The release of Chisel’s third and arguably best, studio album, East, heralded the band’s evolution from Adelaide boogie-blues outfit to hard-edge rock’n’roll band. It was this incarnation of Cold Chisel that graced the stage of the Manly Vale Hotel on Saturday June 7, 1980.
The setlist ranges across the band’s three studio albums. There’s the obligatory rendition of the already well-loved Khe Sanh, plus a few lesser known gems from the eponymous debut album: Home and Brokenhearted, Juliet and the epic One Long Day. Breakfast at Sweethearts is Chisel in its cash-strapped Kings Cross guise, from the bleary-eyed title track to the speed-addled Conversations, Merry Go-Round and the set-closing Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye). From East comes Cheap Wine in all its narcotic and alcoholic glory, Standing On the Outside, Choirgirl, Never Before, Star Hotel, Tomorrow, My Turn to Cry and Rising Sun. There’s a rarely heard take on Shakin’ All Over (more The Who than Normie Rowe) and a cover of Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door that surpasses the version featured on Swingshift, released the next year.
Sometimes it’s cool to bag Cold Chisel as a bogan band, but if you take the time to listen, you’ll realise Cold Chisel were a kickarse rock’n’roll band with a killer set of songs.
By Patrick Emery
