Alex Gow and Dan Kelly- The Australian Dreamers Tour

Alex Gow (Oh Mercy) and Dan Kelly's Australian Dreamers Tour has been working its way around the country for the past four weeks. Luckily for me there was a second swing through Victoria so Belinda and I took a little road trip to Geelong for tonight's final show of the tour at The Workers Club.

It was a small and intimate crowd at the venue (possibly due to Geelong playing footy this evening). Emma Russack was the opening act and did a solo set on electric guitar. She sounded good and I really enjoyed her last song about wishing she knew her famous older ex-boyfriend in his prime.

The format for these shows was Alex and Dan playing both solo and together on each other's songs. Alex came out first and opened the evening with "Lady Eucalyptus" and "Iron Cross" before Dan joined him on stage for "Sandy." It was then Alex's turn to depart as Dan played "Baby Bonus" and "Ex Bandido" solo. The guys were quite funny with their introductions to songs and assorted requests to the soundman for different vocal effects on their mics (e.g. whale, Mary MacKillop). Dan got the audience involved in singing along to the chorus for "Everything's Amazing" and "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam." The guys did a tropicalia version of Oh Mercy's "Drums" and a shortened "On The Run" off Dan's Leisure Panic! album.

Alex played "My Man" and "Deep Heat" solo, and was quite thrilled to no longer have to play the harmonica solo again for the later after tonight (I actually didn't mind the harmonica as it was a bit of a throw back to those early Oh Mercy shows). Dan and Alex rejoined forces for "Never Stop The Rot" and ended the evening with a very psychedelic version of "Dan Kelly's Dream" which had Alex on keys and samples and also included a bit of Canned Heat's "On The Road Again." It was a great show and I wish I had been in town to catch the earlier Melbourne date.

Here are a couple songs Alex and Dan did together in May as part of Tram Sessions:

The School Of Life Secular Sermon: On (Not) Knowing

It's been a while since I went to Sunday mass, so I was intrigued to learn about The School of Life's Secular Sermons. Belinda joined me this morning at Deakin Edge in Federation Square to see comedian Lawrence Leung speak about the topic On (Not) Knowing. Of course any service should have some music, and the morning began with Dan Kelly singing three of his songs solo on acoustic guitar: "Baby Bonus" (with one of my favorite lyrics, "Baby was born in the morning, traditional Cesarean style"), "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam" where he got the crowd to sing along to the chorus, and "Catholic Leader." Dan sounded great in the acoustics of the room, and used his sound effects peddles to add to the vibes of each song.

It was then time for Lawrence's sermon about his obsession with the unknown and curiosity leading to trying to find the answer. But do we really need to know everything? Throughout his presentation Lawrence argued the “not knowing” of something is the catalyst that drives human endeavour, science and other things. He did psychological tests, magic, discussed coincidence and why we easily fall for hoaxes - it's all in the drive to "know" the answer. Lawrence was quite entertaining and his magic tricks were amazing. I'm still trying to figure out how he did a couple of them. To close the service Dan came back out and sang "I Will Release Myself (Unto You)."

Liam Finn and Dan Kelly- The Shadow Electric

Tonight was Finn Kelly 2.0 at The Shadow Electric at Abbotsford Convent with Liam Finn and Dan Kelly playing a dual headline show together. Opening proceedings was Palm Springs who played a solo set on electric guitar as her drummer had just had a baby.

It was the Kelly family band with Dan on guitar and his cousins Maddy and Memphis doing backing vocals. They started the night with "Baby Bonus" and then launched into "The Catholic Leader" (an appropriate song considering the venue). Dan gave hilariously detailed explanations to intro each of his songs, and apologised for working blue throughout the night. The set was more subdued due to not having the full band like at his album launch a few weeks ago. Highlights included "Never Stop The Rot, "Gold Coast Man," "Drunk On Election Night" and "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam." The set closed with "Dan Kelly's Dream" complete with a conga line going through the crowd.

Liam Finn came out onto the stage wearing a black beaded jacket over his black shirt and was joined by EJ Barnes. It was just like old times as they began their set with "Fire In Your Belly" and "Better To Be" and used loops to create the layers of sound. It's been over 4 years since I last saw Liam do a proper live show here (not counting last week's SUCCESS performance) so it was exciting to get the chance to hear many of these old songs live again, as well as The Nihilist tracks for the first time. EJ sang "On Your Side" from the Champagne In Seashells EP, and "Second Chance" had Liam hopping onto the drum kit at the end.

They brought out their bandmate Jim to play bass and then kicked into some tracks off the new album, including "Snug As Fuck," "Miracle Glance" (complete with theremin), "Ocean Emmanuelle" and my favorite "Burn Up The Road." Liam made up a song on the spot for Mistletone Records, who put together this little tour. He also played the New Zealand national anthem on guitar to counter Dan's Australia tracksuit jacket and his playing of the Australian national anthem earlier (Liam did note he was wearing all black). To finish off the main set they played "I'll Be Lightning" and had everyone singing along at the end. For the encore Liam stripped off his shirt and put on the beaded jacket and got Dan out on stage to do an energetic cover of Devo's "Gut Feeling." It was an amazing finish to a fantastic double bill and a great way to spend my Thanksgiving night.

Here is one of the best videos Liam has ever made: "Wrestle With Dad"

Dan Kelly- Leisure Panic! Tour

Dan Kelly has been out on the road in support of his fantastic new album Leisure Panic! and tonight was the last show of the tour at The Gasometer Hotel. Ben Ely was the opening act, doing a solo set on acoustic guitar. He played songs off his new solo album Goodbye Machine as well as a couple Regurgitator tracks. Next up was Jess Ribeiro and her band, who played an alt-country tinged set.

The stage was decorated with LED rope lights before Dan took the stage with his Dream Band, who were all dressed in sporty gear with the girls wearing tennis outfits and the boys in cycling lycra (I assume for Halloween). The set list featured many tracks from Leisure Panic! with its stories of adventure and humorous lyrics. Highlights were "Baby Bonus," "Creme De La Creme De La Creme," "Never Stop The Rot," "Gold Coast Man," and the epic transcendental track "On The Run," which was absolutely brilliant. We also were treated to a few older songs with "The Catholic Leader," "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam" and "Drunk On Election Night," which Dan played solo as an encore to finish off the night. It was such an entertaining evening and great to get to see Dan play in such an intimate setting.

Here's the hilarious video for "Never Stop The Rot"

Paul Kelly- The A to Z Shows

Tonight was the second night of Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly's A-Z shows at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles.  Paul was accompanied on stage by his nephew Dan Kelly for the shows.  We got songs from his catalogue starting with the letters M- Z, including "The Oldest Story in the Book," "Randwick Bells," "To Her Door," "When I First Met Your Ma," "Winter Coat," "You're 39, You're Beautiful and You're Mine" and "Zoe."  Since Paul did not have a "Q" song, he let Dan do one of his own- "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam" off his latest album Dan Kelly's Dream, complete with the audience singing along to the chorus.  The show was fantastic and it was a privilege to see Paul play in such an intimate venue (and for much cheaper than it would cost in Australia).  I also got to catch up with my friend Nancy and her husband after the show, which was nice.

Dan Kelly with The Ukeladies

Tonight Tash and I met at The Spiegeltent down by the Arts Centre to see Dan Kelly and The Ukeladies. This was our first time in The Spiegeltent, and it is a small and intimate venue to see a show. Shortly after taking our seats near the front Dan Kelly hit the stage and started out solo before being joined by The Ukeladies for the majority of the set. He was quite hilarious with his intros and played some old and new songs. "Drunk on Election Night" was a highlight solely for the vulgar lyrics sing-a-long. Their new single together about global warming, "The SUV Song" can be heard here. They also did an amazing cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U." Overall it was a very entertaining hour plus set and I would definitely recommend checking out Dan if he's playing a show near you.

The Good Shepherd's Circus Pie Classic

You probably never thought that an "Iron Chef" inspired cooking contest mixed with rock music would be a good way to raise money for charity, but that's what happened tonight at the Corner Hotel. The beneficiaries were Good Shephard youth and family services. Ruth, Michelle, Belinda and I were treated to the mad culinary skills of Scott Owen and Andy Strachan from The Living End, Died Pretty’s Ron Peno, Ally Spazzy, Rebecca Barnard, Macromantics, Dan Kelly, Angie Hart, Lindsay MacDougall (Frenzal Rhomb), Candy Bowers (Sista She), Bob Log III, Link Meanie, Lisa Miller, PBS’s Kene Lightfoot, Paddy Donovan (The Age), RRR’s Holly C, Mia Dyson, and Dallas Crane front man Dave Larkin. The food was judged by Epicure’s John Lethlean, Mecca’s Cath Claringbold, and Andrew McConnell from Three One Two and we were given updates from the commentary panel of Helen Razer (774), Clem Bastow (The Age), and Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s creative director Matt Preston.

There were two 30-minute heats with two teams competing each round, and then the winners took part in a 15-minute dessert challenge. The secret ingredients were mushrooms (heat 1), chicken (heat 2), and bananas (final heat). Some of the dishes were fantastic, others were shocking, but in the end the best (and my favorite) team prevailed: Rebecca Barnard, Ally Spazzy, Ron Peno, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan! We were lucky enough to get to taste test Andy's chicken dumplings from heat 2, and they were delicious. Best band of the night was Little Red- I was impressed with their gorgeous harmonies and songs. One reviewer called them "The Beach Boys meets The Strokes." I think they could become huge and I eagerly await the release of their debut EP.