Wes Carr Rock and Rolls into Tasmania

When I contact musician Wes Carr on the phone to talk to him about his upcoming tour to Tasmania as part of ‘Rolling Thunder Vietnam’ co-incidentally I discover that he is in Tassie ,down at the docks as we speak! Wes calls the Hobart Waterfront ‘incredible’, and of Tassie ‘s pristine fresh air he ‘loves it’. On this particular visit he is here with his mate, chef, Pete Evans.

Ironically,while Wes is enjoying the serenity of Hobart, ironically our talk turns to the tumult of war and the touring production of ‘Rolling Thunder Vietnam’.

The show Wes tells me is a concert drama that tells the story of young men, some only 19, devastated and drafted by conscription to Vietnam and the long standing effect of this on the men and their families..

The production will feature monologues and Wes says ‘its raw,intense theatre that evokes emotion and anger’.

‘There is a contradiction between the beautiful music of the era and the ugliness of war’. These are the songs that a generation, including Wes himself, grew up with, including one of his favourites ‘What’s going on’ by Marvin Gaye. These songs inspired people to protest and action. The songs themselves became a form of communicating the feelings of the time. Nowadays such a call to action and protest is not as strong as it once was with the advent of the internet and its version of less physical but in just as effective protest.

Wes says acting in such a production makes him a strong defender of peace because ‘Altercation and conflict drags us down’. Wes believes a passion for peace it needs to be filtered from our classrooms from stopping bullying up. Now Wes is a Dad he is even more committed to working towards a peaceful world.

You can see ‘Rolling Thunder Vietnam’ Tuesday 16 September at Wrest Point Entertainment Centre.
Paula Xiberras