Spasiba! Fun, fans and
photos at the band’s
hotel after the show.unexpected happens. Joel leads into Bottom Of The
Wel l with a rather beautiful slow blues solo.
Suddenly we’re reminded of guitarist Harri
reminiscing about hours spent jamming Muddy
Waters, Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker
songs, back when the Airbourne boys were just
friends, not bandmates. “Reckon we can get out of
the well together?!” the singer roars. A quiet,
serious-looking man next to us beams emotionally.
Several other people, just beyond the writhing
mosh pit, are smiling from ear to ear. For all the
beer throwing and crowd surfing going on, this all
suddenly really means something.
“People have said: ‘I buried my brother to that
track,’” Joel says when I mention it
later. “Every now and then you’ll see
someone bawling in the front row.”
The O’Keeffes can relate to these
stories. Their father passed away
during the tour for [2013 album]
Black Dog Barking, following his
brutal battle with cancer. Joel and
Ryan got the call from the road
saying he had two weeks to live. They
flew home to be by his side with their
mother. He died to the sound of Bob
Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.
“After that day, Ryan and me
instantly grew up,” Joel recalls. “We still
argue about a lot of things, but the petty
shit just went away. It was like ‘We’ve
only got each other now’. It used to be
ring the old man and say: ‘Hey dad,
how’s it going?’” He pauses, eyes down.
“It’s the thing that’s so shit. You lose
your best friend and you kind of feel
alone as well... I was thinking about
him tonight when we were playing.”Of course, this is not what the audience sees.
Lemmy tribute It’s All For Rock And Roll sees Joel
pour lethally strong JD and cokes on stage and pass
them to band, crew and audience with glee. By set
closer Runnin’ Wild the band have more than
upheld their self-proclaimed mission to play every
show like it’s their last.
Vodka and beer flows in the dressing room
afterwards, as the band chat to a couple of fans.
One has travelled here from Georgia, and presents
them with a lovingly carved metal and leather
trinket, proudly declaring: “There are only three in
the world and I want you to have one!”
Outside, as they file out to the van they’remobbed by more eager punters. They chat, sign
and pose for photos – ‘spasiba!’ by now an
interchangeable term for ‘thank you!’, ‘cheese!’,
‘yeah!’ and pretty much anything else they say.
Some even follow them back to the hotel, where
signing and photos continue until their tour
assistant politely but firmly shoos them away.
“People have said rock’n’roll is dead for years,”
Joel says, as we collectively exhale in the hotel bar
over several more drinks. “Fuck that. In Russia it’s
not dead. It’s not dead anywhere.”
And that’s the thing about Airbourne. It doesn’t
matter what’s ‘cool’, and as a punter it doesn’t
matter who you are, how old you are, what you
believe in or what your
background is. Their shows and
songs bulldoze through all of that.
It’s easy to be cavalier and ‘tough’
when we talk about this kind of
big, balls-to-the-wall music, even
for those of us who love it. Indeed,
that’s part of the fun of it. But while
other bands have more explicitly
‘sensitive’ songs, it’s the Airbournes of
this world who pull so many people
through difficult times (as well as
celebrate with them in the good times).
It’s the rousing, chest-swelling impact
of this music that makes you stand
a bit taller, hold your head a little
higher. They’re down there with you,
saying: ‘We see you, whoever you are.
We get it. We’re in this together.’ There’s
power in that. It means something.Boneshaker is out now via Spinefarm.
Airbourne tour the U K from
November 13 to 30.’Bourne to rock: (l-r) Justin
Street, Joel O’Keeffe, Ryan
O’Keeffe, ‘Harri’ Harrison.“PEOPLE HAVE SAID ROCK’N’ROLL IS DEAD
FOR YEARS. F**K THAT. IN RUSSIA IT’S
NOT DEAD. IT’S NOT DEAD ANYWHERE.”
Joel O’Keeffe42 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COMAIRBOURNE