Watch: Harry Bryant’s Extended Weekend Out West (Oz)

It all started when we left the carpark at Perth Airport. We had a boot full of boards, beer and a small entourage, which included Stab‘s finest lensman and our favourite blonde bowled friend, Harry Bryant. Ahead of us, we held a considerable drive to Margaret River, a pain after spending the previous several hours in economy, but that’s nothing a couple cold ones couldn’t numb. By the third drink, it was clear, this long weekend was going to be a hazy one. 

We were in Western Australia for only a handful of days, to shoot Mr Bryant surfing (Jay Davies came too!) and to link up with Alex Lahey, The Belligerents and Verge Collection in Perth for two free gigs courtesy of Summer Bright’s Summer Sessions tour.

But we’re gonna let Haz fill in the details from here: 

“First we went down south to Margies surfing for a few days. Then from there, it was straight to Rotto (Rottnest Island) – that island off Perth. We borrowed a mate’s boat, so we cruised around there for a bit, petting quokkas and all that, then went back to Perth to Cottesloe for the gigs.

I actually hadn’t heard the bands before so I was super keen to hear them out – and they were so sick. The Belligerents, they’re actually from the Sunny Coast. We just started getting along like a house on fire. And they were so entertaining to watch. The main singer’s got these crazy Peter Garrett-esque dance moves, and he knew how to get a crowd moving. It was mental.

They’re all just super down-to-earth. They pretty much go from rockstars at all these gigs to going back to be chippies and shit working trades and stuff. So that’s pretty cool. 

Alex Lahey had so many fans die-hard fans. It was insane.

At this one gig there was this chick up the very front of the stage, right in front of Alex and she was the biggest dead ringer. She looked exactly like her; same haircut and everything. It was like her twin sister! She knew the words to every single song, and went screaming running up to her after the show.

First gig was in Cottesloe, this cool little town on the beach there in Perth. Kind of like a pub in the front with this sick beer garden out the back and that day had not a cloud in the sky. It was such a ripper of an arvo. It got super busy.

The next night was at Vic Park, which is on the Swan River facing the city. It had like the full festival vibes to it. There were so many people there. 

It was a really good layout, kind of open in the middle of the park, with a big setup and a stage with the city in the background.”

“We kind of all met them over at Rotto when we got there,” said Haz. “They came over for the afternoon and we went to the pub and we were all just hanging out everyone was just super friendly.

I definitely extended my tinny quota for the week. Had a few too many than I should have.

I had two weeks off the piss leading into that. Then I was like ‘ahh I’ll try to have a cruise couple of days,’ then I was like ‘hang on I’m in West Oz!’ which is pretty much the tin crushing capital of Australia. And I’m like ‘this isn’t going to work out’.”

Now that we’re back out east, it’s time to start prepping for the next round. Take this weekend off, detox, eat your greens, or whatever you like to do, then lock the following dates into your schedule:

SAT 3rd MAR – COFFS HARBOUR – The Hoey Moey
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SUN 4th MAR – BYRON BAY – Byron Bay Brewery
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SAT 10th MAR – COOLANGATTA – Coolangatta Hotel
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SUN 11th MAR – SUNSHINE COAST – Sunshine Beach Surf Club
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