Guy Pratt, bassist of “legendary Australian band Icehouse” (but previously unknown to me), started with Canberra jokes then on to bassist jokes. Everyone does Canberra jokes (I find most intercity rivalry tiresome) but he did get the image right of Canberra as an up-market university town. Then the bassist jokes. He’s a bassist, so that’s OK. Then a few snippets of tunes played on guitar and bass, then various tales of the rock musician’s life. It’s a pretty earthy existence, although at this level, the egos are strong and the living is hard and committed. Sex, drugs and rock & roll are still staples of the chatter and presumably of the lifestyle. I recognised some of the big names: Davids Gilmour and Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jimmy Page. There were others I didn’t know. There was a whiff of name-dropping, but they were amusing stories none-the-less. It wasn’t a humour of wit, more of circumstance and shock and extremity. But I remember one self-deprecating line with a wry touch: “There’s no beginning to his talents”. Self-deprecating, but I doubt it’s true. His playing didn’t blow me out, but they were just little snippets and secondary to the patter, and if half of what he described was true, he’s got a true rock pedigree. In summary, interesting although perhaps from the dark side! Guy Pratt (bassist and raconteur) performed at the Playhouse.PS. I’ve just checked out his website and his Wikipedia entry with discography. Impressive!
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