The Basics- Get Back Relaunch

This evening Tash and I met at Roxanne Parlour in Chinatown to see The Basics launch the re-release of their debut album from 2002 "Get Back." During the 45 minutes set we were treated to many of the songs on the album as well as covers of the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin" and The Police's "Roxanne" (in honor of the venue). Besides the gorgeous harmonies there was lots of humorous banter between songs about the history of the band and origins of the songs. It was a great warm-up for the August residency shows on Thursday nights at The Evelyn starting next week. Also in the crowd were Taka and Quang- I think they're stalking me.

Oh Mercy Equipment Fundraiser

Last night I headed over to The Evelyn Hotel for a benefit show for Oh Mercy. Their musical equipment was stolen a couple months ago in Sydney while on tour, so this was an attempt to raise some money to buy new gear. The evening opened up with Kimbra, a singer-songwriter originally from New Zealand. I thought her set was good- she used looping pedals for vocal and rhythm effects and did covers of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Gotye's "Hearts A Mess."

Next up was my favorite Japanese pop band The Hondas. Taka was once again a comedic shining light as he introduced a song by telling a story about a girl who left her watch in his room. He took it to Cash Convertors and bought a harmonica, which he proceeded to play on the next song. Funny stuff! Their set was a mix of old favorites and new songs they are recording for a new album, which will be out soon. Very exciting.

After The Hondas was Little Red's other side project band The Greasers. How lucky for me to have both groups on the same bill. I still have not managed to get a copy of The Greasers album, but they played a good set, including my favorite of theirs "Metamorphosis." Once they finished it was already late, and since I didn't have much time before I would have to leave for the tram I decided to head for home. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to miss Oh Mercy's set. However I'm hoping to catch them when they play down the road at the Brunswick Hotel in August.

Red Door Burlesque

Tonight a group of us from work headed over to the Order of Melbourne for the Red Door Burlesque show. Our table was right up against the stage, and by the time we finished eating our dinner, the show was ready to start. We were treated to an aerial artist, magician, and dancing from the Hi Ball Burlesque girls. The main reason we were there though was at the invite of one of our coworkers who was the intermission girl for the evening. It was a fun and entertaining ladies night for us all.

The Dark Knight

Tonight I met Tash and her friends at Hoyts in Melbourne Central to see the latest Batman film The Dark Knight. I haven't seen many of the previous movies, so I think I was lacking some elements of the back story that would have helped the plot for me. Overall it's a good film and I thought that Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker was fantastic. He was very funny in parts and increasingly psychotic as the film went on. The special effects are well done and would probably be insane to see on an IMAX screen.

The Basics

Last night after a tasty dinner at Tash's house, she, Belinda and I walked over to The Empress Hotel to see The Basics play. The show was a benefit for director Campbell Hynam-Smith to help fund his final project for film school. The place was packed and we really couldn't see Wally at all from where we were (only when he stood up from the drum kit a couple times). The hour long set was a mix of new songs and old favorites, and it was good to hear them play electric this time. They even had "ghost member" David Bramble with them on keyboards (he used to do IT work in our office). All in all it was a great night, and we look forward to catching them play again at their residency dates in August at The Evelyn.

Here is the video Campbell directed for "Lookin' Over My Shoulder"

Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2008-2009

John Galliano has outdone himself with this collection for Christian Dior Haute Couture.
Check out the show here (Part 1) and here (Part 2)