Rodeo antipodeo

>> The snowblind ambitions of Australia's Whitlams

By RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Why is it no surprise that rodeo is a big deal in Australia? After numerous complaints from peaceful, law-abiding alligators that "just wanted to be left alone," the macho mates of the outback have focused their fury on their livestock instead. The National Rodeo Council of Australia confesses to conducting no less that 350 of these events a year.

Make room for one more, mate. Canada's Blue Rodeo are headed that way, but only after chaperoning Australian band the Whitlams across the Great White North. "Our Canadian manager is married to their agent," explains lead Whitlam Tim Freedman. "He gave [BR's] Jim Cuddy our CD and he liked it, so we had a chat, and we've decided to come open for them here. Then they're going to open for us in Australia."

It's a suitable match, what with Freedman's ivory-poking and barstool balladry making the basis of the Whitlams' thinking man's bar rock. "We both come from that ballpark of trying to tell a tale and play it well."

While largely unheard of here, the Whitlams (taking their name from former Aussie PM/roguish "man of the people" Gough Whitlam) have clawed their way up from standard-issue bar band to massive indie success story to, now, major label darlings.

Back in the day, a far more rawkus-pawkus Whitlams could be spotted hauling gear in the very same bus we saw in the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (with a slightly less exciting wardrobe, perhaps).

"After they shot the movie," explains Freedman, "the guy that owned the bus came touring with us, and we just lived in it for 12 months. Travelling around Australia in this big pink bus with leopard skin curtains. The bus would become this party at the end of every night. It was just a mad year. Distant past now, though."

The Whitlam's busride to success was nearly halted with the death of founding member Stevie Plunder in '96. In a sad irony, it was that loss, and the resulting melancholic introspection, that fuelled the Whitlam's second wave of success, particularly the hit single "No Aphrodisiac."

That single led to not only massive sales but also a numbing list of awards. One stands out, though: "Bachelor of the Year" for Freedman. "Women's magazines in Australia, they just have these silly competitions. I think my fan club decided to rig it, and voted a lot on the Internet. So I won this vote in a glossy magazine, I suspect because my fan club decided to be naughty. I don't take much notice of it, even though I am a bachelor--and resolutely so." :

With Blue Rodeo at Theatre St-Denis on Friday, January 21, 8pm, $25-32