HIGH FIDELITY MOMENT – STU McCULLOUGH OF AMPLIFIRE MUSIC

November 29th, 2011 | By

As the managing director of successful management company Amplifire Music, Stu McCullough garnered a wealth of expertise during his eight years as AnR of Australian artists for Sony Music and now uses it to drive his own business. He manages Last Dinosaurs, The Audreys and The Jungle Giants and is, of course, our fearless co-promoter for Track & Field.

Speaking of Track & Field, we’re holding it at The Arena this time and we figure there is a whole generation of people who have no idea where it or what it is. Not many know this but The Arena, or as it was once called The Roxy, was the best rock venue in town. Stu gives us his TOP 5 favourite gigs witnessed in this very room….

1. Pavement (with The Dirty Three – 1994) – Pavement were brilliant. They defined slacker cool. Warren Ellis from The Dirty Three spat all through the gig, with his back to the audience the entire time. Nothing has changed there.

2. Radiohead (pre-Bends tour 1994) – No one really knew they would become the most important and groundbreaking band of their generation.

3. The Strokes (supporting You Am I – July 2001) – This was before the release of Is This It, and it was literally the hottest ticket in town. With word on the street you should not miss  this new New York rock band.

4. Midnight Oil (1998) – It was the height of Pauline Hanson, the release of the Oil’s Redneck Wonderlandalbum, and Garett was spitting venom about One Nation. The crowd was seething. Ironically most of them seemed to be rednecks.

5. Primal Scream (January 1995). – Bobby Gillespie looked wasted, but they were brilliant and loud. It appears he was. His record label publicist later told me she had to lift his head out of his dinner about 90 minutes before he went on stage.