As you can see from the picture accompanying this post, our show last night at the Vic on the Park was an absolute screamer. Thankyou Sydney people for coming out with clear eyes and full hearts – we could never lose. There was a lot of love in the room, and that’s exactly how we like it. A successful Presentation Night all comes down to the people on stage opening up about their lives in and outside of football and music, and the people in the room – that’s us – wanting to come along for the ride. Jude Bolton and Urthboy treated everyone in the room to an absolute masterclass in humility, humour, intelligence and story telling. Throw in the fact that our host Francis Leach was having his best game yet (3 votes for sure), and it was a night to remember.
We’re still riding high on a wave of exhilaration in the afterglow and gathering our thoughts, but a quick highlights package includes:
*Jude taking an impromptu screamer over Francis (pictured) whilst describing Warwick Capper’s advice to Michael O’Loughlin in the sheds one day after Mickey O kicked five goals.
*Seeing the Presentation Night Burger on the menu at The Vic kitchen. Another life goal ticked off.
*Urthboy revealing that he coached the Wentworth Falls Under 10′s cricket team to glory as a constantly hungover 18 year old. He then followed up for the repeat glory the following season before retiring from coaching with a perfect record.
*Jude telling us of one of the greatest comebacks to a sledge of all time in an exchange involving the Swans’ Barry Hall (The Sledger) and West Coast’s Daniel Kerr (The Sledgee). Full details in our next post.
*Urthboy reading out a poem penned by Jude’s grandfather during our ‘Kitbag’ segment. A few of us got a little something in our eye around that time.
*Urthboy being joined by Youth Group’s Toby Martin for a cracking run through of ‘We Get Around’ amongst others. Fantastic.
As is always the case on these nights, it was a real privilege to be in a room with such major talents and to get caught up in their stories. We got an insight into their motivations, their loves, the good times, the bad times, and everything in between. We can’t thank Jude and Urthboy enough for being a part of our very first Sydney show. They’re both humble champions – our favourite kind.
To everyone who came out to see our show – thank you. It was great to see so many friends from the Emerald City’s footy and music worlds coming together. To everyone north of the Barassi Line who shares the love of a Sunday kick in the park, of rock and roll, of hip hop, chit chat, and to borrow a line from the great Tim Rogers, of ‘living life with a heart’: we salute you.
AK
📷