Some of Arrowtown’s coolest cats will be letting loose at the Athenaeum Hall tomorrow night in a very special gig.
Brothers Tom and Sam Maxwell and Thomas Brinsley are joining a cast of masterful musos to honour both the songs of The Rolling Stones and Thomas’ dad, Graham, a much-loved local artist who passed away in December.
Graham lost a lengthy battle with cancer shortly before Christmas, after which Thomas put on a gig at The Fork and Tap to raise money for the Cancer Society and celebrate one of his dad’s favourite bands.
Tom says that show was so successful, they decided to put on another one, this time at the Arrowtown hall.
‘‘When we played at The Tap, it was their biggest day on record, so we were stoked.
‘‘The crowd was great, the boys played really well.
‘‘We put in a lot of work and rehearsals before the show and it paid off.
‘‘There was something about that gig … there was a real positive energy around the whole thing.
‘‘You could see how Thomas was embracing it, that it meant a lot to him.
‘‘He was grateful everyone was there.’’
Tom says they donated their fee to the Cancer Society, which was ‘‘so supportive’’ to the Brinsley family when Graham was unwell.
There was also a lot of nostalgia for him and Thomas.
‘‘As teens, we spent a lot of time together sitting in a caravan at Speargrass Flat Rd listening to The Stones.
‘‘Graham exposed us to all the songs.
‘‘I initially didn’t rate The Stones — I thought they were just Satisfaction, Start Me Up … stuff like that.
‘‘But then I heard the likes of Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed.
‘‘Thomas and I spent whole summers trying to learn how to play guitar like Keith Richards — he [Thomas] also taught himself to play harmonica in those days.’’
Some of the more rare and obscure tracks, like Faraway Eyes, Sweet Virginia and, of course, Stray Cat Blues, will feature tomorrow night.
Tom says they’ve changed up the set list to make it a different experience for those who’ve already seen The Tap show.
The line-up’s as solid as you’ll hear for a Stones’ covers gig and isn’t short of singers.
In fact, Tom says everyone, at some point, takes a lead vocal to change it up.
Thomas is on guitar, Tom’s on drums, Sam’s on bass while Nick Lynch is on keys, Ollie McLean, plays slide guitar and harmonica and one of Graham’s long-time friends, Mark Stellard, is on lead guitar.
Tom’s hoping to draw as big a crowd as possible and is promising a few surprises, noting ‘‘it’s not your usual kind of show’’.
The Stray Cats are being supported by fellow Arrowtown musos, Shane Woolridge and Paul Winders, while the Smoke and Pickle food truck’s parking up in the alleyway beside the hall, too.
The Stray Cats, Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, tomorrow, 6.30pm. Tickets $10 via Humanitix, or on the door
