Guitar Gods Behaving Badly A Winner!

The inaugural A3 – Guitar Gods Behaving Badly (GGBB) concert at the Charles Hotel was a roaring success, with a loud and appreciative audience being wowed by a display of guitar prowess such as Perth has not seen in a very long time.

Gerard Maunick and band opened proceedings with a set that trod the muddy road between swampy rock and blues to funky soul and Creole, with Gerard’s feel-drenched guitar and soulful voice guiding the rhythm section of John Trotter and George Stout that was tighter than tight while absolutely grooving. The lovely Tina-Simone joined the band on vocals and percussion, the harmonies riding over a sublime musical performance. Gerard is a master of his art, and his set showed that master in control of every facet of his music. The warm and human vibe exuded by the Gerard Maunick Band filled the room, and set the stage for the rest of the night.

Jamie Page took the stage with the power and finesse that has made his playing and writing heard the world over. Taking tracks from various stages of his career, Jamie and his band led the crowd through an incredible journey of hits and classics, from Black Alice to Black Steel and beyond. Highlight of the set were the Trilogy classic “Rough Time” (featuring a vocal duet with Matt Williams and 2nd guitarist Sandra Sea) and the song he wrote with Queen’s Brian May, “Resurrection”, the latter featuring a drum solo from Black Steel alumni Damien Petrilli. The metal feast was rapturously received by the faithful, many remembering the words of their favourite songs from the classic era of WA metal that Jamie Page so rightly presided over.

Graham Greene and The Happy Sinners began with a roar and a laugh, opening with the fan favourite “Dinosaur Bones”, exhibiting the guitar shaman from Oz’s ability to coax his guitar into singing, giggling, as well as making other less pleasant human and animal sounds. After the rollicking “Impressive Hair”, the band transformed into Resonance Project when they were joined on stage by lead singer Donna G, who tore the roof off with three songs from the RP repertoire, including two new songs being aired for the first time. Having amazed all and sundry, Donna left Graham and band to close the evening with more of the melodic guitar rock that has made Graham Greene a respected member of the WA rock fraternity for the last 25 years.

The concert sound on the night was full and balanced from the first note, thanks to another veteran of the WA music scene, sound engineer Bob DeWolff. He had mixed all three guitarists at one time or another in the past, and it was a reconnection as all the energies came together again, better than ever. Lighting engineer Emma DeWolff handled the visuals to great effect. The GHP promotion team handled the logistics of ticketing and merchandising flawlessly, and the girls of Voodoo Moon and AV Photography have supplied an awesome selection of shots from the gig and backstage shenanigans. Check the gallery!

Gerard Maunick, Jamie Page, Graham Greene and their respective bands were at the top of their games as they played up a storm of blues, soul, rock and metal to rapturous applause from a crowd that stayed until the very end. Performers and attendees alike were abuzz after the show, auguring well for future GGBB events – Stay tuned for GGBB2!

Heartfelt thanks go out to all who were there, as well as the generous event sponsors – Kosmic Sound, Crossroad Guitars, ProCopy Australia and Ormsby Guitars. Special mention also goes to Starr Special Events and Greenehouse Productions, who promoted the event and made it all possible.