Stones support a gas for Preatures
Isabella Manfredi say she'll never forget meeting the Rolling Stones backstage earlier this month when her Sydney band the Preatures supported the rock legends in the Hunter Valley.
However, the irrepressible singer known as Izzi was anything but overwhelmed by the experience.
"Mick (Jagger) sort of went in for the fist pump with me and I said 'I'm not doing that'," Manfredi laughs during a brief Melbourne stopover en route to a gig in Hobart.
"He looked at me and went 'Oh, you're the singer - you guys are great', gave me a couple of kisses and all that kind of stuff. Who knows? They might say that to everybody."
Manfredi's highlight was some semi-coherent encouragement from Keith Richards and watching drummer Luke Davison go into shock discussing drum skins with Charlie Watts.
Due to support the Stones at the cancelled Hanging Rock concert, the Preatures had to make the most of their one shot in the Hunter on November 15.
While Manfredi reckons a few nerves usually leads to a good show, the feisty rocker admits dealing with the psychological effect of opening for the greatest rock'n'roll band of all time was tough.
"You don't get a sound check, you're just flung on to the stage," she says. "I would've liked to have played for longer and gotten all of the tension out, the nerves out - we didn't quite do that - but it wasn't our show."
The Stones gig came two shows into their national tour in support of near-perfect debut album Blue Planet Eyes, released in September.
The album, which contains the hit Is This How You Feel? and superb latest single Somebody's Talking, has put the Preatures on the map.
The five-piece formed six years ago when bassist Thomas Champion and guitarist (and Manfredi's boyfriend) Jack Moffitt met Izzi at the Australian Institute of Music. In previous interviews, Manfredi has described their early output as "bad Rolling Stones covers".
Tomorow the Preatures will attend the ARIA Awards, where they are nominated for the public- voted best Australian live act award.
After the ARIAs, national tour and a couple of festivals in late December, Manfredi hopes to go on a couple of week's holiday with Moffitt, or at least watch a few Law & Order marathons.
She's not holding her breath. With next single, the Divinyls- esque album highlight Ordinary, out this week and the up-tempo Cruel likely to be released early next year, life as a Preature will continue to be one long blur.
