Grumpy grogfest

I've just returned from 2 days and 2 nights at the inaugural Fremantle International Beer Festival.

They sure put on a cornucopia of beer for me. And a feast of music, including country a la James Blundell.

I've never been a fan of James Blundell. Maybe it's just that I didn't like his duet with James Reyne. Maybe it's because I thought he was overexposed in the late 1980s. Maybe the hardcore yodelling of his namesake, Owen Blundell, the Snowy Mountain warbler, blinded me to James's talents.

However, faced with the graveyard shift as the beer festival wound down, James showed what a pro he was, never skipping a beat. His baratone twang pumped out hit after hit, until the 35 degree heat finally got the better of him.

"I've run out of voice, and I've run out of sweat," his shaved, sunburnt head confided to the 20-strong crowd. "Catch you later!"

And he was gone.