10 May 2025 – Sandstone Point Hotel, Bribie Island – words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi – pictures by Bec Harbour
Sandstone Point Hotel was the venue for the Red Hot Summer Tour 2025 Series 2. While all agree (especially Suze DeMarchi) that Sandstone Point Hotel is a fantastic venue, when the heavens open with rain, it does put a dampener on things. And, boy did it rain! But that’s the reality of open-air gigs – the elements and weather come into play. And that’s rock ‘n’ roll’ – take the rough with the smooth. Not that it mattered to the fine musicians and bands that performed. There was an incredible and varied offering of rock being offered at the heart of each set. Red Hot Summer Tour 2025 really delivered an astonishing line-up of the most amazing musicians: Dallas Frasca, Rose Tattoo, Baby Animals, The Living End, George Thorogood And The Destroyers and of course ZZ Top.
I arrived early at Sandstone Point Hotel. The line to get in was already around the block and heading towards the bridge. What immediately stood out was that it was a very different crowd from the other fantastic events I have attended there. It was an older crowd: many more men and the younger generations were lightly scattered around. It was the same when I entered the venue – older men at the front. But the one undeniable fact was: it was a completely sold-out event. The crowd was huge!
What a way to start the day! Dallas Frasca kicked it off and lit up the stage. She is a marvellous rock and blues musician who opened the proceedings with the blues-rocker ‘Anything Left To Wonder’. I have heard Dallas Frasca’s music, but I have never seen her live, and she did not disappoint. Her dynamic stage presence, her ability to control the crowd and her ability to play a range of lovely guitar styles on the most amazing range of guitars was impressive. Her raw spirited love of the blues, rock and country music reverberated through the venue with her stunning guitar playing and her huge voice: it was an undeniably special moment.
Dallas Frasca really knew how to connect with a big crowd. Her songs, stories and musical delivery were gritty and elegant. Dallas Frasca really enjoyed her set. Her joy at having a guitar technician, Cam Wilson, who she could play with, as she changed guitars regularly, was special and then she had him play with her on ‘All My Love’ – it was awesome. The crowd loved her, as people called out for her to return to “Stradie” and other Queensland venues as soon as possible, and she responded: “Well. I am here now. Stradie? That was a great gig. You remember it? Are you sure you there?”.
Dallas Frasca – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
She settled the crowd and set about delivering a mix of old and new tracks and it was great to hear songs from 2024’s ‘Force Of Nature’ album especially the fabulous country-tinged rocker ‘River Queen’ and ‘Let It Rain’ – and boy did the rain fall during that song! She had a larger than life presence on a stage especially when she thanked women pioneers like Janis Joplin for allowing her find and to use her voice as she sang ‘Me And Bobby McGee’ written by Kris Kristofferson.
Dallas Frasca’s guitar playing is something to behold, but it was her voice that simply roared. And, it left the crowd stunned when she delivered a meldley of Led Zeppelin songs. The crowds collective jaws dropped in amazement. Watching Dallas Frasca from the barrier was incredible and powerful. She has one of greatest female rock ‘n’ roll voices in Australia. And, the reaction from the crowd and back stage was one of fan girl appreciation of her great skills.
Setlist: Anything Left to Wonder, All My Love, River Queen, Me And Bobbie McGee, Let It Rain, Led Zeppelin medley of ‘Kashmir, Black Dog, Immigrant Song, Whole Lotta Love’.
The quality of the line-up meant that Rose Tattoo made a surprisingly early appearance with a mid-afternoon set. The band put on a very gritty and loud performance as they opened their set with ‘Scarred For Life’. Angry Anderson was in a very upbeat and chatty mood throughout the set. The band: guitarists Mick Arnold and Ronnie Simmons were tight and the rhythm section of Steve King and Paul DeMarco put in the structure that underpinned the swing behind these rock blues bar-boogie songs that were delivered in full force especially ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Is King’.
Rose Tattoo – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
All the hits were performed like ‘Rock N Roll Outlaw’ and ‘Bad Boy For Love’ but it was great to hear Rose Tattoo’s most recent single which is a cover of Stevie Wright’s ‘Hard Road’ played. Ronnie Simmons’ slide guitar prowess was just next level and his skill is the oxygen in Rose Tattoo’s signature sound. Angry Anderson got a little off track as he propositioned one of the rock photographers and loved her shirt from Heavy – “Fuck Shit Up” as he stated “Yeah. That’s it sister. If I was 30 or 40 years younger” and a wit in the crowd responded loudly “yeah add another decade down man!”. Too funny! He, then, got back to the music. Rose Tattoo delivered their Australian pub rock classics ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’ and ‘Nice Boys’ that had the crowd singing along and it was quite an ending to a set.
Rose Tattoo are an important rock band in Australian music history. They have helped to create the bedrock of the modern rock music industry. Their songs are timeless, relevant and transcend the generation gap. The band will be celebrating their 50 years as a group next year. Now there’s a thought! Rose Tattoo sounded great and they delivered direct, no bullshit rock ‘n’ roll for their whole set. Make no mistake they were loud (really loud), and I was thankful we were outdoors as Angry Anderson thanked the weather gods for only a slight rain shower through their set: “but let it thunder” he declared “that’s rock’n’roll for ya”.
Setlist: Scarred For Life, Rock N Roll Is King, One Of The Boys, Rock N Roll Outlaw, Hard Road, Bad Boy For Love, We Can’t Be Beaten, Nice Boys
The Baby Animals set was amazing. The band and frontwoman Suze DeMarchi took to the stage and opened with ‘Rush You’. Suze DeMarchi is the definition of the rock queen. Raising her red-rimmed sunglasses to get a good look at the crowd she declared that: “Sandstone Point. This is the best venue. I love playing here” and it showed. The band were all smiles all though the set as the crowd really delivered the energy back at them. Suze DeMarchi’s rhythm guitar playing was on pointe. Dave Leslie’s guitar magic was on full display. Dario Bortolin was just dynamic on bass and drummer Ricki Rae controlled the lot of them and was the glue that meshed the melodic elements together. And, the result was awesome.
Baby Animals – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
Baby Animal’s set was wall to wall hits with and it had fans and the corwd singing from the start. Then, the band, after some chat about the election, delivered ‘Waste Of Time’ the wonderful ‘Painless’ followed, then ‘Break My Heart’ and the rable-rousing ‘Don’t Tell Me What To Do’. And that was just the start before we got even close to ‘One Word’ or ‘Early Warning’. Then, the band performed the festival affirming track of ‘Fire’ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The delivery of ‘Fire’ showed Dave Leslie’s real gift with the guitar. His guitar riffs and his solos are so irrefutably his and the signature sound of the Baby Animals. And, the Baby Animals were on fire!
The Baby Aminal’s set was so much fun. I sang my heart out with the group of hard core fans around me. They are such a wonderful band and seeing them live is even better. It was another outstanding performance. Top quality!
Baby Animals – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
Setlist: Rush You, Waste Of Time, Painless, Break My Heart, Don’t Tell Me What to Do, Working for the Enemy, The Jimi Hendrix cover of ‘Fire’, One Too Many, One Word, Early Warning, Ain’t Gonna Get, Ace of Spades
Red Hot Summer had delivered three out three stunners so far with exceptional performances and The Living End were up next! Were we excited? Yes!
The Living End put on the most astonishing set. It was truly the finest and most electrifying sets of the day. And, that is really saying something as the other bands and musicians up to that point were fantastic, but these three guys were next level. I think (Gen X bias here): The Living End are one of the best ever Aussie rock bands ever! There is an energy and level of performance from this band that is just astonishing and they command your attention. Whether you are seeing them for the first time or have seen them before: they bring their game face and ‘A game’ each and every time. The Living End ignited the crowd.
The Living End – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
The surge to the front of stage was incredible and I felt it as I was crushed into the barrier. The crowd danced, sang and had the time of their lives. The Living End have a huge back catalogue with eight albums and more than 24 hit singles to their name. But they delivered the best setlist for a gig like this in the outdoors and the rain. They opened with ‘Roll On’ moved quickly into the fantastic ‘Second Solution’ before Chris Cheney addressed the crowd. He is the voice of reason in an insane age and it was good to hear him saying the right things to people.
The Living End, then ,delivered a string of songs that pushed the crowd into overdrive: ‘Pictures in the Mirror, ‘Hey Hey Disbeliever’ and ‘All Torn Down’. Then, Chris Cheney stopped to discuss the parlous state of of rock n roll in this country and he told us all what we already know and feel about it before he introduced The Living End’s wake-up call, the new single ‘Alfie’ from their upcoming album. It was a winner! Let’s get it the radio play it deserves.
The Living End – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
Then, if things couldn’t ramp up anymore – it did! The Living End whipped everyone into a fenzy with ‘How Do We Know’, the awesome ‘West End Riot’, the huge sing along medley of ‘Waltzing Matilda, E Boogie, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ and stories about coming home at 2am from band practice with ‘White Noise’. And, then they closed with ‘Prisoner Of Society’. It was so, so good!
Setlist : Roll On, Second Solution, , new single out this week Alfie, How Do We Know, West End Riot, the medley of ‘Waltzing Matilda,E Boogie, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’, White Noise, Prisoner of Society.
The Living End were going to be a hard act to follow for any musician, but George Thorogood had a plan! George Thorogood and his Destroyers came to the stage and just hammed it up with total musical skill and control. They brought the bluesy, dirty and “nasty” party with the opener ‘Rock Party’ and ‘Who Do You Love?’. And, George Thorogood at 72 years of age shows no signs of slowing down. With The Living End throwing down the gauntlet, he picked it up and delivered.
I asked people during the day about who they were here to see and it was George Thorogood’s name that came up the most often and for good reason. He and his band The Destroyers put on a campy, hard rocking blues set that was mind blowing. His recent side shows and performance at Bluesfest had people talking and raving about him. It was easy to see why as he delivered ‘Mama Mama’, the funny ‘I Drink Alone’, the sing along ‘One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer’ where he loved the Aussie accent being sung back at him and the spectacular ‘Cocaine Blues’. He was cheeky, he swaggered and played across the stage and to the crowd. The Australian ‘furry animal’ guitar tech skit was funny. George Thorogood was simply a delight to listen to and watch.
George Thorogood & the Destroyers – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
His voice is strong, his guitar skills were so impressive and he was freakishly good. He thanked in a genuinely funny and entertaining way The Rolling Stones for influencing him: “Keith Jagger or Mick Richards – I mix up the names – I don’t know – they sent me on my journey – around the world” with music. He was obviously having a great time. His band were outstanding, simply next level – with Buddy Leach’s saxophone sound reverberating around the venue. Guitarist Jim Suhler was the perfect partner in crime to George Thorogood’s playing. The bass of Bill Blough was silky smooth and precise. The drummer Jeff Simon drove the whole band along.
The ten song setlist was an absolute blast! George Thorogood And The Destroyers delivered it with proven skill especially the songs: ‘Cocaine Blues’, ‘Twilight Zone’, ‘Gear Jammer’, ‘Get A Haircut’ and ‘Bad To The Bone’. But their superpower was charm. George Thorogood could charm the birds out of the trees! Nothing in the set felt forced or rehearsed. It was unfiltered and genuine raw rock fun – at its best. I am also so glad that I got to see this performance live. So good!
George Thorogood & the Destroyers – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
Setlist: Rock Party, Who Do You Love?, Mama Mama, I Drink Alone, One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer, Cocaine Blues, Twilight Zone, Gear Jammer, Get A Haircut, Bad To The Bone.
There was a bit of a wait as the rain had bucketed down during George Thorogood’s set. The stage was wiped. And, eventually ZZ Top appeared and it was the attack of the Rinestone Cowboys. I was a late to the party as a ZZ Top appreciator as I discovered their music in the mid-1980s during their commercial period with songs like ‘Legs’. The band that played was not ZZ Top as many of their fans knew them. Billy Gibbons, the bands vocalist and guitarist is the sole original member on this run of shows. Frank Beard sat this tour out due to ill-health, and filling in for him was the amazing drummer John Douglas. Elwood Francis is ZZ Top’s bass player who has been in the band since the passing of Dusty Hill in 2021. He certainly knows how to make an entrance with his seventeen-string bass being used on the first song ‘Got Me Under Pressure’ and it was astonishing to see how he played it. I just have to say that John Douglas’ drumming was outstanding throughout the whole performance.
ZZ Top – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
The 80-minute set was packed to the brim with ZZ Top’s hits and delivered a hit of nostalgia. With the band not releasing new music since 2012, the perfomance was purely a greatest hits set. But what a set of songs they had lined up. Their back catalogue is an amazing legacy and the quality of their music stands. And it was the songs they delivered that kept the crowd glued to the spot in the downpour of hard rain.
But, the overall performance was a little flat from ZZ Top (except for the drummer – he was on fire!). The band was fairly bland watch and there was something missing that chemistry and style that the original members brought to the band. You could hear it in the vocals with the distinctive second voice missing and a lack of Frank Beard’sharmonies left their sound feeling a little cold. The gimmicks in the sparkly outfits, the furry guitars, the guitars with LED-screens in them and a 17 string bass couldn’t hide it.
ZZ Top – Red Hot Summer Tour – photos by Bec Harbour
ZZ Top fell short for me. Yes. They are an iconic band. But the weather impacted the crowd’s mood, and their lack of pace lost the momentum of the day built up by the other magnificent performances that had led up to their set. Tonight’s crowd was pumped and primed for something special that took things to the next level and it never quite made it. I think that the crowd was happy and had that look of joy on their faces as the left the venue knowing they had seen rock and blues royalty perform.
Setlist: Got Me Under Pressure, Waiting’ For The Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Gimmie All Your Lovin’, I’m Bad I’m Nationwide, My Head’s In Mississippi, Sixteen Tons, Just Got Paid, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Brown Sugar, Tube Snake Boogie, La Grange.
The whole day was a rock and blues sonic feast. Even if we were all covered in mud and sawdust, and soaked: we all left the venue joyfully singing The Angels’ classic ‘Will I Ever See Your face Again’ as we looked for our cars in the dark and the rain. And, the rain got worse. It really pissed down as we exited the venue. Rock fun in the wet!
