Beck- Colors Tour

It's been five years since Beck last played in Australia, and a couple of decades since I last saw him live during university in the mid-1990s. Surprisingly only the front half of Margaret Court Arena was used for this show. The opening act was Australian artist Meg Mac, who played her own soulful tracks with her full band as well as a cover of Tame Impala's "Let It Happen" (which she had previously done on Triple J's Like a Version).

Beck's band entered the stage first before he joined them to launch into "Devil's Haircut." It was a powerhouse opening with well known tracks such as "Black Tambourine," "The New Pollution" and "Mixed Bizness" in the first part of the set. Throughout the evening Beck danced around the stage, did poses and was generally his cool self. He slowed things down a bit with an acoustic section that included a sing along to part of Prince's "Raspberry Beret," a bit of "Debra" by audience request (where Beck replaced Debra with Shelia a couple times), and the Sea Change/Morning Phase tracks "Lost Cause" and "Blue Moon."

It was the songs from Beck's latest album Colors that I was really eager to hear, and they were played in the second part of the set with "Seventh Heaven" (one of the first times they've played it live) "I'm So Free," "Wow," "Dreams" and "Up All Night." They all sounded great and kept the energy going. To close the main set they tore through E-Pro, and then for the encore Beck came out in a white blazer and hat and played "Loser." The final song of the night was an extended version of "Where It's At," which included mini band introductions to their own song such as Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime," The Rolling Stones' "Miss You," and The Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It To The Streets." Beck got on harmonica for a bit of his own song "One Foot In The Grave" before the band reprised "Where It's At" to finish the evening. Beck put on such an amazing live show both musically and visually and he seriously doesn't look like he has aged one bit.

Here's the video for "Wow"

Neil and Liam Finn- Zoo Twilights

For the past two nights I have been at the Melbourne Zoo to see Neil Finn and Liam Finn play two of their three sold out Zoo Twilights shows. Opening both nights was Donny Benet (Kirin J Callinan; Jack Ladder and The Dreamleaders) and his show band. He played a set of 1980s yacht rock and smooth jazz inspired songs. His intros to each song were quite humorous as he took us on a journey with tracks such as "Santorini" and "Konichiwa" from his latest album The Don.

Neil and Liam Finn have recently recorded their first album together, which is due out later in 2018. These shows allowed them to preview some of these new tracks along with old favorites from each of their back catalogues. Joined by the Finn family band, we got similar set lists on both nights. You can definitely hear Liam's influence on the new songs, with "Meet Me In The Air" and "Anger Plays A Part" (Friday only) being the standouts for me. While I was hoping we would get to hear some of Neil's latest solo album Out Of Silence live for the first time, the only track that was played was "Chameleon Days" on Friday night.

The Split Enz tracks got a good reaction from the crowd with the hits "I Got You," "History Never Repeats" (Saturday only) and "Message To My Girl," which included a surprise marriage proposal on stage on Friday night (thankfully she said yes). I really enjoyed hearing the Liam solo tracks "Fire In Your Belly" (Saturday only), "Cold Feet," "Miracle Glance" (complete with theremin solo) and the energy of "Second Chance" and "Better To Be," with its dramatic frozen pause by the band in the middle of the song.

As expected there were a few funny moments at each show. On Friday night there was a walkway in front of the stage, and Neil encouraged people to dance their way across and included commentary on their efforts (the kids really brought it). Neil and Liam were happy to be back in Melbourne and joked about wanting to film a new video for the album at the Royal Woman’s Hospital that would reenact Liam’s birth (I think Sharon was slightly horrified). On Saturday night the band members gave us zoo facts about meerkats, lemurs and butterflies. Let's just say I don't think all of them were true.

The Crowded House songs constituted a large portion of the set list on both nights. The Together Alone tracks dominated with "Pineapple Head," "Distant Sun" and "Private Universe," followed closely behind by the Woodface tracks "Four Seasons In One Day" and "Weather With You." Everyone sang along to "Don't Dream It's Over" at the end of the set, with the surprise inclusion of "Better Be Home Soon" to close out Saturday night, complete with Liam and Sharon Finn slow dancing together and Sharon dipping Liam. Overall both nights were fun, and it will be interesting to hear the new Neil and Liam album when it is released.

Here's the video for Neil's single "Chameleon Days"

White Night Melbourne 2018

It's one of my favorite events of the year - White Night Melbourne! This year the crowds seemed a bit smaller than in previous years (noting that I arrived around 1am). While there were some interesting works, I didn't feel this White Night was as strong as other ones I've been to. These were my highlights from the evening:

In the Queen Victoria Gardens was the whimsical Neon Dog Park installation by Carla O'Brien. People had lots of fun interacting with these glowing dogs.

There was a bit of a space theme in the Alexandra Gardens with the inflatable installations of the solar system La Terra Al Centro Dell' Universo by Namaste Europa and the spaceman coming out of the ground Calling Occupants by Felipe Reynolds.

Floating over the Yarra River were the illuminated birds of Le Bal des Lumineoles by Christophe Martine, which added some movement to the night skyline.

The Flinders Street light projections The Secret Life of Buildings by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas highlighted different eras of pop culture. These projections were more static than in previous years, with the ones on The Forum being the best of the three buildings.

In St Paul's Cathedral was a fantastic piece by Victoria University's Skunk Control with Altar to the Future. It appeared to change colors due to the large rotating circular portal that you viewed the work through. It was exciting to see them have a piece at White Night as I've been such a fan of their windows at the Gertrude Street Projection Festival.

At the Melbourne Town Hall were more beautiful light projections by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas to accompany the Guerrilla Opera performances by BK Opera on the verandah. It was a nice respite to stop and listen to them sing.

One of the most innovative pieces of the evening was PlusMinusZero by Alexander Mitchell. Incorporating projections onto a large paste-up mural in a car park off Lonsdale Street, you could download the EyeJack app to see the work come to life in augmented reality.

Inside the State Library Reading Room was another work by DAE White Night and The Electric Canvas called The Secret Life of Books, which showed what might happen to the books after hours in the library.

The site at Carlton Gardens expanded to include even more works this year. Phantasmagoria by Christopher Langton was a fantasy land of giant inflatable toys and animals as you walked toward the Royal Exhibition Building.

The highlight of the light projections was What If... on the Royal Exhibition Building by Limelight Projection Mapping. The 3D video mapped projection made it look like the building was changing shape and it raised the bar from previous years.

Finally, on the Melbourne Museum Plaza were two interesting pieces. One was The Serpent Mother by Flaming Lotus Girls, which was a reptile with a moving head that had flames coming out of its spine. The other was Birdmen by Close-Act, where these Technosauruses roamed around the plaza as the puppeteers on stilts interacted with people and each other.

Father John Misty- Pure Comedy Tour

As part of his sideshows for the Laneway Festival, Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) played a sold out show tonight at The Forum in support of his latest album Pure Comedy. This was a bigger, more traditional rock venue than when he came through town last year. Opening the evening was Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders. They mainly played new tracks off their upcoming album, with the single "Susan" being my favorite song in the set.

The driving drum beat of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" kicked off Father John Misty's set as he walked out on stage. It was a sign of things to come as his first two albums featured prominently in the set list, which mixed some deep album cuts along with better known tracks such as "Nancy From Now On," "Only Son Of A Ladiesman," "Fun Times In Babylon," "Chateau Lobby #4 (In C For Two Virgins)," "Bored In The USA" and "I Love You, Honeybear."

Josh himself was unusually quiet for most of the evening and limited his banter in between songs. The middle section of the set was more slow and country tinged, which could have been a hint at his mood. One of the most meta moments of the evening was when he performed "The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt." complete with the video which stars him in all the roles playing on the screen behind him.

I was happy we did get some Pure Comedy tracks in the second half of the two hour set, including "Total Entertainment Forever," "Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution" "Ballad Of The Dying Man" and "Pure Comedy," which kicked off the encore. It was during the encore that someone in the crowd started blowing bubbles, which made Josh crack a smile as they flew past him on stage. The night finished with "Holy Shit" and a rocking version of "The Ideal Husband." It sounds like there is a new album on the horizon for this year, so hopefully he will be back soon for another show in Melbourne.

Here's the video for "Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution":

NGV Triennial

The NGV Triennial is an international exhibition of over 100 contemporary artists and designers from 32 countries that opened in mid-December 2017. It showcases works in different media across cultures, scales, geographies and perspectives throughout all four levels of the NGV International.

Ebony and I went this morning to check out the exhibition before it got too crowded. These were my main highlights out of the many different pieces we saw. On the ground floor was the large sculpture installation Eternity-Buddha in Nirvana.... by Chinese artist Xu Zhen, which combined replicas of Buddhist and Greco-Roman, Renaissance and Neoclassical sculptures.

American artist Pae White's (Untitled) installation used paint and acrylic cord in different colors to create three-dimensional shapes that ran across the room and from the floor to the ceiling. As you moved around the space you got a different perspective on each piece. The room was slightly disorienting and I worried that I might accidentally bump into one of the pieces.

Another cool and interactive room was the immersive digital installation Moving creates vortices and vortices create movement by the Japanese art collective teamLab. As people moved around the room sensors created a continuum of digital particles on the floor. Therefore, the faster you moved, the stronger the vortex or flow became.

One of the most popular pieces in the exhibition is Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's Flower obsession. Created as a little apartment, each attendee is given a red flower sticker to place anywhere in the various rooms as you walk through. Over time, all the surfaces will become covered in red flowers.

Upstairs on Level 1 is one of the most creative fashion collections I've had the pleasure of seeing in person. Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei's spring-summer 2017 couture collection Legend was inspired by the Cathedral of Saint Gall in Switzerland. The pieces are ornate and beautiful, and you can also watch footage of the fashion show to see how the garments move.

One of the most confronting works in the Triennial is Australian artist Ron Mueck's Mass, which is located on Level 2 within the historical collection galleries. The piece is comprised of 100 large-scale sculptures of human skulls that are mainly piled up in one half of the room. It reminds you of the Paris catacombs as well as genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and other places.

The NGV Triennial is free and runs until 15 April 2018. Definitely make an effort to check it out if you are in Melbourne.