in that regard, but they usually play to much smaller crowds on their own than Brian, and sometimes, it's just not practical to make the time. It definitely makes the times he does come out after a show that much more special. I can't help but feel the incredible Aussie reception was unique - stronger perhaps, than any crowds in Europe or the US. It's great to see Brian so happy and gracious to take time to recognize the Aussie fan support.

Having said all that, I still, without apology, have mixed feelings and disappointment over certain things that transpired last August and September. Thankfully, on the Aussie tour, nobody rushed onstage, no one threw crap onstage, Jim didn't fall off the stage, and Jean Genie stayed in her bottle. I am still a fan of the music, Brian's talents, and in keeping the appropriate perspective over the fan-artist relationship, I am thrilled that some of the nicest people around here had their dreams fulfilled and then some by the talent and generosity of Brian, Lee, and Jim.

Take a bow, Aussie fans! You earned every second of joy gleamed from the events of the past few weeks!


Oz-a-billy

To Sam, Andi, Rene, and Pete:

Thank you so much for sharing your stories, pictures and experiences of the Australian tour. I am thrilled for all of you that you had such a great time, and had such an amazing experience.

I agree with Rickabilly, that Brian does seem to attract some of the coolest fans...normal, everyday people with a common passion for his great music. (at least MOST of his fans are normal, everyday people...). It's pretty cool that you all were able to plan and meet, and celebrate the Stray Cats together. And I am glad that the tour seemed to go off without a hitch. What a special moment in time...what special memories you guys shared.

I'm looking forward to the future, to see what Mr. Setzer has planned for the upcoming months. Exciting times!

Take care and thanks again,
hrg

Thanks guys, it was a real pleasure sharing my and our amazing experiences with you all. It's a time of my life I WILL NEVER FORGET, Thanks again Brian, you are a true gentleman, a person with a massive heart, not a day will pass where I won't remember how kind and loving you and Julie were to me and Caroline.

Pete, Andi, Rene , Tania and Arnu, reality sucks doesn't it!!! Oneday we were having the time of our life without a worry in the world. Come Monday (yesterday) it's back to work Oh well, at least we'll have stories to share for a long, long time
Love you guys..

Sam

Rickabilly wrote:

Thankfully, on the Aussie tour, nobody rushed onstage

Actually, the second Brisbane show, some guy did rush the stage. But a member of the road crew, who you will see in photos I'm about to post, must have seen him coming and he was in a catcher's stance for about 2 minutes just inside the curtain, waiting for the guy to be stupid enough to try it. The guy did, the road crew member and a venue security guard intercepted him and forcibly shoved him back into the crowd before he even had two knees on the stage. That's the way it should be done!!


EDIT: actually, I tell a lie. The road crew fella in question is in the pic Pete posted, where Brian has a big smile on his face (beautiful capture by the way, Pete). The guy with the beard is the roadie.

I've just posted a bunch of photos to my flickr page - keep in mind these were taken with a little point and shoot camera so the performance photos are crap compared to what I took in Europe 6 months ago. Thanks very much to Pete for shooting with my camera while Brian and I were talking!! Stories about that coming shortly.

http://flickr.com/photos/andihazelwood

Pete has already posted a lot that are very similar to what I got, so I won't post them all here- but here are some important additions:


Me and Brian in Melbourne.


Me and Kid Setzer in Brisbane!


Pony, you have a PM, just gimme your email address and I'll send you full size shots of you and Arnu and Brian.