ANZAC Day Match

Today is ANZAC Day, the Australian and New Zealand equivalent of Memorial Day. Besides the dawn service and veterans marches, there is also the tradition of the annual footy match between Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG. Jonathan joined me on the day and wore the Essendon colors even though he is a Melbourne supporter. We had standing room tickets near the members' section, and were surrounded by Collingwood fans (more on that later). I knew going into this game that either we would play well and win or get destroyed. Unfortunately, the later was the case and it was all pretty much over after the first quarter. The boys seem to have lost all their confidence and had so many skill errors. We could not move the ball inside 50 and often if we did it got turned over. We were dominated by Collingwood all day and at the end of the match it was a disappointing 65 point loss. I have a feeling this is going to be a long season.

Being at the footy surrounded by the people we were made me wonder why no one has done a sitcom focused on footy fans. Jonathan and I were amazed by all the different characters standing around us. There was the loud guy who would start cheers or rebuke the fans of the other team's cheering efforts. There was the one liner guy who I am convinced spends his week coming up with lines about various players to shout out at the game and impress his friends. Then there were the hangers on or yes men, who are big, burly, and you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley. At least they all provided some entertainment on a depressing afternoon.

Final Score
Essendon: 8.7 (55)
Collingwood: 18.12 (120)

The Good China April Residency

This month The Good China are doing a Tuesday night residency at The Evelyn. Tash is such a hard core fan that she drove down from Ballarat to see them play. She came by and picked me up and then we headed to Brunswick Street. We ate dinner at Bimbo Deluxe, sharing our $4 pizzas and then indulging in the chocolate dessert pizza (kind of a pain au chocolat).

We arrived at The Evelyn for the start of the second support act Mercury White. The lead singer switched between keyboards and a keytar! Though hard to pinpoint, the band have a bit of an Irish rock sound to them and some songs reminded me of New York City band Black 47. They got a group of people up on stage with them to play percussion and sing along for "Sticks and Stones." It was an energetic set.

The Good China opened the evening with "No More Maps." There were a few issues they had to deal with this week, including a leaking roof and some of the band members having the flu. However, they persevered and put on a solid set of old and new songs. It was good to hear my favorite "If Pain Persists" and "Turn the Page." Each week the band are taking requests from fans for a cover song to perform at the each show. This week we got Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)," which was a fitting choice because Arcade Fire was one of the bands that inspired them to form The Good China two years ago. They finished their set with "We Found 3 Whistles" and then came out to do "All Nothing" for the encore.