Working in the Melbourne CBD allows you a plethora of choice for excellent lunch options. Normally I pack a lunch (because I would be broke if I ate out everyday) but sometimes it is good to escape the office and grab a meal with coworkers. These are a few of my favorite places to get a bite to eat.
Mamasita (Level 1/11 Collins Street): There have been many Mexican restaurants that have opened in Melbourne over the past couple of years, but I still consider Mamasita to be the best. The key to getting a table at lunchtime is to get there before 12:30 pm. All the food is light, fresh and flavorful with a variety of options on the menu depending on what you feel like eating. My favorites include the chips and salsa, tostaditas, fish tacos and the chickpea fritters.
China Red (Shop 6/206 Bourke Street): Located down an arcade by JB Hi-Fi, China Red is the place to go for dumplings in the city. Add in touch screen ordering and it is a very efficient lunch trip as the food comes out quickly. My top three picks on the menu are the pan fried pork dumplings, pork won tons in spicy sauce, and their signature dish the Shanghai Shao-Long-Bao.
Wonderbao (Shop 4/19-37 A'Beckett Street): Continuing the Asian theme, steamed buns (bao) became big over the last year, with Wonderbao leading the pack. Located in a laneway near the RMIT campus, Wonderbao puts an updated spin on your normal steamed buns, and are best known for their gua bao. All the food here is really great, including their amazing egg custard buns. The prices are also a steal due to their proximity to the university and student clientele. Seating is limited, but you can usually get a spot in the alley if all the seats are taken inside (it's best to go when the weather is nice).
Mr Burger (428 Little Bourke Street): Another big food trend in Melbourne over the past year has been hamburgers, and Mr Burger is definitely the best I have found. Starting out as a food truck they recently opened a store in the CBD and also have a semi-permanent spot at the Queen Victoria Market. There are three different burgers to choose from (Mr Burger, Mr Meat and Mr Veg) along with a side of chips. I've only had Mr Burger so far and it is a great classic cheeseburger. The brioche buns are what make them so tasty.
Bowery To Williamsburg (16 Oliver Lane): The current fad on the Melbourne food scene is American, with a focus on Southern cooking and New York style deli. The recently opened and appropriately named Bowery To Williamsburg has the New York deli vibe down pat. For $16.50 you can get a sandwich and side of your choice, along with some pretzels and a pickle. The reuben sandwich is quite good, and the mac and cheese side is delicious. There are also bagels with lox and schmears, as well as some yummy desserts including New York cheesecake and pumpkin pie tarts (although I will say that my pumpkin pie is better than theirs).
So those are some of my favorite places- what are your recommendations for places to eat in the Melbourne CBD?
I was secretly happy when a second Melbourne show was announced by Hungry Kids of Hungary at the Northcote Social Club. I always love to see bands at more intimate venues, so Mary and I took advantage of this opportunity and bought tickets for last night's show. After catching up over dinner we headed into the bandroom for the first act of the night, indie rock band Lurch & Chief. Next up was Split Seconds, who we saw open for Oh Mercy last year. They played a great set and the lead singer had funny stories to tell to explain the origins of their songs. They did a cover of Paul Kelly's "Little Decisions" and mixed in a bit of Edwyn Collins' "A Girl Like You" during their final song.
Hungry Kids of Hungary opened the evening with "Litter and Sand" and played songs spanning all of their releases, including the rarely played "One By One" and "Old Money" from their first two EPs. The harmonies from the boys were soaring as always, and the front of the crowd was dancing and singing along to favorites such as "Wristwatch," "Let Me Down," "Scattered Diamonds," "Sharp Shooter," and "Twin Cities." The band were so humble and appreciative of the Melbourne audience that continues to support them and would come out to see them on a weeknight. They stayed on stage instead of going off and back on for an encore, and finished the night with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." If you haven't bought their latest release You're A Shadow yet you need to get it- it's a fantastic album.
Here's the video for the latest single "Do Or Die," which was shot in Scotland:
You can tell a federal election is on because the rhetoric around asylum seekers has become over the top. From Tony Abbott's mantra to "stop the boats" to Kevin Rudd's PNG solution, there is a distinct lack of focus on the human element of this issue. Last night Tash and I attended the Rock The Boat concert to benefit both the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Australian Greens candidate Adam Bandt MP's campaign to retain his Melbourne seat.
The first two acts of the evening were mainstays of the Melbourne music scene in the 1990s. Even played more of an acoustic set, while a reformed Snout came out firing with a very energetic set that got a great response from the packed crowd. I have a feeling many came to the gig specifically to see them play. After a short interview by MC Alan Brough with Adam Bandt and a representative from Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, hip hop act Joelistics took to the stage. Joel started with some slam poetry before launching into songs off his album Voyager. He was very entertaining and even sampled Dolly Parton's "Jolene" in one number. Although he was worried it wasn't his type of crowd, I'm pretty sure he managed to win everyone over by the end.
I don't think the final act for the night, The Basics, knew how to follow Joelistics, and that coupled with technical difficulties made for a bit of a shambolic start. Kris seemed drunk, which always adds an air of danger to their set as Tash and I have witnessed in the past during a few of their residencies. After an abortion joke at the end of "She's Gonna B. Late" his bass decided to cut out in the middle of "The No. 1 Cause Of Death Amongst Youth Today." Kris then invited people to hit the bar during the slower number "Feels Like Love." It wasn't until Tim Heath's Paul Kellyesque spoken word intro to "Hey Rain" that they managed to turn a corner. Who would have thought that Tim would be the one to rescue the set? Dave Bramble joined the boys on keys for the rest of the set as they played "Have Love, Will Travel," "Rattle My Chain," "Lovin' Man" and then finished with some call and response on "Call It Rhythm And Blues." It was certainly an entertaining second show back and proves that you never know what might happen at a Basics gig.
It has been nearly three years since all three members of The Basics shared the stage together, so Tash and I were super excited when a "secret show" was announced for last night at The Post Office Hotel in Coburg. After three days of rehearsals the boys were somewhat ready to play live to a packed yet intimate venue. Coming out wearing brand new matching navy blue pinstriped suits, they started the evening with "Money (Gimme, Gimme)." The set list featured a lot of older songs, including "She's Gonna B. Late," traditional set opener "Yeah Yeah," "Can You Trust Me?" and "Hey C'mon!" which had some nice additional harmonies. The show overall was quite loose with lots of funny moments throughout the night. Some of the best came from Tim, who sang lead on a few songs and when he couldn't remember the lyrics would start singing random things in French.
You could clearly see that the boys were enjoying playing live together again. "Just Hold On," "With This Ship" and new single "So Hard For You" had most of the people in the crowd singing along. I was happy to hear my favorite "The No. 1 Cause Of Death Amongst Youth Today" and "What Do You See In Me?" off the Keep Your Friends Close album. During the extended encore Wally donned a red wig to match the hair of his fellow bandmates. We were also treated to great versions of "Call It Rhythm And Blues," "Lookin' Over My Shoulder" and Wally's very accurate impersonation of screaming goats before they finished the night with a cover of AC/DC's "Jailbreak." It was a fantastic hour and 45 minutes of old time Basics fun that I have really missed. I'm so glad they are back playing live and look forward to all the upcoming shows in Melbourne.
Here's the video for the latest single "So Hard For You"
Melbourne is known for its food, art and sports culture, and since there is always so much on it is easy to find activities relating to all three things to do in one day! Food trucks have been slowly taking off here over the past couple years, and a new event called Trailer Park has started at Village Melbourne on St Kilda Road where a group of food trucks are featured each month on Saturdays and Sundays. Tash, Carly and I met up for lunch there yesterday, and were able to sample some food trucks we haven't tried yet. We shared tacos from Cornutopia, a mesquite smoked pulled pork po' boy from Gumbo Kitchen, and a combo plate from The Curry Truck. Of the three my favorite was the po' boy, but they all tasted good. For dessert we each picked a different flavor creme brulee from The Brulee Cart, which while tasty was not worth the price considering the size of the serve. Trailer Park has a great atmosphere and we look forward to coming back in September to sample the next group of food trucks.
Tash and I then headed to the NGV to catch the Monet's Garden exhibition. It mainly featured paintings Claude Monet did of his garden at Giverny in northern France, including the waterlilies and Japanese bridge he is most famous for. It was so interesting to see these impressionist paintings up close and compare the variation of colors used to paint the same setting at different times of the day. I didn't realise that later in life Monet had cataracts issues which affected his vision and perception of color. Thankfully he was able to have surgery to restore his sight, but it must have been fairly devastating to go through that as an artist. At the end of the exhibition there is this great panoramic film of the gardens at Giverny which makes you want to go there to visit it in person. The exhibition is on until 8 September so if you are in Melbourne get down to the NGV to check it out.
After a mulled apple cider at the Tram Bar outside the NGV we hopped onto a train to get to Etihad Stadium for the twilight match between Essendon and North Melbourne. Tash's cousin Nick O'Brien was starting in the team this week, and we were fortunate enough to get tickets from Tash's aunt. The Bombers have not been playing well for the past month, and with the interim ASADA report on last year's supplements program and the club and senior officials being charged this week by the AFL for bringing the game into disrepute, I did not have high hopes for this match. The skill level was poor throughout the game and we paid the price for errors on the scoreboard. Although the boys finally showed a bit of life in the fourth quarter it was way too late and we ended up losing to North by 45 points. There are two more matches left in the regular season, and we are going to make the finals no matter what (as long as we don't get stripped of our premiership points by the AFL). I hope the team can find some form so we aren't completely embarrassed in the first round of finals.
Final Score
Essendon: 9.16 (70)
North Melbourne: 17.13 (115)
This is the last weekend of the Melbourne International Film Festival, and I spent the afternoon catching two different sessions. The first was Accelerator 2 at the Kino, a compilation of short films from emerging directors in Australia and New Zealand. Of the seven films shown there were two that really stood out. One was Rebecca Peniston-Bird's Summer Suit about an epileptic girl who lives in a country town. She spends the summer working at her father's service station while wearing one of her brother's brown suits as her uniform. The other highlight, and my favorite short, was Jordan Prosser's Hungry Man about a homicidal tape worm that lives inside its host, Declan Greene, and talks him into eating things he wouldn't necessarily choose on his own. A film noir with a warped sense of humor and a fair amount of blood, it received the best reaction and biggest laughs from the audience.
After a quick gelato break at Spring St Grocery I walked down to the Greater Union to line up for my second session of the afternoon, the Ireland/UK film Good Vibrations. Set in1970s Belfast during the Troubles, it follows record store owner Terri Hooley who ends up starting his own label and becoming the godfather of the city's punk scene. While Hooley has a great enthusiasm and ear for music, his business sense is not as strong which affects his family and business partners at the end of the day. The bands featured in the film were on Hooley's Good Vibrations label and the closing concert is a triumphant moment for the musicians and the Belfast punk scene. Definitely check this film out if you get the chance.
The Melbourne International Film Festival is currently on at the moment, and Tash invited me to join her today to see the documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. Pussy Riot are the Russian feminist punk collective that saw three of its members arrested in 2012 for their protest performance at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
The film follows the trial of Nadya, Masha and Katya and gives you some background on their upbringings and political activism through archival footage and interviews with their families. All three women gave powerful and articulate statements at the closing of their trial, which ended in them being sentenced to two years in prison. At an appeal hearing Katya was able to get her sentence suspended and be released, but the other two are still serving time in separate penal colonies.
The film also delves into the broader issues of President Vladimir Putin, his
policies and connections with the Russian Orthodox Church in what is
supposed to be a secular society. It's also timely to watch considering the global media coverage of Putin's anti-gay policies and threats of boycotts and protests at the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi (never mind NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden just getting granted asylum in Russia for a year).
The annual Gertrude Street Projection Festival is currently on through this weekend, featuring a wide array of light projections on buildings and other objects throughout Gertrude Street in Fitzroy. Last night was the first time I had been, and it was great to walk down the street and discover the different projections. Here are a few of my favorites:
After checking out the Festival I walked up Brunswick Street to The Evelyn Hotel to catch The Good China play. They started their set with "No More Maps, No More Roads," which allowed for some hand clapping fun. We got to hear some of the new songs they have been working on as well as their recent single "You Looked Better A Brunette." Mit sang lead on an awesome cover of The Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition" and they finished their 40 minute set with the appropriately titled "We Knew That We Had To Leave." It was good to see the Chinas live again and I am hopeful that their debut album isn't too far off.
Here's the video for "You Looked Better A Brunette" which was shot in Japan.
After a bit of a walk we ended up at our next destination, Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio on Chapel Street. They have a mix of prepackaged treats, cakes and other desserts on offer at the studio. There were some very cute chocolate animals on display, including a Mr Potato Head one. We ended up buying 3 little treats to share: a chocolate, pear, hazelnut, and caramel cake, a chocolate hazelnut and salted caramel tart, and a pineapple, mango, and chocolate cake. Of the three the tart was my favorite. I also got a couple items to take home with me: the explosive raspberry wheel and the popcorn and honeycomb rubble. All in all it was a very sugar filled afternoon and I look forward to heading back to South Yarra soon, especially once Adriano Zumbo opens his first Melbourne patisserie in August.
It's been an embarrassingly long time since I was last at an Essendon match so I dusted off my Bombers scarf and headed down to Etihad Stadium this afternoon to see us play the Western Bulldogs. While Essendon are having a great season and currently sit third on the ladder there is a dark cloud that has been hanging over the club since the start of the year around the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigation into the supplement program last year and whether or not players were injected with performance enhancing drugs. Their report is due next month and depending on the results we may be facing some severe sanctions.
Today's game was a bit frustrating as we would get a comfortable lead only to let the Bulldogs kick themselves back into contention. I think the team was missing captain Jobe Watson, who is out for the next 4 weeks with a broken collarbone. There were some amazing goals, including one by Jason Winderlich which could be in contention for goal of the year. And Tash came along to the match to see her cousin Nick O'Brien play his first senior game of the year (It's the only time she will be caught supporting Essendon!) as he came off the bench in the third quarter as our sub. Thankfully we won comfortably in the end.
Final Score
Essendon: 18.13 (121)
Western Bulldogs: 14.6 (90)
After eating a yummy dinner at Cookie, Tash and I headed upstairs to The Toff In Town last night for the first of two sold out shows by Dan Sultan. While waiting for the evening to start most of us were glued to our phones to see the result of the latest Labor Party leadership spill, which went to Kevin Rudd as he defeated Prime Minster Julia Gillard 57-45 (I guess third time's a charm). Ruddy is back and the upcoming Federal election just got more interesting.
The purpose of these shows was for Dan to preview some new songs before he heads off overseas to record his third album. He played solo on electric guitar across two sets with an intermission in between. The new songs ranged from rock numbers to more soulful ones with lots of tales of heartbreak and lost love. Dan also played some newer songs we have heard previously including his song for constitutional recognition "Do You Recognise Me," "Kimberley Calling" about his grandmother's burial place, and his new collaboration with Way Of The Eagle "Rattlesnake." There was lots of funny banter in between songs as Dan made a few references to the
Reclink Community Cup footy match over the weekend which once again ended in a draw. He finished the evening with everyone's favorite "Old Fitzroy."
Here's the video for Way Of The Eagle's "Rattlesnake"
Tash and I were very excited when Cloud Control announced a sideshow in Melbourne at the Corner Hotel while they were in Australia for the Vivid LIVE festival in Sydney. It has been a couple of years since I last saw them play as they are now located in the UK, and this was our first chance to hear songs from their upcoming album Dream Cave.
The first act of the evening last night was Melbourne singer-songwriter Ali Barter, who played a solo set on electric guitar. Her songs sounded good and she also did a cover of the Foo Fighters' "Tired Of You." Next up was Sydney band Bloods who I just loved. A girl punk band with a boy drummer, they reminded me of 1990s riot grrrl bands. I thought they had a fantastic energy, good humor and found them to be very impressive.
The Corner was absolutely packed by the time Cloud Control took the stage. As this was an album preview show, the set list alternated between old songs and new ones. The new material sounded great on first listen, with a couple of really stand out tracks. We were also treated to many songs off of their debut album Bliss Release, including my favorites "Gold Canary," "There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight," "My Fear #2" and "Ghost Story." For the encore they played the title track "Dream Cave" and finished with their first hit single "Buffalo Country." I am looking forward to the release of Dream Cave as well as their album tour later in the year.
It's one of my favorite weekends of the year- the Eurovision Song Contest! This year it was held in Malmo, Sweden and I kept myself in a media blackout all day so I wouldn't be spoiled for the finals on tv tonight. There was a bit more diversity in song styles and I liked that a lot of countries sang in their native language instead of English. I'm not sure if this is due to post-GFC national pride or what I would like to call the Psy effect- not needing to sing in English to have a worldwide hit.
It was a tight race but the winner was Emmelie de Forest from Denmark with "Only Teardrops"
My top 3 on the night were:
Margaret Berger (Norway) - "I Feed You My Love"
Amandine Bourgeois (France) - "L'enfer Et Moi"
Andrius Pojavis (Lithuania) - "Something"
I was very disappointed that Who See from Montenegro didn't make it through to the finals with their song "Igranka." Their performance had astronaut suits, hip hop and dubstep. It was awesome.
Finally, the "What the hell was that" award for this year goes to Cezar (Romania) - "It's My Life"
The last two nights have been spent at the Northcote Social Club with Tash and Mary (on Thursday only) to catch the last Melbourne shows for a while by Oh Mercy before they relocate overseas. It was coined as a celebration and both evenings were a bit of an Oh Mercy fest.
The opening act was Slow Dancer (aka Simon Okely) accompanied by James Harding on bass and Myles Wootton (The Panics) on drums. They played an excellent set both nights. There is such a great groove to all of Simon's songs, especially the single "Leave It To Me" (see video below) which has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it over a year ago. I can't wait for his debut album Surrender to be released sometime this year.
Next on the bill was Alexander Gow solo on electric guitar playing some older Oh Mercy songs. He began with "Hold Out Your Hand" and "Blue Lagoon" from Great Barrier Grief. I was so thrilled to hear "Salvation Jane," which is one of my all time favorites and a b-side from one of their first singles. Interestingly it was "In Good Time" (only played on Thursday) and "By The Collar," the two Privileged Woes tracks, that sounded the strongest to me in the set. This could be because I haven't heard them live in years.
Alex did covers of songs by Kieran Ryan (Thursday) and The Panics (Friday) and Jae Laffer of The Panics returned the favor by singing his version of Oh Mercy's "Labour Of Love." Alex also invited Gossling (aka Helen Croome) onto the stage to sing their duet "La Minute De Silence," which was recorded for the Melodie Francaise album of French songs sung by Australian artists. He finished the set with the Deep Heat b-side "Lady Eucalyptus."
Here's the video for "La Minute De Silence," which was shot in Paris a couple months ago:
For Oh Mercy's set Alex returned to the stage with Rohan and began with "Europa" before Eliza and Simon joined them for "Lay Everything On Me." The set was mostly songs off Deep Heat including my favorites "Rebel Beats," "Pilgrim's Blues," "My Man," "Still Making Me Pay" and "Drums." We also got a few Great Barrier Grief tracks with "Keith St," "Stay Please Stay" and Kieran Ryan's lovely cover of "Doldrums."
The funniest moment of the two shows revolved around Simon's birthday on Thursday, which his band members completely forgot about until he announced it on stage. The reason they gave was that they did so many fake celebrations of his birthday at shows that they didn't know the actual date. To make up for it they brought out a birthday cake (complete with a penis drawn on the top) and Jagermeister shots on Friday as we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Simon.
The band was quite sentimental at both shows since these will be the last Australian shows for at least a year. Alex thanked all the familiar faces in the crowd who have supported them over the years. They finished the night with a ripping version of The Waterboys' "Fisherman's Blues" before taking a final bow on stage. It will be a new chapter for Oh Mercy with Alex and Rohan moving to the US for a while but I have
great faith that we will get their best album yet from the experience.
My battle against obtaining an afternoon sugar hit at work just got harder now that La Belle Miette have opened their Collins Street store in the last couple weeks. I have been a big fan of their macarons for over a year now, with their Hardware Lane store being a safe enough distance away to make it more of a special treat than a regular visit. Now they are just down the road.
Besides the wide variety of yummy flavors available daily (with salted caramel being my favorite) they also do special macarons during various holidays. For the past two years there have been special limited edition flavors in honor of Mother's Day. Last year the theme was floral scents, and this year they did a Macaron High Tea with cucumber sandwiches, pink champagne, berry cheesecake, Devonshire tea, opera cake and chocolate brownie flavored macarons. All of them tasted exactly as described, with the berry cheesecake being my favorite of the six pictured above. Between La Belle Miette and Spring Street Grocery's gelati I'm either going to go broke or need to hit the gym more often!
Last night I met up with Mary at the Corner Hotel to see Hungry Kids Of Hungary play to a sold out crowd on the last date of their You're A Shadow tour. The first act of the night was Melbourne indie pop band Them Swoops. I was very surprised to discover my friend Satoshi playing guitar and keys with them. Next up was Sydney band The Preatures, who I thought were pretty good with their atmospheric and soulful songs.
Hungry Kids Of Hungary came out to a very eager crowd and started their set with "What In The World" before launching into "Sharp Shooter." It was great to hear the majority of tracks off their excellent second album You're A Shadow, including my favorites "Do Or Die," "Twin Cities," "Litter and Sand," and the absolute highlight of the night, "When Yesterday's Gone." We were also treated to some classic Hungry Kids songs like "Set It Right," "Scattered Diamonds," and "Wristwatch." They finished the main set with an epic version of "Coming Around" and for the encore did their Triple J Like A Version cover of Tame Impala's "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" before inviting all the support acts on stage to close the night with an energetic "Let You Down." I always love seeing Hungry Kids play live and their harmonies and musicianship were once again on point.
Here's "When Yesterday's Gone" live from when they were on Triple J a couple weeks ago:
After meeting up with Ruth, Danny and their friends for dinner last night at Terra Rossa we all headed next door to the Swiss Club for my second comedy festival show of the night, Lawrence Leung's Part-Time Detective Agency. I always enjoy seeing Lawrence perform because of his use of multimedia and pop culture references in his shows.
This time Lawrence has been inspired by Sherlock Holmes and the tv show Bored To Death to become a part-time detective and solve one of the greatest mysteries in his life: Who dumped a bucket of raspberry cordial on him at his 21st birthday party? He took the crowd through the evidence and the various suspects for the prank, but the culprit may or may not be who you expect. The filmed bits were quite funny, and I had no idea he was so obsessed with Brandon Lee and the movie The Crow. Check out Lawrence's show if you want to put all those detective skills you have learned from watching tv crime shows to the test.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is currently on with shows occurring all over the city. I headed down to the Melbourne Town Hall last night to catch Hannah Gadsby's show Happiness Is A Bedside Table. I first became aware of Hannah from her work on Adam Hills In Gordon St Tonight and this was the first time I had seen her live.
Her show focuses on the themes of adulthood and the loss of innocence and confidence people go through in childhood. Many of the stories she told were quite personal as she discussed some of the lows she has experienced in her life and trying to regain her confidence back again. Of course, there were also some very funny moments woven throughout the show, and her description of an incident on a water slide at an Adelaide water park when in high school had me laughing to the point of tears. It's a hilarious and poignant show that you should definitely go see if you have the chance.
Here is Hannah's short set from the MICF 2013 Gala:
A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to have an all day event for work at the Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen. It was my first visit to Heide, which has a couple of galleries as well as various sculptures scattered throughout the grounds. The property was originally the home of the Reed family and became a retreat for several Australian artists (Sidney Nolan painted his Ned Kelly series in the dining room) before being turned into a museum in the 1980s.
The exhibition that was on while we were there was Louise Bourgeois: Late Works. It focused on pieces from the last 15 years of the French-American artist's long career. Most of the works were sculptures she made using different fabrics- from headless torsos to severed heads both hanging from the ceiling and in glass boxes. There were some interesting embroidered pieces and images made by folding fabric into patterns. They also had one of her giant spider sculptures over a cage with tapestry on it, which reminded me that I had previously seen one of her spider sculptures that was on display along the Embarcadero in San Francisco near the Bay Bridge a few years ago. Overall it was a confronting and thought provoking exhibit which I quite enjoyed. I wish I had had more time to spend looking at the pieces.
While at Heide we were also fortunate enough to have a two course lunch from Cafe Vue. I chose the main course and dessert for my two dishes, which were part of a special menu done for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The main was a lamb terrine with fried eggplant and salad. Dessert was a macadamia banana split, which consisted of caramelized bits of macadamia nuts and cubes of banana bread with pieces of banana and sauce on top of them. Both dishes were very good. One of these days I hope to do the degustation menu at Vue de Monde.
Mary and I returned to the Palais Theatre tonight for the second run of dates in Melbourne and show number six of Neil Finn and Paul Kelly's tour. A big thank you to my friend Ben for getting us tickets (as well as for Fran and her sister). Since they have been on the road for a couple of weeks I was curious to see how things had evolved since I saw them at the start of the tour in mid-February.
Lisa Mitchell was the opening act again and seemed to be more chatty tonight. She played a couple different songs from the previous nights, including "Bless This Mess." My highlights of her set were "Coin Laundry" and the closer "Spiritus."
Neil and Paul once again emerged onto the dark stage with lanterns and shook hands in the middle before playing Paul's "Don't Stand So Close To The Window." The set list was pretty much the same as the previous two shows I saw, with a couple of changes to Paul's songs, including the addition of "From St Kilda To Kings Cross." You could tell the whole band was much more comfortable with the songs and now able to add their own special touches to each number. A lot of my favorite moments remained: the variety in the selection of songs from Neil's back catalogue, Neil's breathtaking version of "(You Can Put Your) Shoes Under My Bed," and the energy of so many of Paul's songs throughout the set. Neil had a ripper of a guitar solo during "Distant Sun" and Paul's playing of the opening guitar riff on "Don't Dream It's Over" adds a whole new dimension to the song. I feel very fortunate that I got to see three of the Melbourne shows and be able to watch these legendary songwriters perform with each other.
It wasn't until I was coming home on the tram earlier in the week that I realized the Sydney Road Street Party was on again this weekend. The weather today was quite nice, and I headed down to Sydney Road in the late afternoon to check out a couple of bands that were on the Local and Live Stage. First was Francolin, who I have been meaning to see live for a while now. They played songs from their debut album Won't Let You Down, which had a bit of a calypso feel to them with the trumpet and guitars. I really enjoyed their set and hope to catch them again soon.
While Francolin were playing Ruth and Danny joined me since they were in the neighborhood. We had a wander around the street party and checked out the various booths along Sydney Road. It was the usual things from previous years, although it did seem as though a few more of the shops had set up stalls in front of their stores.
We headed back to the Local and Live Stage in time for The Harpoons. As always it was wonderful to see them play live. The Madin brothers and Bec Rigby took turns on lead vocals and we were treated to a mix of songs including "Swim My Baby," "Walk Away" and the usual show stopper "Faith." They finished their 45 minute set with "Keep You Around" and I am hoping that this is the year that their debut album finally sees the light of day!
Yesterday evening Kat and Dave joined me for the opening of Baby Guerrilla's solo exhibition at Post Industrial Design in Footscray. I am a huge fan of her street art, which I have posted about here and here. But besides the very detailed black and white stencil paste ups she has put on walls across Melbourne, she is also an accomplished painter, having graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts. It was interesting to see these two sides of her personality on display in the exhibition.
There was a big turn out by the time we got there, with some people wearing masquerade masks (had we known there was a theme we could have participated). Baby Guerrilla herself was there in disguise applying temporary tattoos of her artwork onto people. There were also some sticker decals for sale, as well as her paintings and drawings. It was great to be able to see her work up close, especially the paintings. If you happen to be in Footscray go check out the exhibition, which runs until 22 March.
Afterwards we went to have dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant Dong Que, and then returned to Kat and Dave's lovely renovated house for dessert and to watch Silver Linings Playbook. Both Kat and I really enjoyed the movie, and I was impressed by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence's performances.
When the Neil Finn and Paul Kelly Australian tour was first announced I was very excited because one of the two original dates at the Palais Theatre was on my birthday! Those shows on February 16th and 18th quickly sold out and they are now doing a total of 7 shows at the Palais in February and March. I'm not sure anyone expected this tour to be so popular, but it's not surprising when you have two of the best singer-songwriters from Australia and New Zealand joining forces.
Lisa Mitchell opened both nights with a half hour set. She was accompanied by Robert Vasey playing keyboards and drums while she switched between acoustic and electric guitar. Lisa's set sounded good and included "Pirouette," "Coin Laundry," "Neopolitan Dreams" and "Spiritus."
Paul and Neil emerged onto the dark stage with lit lanterns to the sound of crickets. They met in the middle, shook hands, and then launched into Paul's song "Don't Stand So Close To The Window." The songs mostly alternated between Finn and Kelly numbers throughout the evening with both Neil and Paul singing parts on each song. The band for this tour consists of Neil on piano/keyboards and guitar, Paul on guitar, piano and harmonica, Dan Kelly on electric guitar, Elroy Finn on drums and Zoe Hauptmann on bass. The amazing backdrops were once again created by Noel and Sally Crombie.
The set list was pretty much the same for both nights I went. I was really happy about the diversity of Neil songs from throughout his career as they played some ones I haven't heard live in quite a while, including Crowded House's "Not The Girl You Think You Are," "She Will Have Her Way" and "Sinner" from his solo albums, and the Finn Brothers' tracks "Won't Give In" and "Only Talking Sense" (which was replaced by "I Got You" on the 18th). As expected they also played the Crowded House classics "Four Seasons In One Day," "Distant Sun," "Private Universe," and audience sing along favorites "Better Be Home Soon," "Fall At Your Feet" and "Don't Dream It's Over."
Many of Paul's songs really lifted the energy in the venue, including "Careless," "Leaps and Bounds," "Deeper Water," "How To Make Gravy," "To Her Door," "Dumb Things" and "Before Too Long." One of the best parts of the set was when Paul and Neil took turns singing one of each other's songs. Paul put his unique interpretation on Crowded House's "Into Temptation" while Neil did an amazing version of Paul's "(You Can Put Your) Shoes Under My Bed" solo on piano. This was my favorite moment of both shows as Neil's voice was just so strong and pure.
As you would expect there were many funny moments of banter. On the 16th, which was the first night of the tour, Neil and Paul joked about having a $100 tip jar for every time they messed up on a song. While Paul complained about having to learn all of Neil's complex instrumentation, Neil worried most about all the words in Paul's lyrics he needed to remember. Neil recounted how he got badly electrocuted at the Palais once and had to be rubbed down by a strong man in the crew. On both nights I thought Paul captured the spirit of Split Enz with his deadpan shaking of the bells on "One Step Ahead." And on the 18th Neil admitted to getting a perm before they shot the video for that song- it was the 80s after all!
We were treated to two encores on both nights, with some fake snow falling on the stage during Paul's "Winter Coat" (I think we wished it was real snow as the heat wave Melbourne has been experiencing made the Palais feel like a sauna). The second encore had a love theme with them playing Paul's "Love Is The Law," the Split Enz classic "Message To My Girl," and a cover of Buddy Holly's "Words Of Love" to finish the nearly two and a half hour set. I'm so happy I got to see these shows, and I'm looking forward to one more return visit in March to see how they sound after being on the road for a bit.
It was another hot day in Melbourne but that didn't deter me from heading down to The Hi-Fi Bar tonight to see Father John Misty. Luckily for me Oh Mercy was the opening band for the night. First Alex came out and did "Lady Eucalyptus" on electric guitar solo, then was joined by Rohan to play "Europa." Finally Simon and Eliza came on stage and the band launched into "Still Making Me Pay." Everyone was dressed very nicely with the boys in their various colored suits and Eliza in a black dress. The whole set was tight and unrelenting as they played songs off of Deep Heat including "Drums," "Rebel Beats," "Fever," "Pilgrim's Blues" and "My Man." They finished like they did last week with a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Memories." It was a very impressive set and the best I've seen them play in a while. If I didn't already know their music I would have been a new convert.
Father John Misty (aka Joshua Tillman) and his band came onto the stage to big cheers from the crowd and opened with "Fun Times In Babylon." I actually saw him a bit over a year ago when he was still playing drums in Fleet Foxes. Joshua is quite a charismatic front man with his unique dance moves and poses while singing. The whole set featured songs from his album Fear Fun, including my favorites "Nancy From Now On," "Only Son Of A Ladiesman," "Now I'm Learning To Love The War," and "Well, You Can Do It Without Me." The in between song banter was quite funny throughout the night and may have been aided by jet lag after the long flight to Australia. They finished the main set with an epic version of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" and returned to the stage for an encore that started with the new song "I Love You, Honey Bear" before finishing with a cover of Canned Heat's "On the Road Again." Overall it was an excellent show with two very talented singer-songwriters and their bands.
Here's the video for "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings"
After spending the morning at the gym I hopped onto a tram and headed down to the annual St. Kilda Festival. Thankfully the weather was sunny but mild, with a strong breeze coming off the bay. I grabbed some gozleme from one of the food stalls for lunch before making my way toward the front of the main stage for Oh Mercy's afternoon slot.
They started with "Stay Please Stay" and then launched into "Drums." It was great to have Simon back playing guitar with the band again. The set list consisted of many songs from their latest album Deep Heat, including excellent versions of "Rebel Beats," "Pilgrim's Blues," "My Man" and "Still Making Me Pay." Alex was full of good advice for the crowd, telling everyone not to get sunburned and also for parents to not let their children touch the water. They finished their set with a rousing rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Memories." Luckily I get to see Oh Mercy again in a week's time when they open for Father John Misty.
Mary and I found each other afterwards as she got there a bit late due to a very slow tram. We had a wander around the festival and then treated ourselves to some Dutch pancakes before heading back home.
After the San Francisco 49ers won the NFC Conference Championship I could feel a "Niners Flu" coming on for 4 February. I received a tweet from Burger Mary about a Super Bowl party she was hosting at The Precinct Hotel in Richmond with an authentic menu of American food and decided to get a ticket. I also managed to convince Danny take off work and come along as well. It was nice to have a reserved table in a room where most of the people there were interested in watching the game. We got a breakfast burrito on arrival, and also sampled the buffalo wings, shrimp po boy and loaded potato skins during the game, which all tasted good.
The 49ers were their own worst enemies in the first half, while the Baltimore Ravens pulled off some miraculous plays that defied belief. The kick off run back for a touchdown at the start of the second half was almost the final nail in the coffin for the 49ers. But then the power went out in the Superdome for 35 minutes, and after that it was like the Niners had finally gotten a spark and pulled it together as a team. They stormed back to within 2 points and it seemed like the power outage would claim the MVP award, but unfortunately the 49ers failed to make it into the end zone on the final drive and the Ravens won the Super Bowl. It was a disappointing outcome, and the "Quest for Six" still continues.
Of course, the Super Bowl is not only about football, but also the half time show and commercials. Beyonce's performance was pretty amazing with her use of the screens, and I actually cheered when Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams popped up onto the stage for a mini-Destiny's Child reunion. The Aussie broadcast doesn't show the American commercials, but I've watched them all on the NFL site, and the Tide "Miracle Stain" one was, not surprisingly, my favorite of the bunch:
I was very excited when I learned that Hungry Kids of Hungary were going to be playing a free show as part of the Fed Square Live summer series. I recruited some people from work to come along, but our visions of a nice summer evening out quickly vanished around 5pm when the rain started coming down quite heavily. However, we did not let that deter us and headed down to Fed Square, arriving a bit after Asta started her set. From Tasmania and the winner of the 2012 Triple J Unearthed High competition, you wouldn't think she was only a teenager. Joined by a guy who played samples and beats, she sang a good set of ambient music that had people moving in the crowd.
Unfortunately the pouring rain started up again just as Hungry Kids of Hungary took the stage. Mary, who arrived in between acts, was smart and stood under the tent where the sound board was while I braved the rain with my umbrella. The boys opened with their current single "Twin Cities" and managed to play for nearly a half hour before they had to stop due to the weather. We were treated to some new songs off the upcoming album You're A Shadow as well as old favorites "Wristwatch," "Coming Around" and "Let You Down," which was the last song of their set. I was absolutely soaking wet by the end of it but still had a fun time. I'm sure we will be treated to an indoor gig when they tour for the release of their new album.
Over the past few years as a Christmas gift for my cousin I have put together a sampler of songs from some of my favorite Australian indie musicians. The latest volume, featuring a mix of songs from 2011 and 2012, is one of my most eclectic yet. In honor of the Australia Day weekend have a listen and check out more from these artists.
My name is Nicole and I am addicted to the gelati at Spring St Grocery. I knew I was in trouble when I first read that a gelateria would be opening up so close to work (and just as the hot weather kicked in). Since I have been back from holidays I am averaging about three trips a week there, and I've got some of my work colleagues hooked as well. At least I don't also drink coffee on a daily basis, otherwise I'd be poor.
What makes Spring St Grocery so great is their constantly changing menu as all the gelati and sorbet is freshly churned on site. Plus it tastes amazing! You just never know what will be on the menu from day to day as they announce new unique flavors via their Facebook page. So far I have eaten:
- Mango and ginger sorbet
- Cinnamon and orange blossom gelato
- Salted caramel and chocolate gelato
- Indian chai gelato
- Chocolate gelato
- Pear, cinnamon and pinenut gelato
- Coffee gelato
- Tiramisu gelato
- Dulce de Leche swirl gelato
My favorites so far are the salted caramel and chocolate and the Indian chai (which I am still waiting to return to the menu). I will try to show a bit more restraint in the coming weeks, but it's hard not to make an afternoon trip over there when you see a new flavor announced that you must try. I also think they should implement some sort of loyalty card for their frequent customers (hint, hint).
Taking advantage of the cheap movie tickets on Monday nights, Onagh and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Mamasita after work before heading to the Kino Cinemas to watch Hitchcock. The movie not only shows the making of the film Psycho, but also the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren). Both of them put on fantastic and at times moving performances, and the movie has this undercurrent of dark humor befitting a Hitchcock film. There are also several other recognizable faces in the cast, from Toni Collette as Hitchcock's secretary Peggy to Scarlett Johannson as Janet Leigh. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.
For my first gig of 2013 I headed down to the Great Britain Hotel in Richmond last night with Mary to see Major Tom And The Atoms. We got there just as Brother James was finishing their set. It's been a while since we last saw Major Tom And The Atoms live, so I was looking forward to hearing some new tunes and we weren't disappointed. They started their set with "Merri Creek (Dead & Gone)" and played a mix of new songs and old favorites such as "Mr. Lucky," new single "Hey Flo," "Ball And Chain" and "Wishing Well." The new songs sounded really good and included "Boom Boom Boom," "Evil Angel," "Boogaloo," "Sherlock Holmes" and a funk number about buying drugs in Chinatown. The set kicked into another gear with "The House That Love Built" as both Tom and Sean came onto the floor during the song, and they finished the night with the hand clapping fun of "Mockingbird." It was great to see them live again and I'm looking forward to the release of their debut album sometime this year.
