iOTA 1998 - 2012

28 March 2008

So what’s the story with iOTA. Well I since I saw him so much I'll do a story of my travels, not that is has any significance to anybody, it’s just some of the most memorable shows I've seen.

So I'm at the Harbourside Brasserie and there is this guy sitting opposite me with rainbow coloured hair, didn't think much of it until he got on the stage. Now it makes sense he’s a performer. Then BAM!, boy this guy has a voice, strong but not really my style, I had come to see someone else on the bill. This was before he got well known, he was just starting to travel with the candlestick lady(Monique).

About a month latter I was down the coast to see another gig and wasn't paying much attention when this guy started singing, I thought this sounds familiar, somehow the songs stuck from Brasserie as I remembered them even though I wasn't really paying attention. I had a better listen this time and thought this guy is OK. There was a few girls following by now and one got up on stage, iOTA was a bit shocked and nervously called security, mainly to reassure himself, not that security was anywhere to be seen.

He was starting to attract bigger crowds and couldn't play small gigs. I was at the EXcelsior Surry Hills, I liked the X as it was small cosy and the bands were free, which is good if you want to take a risk on unknown bands  which you could end up liking. I was at the bar looking at this poster, tomorrow a show called the "The Big I" was playing a residency for 3 weeks . I didn't think much of it, so I turned around and iOTA was standing next to me talking to Ted the owner of the X for a start time tomorrow. Oh The Big I is iOTA. iOTA’s fame was attracting bigger crowds and he couldn't play small gigs under his name any more so he did these 3 secret gigs. Those gigs really stick in my mind, there was a crowd of about 50 with quite a few girls. The beautiful thing was the girls in the audience would sing along, I don’t know if the were professional singers, but their voices mixed in with iOTA’s was absolutely beautiful. He played a very early song that was in a very high key, he said he didn't play it much because it was too difficult to sing, but would do it as an encore anyhow. After he finished he said " I won’t be singing that again", it hurt his throat. It sounded amazing, it’s a shame, as that was the first and last time I heard it. Even I wasn't around for the very early stuff. He also sang, Really Tall, a rare one also.  I was standing only 2.5 meters away so I could see the tricky guitar playing that you usually don’t notice. They were great shows.

iOTA started playing the Globe Newtown, I think one was an EP launch (iOTA 1998), I saw all of the Globe shows. His first backup band, members of Freudian Trip, also from W.A. played with him in the early shows and the latter ones were with Bongo and Sid. I always sat against the wall near the front. Then one time he smiled in my direction, there were a lot of girls next to me so I though he spotted someone he knew. Then he did it again at the next show, a bit strange.
Grahram Rix was one of the supports at the Globe and his voice was beautiful so when Rixy did a 3 hour show at the Hopetown I went to see him. During the 2nd set iOTA and the candlestick lady came through the door and sat on the lounge on the other side of the room, they had just come from a Canberra gig. I was leaning against the column in the centre of the room, after 20 min iOTA stood up and came over and leaned on the other side of the column, very strange, as he could see Rixy perfectly from where he was.

He did shows at the Newtown RSL. The best one was the album launch for Hip Bone Connection (1999), WOW !!, it was a huge theatrical production with lights, candles, props, gimps roaming in the audience and stage, there was a choir of girls, a string section and an amazing song with some theatre, which really set it off, iOTA was holding a leash attached to a gimp on all fours acting like a crazed dog. This was the best gig I've ever seen, it wasn't just a gig it was like a rock opera.

iOTA was now touring with Bongo and Sid, which was his best band, I saw them at Fisho's, Bizzos, Newtown Festival, Newtown Community Centre, and Northpoint Tavern. But he did some solo shows at the Sydney Opera House, the Studio was doing some shows with local artists. The SOH has the be the best place to see bands with it’s pristine sound and comfy seats, it just accentuates iOTAs voice and guitar, it was a beautiful show, also saw early CODA, they were brilliant. The strange thing at the iOTA show was, as he came out on stage all the lights on the audience went down, then he said "wait a minute" and pulled a big torch out of his bag, where he promptly started panning the light across the faces of the audience, stopping occasionally and saying "yeah, OK, right", he wanted to see who was there, so he gets to me and he stops and I get a "yeah" and he moves on. If he did another show at the SOH I was going to wear sunglass as a joke. There was two sides to iOTA, his band shows and his solo shows, one was not better than the other, they would just put you in different moods, The power and excitement of the band or the softer delicate intimate, but still dramatic, solo shows.

I can’t remember where Little Carlos (2000) was launched, probably Newtown RSL or the Metro, but I remember a gig at the 2000 Sydney Olympics at Belmore Park, Central.

Next came Big Grandfather(2001), there was 3 special shows at the Valhalla Cinema where iOTA showed a home made video of the making of Big Grandfather. There was a Q & A afterwards hosted by Paul Barry(Love Is a Four-Letter Word). This album was toured in country areas also, I saw him at Bulli and Blaxland numerous times. I noticed some of the songs on this album were more conventional, every song in his earlier stuff had a dramatic feel to them, like soaring vocals or vocals with a lot of range, or some really powerful hook in the bass or guitar, every song had drama and feel. Some of the songs in this new album seemed plain, like 4 equal cords with one octave vocals on top. It’s not to say they were bad, it just was different. I liked the drama of the early stuff, but everything has to evolve.
2003 La Caravana was released and there was more conventional songs, the change in direction was somewhere I didn't want to go. I counted back how many shows I’ve seen and it was at least 47. I was getting old and tired and had tinnitus so I had to wear earplugs which dampens the performances and with this switch in iOTA’s style, I said to myself, I’ll quit at 50 gigs. 50 was a nice round number, so that was it in 2003. I actually quit all live bands soon after. Other venues I saw him at were Lizottes, Sandringham Hotel, Bridge Hotel, Coyotes, Basement and some others I’ve forgotten. Spare a thought for poor iOTA, for the 50 times I heard him play Friends, he may have sung it 100's of times.

Now I’m accidentally up to 53, another Newtown Festival, Johnson Park, Dulwich Hill and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I don’t think 53 is a big number as I spotted familiar faces in the crowd constantly, I won’t be surprised if there is someone with over 100 shows.

Other iOTA related tales. I went to see George when they were just starting out, 3rd show in N.S.W., at the Rose Shamrock and Thistle, Rozelle and had a few words with Katie Noonan(what a name dropper) after she did a George Costanza and felt the material of my jacket. I turned to my left and Bongo walks in, he came to see George as well. Also went to see Sid after the band just broke up,  he was playing with Abi Tucker (great voice not a great writer), also saw Abi(your doing it again) a long time ago at the Peakhurst Inn, I think she was friends with Caligula and came to watch. In the end if your always following live music I suppose you will run into musicians you've seen, sooner or latter.

Now it's 55
19.01.12 : iOTA - Young, Hard and Solo : SOH 4
21.01.12 : iOTA - Young, Hard and Solo : SOH 4.25

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