Drowning Pool - Sinner https://open.spotify.com/album/089oyV5caclve3ap934iRw?si=uReAn8z9SiKIXOCNwXfd-A
I guess it’s time to talk about my first concert experience. I had seen high school/local bands around Mt. Gambier before but this is about my first real concert.
The year was... ummm...
*quickly googles what year it was*
2002! (I really should stop starting posts like this...) and nu-metal was pretty much all I listened too. My mate Steve had the ‘Ozzfest 2001’ CD, which featured a few of our favourite acts and a band that quickly became a favourite, Drowning Pool.
Drowning Pool were the new kids on the block having just released their huge nu-metal anthem ‘Bodies’ the year before. It’s an earworm of a song, punchy and angst ridden just the way we liked it. The refrain “Let the bodies hit the floor!” being the main lyric can get stuck in your head for days. For obvious reasons it was one of the first songs pulled off the radio after the September 11 terrorists acts, which just helped its popularity. I later found out that the lyrics are actually about moshpits... the more you know! 💁♀️
Now my memory here is a little fuzzy (thanks time) as I cannot remember the exact details of how I found out about the show. I recall another friend of mine giving me a VHS of film clips from the metal/rock show Channel [V] used to run. I’ve got a feeling that was were I saw an ad for 'Channel V’s Music Bus'. For those who don’t know or can’t remember (god damn it time!), Channel V’s Music Bus was a series where they took big artists to small towns for a free concert. Imagine my surprise when the ad announced that the music bus was coming to Mt. Gambier. ‘That’s kind of cool’ I thought. Then the ad said who was coming...
Drowning Pool.
Obviously I had to go and Steve was coming with me. Looking back it’s pretty amazing, what’s the chances of that happening! Our first concert experience was seeing the newly crowned princes of nu-metal in our own hometown. Un-fuckin-believable.
I remember getting dropped off at Vansittart park. It was a sunny day, one of those days where the sun seems to shine brighter than usual. There was a fairly large crowd and a decent sized stage to boot. The stage had what I like to call a “Bon Jovi walkway”, a catwalk that comes off the stage and stretches into the crowd. There was a big screen showing the live feed of Channel V. I was excited as all hell. This was the real deal, a real show. I don’t remember seeing anyone we knew there (though I’m certain we must of), I just remember pushing our way through the crowd to get as close as we could. We ended up on the barricade, stage right (that’s to the left of the stage from the crowds perspective). The screen was behind us and provided some shade while we anxiously waited. It’s weird seeing a live TV show happening. The hosts kind of just stand on stage, looking all... normal. Jabba and Mary were the hosts plus some other dude I can't remember. You’d see the camera man quickly get into position count Jabba, Mary and the other dude in and then ACTION! They done two or three amp up crosses (I don’t know what they’re called). Pretty much they’d tell the viewers at home that Drowning Pool will be coming out very soon and then get the crowd to yell and then cut to some film clips. I remember them playing Chemical Heart by Grinspoon, but the one that stood out was Chop Suey by System Of A Down. That was a huuuuuuuge song then, everyone loved it. When they played it a mini moshpit started. ‘Holy Shit! A moshpit in Mt. Gambier?’ Oh how I was naive...
The cameraman ran back out into position, followed quickly by the hosts then finally, Drowning Pool took the stage.
3...2...1...
“Mt. Gambier please welcome into your very warm hearts, all the way from Texas, USA... This is DROWNING POOL!”
I stood there unable to take my eyes off of them. They were all dressed in black (of course) and just looked like fucking rockstars. I recall thinking halfway through the first song that I didn’t want it to end. I had been bitten by the live music bug and I was only a minute and a half into my first ever concert. I didn’t know who to watch as all the band members were having a ball. It genuinely looked like they were pumped to be there, playing for a bunch of kids who never get this kind of show. I ended up being mesmerised by the drummer. He was sweating his arse off, hitting the drums with gusto all while singing backing vocals. This could of actually been the point that I decided I should try playing drums. I had only played drums for the first time 6 months prior at school in my music class and that was only for like a week. It certainly wasn't the point that made we want to be in a band, that'll come in another blog. I remember the bassist was slamming his strings, I mean slamming his strings. CJ the guitarist looked possessed. He would kind of spasm his body randomly whilst looking upwards to the heavens. He also had a shaven head with a long ponytail which had coloured beads in it, that would accentuate every time he'd whip his hair back and forth (Ha!). Dave Williams the vocalist would just scream and sing his heart out, only stopping to mosh or to signal the crowd to join in on the party. They were all smiling to each other, swapping positions on stage, just having fun. They played two or so songs then stopped. It was time for ads. It was fucking annoying but I’m not gonna complain, it was a free concert. Then they’d play another two or three songs and that was it.
Like every concert it was over quicker than what the build up was. I’m not sure if they announced it onstage or not but they were gonna do signings in a back area behind the stage. Steve and I ran like the fucking wind to the best record store in town, Disco Records and Tapes. We both bought their album ‘Sinner’ and legged it back. When we got back they were just hanging out the back of the stage taking photos with fans and signing peoples gear. I got a Channel V postcard signed by the whole band, my freshly bought CD signed and for some reason my mobile phone. They were the nicest guys, and they hung around for ages making sure they signed every last persons stuff. Steve’s mum picked us up and that was that, our first concert experience.
7 months later their vocalist Dave Williams
would pass away.
A few months after his death Drowning Pool would release their DVD ‘Sinema’. I managed to buy it (from Disco Records and Tapes of course) even though it was R rated and I was only 14. On it they had the Mt. Gambier concert in all its glory. That DVD became the most played disc in both our households.
Many years later I’d find out one of my best mates (who I met a few years after this concert) scored weed for the band and spent the night with them smoking and drinking.
As far as first concert experiences go, you can’t get much better than that. It was in my hometown, it was a band I loved (at the time) who were at their peak, it was free and it’s on DVD.
Oh and I know what you’re thinking and the answer is yes. You bet your arses Steve and I combed through the footage to find if we were on the dvd and we are on it. Albeit you need to pause it at the perfect split second to see a blurry red blob (Steve) and a tiny small brown blob (yours truly), but god damn it, we are on it.
Here's a YouTube link I found that has been edited to just have their Mt. Gambier performance. Good luck finding us! ;-)
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