Fan Encounters

Sydney
Sept. 2004

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June 2002

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May 2002

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April 2002

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January 2001

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May 2000

Sydney
Jan. 2001

Fan Encounter - Sydney Airport
September 22, 2004
Lexi Harris - Australia/New Zealand correspondent

I'm posting this fan encounter because I still can't believe that Charlie is missing. I would guess I am one of the last DriveSHAFT fans to see him before he left Australia, and it still makes me want to cry every time I think about it.

Let me go back to the beginning of the story. The night before he left Sydney, I saw Charlie do a live show at the Gaelic Club in Surrey Hills in Sydney. I had been totally pissed off that I had missed the impromptu gig at the Hope and Anchor, but then they announced it had been so successful that they had organized a real show. The Gaelic is a pretty small club and tickets sold out in about ten minutes. I missed getting one and had to pull some major strings to get a ticket.

On the night I managed to get myself right at the front of the stage to see him. It was an acoustic set and Charlie sang some DriveSHAFT songs and some of his own new stuff. The new songs were really interesting; much more melancholic and reflective and very different from the songs he writes for the band.

Watching him on stage, Charlie seemed different than when I saw DriveSHAFT last time in Sydney in January 2001. He actually looked really stressed and not like he was enjoying himself at all. He played for about an hour and then vanished off the stage, no encore, no nothing. I think some of the crowd were pretty pissed off; I know I was.

The next morning I happened to be at the Mascot Airport picking up a friend from an international flight. It was delayed (as usual) so I went to grab a coffee and there was Charlie sitting alone in the cafe.

I was tempted to go up and talk to him, but in the light of day he was looking awful and was giving out vibes that he just wanted to be left alone and so I didn't. He was wearing headphones and a grey and black striped top. When he saw me looking over his way he flipped his hooded sweatshirt over his head and concentrated on drinking his coffee. He was twitching around looking really uncomfortable and I was worried he might actually be sick.

The next thing I know he was pushing past my table to get to the bathroom. A few minutes later there was a last call for Oceanic 815 and he went past me looking much calmer and less stressed. I watched him walk through the doors to board the aircraft and he was gone. What I didn't realize at the time was that he was really gone, probably gone forever.