The Complete Story
“We are not a dance band!”
But after nearly 40 years of playing live, they know how to read a crowd and give them what they want.
Peter Thompson, Pete Byrne, Jay Harvey and Ron Wenzler are Complete Barstools — four musicians whose history stretches back to Melbourne’s pub-rock scene of the late 1980s and early ’90s. Back then, it was loud, gritty and occasionally a little rude — big amps, drums and everything turned up to eleven.
By the early 2000s, Complete Barstools had traded the big amps and drums — and anything else too heavy to carry — for acoustic guitars, rich vocal harmonies and intricate guitar parts.
Their sets draw on great songs from across the decades: Australian favourites from Cold Chisel, Powderfinger, Pete Murray, Richard Clapton and Paul Kelly; American classics from the Eagles, America, Tom Petty and John Mellencamp; and British favourites including The Beatles, Supertramp, Elton John and Joe Jackson.
The songs are given the Barstools treatment — stripped back, rearranged and built around four voices and acoustic guitars.
Four blokes. A few acoustic guitars. Four decades of history. And a lot of great songs.
Complete Barstools — they’re not a dance band, but you might find yourself singing along.
