AUSTIN, Texas — He had them at "Hello, Austin," but actor Russell Crowe and his Australia-based band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, seemed on a mission to prove they're not just another musical vanity project Friday night at Stubb's BBQ in the Texas capital.
The predominantly female crowd of 2,000 came to drool over a movie star in the role of musician and ended up catching a sweat-soaked, two-hour rock concert that found the star attraction ranging from sensitive to raucous, like some Aussie John Mellencamp. Chugging beer throughout the set, the muscular singer/songwriter stripped down to a sleeveless tank top by encore time.
Taking his private life public for a rare moment, the 36-year-old Gladiator star acknowledged onstage that much of his introspective material, such as the new Sail the Same Oceans, came out of a four-year relationship with Aussie singer/actress Danielle Spencer. "She's got an album coming out soon, but I'll bet there aren't any songs about me," he joked.
Current girlfriend Meg Ryan wasn't on hand for the Grunts' first U.S. show in 18 months, but Crowe's Flora Plum director, Jodie Foster, was there in spirit on the concert's opening number, Other Ways of Speaking. Crowe credits Foster with inspiring the ballad, which will be on the album the 5-year-old band is recording in Austin.
© Copyright USA TODAY 2000
HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 7, 2000 -- "Gladiator" stud Russell Crowe slayed the ladyfolk Friday when he and his rock band performed for a mostly female crowd in Austin, Texas.
The Aussie heartthrob and his band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts played a sold-out concert at the watering hole Stubb’s BBQ for an audience of about 2,000.
Crowe is scheduled to perform the next two Fridays. Tickets reportedly sold for as much as $500 apiece last month on eBay.
USA Today compared the band’s "Insider" frontman as "an Aussie John Mellencamp" and reported that Crowed downed a lotta beer during his sweaty set as well as stripped down to a tank top.
Crowe made no mention of supposed lady friend Meg Ryan, but he did dedicate the concert’s opening number, "Other Ways of Speaking," to his "Flora Plum" director Jodie Foster -- who’s also been linked romantically with the actor.
They'll descend on Austin from all over the world to see a band few have even heard of. Ground zero: Stubb's BBQ, tonight, Aug. 11 and 18, where a hunky hero will take a little break from his day job.
Don't even think about ordering ticketsto see 30 Odd Foot of Grunts; they sold out 90 minutes after they went on sale. At one point, brokers were asking as much as $2,000 for tonight's show. Press and public have been turned away in droves.
Gruntmania is running high in these parts, and it's all because of an Australian heartthrob named Russell Crowe. You know him from his recent sword-swinging turn in Gladiator or perhaps his Oscar-nominated whistle-blower role in last year's The Insider. Now, a few thousand frenzied fans will get to see Mr. Crowe wail away as lead singer/guitarist for the Grunts, in town to record their new album and test the waters of Texas' live music capital.
"I've never seen anything like this before," says Stubb's co-owner Charles Atall. "I knew it was going to be a hot show, but I didn't think we'd sell 4,500 tickets in an hour and a half." Mr. Crowe and his gruntmates were to play the first concert at Stubb's' indoor venue, which holds only 300 people. But this week, the gig was moved to the club's larger outdoor stage, where the other two shows will be held. Additional tickets for the first show, which were put on sale Thursday afternoon, were expected to be snapped up immediately.
Prior to the stage change, a ticket for the first show could have been yours for $2,000, according to Kent Taylor of Showtime Tickets in Austin. The other two showsare going for the bargain price of $200.
"I don't get the concept of why people are freaking out over this group," Mr. Taylor says. "Everybody's like, 'Russell Crowe, Russell Crowe, Russell Crowe.' I'm like, 'Oh, he sings?' "
Perhaps Mr. Taylor is just the wrong gender. One woman sent Stubb's' managing partner/director of operations Mike Hall a dozen roses in hopes of landing a ticket. Mr. Atall scored some live lobsters. Phone calls and faxes have come in from Australia, England, Japan, Ireland, India, Taiwan, Italy, Germany, Brazil. Mr. Atall estimates that 80 percent of ticket buyers have been women and that 10 percent have been from Austin.
Mr. Crowe is hardly the first movie personality to dabble in rock; Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves and camp icon David Hasselhoff have all tried their hand. They just didn't seem to generate as much . . . devotion.
"These are just die-hard Russell Crowe fans," Mr. Hall says. "If you can imagine women who are just infatuated with this guy . . . they're concerned with how close they can get to the stage, if they can see him, if they can come to sound check."
All of this for a band that has released one full-length CD (1998's Gaslight) that isn't exactly a hot seller in these parts. "30 what?" asked an employee at a Dallas record store.
The band consists of Mr. Crowe on guitar and vocals, Garth Adams on bass, Dean Cochran on guitar and Dave Kelly on drums. They played the notorious Viper Room in Los Angeles last year, and according to the frighteningly thorough Web site, maximumcrowe.com, they performed for a packed house at the Borderline in London, on July 23. The Grunts' music is generally described as pubbish folk rock. The band's CDs and merchandise are available at www.gruntland.com.
Meanwhile, Stubb's' profile is going through the roof. Mr. Atall has been interviewed for Entertainment Weekly and People; the Crowe Web site features an eight-photo spread of the club, from all angles, in all of its glory. ("Stubb's is on a hillside, with two levels indoors and a river out back.") Suddenly, the venerable dinner spot/sauce manufacturer/music venue has an international rep.
"It's been great for the venue, because people from all over the world know our name now," Mr. Atall says. "It helps us sell the barbecue sauce, too."
Russell Crowe isn't a rock star, but he plays one onstage. The Australian actor (The Insider, L.A. Confidential) is one of the biggest movie stars in the world today. But of all the roles he can play swinging the versatility rope between Roman slave (Gladiator) to virtual villain (Virtuosity) to violent Nazi (Romper Stomper) he has reached his most skeptical audience. This comes with his role as songwriter, singer and guitarist for the Aussie rock band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.
The band has become almost legendary, keeping a minimal profile and making albums available primarily through their official Web site (www.gruntland.com), rather than record stores. The band has picked Austin as the place to record its next opus. And, as is standard practice in the music industry, they decided to schedule a few small shows to test out their new material. The band will play two more shows in Austin, both at Stubb's Bar-B-Q. There will be one Friday, Aug. 11, and then another on Friday, Aug. 18.
At Stubb's Friday night, crowds flocked in high numbers, coming in from all over the world (it was reported that an overwhelming majority of the tickets were purchased from outside Texas). Relocated from the indoor stage, Friday's outdoor show swelled with anticipation, excitement and an underlying curiosity: Was this band actually any good?
It's obvious that many in attendance were there simply for the novelty of seeing an A-list movie star. Crowe and his band must have expected this, which meant the music was forced to stand up on its own. Once that starstruck feeling wears off, you're gonna need to recapture the crowd's attention. And Crowe's rugged mug can only hold it for so long.
To solve this potential problem, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts tried to keep spectators enticed and, fortunately, succeeded. With a sound best described as an Australian Bruce Springsteen, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts managed to exceed expectations and give the loyal fans a show well-worth the price of admission (well, maybe not for those who paid nearly $100 a ticket on eBay).
The band's set was full of new material and old, spanning their four recordings (three EPs and one LP) and the album currently in the works. The six members of the band all appeared to have their act together, each taking away their own moment in the spotlight. On tunes like "What You Want Me To Forget," "All The White Circles" and "Circus," drummer Dave Kelly, bassist Garth Adam and multi-instrumentalist Dave Wilkins all managed to anchor the Grunts in proper rhythms. Their country/blues/folk material was well-suited for the warm summer air and the very Texan atmosphere at Stubb's.
The group could run across the spectrum, from edgy alt-rock to polished folk-rock. There were moments of repetition and little variation between individual styles. Dismissing early criticism, Crowe can sing and there's a definite sense of range in his style. He seemed nervous at first, but after a glowing reception from the predominantly female audience as well as a wealth of Shiner Bock on hand he started to open up and cut loose. In between songs, Crowe offered stories about his songwriting and his inspiration. He only addressed one of his films, Romper Stomper, and that was due to its relevance to a song.
Guitarist "Reverend Billy" Dean Cochran ebbed and flowed with Crowe and the two shared a bond with their six-strings that helped the group remain driving through the night. But no part of the band was as welcomed as the inclusion of trumpeter Stewart Kirwan. Kirwan's use of the horn added textures and layers to some of the otherwise plain song structures. Without Kirwan's horn, a good deal of the night would have been lost and forgotten. Instead of becoming simple "bar rock" or "frat rock," the horn opened 30 Odd Foot of Grunts up to more dimensions and blew the audience away during solos or accompaniments.
After the first set, the band returned to the stage with Crowe donning one of the band's signature basketball jerseys. During the first encore, Crowe gave up a bit on guitar and stuck to filling out the stage with a mic and his rock 'n' roll vibes. This reached its zenith with a stirring and emotionally draining performance of "Oblique Is My Love," originally released on the What's Her Name? EP. "Oblique Is My Love" provided a study of the right moves this band can make. They hit the rock when it was needed, and the pop when it felt right.
A second encore followed, which seemed unnecessary and overwrought. The immediate feeling was that they should have left well enough alone. What followed was worth the stay as 30 Odd Foot of Grunts finished their first Austin show with a rousing cover of Johnny Cash's country-western classic "Folsom Prison Blues." The Land Down Under seems to be one of the few non-American regions where country music actually translates well, proven with a Cash retelling that was part-country swagger and part-Aussie fun.
The band and its leader will be Austin residents for the next month. Their gig at Stubb's verifies that they'll have no trouble fitting into their new surroundings. Dave Matthews needn't worry just yet, but if 30 Odd Foot of Grunts continue to improve, there may be good reason. His acting talents are growing, and so is his appeal, so it would be safe to assume that it's all uphill from here for Russell Crowe. He comes across as a charismatic performer and a wistful songwriter with pride in his work. He may not be a rock star yet, but he sure knows how to act like one.