Best songs ever: edn. III

When I was in late primary school and my early teens, there was a band from Perth called Ammonia.

I think I must have seen them at an all-ages gig in 1997 or 1998, because I knew all their songs and all the words. They used to get a lot of airtime on Triple J, too. This was my favourite of their songs – ‘You’re Not The Only One Who Feels This Way’.

Extra points in this video for the singer’s classic late 90s jumper.

Ammonia really epitomise the sound that was coming out of Perth in the mid to late 90s. There were so many great bands gigging around town and around the country, and although I was too young at the time to go to many shows, I would go to many underage concerts when I could, and voraciously hunted down the music of bands like Ammonia, Red Jezebel, Jebediah, Eskimo Joe (eeaaarlly Eskimo Joe. If you haven’t heard it, listen to it), and so many others whose names are escaping me right now. Perth indie music in the 1990s was poppy and guitar driven, a really fun sound.

The sound quality on this video is absolutely terrible, but I’ve included it because I was at this show! Right up the front against the barrier. I was 14.

Crazy how much better digital video technology has gotten in the past 14 years!

This was Ammonia’s last ever show in Perth, at the Big Day Out in 1999. I suppose posting this has some significance as the 2013 Perth Big Day Out was held today… but I didn’t go. I think I went to every once from 1999-2009, and then 2011, before retiring. I can’t do BDO anymore. I experienced so many wonderful BDOs when I was young, but these days they’re never fun. The last one I went to I saw so many young guys getting hit and security doing absolutely nothing to help them, and it’s too distressing.

Anyway, ’You’re Not the Only One’ was the last song that Ammonia ever played to their home crowd, and the entire audience was singing along, and it was very moving. 14 years later, it sticks in my mind as one of my fondest musical memories.

(As a special bonus, below is the clip to another of their big songs, Drugs. Such awesome Perth pop.)