Turning 40 for a human being is considered a milestone, so imagine what it must be like for a rocking horse. And this ain’t just any rocking horse, we’re talking Rocking Horse Records, the backbone of local-music distribution in Brisbane for, yep, you guessed it, 40 years.
Since opening their doors in 1975, Rocking Horse Records has become eponymous for many with a trip to the inner-city. And its continual support of the local music scene has been one of the reasons it is so strong today.
To celebrate, owner Warwick Vere threw a Sunday night hoe-down at The Triffid (1 November), with both free, live music in the spacious beergarden and a veritable cornucopia of Brisbane music representatives inside on the ticketed main stage.
It was a night of nights for Brisbane music. Nursing hangovers from Halloween the night before, the crowd moseyed around the spacious venue as the afternoon slid into night, the drinks were flowing and The Floyd Family Breakdown were breakin’ it on down in the beer garden. It was awfully hot, but no one seemed to mind.
There were old mates, young mates, new mates, everyone was gathered because they loved Brisbane music, and everyone seemed determined to act as young as they could. The boys would be boys, the girls would be girls. Afternoon things are so much nicer, I think, especially on a Sunday. People are happy, their shoulders are loose, and the Sunshine State sure does deliver a hell of a sunset.
By 6pm things were getting ready to go inside. The line-up kicked off with ISIS (the band), who were followed by young ones The Cairos. The line-up had been designed, so Warwick said, to reflect a decade in Rocking Horse’s history, each band a nod to history and the present.
Rob Hirst (of Midnight Oil) and Sean Sennett stood up next, singing their brand of teen-garage rock tinged with age, a combo that works better than expected, and in tonight’s atmosphere of youth never dying, is welcomed with open arms.
Died Pretty was represented via Ron Peno and Brett Myers; all I could think about was watching re-runs of their music videos on 'Rage' when I was a kid, but when I did focus on the live show it was cracking.
Last Dinosaurs and Blank Realm wrapped up the night, but the party wasn’t over yet, the conversations around the place looking set to last long into the night.
The night itself had seemed to be designed around the bands, but what was also so groovy about it was the people and conversations it attracted. It is not often that such a wide age demographic is drawn to one place, and within all these people there was a strong love for local music and the people who made it possible, and that was one of the coolest things to see and be a part of.
So happy birthday Rocking Horse! Keep on rocking, massive kudos for throwing a great party, and hopefully we can all be there for your 80th.
