All Saints Day In Hoboken, New Jersey

Marty Willson-Piper (l.) and Chris Bailey (r.)
Originally uploaded by romangame.

30 years on stage and at least thirty pounds lighter then when he started out: Chris Bailey, pope of Australian punk rockers The Saints has slimmed down and sped up. In the roughly 50th incarnation of the Saints, the band plays solid rock, including Hits like "I'm Stranded" and "Know your product", plus some new, not very memorable punkers. No ballads, only a wonderful "Just like Fire Would" survived. As guitar player, Bailey somehow managed to convince Marty Willson-Piper of (oh my God) The Church to join him. The lads seemed to have an excellent time and beat the hell out of their guitars. The energy didnt transpire fully to the audience, though, and sometimes, i have to admit, they drifted off into meaningless Americana Rock. Still Bailey's voice is strong, clear and has a renewed meanness to it. I dare anyone say something against MWPs guitar playing anyway. According to Marty, the new Church album is going to come out in September, a tour of the US should follow in October and November. He is really busy, being in two bands at the same time, but says that in his heart, he lives in NYC. Don't we all, no Tami?
On the way back to New York, I discovered in amazment that it is really true: Every male person in Hoboken wears an office shirt not tucked in his (khaki) pants. Had to get out of there as fast as possible, which was easier than I thought. More than glad to go home and watch Star Wars Episode III. Those characters been around as long as The Saints, now, and Bailey looks better than Darth Vader. Bit like an uncle of Gary Oldham in Coppolas Dracula...