More Hangovers, Surviving Man Flu & Vodka Medicine - On Tour With Peter Bibby - Part Two

Peter Bibby's Australian tour continues and so do the hangovers!

Here's what the boys have been getting up to this past week. 

We were in Sydney for some promo and had a couple of days off and it just so happened it was Strawberry Pete’s (now Swiss Army Pete) birthday. We played some songs on FBi, I bought him a steak, beat him at pool and then we spent a couple of days in bed, John and Yoko style. Dave stayed in bed the whole time due to death flu, so he was quarantined in his own quarters.

We drove on down to our nation’s capital and spent the afternoon sipping beers on our balcony before heading into town to load our gear into Smith’s Alternative. We were faced by a red hot jazz band and feared for our musical lives. Thankfully my good mate Buddy Dingo got up and warmed the crowd to a more story based, less technical brand of music and our set wasn’t a total disaster.

Swiss Army Pete and myself loaded up the car after playing and headed back to the hotel to get some rest while Dave stayed at the venue drinking and forcing everyone to listen to Bohren. Around 4:30am, Dave barges into the hotel insisting we leave NOW to drive to Newcastle via the Blue Mountains. Both fans of Adventure and being the only ones capable of driving or navigating, we agree, packing our things quickly and hitting the road around 5am.

Dave passed out within an hour of leaving Canberra. Reception dropped in and out and we may have gotten a little bit lost. Pete and I were still chipper, looking forward to the mountains and finding our way there, still making good time to get to Newcastle with plenty of time for rest before load in/soundcheck.

We made it to the mountains, they were beautiful. Dave continued snoring away in the back seat. 

Dave only awoke to demand toilet or food stops, all the while complaining about the severity of his hangover. We captured one of those rare moments here. Pete and I were growing tired and our frustration towards Dave was growing.

We made it to Newcastle after approximately nine-and-a-half hours of driving. Roughly four minutes after checking into our room, a shared three-bed dorm above the venue, Dave was horizontal and snoring once again, preventing both Petey and I from getting any much needed rest. Surprisingly, I didn’t murder Dave, and we managed to play a pretty bloody good show with local lads Nicholas Connors Band. We were taken out for breakfast (pictured) before heading down to Sydney to play another great show at the Captain Cook Hotel with Pist Idiots, Rosamaria and Buddy Dingo yet again. Unfortunately, no photographic evidence of this show has emerged at this point.

The next day was the first of several ‘Parlour’ shows I have been booked for, private parties in people's backyards where I come and play for an hour or so. Unfortunately, I woke up with Dave’s flu. I felt as though Satan had been vomiting into my every orifice all night long while I slept. I made this concoction of tumeric, apple cider vinegar, tabasco, grapefruit juice and vodka, threw it back and hoped for the best. (pictured)

After a stop by the chemist and about half a bottle of Jameson’s, I found myself having a bloody good time singing songs to some lovely, lovely folk in one of Sydney’s suburbs. Although my voice was croaky, and my eyes looked like the devil, the fine folk seemed to enjoy my songs nonetheless. Maybe the concoction had worked? Or maybe it was the Sudafed?

Pete drove me home and I crashed hard, hoping to never have to rise again. In a three-bedroom Airbnb I only made it as far as the couch. The following day I think I slept for maybe 17 hours. The day after was another show, and another the next. My health is improving slightly with daily concoctions, strange herbs, healthy food and medicine. I will make it through this tour alive.

read part one of peter bibby's tour diary here