Pre Race

After Thursdays run, i thought it was wise to get my sciatic nerve problem sorted again before Mt Buller as it's a long way to go to run sh*t from the get go.
So Friday afternoon had some more work done on it, by chance Melbourne Ultra runner Richard McCormick was down Surfers with his family, so caught up with them and had a good solid 10K run from Surfers to Southport and back that evening, giving me just enough time for all you could eat buffet at their hotel before heading off to the "Rolling Stones Experience" http://www.rollingstonesexperience.com/index.htm.
I try not to do gushing reviews of cover bands, after all you can only really compare them to the original and after all you pay lots of money to see the real thing so they will never be as good !! and the fact the cover band is good is simply because of the material provided by the band they are covering.
Still i'll admit this lot did a very good show, who knows why they stage concerts with tables and chairs, just so un-rock'n'roll and always makes people hesitant to hit the dance floor and go nuts (looking squarely at myself there :-)).
The lead singer, was rather Mick-like, with similar scrawny build and high energy and with various sleeveless Stones Tongue T Shirts, was sort of a mid 1980's Jagger wearing what Mick wears nowadays on stage, their Keef looked rather reminiscent also with some similar mannerisms as did their Ronnie, can't say the same for their Bill or Charlie though.
Alot of very energetic versions of Stones Classics, and to add a bit more realism their Keef sang "Happy" before they headed off to the break. In an room that held, i'd guess, 300 hundred odd people seated there were around 250 people of which our side was definitely the more lively, about 6 songs in (Honky Tonk Women to be precise), me and few others had hit the dancefloor and were having a ball (i'll give credit to 2 of the girls on my table for being first there the song previous).
20 minute break (it's a licensed footy club so they have to sell some drinks and give time for people to smoke), and the last half was full on, interesting to get two of the more recent songs (Don't Stop - the single from 40 Licks, lyrically nothing outstanding but still a good rocker in fitting with their classics and Flip the Switch - From Bridges to Babylon not one of my favourites and a good chance to have a break from the dancefloor !). Finishing with Sympathy the crowd had become alive especially with "Mick" running around the audience high fiving everyone, so a chorus of encore brought them back for one last song "Satisfaction", for this most of us dancefloor had streamed to the front of stage (wedged a bit by tables admittedly) and i'd say half the audience was there, really was a great way to end the show.
Having seen quite a number of Stones Cover Bands (or Tribute Bands or whatever you like to call them), they were one of the best, certainly more realistic from a look alike point of view and having a similar high energy level, would just have preferred not to have tables (funny enough two of the people at my table also used to live in Melbourne), and even better a dancefloor in front of the stage (instead of to the right), certainly not the same as being virtually the sixth member of Melbourne Tribute Band "Jaggers Banquet" (nowadays renamed "Like a Rolling Stone" http://www.myspace.com/jaggersbanquetstones ).
Home by 11:30 and with a plane to catch to Melbourne at 8:30.