Countdown to the 2012 Bullshit Battle of the Ad Bands: 5 – Hot harp in a Hard Land

Continuing our countdown to the 2012 Bullshit Battle of the Ad Bands with some songs that could / might / probably wont be performed.

One thing we haven’t seen much of at the Battle is the ol’ mouth organ. Well, not on stage anyway. Maybe a different kind of ‘mouth organ’ happens in the Green Room. You know what rock stars are like.

Anyway, perhaps it’s because the blues harp – to give it its more respectable name – is mainly associated with…erm…the Blues, which can be a little downbeat for the party crowd at the Irish Club. But check out this song from Aussie blower Chris Wilson.

Hard Land is an absolute barnstormer with Wilson at his hottest on the harp and some great slide work by the guitarist on an electric National resonator. Don’t see them too often, either.

(This particular clip’s only got 975 views to date. Let’s see if we can get it to the 1,000 mark.)

The song is from Wilson’s 1992 set Landlocked and is the closest he’s come to mainstream success, but he’s a bit of a legend amongst blues afficianados and has played with or supported the likes of Paul Kelly, Mark Seymour, Crowded House, Steve Earle, Elvis Costello, Buddy Guy, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lucinda Williams and Bob Dylan, who apparently went backstage to shake his hand after a performance.

We’re not sure any of our Bullshitters are up to this kind of standard but there’s always some surprisingly good stuff on the night, so who knows?

Tickets now on sale.

Tickets for the 2012 Bullshit Battle of the Ad Bands are now available here. Having whipped you all into a frenzy of expectation over the past few weeks, they’re sure to sell fast, so get in quick to avoid disappointment. With seven bands signed up to compete plus a special encore performance by the Oasis Ball supergroup Awesome Town, it’s sure to be a blast.