Not Drowning, Waving - 25,03.06 Soundshell, Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne

I remember seeing Not Drowning, Waving at the 1991 Livid festival
the year a big storm hit the festival as the Cloulds were playing and
they had to leave the stage after getting electrical shocks.
But NDW had whipped up a storm earlier in the day, they had
released Claim the year before so it figured high in the song list
and they proved themselves worthy, it was unbelivable.
I don't think I saw them again, I have seen Bridie's next band
many more times and met David once at a song writing
workshop, but more on that later.
I was, before Claim a bigger fan of their instrumental stuff,
Willow Tree changed that and that gig came at the right
time, I could appreciate this band totally.
This performance is spellbinding, I wish I could have seen
them play this reunion tour.
If your a fan your gonna love this, soundboard quality,
fantastic performance, if theres anything wrong here
its that we only have 11 songs and its just under an hour.

About the performance

March 25, 2006
The Soundshell,
Alexandra Gardens,
Melbourne, Australia


This free concert - staged before several thousand
onlookers on a very warm March Melbourne
evening as part of the Commonwealth Games
celebrations in 2006 - marked the last ever
appearance of the classic Not Drowning,
Waving lineup with the announcement in the
preceding weeks of James Southall's intention
to retire from live performance following this show.

The band's short lived reunion had begun with a
brilliant reunion set at David Bridie's Morning
Star Concert For West Papua in Feb 2003.
WomAdelaide 2005, however, was where Not Drowning,
Waving truly came together again -reunited with
their old stalwart from the Tabaran days, George Telek.

A short tour including a truly astonishing show at
The Corner Hotel on August 25, 2005, one final full gig
(not long after the concert shared here)
at the Northcote Social Club and some guest
appearances in David Bridie's Oceanic showcase
Sing Sing in 2006, brought to a fitting close
the triumphant return of Australia's
foremost proponents of ambient and World Music,
a band that truly blazed its own trail
not just through a largely apathetic music industry
but also through the wild moors of Australia
and New Guinea and truly sounded like no other.

Due to very slight (barely noticeable)
technical imperfections,
this footage will not be made available officially.

Track List

01 Plog
02 The Cold And The Crackle
03 Crazy Birds
04 Willow Tree
05 Storm
06 Big Sky
07 Teteko Aotearoa
08 Palau
09 Blackwater
10 Albert Namatjira
11 Sing Sing

Audio rip from DVD @320 kbs

Download Here