Et Al has got two tickets for Tropical F**k Storm's sold out Castlemaine show to give away

Who doesn't love a freebie

Not doing anything on Sunday night? Anywhere near Castlemaine? I’ve got two tickets for Tropical Fuck Storm for an Et Al subscriber who meets the above criteria and is a fan of this unique Australian band (not sure there’s any intersection in this Venn diagram, but we’ll soon see).

By way of explanation.

It’s the Bowlo’s fault.

The Marrickville Bowling Club hosts an eclectic and entertaining range of artists. Last Thursday night I caught up with my mate, Cam, for a couple of quick Coopers Pale Ales (member’s price $7.10 a schooner), only to have our remaining hairs parted and feeble chests thumped by Bogota hardcore punk outfit Muro’s soundcheck. Man, those Colombians play loud. Over the years there’s been some great gigs. Midnight Oil played a warm-up there in 2017, a gig that has entered inner-west folklore.

I didn’t make that Oils show, but a year or two later Tropical Fuck Storm, who had just released their tour de chaos debut album, A Laughing Death in Meatspace, played an unforgettable live show at the Bowlo. It was a hell of an evening. One of those nights, the clan gathers from all parts, and the band delivers. Gareth was so excited his guitar was poking holes in the club’s sacred retro ceiling, and when the band was done, drummer Lauren was not done. Keith Moon’s feral granddaughter played on, at one stage wrestling and kicking an electronic drum pad long after the other three had left the stage.

TFS are nothing if not gloriously excessive.

As much as I hate it when people record gigs with their phones, I am glad someone confirmed my memory by capturing that last song.

I’m a huge fan of TFS’s guitarist and singer, Erica Dunn, having first found her via this brilliant rendition of Who Do You Love? (you, Erica, we all love you!) for SMB.

Erica is an artist with a broad repertoire, having released two albums with the more folk-styled outfit Palm Springs and two with her other alt-pop band Mod Cons.

Anyway ….

Fuck Storm live is a transcendent experience, a sort of cacophonous cosmic mud wrestle, full of sparks and screams and beeps and bangs. The B52s on meth. The Birthday Party on MDMA.

This recent live film will give you some idea of Nagambie’s greatest export:

Told you they weren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

I caught up with Fuck Storm recently when they played New York, and I had some time to fill before getting down to the Test series in the West Indies.

TFS at The Bowery, NY, June 21

Turns out, I can’t get to Castlemaine.