A Taxiride along the railway

GET set, everybody. They’re on their way to meet you.

Melbourne rock band Taxiride, famous for their late ‘90s hit “Get Set” are heading to Bannockburn this weekend to perform at the Railway Hotel.

Post-pandemic, member Tim Watson said the group are focused on gigging in Victoria’s cities and regions, rather than travelling further afield, and audiences can expect to hear familiar tracks.

“If it was a single, we’re playing it,” he said. “But we’re also going through our back catalogue and finding little gems, so there might be a couple in there that people haven’t heard for 20 years.

“We wanted to make this a really tight musical show, so we’ve gone back and stripped things down.”

Taxiride were not only attracted to perform at the Railway Hotel because of the location between Geelong and Ballarat, but also because the venue’s booker, Tim Henwood, is the frontman of Australian rock band The Androids.

“I’ve known Tim since before Taxiride,” Watson said. “He’s a great guy and guitarist.

“We love doing these sorts of gigs that we can drive to, and just make the night as great as possible.

“It’s about keeping it local, keeping ticket prices down, and that’s realistic about where the live music scene is in Australia right now.”

In addition to the rock show, Watson said the band are presently developing a new and more intimate show which will premiere on stage for the first time in September.

“The whole reason it came about is that we were sitting around in a chilled rehearsal, just jamming out, and it was so much fun that we thought it would be amazing to take it to a stage,” he said.

“It’s a lot more acoustic, and it’s literally us going back exploring all the artists that influenced our songwriting.

“These are harmony bands of the 60s; The Beatles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and even Simon & Garfunkel.

“When we present that show, we’ll be sitting down in a semi-circle, it will be two sets, and we’ll be telling stories behind our songs and why certain people influenced us. It’s a musical conversation with the audience.”

Taxiride will perform at the Bannockburn Railway Hotel on Saturday, August 5.

Head to eventbrite.com.au for tickets.