Everyone has had or will have one of those epic weekends. One of those weekends where all the stars align and what ensues is the stuff of legendary status amongst those who were there to experience it.
This is one of those stories...
"On and on, reckless abandon
Something's wrong, this is gonna shock them
Nothing to hold on to
We'll use this song to lead you on"
Blink 182 - Greatest Hits: https://open.spotify.com/album/31mnNcl6CzIcX8j9n75vYZ?si=VLV6LAtvSjquyssSfmPpxA
Like most of these types of stories, this one starts nonchalantly. Steve, Daniel and I were driving around Mt. Gambier on a breezy Saturday. It was about lunchtime and like most 18-year-olds, we were bored. We had no plans for our Saturday night. There’s no way we were going to go out in Mt. Gambier again, we had done that so often it wasn’t appealing anymore. It looked like we were going to waste another night in the mount.
“Let’s do something!” one of us half suggested half moaned.
What the fuck could we do, it’s Mt. Gambier! We know all the rooms and we’ve walked all the floors! (Ten points to whoever gets that lyric!)
“Let’s go somewhere!”
Adelaide’s probably out of the question at such short notice.
Millicent? Probably end up in a brawl.
“Warrnambool?” Someone suggested.
Warrnambool... sounds plausible. It’s not that far, we don’t know anyone there...
“Fuck it! Let’s go to Warrnambool!”
Boy, did we have no idea how that decision would play out...
The idea was simple. We’d take my wagon, bring all the alcohol we had at home, drive to Warrnambool and find somewhere to park, drink whatever alcohol we had in the car and then go out. Imagine Hunter S. Thompson and Dr Gonzo but three teenagers with minimal money.
We filled the back of my wagon with blankets, pillows, a change of clothes each, packets of chips/lollies, 1/2 a bottle of tequila, a carton of beer and a small amount of vodka (not quite Fear and Loathing, hey?) After Daniel and I checked with our respective girlfriends, we set off on our overnight adventure.
Being my car, I was on driving duties, but that was fine as I love driving long distance. At this point, I done the deliveries and installations for Betta Electrical. I used to spend all my working days driving all over the South East, installing people’s entertainment systems. I crave that feeling of being free and a long-distance drive gives me that feeling.
I recall it being sunny for our drive. It would’ve been late afternoon by the time we set off. The shadows of the trees dissected the highway, with the beautiful, warm sunlight shining through the spaces in between. As always with us three, the car was full of laughter and banter. The music was pumping, I can’t remember what was playing but I dare say it was one of my CDs. Steve had also brought his CD case.
“Mind if I change it?”
“Nah, go for it.”
He carefully picks a CD from his maroon CD case and inserts it into the Pioneer CD player.
Crowd noise begins to come out of the speakers.
Then a four-count by the drummer.
The band kicks into that instantly recognisable riff.
Dumpweed by Blink 182
Steve put on the 'Mark, Tom & Travis show' album. This Instantly became one of the greatest decisions of Steve’s life (sorry Steve, but I stand by it.) This instantly changed our moods from optimistic for what the night will hold to “tonight-will-be-the-greatest-night-of-our-lives” mood. The banter on the CD matched the silliness happening in the car (the song Blowjob anyone?) It became a game of who could make the other two laugh the most and Mark, Tom and Travis were a part of our game. We sung along with the songs, I drummed along on the steering wheel and the vibe of the car turned into a party bus (wagon).
“WOOOOW! You’re in the mood to party!!!” Tom yells at one point.
It was like he could see what was happening in the car.
I’ve always been a fan of Blink 182, even through my “Prog Snob” period. Their songs are brilliant and Travis is a beast of a drummer. Sure they’ve got silly lyrics and Tom’s voice can sound like a goat trying to squeeze through a gap in between boulders, but it’s fun. Even when they do get serious (like their Untitled album) it’s great songwriting. Their Untitled album holds a special place in my heart. I adore that album. Enema of the State is a classic and encapsulates being a teenager to a tee, but the Untitled is amazing. It doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
The album finished just before we got to Warrnambool. We weren’t ready to put other music on just yet.
“No problems. I’ve got a mix cd I made of just Blink songs!” Steve came through with the goods again.
Finally, we arrived in Warrnambool. We decide we’d scope out where we were gonna park for the night before getting dinner. We needed somewhere walking distance to the pubs, but far enough out that we could safely park the car. Oh, and there was another stipulation that Daniel made...
We needed a lake view.
Daniel demanded a lake view because... well because he was in that mood and that’s something Daniel would do.
After driving up onto the bank of the lake, we cracked our first beers. We spent the next couple of hours taking more shit, kicking around a ball and listening to music. The highlight of these hours was Daniel deciding he needed to shave before went out. It was pitch black outside bar the interior light of my car. We were all drunk by this point and we were about to walk over to the pubs. He kept trying to shave using the rearview mirror even though we told him to not worry about it. Even when we banished him to the back seat to stop him from using the mirror, the buzz of the shaver kept creeping from the rear and into our conversations. Bloody Daniel...
This is where all three of our stories recounting the night possibly split. The truth would be an amalgamation of the three, so this is how (and what) I remember from the rest of that night.
We had no idea where we were going. The first pub we walked into was an Irish one. Usually a safe bet. We enter the pub to see an empty bar with a couple of tables and a few random people. Not the start we were after but hey, the night is young. Daniel decides he wants wedges so we stay for a drink or two. After we are served at the bar we take a seat in the booth. Steve mentions that one of the bar girls was good looking. Daniel and I were taken, so we encouraged him to have a chat. For some fucking reason, he decides he’s gonna do it in an Irish accent. Ballsy, but I must admit he can do a great Irish accent. The girl comes over to bring us the wedges and Steve says thanks in an Irish accent.
The lady looks at him, “You Irish? Where about from Ireland are you from?”
With no hesitation, he replies “Kilkenny”. She then shifts her attention to me “Ah I’m not Irish. I’m from Mt. Gambier. I’m his billet so he’s just staying at my place!”
“And you?” She asked Daniel.
“Dublin”. He replied in the worst Irish accent we’ve ever heard.
What the fuck was he doing?
After Steve and her talk about Ireland for a moment (she had family there), she goes back to work. Steve and I turn to Daniel, who is knowingly grinning at us both. We burst into laughter at the atrocity that was Daniels Irish accent. We then decide to test his Irish accent. He can manage to say a whole two words with an Irish accent. Dublin and Guinness. Fucking great! Good luck with that Daniel!
Steve and the girl seemed to be hitting it off, while ignoring Daniel repeatedly saying “Dublin” and “Guinness“. It was time to move on to a better venue. After asking her for a recommendation as to where we should go, they decide they may meet up later if she feels up to it once she finishes her shift.
The next place we went to was another pub and it was pumping. It was a pub full to the brim with music playing and a full dance floor. We grabbed our drinks and shuffled through the crowd to find a spot. As we move through the wall of people someone calls out Steve’s name. It’s his uncle! We walk over to him to find that a whole rival soccer team is there with him. Luckily, it’s a team we had some friendly connections with. It was all amicable and we had some new faces to talk too. We got to that point where we were talking, dancing and singing and just having fun. During this part of the night, nothing of note took place except that I nearly started a fight. We were on our last drinks as we wanted to get to the nightclub before a lineup happened. I dropped my pint through a combination of getting knocked and being hammered. I bent down to gather up the glass like a responsible person. As I was bent over, I felt an ice-cold liquid get poured on my neck. I turn to find a mountain of a man tipping his beer on me, smiling.
I calmly stood up, not breaking eye contact.
I produce a shard of glass from my broken pint and calmly drop it into his beer and smiled.
...
He smirked.
I turned away and went to the toilet to attempt to clean myself up.
9 times out of ten, that’s the point where you would get punched in the face, but this time the guy must have thought “Fair play”. Thank Christ he did cause that was one fight I was never going to win...
After semi-successfully cleaning myself up, we went to the nightclub. I only remember flashes from here on out. We ran into the Geelong netball team, where “Irish Steve” re-appeared to some success. I believe one of the girls called him out on the accent but the others believed him. Everyone was that hammered they wouldn’t have noticed. As is so often with us, we all went our own ways to explore. I remember there was a raised area looking over the dance floor. We’d keep running into each other and have a dance and drink then go for another walk.
This part I remember somewhat clearly.
I walked into the main room and spotted Steve and Daniel up on the mezzanine. They waved me to come over and I replied with a nod. I made my way into the dance floor to cut across. I look up to see where they are to see Daniel grabbing a bouncer and Steve up against the wall with 3 bouncers grabbing him. I started to run, throwing strangers out of my way. I make it to the stairs to see two bouncers dragging Steve out with his arms locked behind him. Daniel followed, yelling at them.
What the fuck happened in those 10 seconds? I only walked about 5 metres and somehow shit turned sour!
We get thrown out onto the street.
“The fuck happened?!”
I cant remember exactly (I'm sure Steve will message me once he's read this), but I think someone started on Daniel so Steve tried to calm the guy down. Someone then grabbed his shoulder and Steve instinctavley turned around and threw the guy up against the wall. Unfortunatley that guy was a bouncer.
Well fuck, that’s bad luck! Off to the next nightclub! We walk up to the door and the bouncers tell us no luck, a lockout is in place. “Lockout?! There’s lockout here?! Fucking Victoria!”
We then tried to break into the nightclub.
Yep. We did that.
We tried opening fire escape doors and windows. We were quite drunk by this time.
And then...
Well... I don’t know.
I blackout.
I remember waking up in the boot of my wagon, seedy as. The sunlight was shining through the back window. It was bright. Too bright for my swollen eyes. It was overwhelmingly hot in the car. My eyes struggled to focus. Once they had cleared the fuzzy image, I could see outside of the car, an old couple walking their dog.
Shit. We’re parked on the river bank where everyone goes for walks.
They smiled and waved.
I smiled and waved back.
Ah, Fuck! My hand...
“What’s wrong with my hand?” I look down to find my hand covered in blood. It’s all cut up and scratched.
What the hell?!?!
What the fuck happened?
I turn to find Steve and Daniel in the front and back seats respectively. At least they made it back to the car. They wake up minutes later.
“What the fuck happened to my hand?” They don’t have the answer. They tell me I disappeared! They then explain that they nearly got into a fight with that rival soccer team Steve’s uncle was with. Steve and I then notice Daniels face...
His beard was all patchy from him trying to shave it before we left. He had sections of shortly shaved stubble amongst his overgrown beard. He looked ridiculous. We then realised he had spent the whole night looking like that! We all burst into laughter.
We then start trying to piece together what had happened the night before. Bringing up all the talking points of the ludicrous session we just had. We then discover our beer bottles were littered around the car, and the soccer ball calmly floating in the lale. We must have looked like three alcoholic drifters to all the young fit adults going on their Sunday walks. We were a mess. We cleaned up our bottles, fished out the ball and decided we better make the trek home. I was still completely out of it so Daniel volunteered to do the first leg home. He drove like anyone with a hangover does, over the top cautious. So cautious in fact, it took him literally 10 GOD DAMN MINUTES to pull out onto an empty road.
He sat there looking left...
Then right...
Left...
Right...
Left...
Right...
“FUCKING GO!!!” We were all laughing hysterically once again. All though the mood was more subdued on the way back, the feeling inside the car was the same.
The sun was once again out, covering the earth with its rays. The shadows of the trees were reversed, cutting back into the car. The beautiful, warm sunlight shone through the spaces in between the trees and Mark, Tom and Travis were once again keeping everything joyful.
Blink 182 reminds me of my two closest friends and more broadly, my group of friends. Their juvenile antics are the quintessential soundtrack to our real-life juvenile antics. As I mentioned earlier, my favourite album of theirs is the Untitled. This album showed a band exploring and then revealing their talents to the world. It also showed a maturity, thanks to them becoming fathers just before they started the writing process. Sonically, the album is darker and more expansive. It’s not a heavy record, but compared to their earlier work it’s got a heavier feel. The lyrics are more personal and take on a narrative form. The Fallen Interlude is an amazing instrumental, Barker’s drums sound insane. Elsewhere, Obvious is a massive song and a personal favourite. The guitars sound huge, and the instrumentals are a wall of sound, a clear attempt at the sound Phil Spector mastered many years before. The song is also one of my favourite drum performances. Although the butt of most jokes, I Miss You is a song I hold close to my heart for personal reasons.
I don’t have anything profound or shocking to end this blog with. I guess this is one of the stories where you’re reminded of simpler times and how carefree you and your friends were to live your life with Reckless Abandon...
