A Decade After Their Debut, THE AUDREYS Celebrate Their Award-Winning Between Last Night & Us Albums With A Special Tour

Performing The Album & Other Audreys Favourites

It’s hard to believe it has been over a decade since The Audreys released their debut offering Between Last Night & Us… 11 years in fact. The 10^th anniversary sort of snuck up on the duo last year, so the celebrations are a little late, but no less exciting and the upcoming tour – aptly titled Between Last Night & Us is going to be a special trip down memory lane, and back again. With a string of dates that not only include some of The Audreys’ favourite city venues, but also some out of the way spots they played back in the early days.

As the Adelaide folk-rockers noted on social media, they would have celebrated last year on the more momentous 10^th anniversary, but Tristan (Goodall) was drunk in a bar somewhere and Taasha (Coates) was running around America trying to bag a cowboy. Never a duo to toe the line of conformity, their originality and unique style is what stood The Audreys apart when they released their debut back in 2006. The album – produced by Shane O’Mara – smashed out two radio favourites with Oh Honey and You & Steve McQueen and reached Gold status. It also became the soundtrack to a six-part ABC series Rain Shadow that was nominated for both Logie and AFI Awards. Between Last Night & Us was also the start of a winning streak for the band, being the first album to win them an ARIA for the blues and roots category – two more ARIAs followed for subsequent releases.

For Taasha and Tristan, it is a surreal journey to look back on – four full-length albums and more nights on the road than they can count. “It has been a wild ride, that’s for sure,” says Taasha. “We started this thing with high hopes and open hearts and now we’ve played gigs in some crazy places, including an underground nightclub in Moscow, a Scottish graveyard and a French record store. Ah, we were such dreamers.”

Getting back out on the road, especially after a hiatus – for drinking and chasing cowboys – was always high on the priority list for the duo, so a momentous anniversary was the perfect reason. “We wanted an excuse to get out there and play some shows, it is our favourite thing to do after all,” says Taasha. “We weren’t feeling ready to put out a new record just to tour. We miss our peeps though and thought this would be a nice way to see all the lovely folks who’ve stuck with us over the last 11 years, and reassure them all that we still care… and that we won’t be abandoning them just yet.”

While the 10^th anniversary might have passed by publicly, the musical connection between Tristan and Taasha is still evident, so of course there was some form of private celebration. According to Tristan, it was a massive night – although considering Taasha has absolutely no memory of the night in question, there are bets on whether or not it was made up or imagined. “I could be wrong, but I think we were actually celebrating together in Darwin after playing a show,” says Tristan. “I remember there was a guy in the bar smoking a cigarette with a baby crocodile asleep on his forearm and we were trying to clink our drinks together gently so as not to spill them on the dozing predator.”

In an effort to recreate the days of old – and that chemistry from back in the Between The Night & Us era – The Audreys have pulled long-time friend / sibling and collaborator Cameron Goodall back into the fold for the tour. An essential member during the recording of the debut offering, it made sense that he was part of the excitement. While everyone is now 10 (ahem, 11) years older… with more grown-up commitments, somethings never change and that’s the music.

“We don’t just pile into the Kombi with a six-pack and hit the gas with no thought to what we might be leaving behind, and what might still be there when we return, that’s for sure,” says Tristan. “We tend to fly in and fly out these days, ensuring our iPhones are charged and our loved ones are fully prepped. The shows still rock though!”

Between The Night & Us is definitely one of those albums that every music fan should have in their collection – and this is a history-making tour not to be missed. The Audreys have been digging through the archives in preparation and have found a limited number of original vinyl pressings of the album, and other exciting items. After all, it is all about the memories.

“We will also have some incredible vintage merchandise, including a handful of original Between tees and other assorted goodies,” says Taasha. “Dear to our hearts, though, will be the very limited edition first pressing DigiPacks from back in the day. Oh, they are gorgeous.”

Tickets for The Audreys Between Last Night & Us tour are on sale now.