Entering a musical maelstrom seems to be a fair way to end a momentous week of events. Jokes about England leaving Europe twice within a couple of days have abounded since the earth-shaking Britexit vote followed by the equally devastating 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Euro 2016. So what better way to float off into a parallel universe than sample a set by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at the Governor of Hindmarsh Hotel on Thursday evening. The Melbourne psychedelic/garage rockers have caught my attention over the past few months with raucous, frantic tracks being aired on various radio channels — notably Radio Adelaide, 3D and Triple J. They seem a prolific bunch with the amount of the material they have released since 2010. So I took a punt on two recent albums — Paper Mâché Dream Balloon and Nonagon Infinity.
The sounds are definitely “off the wall” and both CDs, to my ear, sound radically different. There is so much flute on the Paper Mâché Dream Balloon effort that I thought Ian Anderson, of Jethro Tull fame, must have been involved in production proceedings. When buying the albums and also when purchasing my ticket from the Gov, I was told how amazing the band were. “They are playing a gig, you know,” I was informed. “I know, I’m going to be there,” was my reply. I just needed a crash course into some of the band’s back catalogue to be familiar with at least some of the breakneck-speed tunes that are going to be thrashed out.
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Then on Saturday, just to prove that not everything English has fallen off the cultural cliff completely, it’s away to the Last Night of the Proms at Adelaide’s Festival Hall. This in its own way should be completely off the dial. I have never been to see a live orchestra ever before so a bit of self-indulgence will be on the menu as the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra offers its own interpretations of such stirring anthems as Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia plus Jerusalem. All that should put a smile back on some of the Anglophile faces, who have endured a turbulent few days.
But there is no escaping the fact that the English are peerless at dishing out sporting humiliation. The national football team have been doing it for years, though the Iceland debacle took things to another level. Mike Atherton’s England’s cricketing Test easybeats were perennial embarrassments and the ruggah buggahs’ efforts at the last rugby World Cup caused much mirth around the rest of the globe. Both those outfits seem to have put their houses back in order and are performing well. Maybe it’s because they have Australian coaches with Trevor Bayliss overseeing a cricket revival while Eddie Jones has just masterminded a 3-0 whitewash against his native land down under.
In contrast Roy Hodgson has cut a sorry figure as England’s football leader, floundering somewhere between coy and clueless. Remember Roy was in charge at Blackburn Rovers from 1997 for one full season. His was a curious stay. His initial season started off like a runaway train with Rovers having some amazing results and leading the Premiership table. Post-Christmas things turned into almost relegation form before sixth spot was secured on the final day with a last minute Chris Sutton winner against Newcastle United. When the bad results continued in the 1998-99 season, it was not long before Roy was sacked. I have watched Roy’s career since and was never quite convinced he was the real deal.
Apart from Roy, there has been a heavy Rovers connection at Euro 2016. Wales coach Chris Coleman played under Roy at Ewood. While pundits for beIN Sport have included ex-boss Graeme Souness, who was scathing about England’s woeful efforts. And rightly so. But no doubt the pampered Premiership poodles will toddle off to their clubs and forget about it all in a few weeks when the obscene amount of earnings continue to come cascading in. Alongside Graeme on various panels have been ex-players Michel Salgardo, Andrew Cole and Jason McAteer. All of them a wistful reminder of better times at Ewood.
However, it seems Roy certainly wasn’t the right fit at the helm for England. But he is a highly educated man. Maybe he could get a job in politics. There are suddenly plenty of opportunities on both sides of the House of Commons after the Brexit vote. What a turn-up that was. Such a shame that every time a Leave supporter was trotted out on Oz television for a Vox Pop, they seemed to be totally as thick as the proverbial docker’s butty and even dumb to the extent that they didn’t really comprehend what they had voted for. Maybe there should be an intelligence test before folk are allowed to cast their votes. It’s Australia’s turn this weekend. A general election. And it’s compulsory. But before then… bring on King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard for some high octane escapism.
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