The International Swingers - The Gov, Adelaide
7th December 2011
Words: Rob Lyon
Words: Rob Lyon
International Swingers? Those words alone would more than likely conjure up all sorts of images but in fact, The International Swingers is a new supergroup that features Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Rich Kids, The Faces), Clem Burke (Blondie, The Romantics, Eurythmics), James Stevenson (Generation X, The Cult, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Alarm) and Gary Twinn (Honey Drippers, Speedtwinn, 20th Flight Rockers, Supernaut). Just considering the six degrees of separation is mind boggling.
The Gov played host to The International Swingers and after a change of date and with Christmas looming, the band suffered with quite a poor turnout. It’s such a shame that these heroes of yesterday are resigned to playing to such small crowds compared to their heyday in their previous bands. Nevertheless, the faithful that were there partied like it was Saturday night and made plenty of noise to make up for the lack of numbers in the venue. In short this was a great gig and a highlight for 2011!
It would have been quite easy for the band to just go through the motions but holy mackerel did they deliver! The format of the show was simple – they played all their favourite songs from the bands they were involved in plus some covers that were obvious personal favourites. What made the show so great was the songs played were not obscure by any stretch and if anyone listened to enough music chances are they’d know most of them.
The Gov played host to The International Swingers and after a change of date and with Christmas looming, the band suffered with quite a poor turnout. It’s such a shame that these heroes of yesterday are resigned to playing to such small crowds compared to their heyday in their previous bands. Nevertheless, the faithful that were there partied like it was Saturday night and made plenty of noise to make up for the lack of numbers in the venue. In short this was a great gig and a highlight for 2011!
It would have been quite easy for the band to just go through the motions but holy mackerel did they deliver! The format of the show was simple – they played all their favourite songs from the bands they were involved in plus some covers that were obvious personal favourites. What made the show so great was the songs played were not obscure by any stretch and if anyone listened to enough music chances are they’d know most of them.
Wasting no time, Out Of Control was a ripping opener followed by Hanging On The Telephone which proved quite the contrast to Blondie. After some band intros it was on to an ‘Aussie’ classic Friday On My Mind, which sent the crowd nuts. It was at this point that Twinn asked the crowd whether they were going deaf and if not, to turn up the noise, before tearing in to I Ain’t Your Steppin’ Stone. Clem Bourke was amazing to watch on the drums and was quite the entertainer.
There were some great songs in their set, from the likes of I Like It Both Ways, to Jealous, to the ever popular Romantics cover What I Like About You. A nice titbit was dropped, announcing that Glen Matlock would be playing as a part of The Faces reunion tour, serving as a good intro to the popular cover Stay With Me. Dancing With Myself and Call Me were great audience dancing and sing-a-long moments, bringing the main set to an end.
There were some great songs in their set, from the likes of I Like It Both Ways, to Jealous, to the ever popular Romantics cover What I Like About You. A nice titbit was dropped, announcing that Glen Matlock would be playing as a part of The Faces reunion tour, serving as a good intro to the popular cover Stay With Me. Dancing With Myself and Call Me were great audience dancing and sing-a-long moments, bringing the main set to an end.
The band returned for a barnstorming encore, which featured some massive hits including C’mon Everybody, the Sex Pistols cult classic God Save the Queen and The Stooges No Fun. Phew! If that wasn’t enough, the finale, the Johnny Thunders cover Born To Lose, wrapped an awesome night.
Let’s hope the poor turnout doesn’t prevent a return when the album is out next year. No doubt they would have won some fans hearts signing autographs and posing for photos after the show.
Let’s hope the poor turnout doesn’t prevent a return when the album is out next year. No doubt they would have won some fans hearts signing autographs and posing for photos after the show.