Vendredi et Samedi, je suis allee au Grand Prix avec un bande de musique de mon mari.
Le bande a louer une maison pres la plage (and the track) a Phillip Island pour $140 total (bon marche!) et j'etais la seule fille parmi 7 hommes. C'etait amusant!

Pendant le jour, l'atmosphere au 'Grand Prix track' etait tres relaxed, sympa, et bon.

Par nuit..c'etait bon encore, mais assez different...

I travelled to Phillip Island with a convoy of 5 cars for the biggest gig of the year of "Darkroom" one of my husband's Oz rock cover bands. I was the only girl in a rented seaside holiday house with a group of 7 guys from the band & entourage (a bit like being the only girl at an Oz bucks party but not that bad!) and it was a lot of fun.
I think they were the least pissed guys on Phillip Island (at least till after the gig was finished!).

On the Saturday the atmosphere around the track was very relaxed, even family orientated...totally different to the night before, when 2 bands, lots and lots of alcohol, bikes doing loud burnouts and filling the air with petrol fumes. Illegal firecrackers/fireworks were other main sources of entertainment for the approx. 2000 people in the camping areas near the music marquee.



Saturday's events included some short unimportant races, stunt bike riding, Navy helicopters, and plane aerobatics

Vendredi soir...
Le groupe "Darkroom"




Un homme 'patriotic' (avec son boxer shorts over top of his jeans!) et un autre guitarist de l'autre groupe (a droit) dans la grande tente apres...tout le monde a bu beaucoup et beaucoup d'alcool.
La foule etait 80% hommes, 20% filles, tout ivre.


Pas exactement 'fashions on the field' LOL (it is also Spring Racing carnival time in Melbourne, and I must say that the fashions - and there were many - at this event, ranging from the Hawaiian shirt brigade (there were a whole group of about 20 of them, united by alcohol, calling themselves a 'clan') to those with the AFL footie beanies, ou chapeaux d'Akubra and Drizabone coats, and jackets with lots of Grand Prix badges. (The trendy racing gear was worn by the sober daytime more serious visiteurs)

Je crois que ce photo dit l'histoire tres bien.... (this picture doesn't even need to paint a thousand words!) It also summarises very well exactly what was being drunk all evening...from all the cans on the ground, VB was No 1, followed by Jim Beam, then maybe UDL Vodka. No sign of Skyy Vodka, the sponsor!




(didn't take them long to make this mess!)

I have to say, considering how many hundred people were in this big marquee for our concert, they were amazingly well behaved under the circumstances (ie many being totally pissed pretty much continuously since their arrival on Thursday afternoon)

All I had to worry about were drunk people stepping on me because they were so drunk they were probably stepping on their own feet too, a few mini fire crackers going off in the Marquee and bikers with their headlights off doing loud burnouts outside, I was quite happy.

All in all, un tres bon Aussie weekend (heureusement je suis parti avant lea pluie sur Dimanche!)

Kate

Hi Kate

Your report is great!

You managed to get the real atmosphere of the event.

And I really appreciate your humour.

I imagine the navy helicopters and plane acrobatics events were exciting.

As far as drunk people are concerned, I would not mind so much if boys and girls like walking on the hands and being pleased that's also a fireworks Grand Prix. The main thing here is the beer anyway, isn't it?...

Looks Skyy Vodka was not very succesful... Although toxicity was not removed. Too bad!

As you know, the European equivalents for almost any event and festival you may visit are: Kanterbrau, Pelforth, Gueuze, Martini, Guinness, Casanis, Gordons, Jaegermeister, Bourbon, Arak, Ouzo, Absinthe, Trappist Triple, Pernod-Cola, Obstler... What a mess!!!

May I confirm: Hawaiian shirt brigade looks glamorous...

Thanks a lot!

Hello Paul and Creswick Friends. Have a nice spring and summer.

No rain today?

Seeya

Marc