A Box of Rocs

Box Of Rocks 6

Australia

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Chapter 44

We timed the performance for spring in their country, to enjoy the weather as much as anything. They did the normal press blitz, touting the reason they were there, did some meet and greets with politicians and doctors, then hired a rehearsal hall to fine tune the show.

Keeping to the theme from England and Brazil, they went big on Australian artists, going all the way back to the sixties, mixing it with songs leftover from the American performance. They always wanted to feature songs from whatever country they were in, the theory being the more comfortable the audience was with the music, the better their mood and looser their wallets. There was usually a spike in donations the day after a performance. A lot of song research seemed to fall to me, and I'd make recommendations, most of which was accepted. It broadened their appreciation of the music, and by now I knew way too much about international music.

There was also a scheduled week to enjoy the country. We were based out of Sydney, so we spent a few days on the beaches. The only one who stood out in a crowd not really familiar with them was Mason, because of his long white hair. Once again, I marveled at their relaxed attitude towards getting naked around each other. Most all the beaches were topless, some allowed full nudity, some required bathing suits. Even though they wore tiny outfits while performing, they were very careful around paparazzi, so the beaches we used were completely private, and security was tight. Even among the beachgoers, cellphones were prohibited, and if you were caught with one you'd had a good day, because you were bounced immediately, your cell confiscated and all photos deleted before it was given back. You also were never allowed on that beach again. Occasionally a few photos escaped, sent to the cloud before they were caught, but if they were found, between threats of legal action and sometimes buying the photos back, they never saw the light of day.

Inga was Swedish, and quite comfortable topless, and while she had modest breasts they were very well formed, and people noticed. She'd been approached a dozen times or better, offering large amounts of money for a tell all interview, and as many pictures as she could get. Inga immediately told us every time, and Mason would send some 'friends' from our security service and our lawyers, who convinced them it wasn't the most reasoned decision they had ever made. She also had her own TikTok account, with two hundred thousand followers, and we allowed her to post candid pictures of us at home, and on tour.

On this trip she had brought her younger sister, as a nanny to Maddie's daughter. Erika was taller, and a lot more full figured than Inga, and she drew a lot of attention on the beaches. Inga had threatened to kill her if she let pictures out or gave interviews, saying we would leave her wherever we were if anything happened, and she'd have to find her own way home, and pay for it.

We had to watch our son closely on the beach, because he loved water. He was four now, and he would dash for the waves as soon as we turned him loose. It earned him the nickname of Duck, but I called him Ducky. He also decided if he was around water, he was supposed to be naked. He'd only put on a suit if we told him if he didn't we wouldn't go.

While I was researching Australian singers, I discovered a group called Little Quirks, three women and two guys, all related except for the guitar player. They had really good harmonies, and had a large following. I showed them to Mason, and he was so impressed he shared it with the group. He also got VIP tickets for us at one of their shows during our vacation week, and we showed up en masse.

We didn't advertise who we were, but Aaron and Zelda were recognized, and then it went from there. The young group were professionals, but when word filtered up to the stage they got a little flustered. Mason eased their fears by jumping on stage, asking if maybe he could play with them. The bass player couldn't get his instrument to him fast enough. After that, Titty played drums on a few, Al did a little guitar work, and Zelda sang with them. The videos blew up on Youtube, and we invited them backstage for our show. Two of the women were crying. Mason had to sign the bass when he gave it back.

Chapter 45

The venue chosen was the biggest in the country, capable of holding 65,000. It was sold out within three hours of the announcement, and the press built it up relentlessly, and the place seemed to bulge as I looked on from backstage.

They had chosen black for this performance, and had a stage constructed that looked a lot like the one ACDC used in 2009 at the River Platte.

The first song was done totally in the dark, using acoustic guitars and an accordion, and everyone on stage sang 'Waltzing Mathilda.' Then the lights came up, and the opening chords of 'You Shook Me All Night Long" thundered out, hitting Mason in a spotlight. The color that night was black, and it shimmered and shook as he strutted down the runway. His white hair and beard made it pop out even more. He wasn't playing anything, Al was playing lead, Maddy was on rhythm, Jon was playing the bass. Titty and Jaime were at the drum station, high above the stage, slamming away.

The crowd went nuts. Mason growl suited the song perfectly, and Al strutted up the runway for her solo, using the moves of the original guitarist, a modified duckwalk. They segued right into 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,' then switched to songs from other acts, pausing so the horn section could come on stage.

Then they did something that almost caused a riot. The ladies, Maddie, Al, Titty, and Zelda did an old Divinyls song, 'I Touch Myself,' giving it everything they had, swapping lead singing so that everyone got a verse. They had obviously practiced the little dance they did, and it must have been in secret, judging by the way the guys reacted. Fingers slid across bodies, breasts were fondled and lifted. They ground against each other in seeming abandon. It set a record for the venue, the highest decibel level ever, beating every act that came before, including ACDC. It took three or four minutes before the roars died down.

Then, totally changing pace, they did 'Hey There Georgie Girl,' a hit in the sixties for The Seekers, then did a slow, bittersweet song by the Waifs, 'Bridal Train.' That was followed by two Little Quirks numbers, 'All My Friends are Birds' and 'Someone To Hold.' Three of them were backstage, and two of them broke down crying, not believing some of the biggest names in the music business were covering their songs.

They took a breather while Mason thanked them for coming out to support such a worthy cause. At every concert we did, we reserved two hundred tickets for cancer survivors, and honored them every night by recognizing their achievements.

Then they rounded out the night with 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' by Jet, "Don't Dream It's Over' by Crowded House, 'Never Tear Us Apart' by INXS, 'Working Class Man" by Jimmy Barnes, finishing the night with 'Beds Are Burning' by Midnight Oil, and 'Under The Milky Way' by The Church.

Per tradition, they ended with an acoustic version of the song they started with, 'All Night Long,' leaving the crowd with a good vibe.

It was the normal pandemonium backstage, complete with massage stations, then off to their guests. All the ladies from Little Quirks joined Zelda, Maddy, Al, and Titty in a rendition of 'Girls Talk,' and when it hit social media the next day it almost bogged their systems down.

They spent the next day doing interviews and presenting the proceeds of the concert to the charity of choice, Then our traveling circus hit New Zealand for a week. Parts of Australia was gorgeous, but most of New Zealand, outside the cities, was absolutely stunning. I told Mason I'd love to have a little cottage somewhere, our refuge when things got too stressed, and he just grinned, so I knew when he had time we'd return and go looking. I think our daughter was conceived there.

We flew home, and Mason banished everyone for two weeks, so they could return to a normal schedule. Our final benefit concert was to be in four weeks. It occurred to them it had taken almsot ten months from their lives, but not one begrudged it. When the lights went out for the final time, they would get their lives back and finish their own projects.

Box Of Rocks released their album two weeks before the final concert, to really good reviews, Titty's trio, Girl Cream, a nod to the classic band Cream as well as naughty connotations that were pure Titty, finished their project and were due to launch a two hundred date tour as soon as possible. Zelda and Aaron had their own releases, and decided to tour together, billed as 'the Z to A Tour' with no one headlining. Al's band was burning up the Latin charts, and were kicking around touring South America, thirty dates in sixty days. Jon was taking his band back to France, to do ten shows in small, three to five thousand seat venues, and the first three were sold out, even though they were months away. They were going to do one of their songs nominated for the French version of the Emmys during the show, for a song that was a recurring track in a romance, and then they were going to spend an entire week as the house band for the most popular late night talk show host in the country, as a favor.

Mason was going to work in his studio, and I intended to take it as easy as I could until our baby girl arrived.