Inaugural Australian Mesa/Boogie Clinic and Product Presentation
August 19th 2008 at Manhattan’s Bar & Café

On Tuesday the 19th of August, Music Park and Mesa/Boogie took over Manhattan’s Bar & Café in Victoria Park, Perth WA for Australia’s first Mesa/Boogie guitar clinic and product presentation night. An astounding array of Mesa/Boogie guitar and bass amps were on display, along with information walls and slideshow. The Music Park guitar staff were on hand to lend advice and info, and Pro Audio Service Manager John Farkas had flown in from Canberra to answer technical questions and explain the finer points of the amplifiers’ construction and specifications, as well as narrate a guided slideshow tour of the Mesa/Boogie factory. The Boogie Girls were charming hostesses, and the turnout was better than expected, comfortably filling the venue with a friendly buzz as the clinic began.

Clinic MC, Graham Greene, kicked of the evening with his Mesa/Boogie Road King combo, treating the guitar fans present to a feast of monster tones and fretboard antics. After welcoming the crowd and giving an overview of the event, Graham talked about his Road King and how it came to be his amp of choice. After a few parting instrumentals, the crowd roamed the amp displays and hit the bar for refreshments as Music Park staffer and guitar First Lady, Karina Cass, prepared to take the stage. Karina showed that she could cut it with the boys as she put her Mesa/Boogie Roadster through its paces with a set of cool instrumental tunes ranging from rock to jazz. After introducing and explaining her amp to the audience, Karina left them to enjoy intermission, during which a slide show was presented showing the Mesa/Boogie factory as well as photos of Boogie amps old and new.

After a brief introduction from Graham, Gerry Quigley and The Shinkickers restarted musical proceedings in fine rocking style, switching seamlessly from growling blues songs to searing and lyrical instrumentals. The climax of the evening was an allstar jam on the classic “All Along The Watchtower” as Karina and Graham joined Gerry and band for a rousing rendition of the song featuring extended solos and a hilarious impromptu trade-off section with all three guitarists at their personable best as they shared the spotlight to rapturous applause for a fitting finale to a stunning performance.

After the dust had settled, all that remained was the announcing of the lucky door prize winner, Phil Leggett, who was the recipient of a new Mesa/Boogie Express 5:25 amplifier. The clinicians mingled and chatted with the crowd and posed for photographs as the night wound to an end. The event was hailed as a huge success by all involved, and a milestone achieved in Australian guitar’s relationship with Mesa/Boogie – right here in Perth, Western Australia.

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