Hunters & Collectors reactivated for Red Hot Summer in Bendigo on Saturday presenting a setlist covering their recording era between1982 and 1994 minus work from the final album of 1998.
John Archer on bass, Doug Falconer on drums, Jeremy Smith on French horn, Jack Howard on trumpet, Barry Palmer on lead guitar, John Archer on bass and Mark Seymour on lead guitar, vocals were once again collectively Hunters & Collectors for their first tour since 2014 and first show since the Clipsal 500 one-off for Adelaide in 2017.
The Red Hot Summer Bendigo show was only the 27th Hunters & Collectors show since they broke up in 1998. For Red Hot Summer, Hunters & Collectors will double their live output of the last 22 years in just four months.
Considering the absence of concert activity of the past two decades, Hunters & Collectors are still a remarkably powerful band. The four components of brass, percussion, bass and guitar overlayed with the unique voice and poetic words of Mark Seymour, makes Hunters & Collectors a very special part of Australian music culture.
It’s an incredible statement about the public’s past music tastes that songs like ‘Say Goodbye’, ‘Do You See What I See’, ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’, ‘True Tears of Joy’ and ‘Holy Grail’ were Top 40 singles in their day. Imagine that compared to the tripe that makes up todays Top 40 chart. Songs with depth, songs with a message, songs made with real musical instruments by real musicians were actually chart hits.
Duane McDonald’s foresight in pursuing Hunters & Collectors for the Red Hot Summer tour paid off with the Bendigo audience crowded in to anticipate the show and then singing along to the anthems along the way.
The Hunters & Collectors band is (like their album title a) juggernaut in itself. With so many moving parts, Hunters & Collectors operates like a rock orchestra. While bands of their era like Chisel were blues-based and Midnight Oil’s origins grew from punk, Hunters & Collectors were more aligned in their early days with the tribal rhythms that also influenced an early Nick Cave. That may in part be attributable to producer Tony Cohen who not only worked on their 1982 debut but also The Boys Next Door/The Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds era of the Nick Cave catalogue.
Opening with their earliest known song, ‘Talking To A Stranger’ set the thermostat to the heart of the band. Over the next 90 minutes the band would occasionally jump back to that mode with ‘Betty’s Worry or The Slab’ and ’42 Wheels’ but the focus of the setlist is was a collection of songs that established the legacy of this band.
The first 52 seconds of the return of Hunters and Collectors in 2020 for @RedHotSummerTo1 In Bendigo pic.twitter.com/N3TBI3sEhT
— Noise11.com (@Noise11Tweets) January 5, 2020
‘Turn A Blind Eye’, ‘When The Rivers Run Dry’, ‘Where Do You Go’, are part of Australian rock history. ‘What’s A Few Men’, inspired by Albert Facey’s ‘A Fortunate Life’, is history in song.
Hunters & Collectors 4 January 2020, Bendigo
Talking To A Stranger (from Hunters & Collectors, 1982)
Turn A Blind Eye (from Ghost Nation, 1989)
Inside A Fireball (from Living Daylight EP, 1987)
True Tears Of Joy (from Cut, 1992)
Where Do You Go? (from Cut, 1992)
Stuck On You (from Human Frailty, 1986)
Dog (from Human Frailty, 1986)
Say Goodbye (from Human Frailty, 1986)
Back In The Hole (from Demon Flower, 1994)
Holy Grail (from Cut, 1992)
Betty’s Worry or The Slab (from The Jaws of Life, 1984)
What’s A Few Men? (What’s A Few Men?, 1987)
Everything’s On Fire (from Human Frailty, 1986)
When The River Runs Dry (from Ghost Nation, 1989)
Do You See What I See? (What’s A Few Men?, 1987)
42 Wheels (from The Jaws of Life, 1984)
Throw Your Arms Around Me (from Human Frailty, 1986)
Barry Palmer and Mark Seymour of Hunters and Collectors at Red Hot Summer Bendigo photo by Noise11
Red Hot Summer 2020 dates
Sunday 5th January 2020
Old Mount Gambier Gaol, MOUNT GAMBIER SA – SOLD OUT
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Old Mount Gambier Gaol 08 8723 0032
Saturday 11th January 2020 – SOLD OUT
Mary Ann Reserve, MANNUM SA
Sounds By The River
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Mannum Visitor Information Centre 1300 626 686
Sunday 12th January 2020 – SOLD OUT
Sandalford Estate, SWAN VALLEY WA
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 18th January 2020 – SOLD OUT
Mornington Racecourse, MORNINGTON VIC
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 19th January 2020 – SOLD OUT
Mornington Racecourse, MORNINGTON VIC
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 25th January 2020 – SOLD OUT
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, HOBART TAS
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 26th January 2020
Country Club Lawns, LAUNCESTON TAS
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 1st February 2020
Westport Park, PORT MACQUARIE NSW
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Glasshouse www.glasshouse.org.au
Saturday 8th February 2020 – SOLD OUT
Cockatoo Island, SYDNEY NSW
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 9th February 2020
Cockatoo Island, SYDNEY NSW
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 15th February 2020
Roche Estate, HUNTER VALLEY NSW – SOLD OUT
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 16th February 2020 – SOLD OUT
Bella Vista Farm, BAULKHAM HILLS NSW
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 22nd February 2020 – SOLD OUT
Sandstone Point Hotel, BRIBIE ISLAND QLD
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 23rd February 2020
Queens Park – Frogs Hollow, TOOWOOMBA QLD
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 29th February 2020 – SOLD OUT
Sandstone Point Hotel, BRIBIE ISLAND QLD – SOLD OUT
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 1st March 2020
Harrigans Drift Inn, JACOBS WELL QLD – SOLD OUT
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 7th March 2020
Mackay Park, BATEMANS BAY NSW – SOLD OUT
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Batemans Bay Visitors Centre 1800 802 528
Saturday 14th March 2020 – SOLD OUT
Kiama Showgrounds, KIAMA NSW
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Kiama Visitor Information Centre 1300 654 262
Saturday 21st March 2020
Gateway Lakes, WODONGA VIC
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 28th March 2020
North Gardens, BALLARAT VIC
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 29th March 2020 – SOLD OUT
Seppeltsfield, BAROSSA SA
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 4th April 2020
Lazy River Estate, DUBBO NSW
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Dubbo Visitor Information Centre 02 6801 4450
Saturday 11th April 2020
Darwin Amphitheatre, DARWIN NT
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 18th April 2020
Barlow Park, CAIRNS QLD
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 18th April 2020
Barlow Park, CAIRNS QLD
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Sunday 26th April 2020
Noosa & District Sports Complex, TEWANTIN QLD
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Mark Seymour and Jack Howard of Hunters and Collectors at Red Hot Summer Bendigo photo by Noise11
For more information, please visit www.redhotsummertour.com.au
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