In the AFL, everyone is buzzing because the big four are up and about but Wednesday night it was all about the ‘Big Three’ – Francis Leach, Paul Kelly, and Bob Murphy in an evening described by the star Bulldog as “a night of wankiness”.
The crowd came in leaps and bounds up the road from the MCG to a Melbourne music stalwart- The Corner Hotel. Wearing footy scarves, they waited in line unsure what to expect from the maiden Presentation Night. What they got was a quintessentially Melbourne experience blending the two great passions of our city, AFL and music.
The team was announced well in advance and it was an appropriate line up. Western Bulldogs star Murphy is a devout music fan, Australian music icon Kelly loves his footy and ABC Grandstand Breakfast host Leach is hilarious with a thorough knowledge, affection and understanding of both.
The night was an open discussion about the similarities of music and sport, delving into areas such as life, love and the future. Murphy grew up in Warragul and was a devout Richmond fan with an intense, and still burning, affection for Richo. Kelly, coach of Community Cup team The Rockdogs proudly spoke about his affiliation with Norwood Footy Club and his secret cricket talents.
The first half of the night was devoted to getting to know our panellists. Murphy presented a footy from a semi-final against Sydney- a game he says helped him “get” football. He uncovered his new ‘Thunder Road’ tattoo before risking his alternative reputation with a Lady Gaga t-shirt.
Kelly matched Murphy’s revelations by admitting that, surprisingly he’s never owned a record player and used to bootleg his mates’ records. The two chose a track for the night with Kelly borrowing Died Pretty from his mate and Murphy opting for Tex Perkins- who responded well from the bar where he chatted with Tim Rogers.
The conversation was light hearted but delved deeper, with Murphy elaborating on his realisation he might not win a Grand Final and Kelly expressing admiration for the courage of footballers who are “off script”, dealing with public expectation and intense disappointment.
We were lead into half time with a song from Kelly. With live scores coming out of Nottingham, there couldn’t have been a better choice than Bradman to remember some wonderful times in Australian cricket.
The second half was peppered with hilarious moments including a charming discussion about pre-match nervous vomiters to which Kelly quipped, “That usually happens two or three hours after our gigs.”
Punters presented trophies of their big moments with ‘Mick’ proudly showing off his “Soft Cock of the Year Award”. The talk turned to mavericks such as Brent Crosswell with Kelly pointing out one famous music maverick, coining a new life question- What Would Miles Davis Do?
This was a real four quarter effort, full of great stories- Kelly getting a pitch report from Bob Dylan, Murphy recording a cover of a Paul Kelly song for his wife’s birthday and becoming ever more loveable, Renee Geyer’s distaste for chicken dinners, images of Danny Southern in Motörhead and some classic Community Cup anecdotes (Let’s keep ASADA away from Elsternwick Oval, okay?).
The biggest treat came after the final siren with Kelly performing a song he’d finished only that day, inspired by Charlie Perkins’ book Bastard Like Me.
As Dennis Cometti would say, this was a ‘centimetre perfect’ concept. A big win on Wednesday sees Presentation Night sitting top of the ladder of events to get involved with in Melbourne this winter.
