On the Road with Sticky Fingers

Captions and photos by Sam Brumby

Being a touring rock star must be a pretty nice gig.

Sure there’s the travel and the jet lag, but what about the caviar and Dom Perignon in the dressing room? The thousands of fans hanging off your every lyric? The private jets? We tagged along with Sydney band Sticky Fingers via photographer Sam Brumby on their recent world tour, and while the luxe air travel and bottles of bubb were noticeably absent, at least the crew ate their fill of Polish dumplings and got a kick out of finding Mexican fans lining up from midday just to secure a prime position for the gig that night. The band clocked up air miles all across Central America, the US, and Europe, hanging out with sushi moguls, making their own merchandise and selling out venues along the way. Jump aboard the tour bus, below.

The ‘Ain’t No Saint’ Tour

For what was planned to be the most PG tour the band had ever embarked on, I found the humour in how ironic Paddy’s hat was when I met everyone at Kingsford Smith on day one.

Mexico City

The first time the band ever stepped foot anywhere south of the border, they were greeted with crazed fans who’d begun lining up in the Mexican sun at 11 am to guarantee they’d make the front row. They also made all their own merchandise as stringent import laws didn’t allow the sale of the band’s own goods.

World Cup Fever

An ongoing ritual for the band’s first ever world tour was intertwined with the beginning of the 2018 World Cup. Before every show, the band would purchase a “football” from the host country, sign it, and then boot it into the unsuspecting plethora of fans at the beginning of every show.

Carnet

If you have ever travelled with a band, circus, and/or Manpower—the No.1 Male Revue in the world—then you would be aware of the dreaded Carnet (customs permit for goods, in this case, musical equipment). Every time you enter or leave a country you first have to get your Carnet paperwork processed. When you already have 30 pieces of luggage and six dumb idiots to herd, whacking an extra two hours either side of the already laborious airport time can drive the average human to experience a bout of panphobia.

Lily

Lily Sullivan, or ‘Miranda’ from Foxtel’s rendition of Picnic At Hanging Rock, also happens to be the muse of Beaker Best (drummer). Lily jumped on board for the US leg of the tour. I don’t think the term ‘punching above your weight’ has ever been more relevant. Sorry Eric.

Fonda

The Fonda Theatre. 6126 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA.

Big Wet

Please Google “Big Wet – Turn Up On The Weekend” and then this will all make sense. BW is a good friend of the band and also a successful sushi restaurant mogul. He also happens to be the next big thing in hip-hop.

Warsaw

The Warsaw theatre is located within the Polish National Home in Brooklyn and has been hosting Krakowiak dance-offs and rock bands for the last 100 years. During that entire time, they have also fed all their stars a staple diet of pierogi [Eastern European style dumplings] and it’s potentially the best place you’ve never been.

Cyclone

Sound checking at the 02 Forum Theatre in London before playing to 2500 people two nights in a row. Note: the food in England is terrible.

Berlin

This was 100% the hottest show I’ve ever been too. Most German venues don’t have AC because it’s always freezing. However, in the middle of summer, in an unventilated soundproof room that’s been oversold by 200 odd tickets, it heats up like an egg on the hood of your high school boyfriend’s commodore in the Wanda carpark during January.

Paradiso

The whole tour was a massive highlight, however the two sold-out nights in Amsterdam at the Paradiso were something special. The band played the small room a few years back and set their sights on selling out the illustrious main room. Proof in point.

Cantina

Cantina’s, or Red Ferrets as they are better known in certain circles, line the sidewalks and bike lanes of the Netherlands’ highest-earning tourist attraction, Amsterdam. They’re also Freddy Crabs’ preferred mode of transport.

Fire Exit

Seamus warming up in Auckland.

Surf

The only crowd surf of the entire tour happened during the final show of the tour in Auckland. There was actually a show in Bali following NZ, however, confronted with a choice of four days off in Sydney or a connecting flight to the latest gentrified arm of Bondi, Canggu, the crew was divided. Those who stayed behind were rewarded with a lengthy stay on the tarmac in Sydney a few days later as a volcano destroyed our dreams of flat whites and puppies. Fortunately, Dylan (frontman) and Seamus (lead guitar) were poolside sipping flat whites and pulled together a last-minute acoustic show to 3000 expats, 12 Argentinians and seven Thai folk.