Access All Angles. Hung Supply heavyweights James Adams, Maclay Heriot, and Sam Brumby converge on Bad Dreems' valedictory tour, redefining AAA pass. It's hard to believe any photo opportunity was missed at the mercy of these three.
Words: James Adams. Photos: James Adams, Maclay Heriot, Sam Brumby.
Voices lost. Memories forged. Old heads came crawling out of the woodwork for South Australian pub rock band Bad Dreems' curtain call. Gigs like this are few and far between, seldom seen through three lenses. Who shot it best? We'll let you decide.
Three photographers walk into a bar—this isn’t a joke—and are greeted by another 4 photographers. Also in attendance are band members of Amyl & the Sniffers, C.O.F.F.I.N, Pist Idiots, The Preatures, The Delta Riggs, as well as media personalities and even a legendary football player. What is happening?
Bad Dreems have just released their 5th studio album, ULTRA DUNDEE, and called this tour their last. An indefinite hiatus. Everyone is coming out of the woodwork to witness the last shows of what is undoubtedly one of Australia’s most important bands of this millennium.
They have always performed live with a feverish energy. Ebbing and flowing, letting the room’s energy swell, gradually building until it spills over into a controlled chaos. This show followed the existing format energetically, however the band radiated an emotional looseness and played with a freedom that’d only be afforded by a release in pressure.
At the start of the set this energy felt exciting, by the end it felt emotional. It is emotional. No other band comes close to articulating the current domestic social and political climate as poignantly as Bad Dreems. They also articulate drinking beers really well, but that’s less unique.
They have a way of painting the picture clearer than you can see it in your own mind. The references, the sound, the passion, it all points to a band that won’t be attached to this time in history, they’ll be classic. They will always be relevant.
Over the past 13 years, myself, Maclay Heriot & Sam Brumby have all shot, known and rubbed shoulders with Bad Dreems. We’d have 10’s of thousands of photos of them collectively. Brumby probably has that many alone. But for this show, the last we might ever see them play, we wanted to shoot a little, slide the cameras back into our Sidewalk Slings and watch a lot. Here are some snaps of a band we’re very thankful to have had.
View more Hung Supply Photo Diaries, here.
