I gorged at the trough of Metallica and saw every show, danced in a furry costume to the flaming lips, drank far too much beer and made some fun tv.. It was amazing. Read on!

x andrewg

So it was with lymph nodes in my neck the size of golf balls that I stepped off the plane from the Adelaide Big Day out and went straight on to What u Want.

I had such an amazing experience, I can’t even tell you. I am so blessed to be a part of doing this Channel [v] thing that I get to go on the road at the Big Day Out and enjoy the music. I can hardly tell you how it felt, I am so humbled by the situation, I can barely speak..let’s try a little bit..

Some things that I learned on the Big Day Out tour..

1: The Gold Coast is brilliant. It was so wonderful to be back in my home state of Queensland, my heart sang.

2: Phil Jamieson has pioneered a new type of facial hair,  it’s thin and like a pencil that curves above his upper lip. It’s not quite a moustahce – it’s more like a ‘susstache’

3: Balconies on those Gold Coast high rises are great for all sorts of things. There’s quite a view from up there..You can throw paper planes, look in other people’s apartments, see how long it takes your spit to hit the ground.. It’s fun!

4: On every tour, you develop a tour crush, for me it was all between Peaches and her beautiful Amazon dancers (I wanted them to grab me by the back of the head and call me bad names), Zia from the Dandy Warhols, (she’s got a husband, but that doesn’t mean I can’t secretly pine for her. In Melbourne she even sat next to me at lunch in the catering area and we had a great chat) and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, ( I was so nervous I coudn’t even speak to her.. All seven times that I met her).

5:  The Lilypad is one of the best stages at the Big Day Out. Ten years after I first danced on stage with Duckpond, Larry and Heavy G, I was back up there, giving it stacks. They’re grown men who just get smashed up for two weeks straight, have the best after parties and somehow construct the most amazing vibe for ten hours straight.There’s no set breaks at the Lilypad!!! I played myself in Lilypad Idol (even had an Andrew G , danced on stage with Kamahl, did ‘heads and shoulders knees and toes’ with Zia from the Dandy Warhols and danced in the best sandwich of my life, in between Vula and Cassie, the two singers from the Basement Jaxx (what was that about tour crushes again?) they were incredible!. I love the Lilypad. Love it love it love it.

6: I drank so much beer at the first Sydney Big Day Out it was insane.  Something like fourteen beers in ten hours. I was still sober at the end of the night, just had a steady buzz going. I went alone and hooked up with a mate there. She’s really beautful and a good friend I’ve known for a while and was great to hang out with. I highly recommend a day of serious binge drinking in the company of a very beautiful woman and forty thousand people having a great time while taking in some of the best bands in the world .. We laughed at the lilypad and danced in the rain to Metallica like we were those tribal hunter kids in ‘Lord of the Flies’. We then went over and saw the Flaming lips. That band changed my life right there and then. More about them later. It was just frikking brilliant. Getting a cab home was an interesting experience, we had to actually stand in front of one to make him stop. They wouldn’t stop for me or my mate Grant so we shoved the beautiful companions in the path of the oncoming cabbage and they pulled up quick smart. If I seemed a little shady when we were on air the next day (the Sunday), well now you know why.

7: I am so honoured that so many people come and say hello when we’re at a festival. If I’m running past you, it’s because I’m working or on my way to do something, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to stop and chat. But every single time someone says hello, I feel so very lucky to do what I do. You make my day every time. How many times at the Big Day Out did a complete stranger walk up to you and tell you that you do a good job? I am blessed and humbled by your words, thank you.

8: On the subject of saying hello… My Mum and Dad thought long and hard about naming me. They put effort and wisdom into the decision. They would probably be rather miffed knowing that I’m being referred to as another name. My name is Andrew, hello. Lovely to meet you. “Channa Voi” and “Straya Nidal” are not my names, but you’d be surprised how many people walk next to me or past me and scream it in my ear or at my face expecting me to answer to them.. Come up and say hello, I’d like to meet you, really I would! Yelling at me just makes me feel strange and uncomfortable.

9: The Flaming Lips changed my life.  I was humbled to be able to join them on stage three times during the tour. Metallica may have a$50 million production budget, but with a few cheap furry suits and some weather balloons and strobe lights, The Flaming Lips put on a show that was mind numbing. I love that band. I used to want to be in the Darkness, now I want to be Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips. Do You Realise? is one of the most beautiful songs ever written – I cried with Joy evey time I heard it. Seeing that band is like having six months worth of cuddles from your Mum.

10: I have discovered that people emit an aura. I have known this for a while – but it took me a bit to put my finger on it. Some folks you just like to be around, because you can warm your hands by the energy coming out of them. Others are cold prickly ice machines that make you feel icky all over like rolling about naked in Lantana then bushwalking for three days without a shower. You feel awful for hours after they’ve left your presence. I met both kinds a fair bit on the tour, extremes of both. I now know that I activley seek out the company of those who have a warm heart that I can feel from a few metres away. This one girl in particular, we had a great chat, and that’s all that we did  I promise – chat, but we just sat next to each other and even when she wasn’t talking to me, it was just so nice to be near her..

11: My friend Luke has written a book all about the kind of people you don’t want to meet. Find out more at www.lukeheggie.com .

12: The Darkness were so very brilliant. I loved every second of their set. Such nice men too. We went to a Peaches side show in Adelaide and that was brilliant. She puts on one mean punk rock one woman show. So very great. Her dancers are fabulous too! I moshed all the way to the front of the stage so Peaches would spew blood on me, but all I got was one little drop. One tiny drop. Spewing. Buy her album, she’s fantastic.

13: Give me Turin Brakes over Coldplay any day of the week. They’re fantastic.

What’s illegally on the iPod this week?

Probot: Dave Grohl’s Metal Fantasy comes true. It’s pure genius. He’s so great.

Turin Brakes: The Optimist LP – been drinking Long Island Iced Teas on a school night? Put this on at work to get you through.

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots: The Flaming Lips. I cry every time I hear Do You Realise?? So fabulous. I love it.

Send me an email if you like, but I’m on the road with the bus and I’m super busy – but please do it ok? I will read them all, but don’t get a chance to write back to all of them I’m afraid, but I do write back as often as I can.

Stay safe and tarp up for lovin’!

x g money