Andy Warhol - Ai Weiwei

It has taken a while but I finally managed to check out the Andy Warhol - Ai Weiwei exhibition this afternoon at the NGV. Covering both of their careers, the exhibition features over 300 works from these two contemporary artists in a wide variety of media including paintings, sculptures, photography and film.

While Warhol defined the twentieth century Pop Art movement in New York City, Weiwei builds on this legacy in the twenty-first century as he brings together the traditional with the modern. Both artists have similar themes running through their careers, including self-portraiture, the chronicling of daily life, their own artistic studios, flowers, and a love of cats. Weiwei's work is more political though, and as a social activist in China he continues to battle for human rights and freedom of expression.

Below are some of my favorite pieces from the exhibition, and how each artist has dealt with similar topics and themes in their work.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei tackling similar topics

Ai Weiwei

MICF- Sara Pascoe and Laura Davis

For tonight's MICF shows Onagh and I started at the Melbourne Town Hall to see Sara Pascoe in Animal. In this show Sara explores the theme of empathy and its limitations as she weaves through stories about hearing God over the loudspeaker of a grocery store, her love of mice, Tony Blair's bladder and a very different type of glass ceiling. Always intelligent, these stories tie together for a very funny conclusion.

Next we headed to ACMI to see Laura Davis in Marco. Polo. As we entered the room Laura was in a modest swimsuit sitting on top of a ladder blindfolded while a slightly deflated flamingo pool raft was on the floor in the corner. During the show Laura invited the crowd to join her in the pool, and being blindfolded she was reliant on that call back of "Polo" as she posed questions and interacted with the audience. She covered a range of topics from the handles of maple syrup bottles to questioning whether a potential rapist is more of a feminist than her because he assumed she could get his car to start. It was a thought provoking and unique show.

MICF- Tom Ballard, Gen Fricker and Andrew McClelland

It was a comedy packed Sunday as I started my afternoon at the Trades Hall for Tom Ballard's Boundless Plains To Share. In this show (he is also doing another one at MICF) Tom weaved through the stories of four different refugees seeking to come to Australia while utilising a slide show to focus on the history of Australia's immigration policy (which was just as horrifying in past as it is in the present). It was a high energy show as Tom raced through this history lesson, which also included some pre-planned questions for audience members to read out at certain points. I got chosen to read out the following question towards the end: "Why would you want them here when all they do is leech off our economy?" This was particularly funny considering my American accent. As this was also an Auslan interpreted show we got learn some very interesting sign language for certain things. Tom may not have had a final solution to this issue, but the show definitely left you thinking.

Next I headed to the Greek Centre for Gen Fricker's show Yeah? Yeah! Gen spent her 50 minutes discussing assorted stories from her life, such as her Maori heritage, battle with cystic acne and an experience with an incompetent dentist. The funniest story though was around her neighbor's horrible jam band, which she proceeded to discuss both on social media and at her job as a Triple J presenter, and how they ended up finding out about her real thoughts on their abilities. She finished her show by playing her version of a love song.

The final show of the evening was Andrew McClelland in We Really Must Do This Again Sometime at The Forum. Andrew was a tour de force as he sang, danced and joked his way through a very entertaining hour of comedy. Dressed in his usual dandy style, he talked about his issues with magicians, his girlfriend's obsession with The Sims, and how he used World War II dictators to motivate him while exercising. The show ended with an audience sing along that is an earworm that will get stuck in your head for the rest of the night.

MICF- Arj Barker

I crossed the Yarra River for tonight's Melbourne International Comedy Festival show at the Palais Theatre featuring fellow Marinite Arj Barker in Organic. We were treated to a surprise opening stand-up set by Australian comedian Joel Ozborn, who told jokes about playing for the 'troops,' tattoos, and the misappropriation of the Southern Cross by bogans.

Arj is in his 10th year at MICF with yet another brand new show. Since he spends so much time here a lot of the material related to Australia, including our ever evolving roster of PMs, Brisvegas, and the extensive list of Australian phrases with the word 'shit' in them. Ever the man child, Arj is now living with his girlfriend, which he joked has completed him by bringing out an angry side he didn't know existed. Part of this might be due to his girlfriend making them eat organic and gluten free. The show had some big laughs throughout, especially the bits around Uber and spoilers. Arj tied it all together at the end with the song "Organic," which was my favorite part of the show as it was a throw back to classic Arj.

MICF- Charlie Pickering, Mel Buttle and Alex Edelman

To celebrate Belinda's birthday we decided to once again hit the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for an evening of shows. First up was Charlie Pickering with How To Tame A Wild Squirrel at The Comedy Theatre. As host of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (sort of an Australian version of The Daily Show) and previous host of The Project, Charlie is known for his sharp and hard hitting observations on politics and current events. This was a looser evening of comedy, with Charlie stating he wanted it to be more of a conversation. At times these audience interactions seemed to derail the show they went on for too long with no real comedic pay off. His bits around Tony Abbott, racism, how the internet has changed the way we live, and instructions on how to tame a wild squirrel to be a pet were more successful.

We then headed to the Melbourne Town Hall to see Mel Buttle in Up To Pussy's Bow. In this year's show Mel has had enough and goes after people who are annoying or rude, including ladies of leisure with small dogs, body corporates, girls playing at a public swimming pool and an annoying American tourist in Hawaii. Mel also included stories about her family, and had a very funny bit about her dad who likes to scavenge around for dumped treasures. In addition, Mel's love for selling things on Gumtree resulted in some unique items on offer for the audience.

Our final show of the night was American comedian Alex Edelman with Everything Handed To You. Raised Orthodox Jew in Boston his show dealt with identity and family. He used a meeting with his twin brother (a bodybuilding, frequent flyer mile runner) and precocious 13 year old brother at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to tell them he's moving to the UK as a jumping off point for different anecdotes throughout the set. The show was very funny and well written, and had me laughing out loud throughout - definitely my highlight of MICF so far.

MICF- Joel Creasey and Luisa Omielan

For Saturday night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Belinda and I attended two very entertaining shows. We started off at Max Watt's to see Joel Creasey in The Crown Prince. The show began with a bit of a video highlights package before Joel hit the stage. His shows are like sitting around gossiping with your best friend, and he did not disappoint with some hilarious stories about his celebrity feuds with Russell Crowe and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, acting as Kendra's Aussie best friend for her reality show, and what really happens behind the scenes at award show red carpets and telethons. Joel even turned the pain of getting dumped by his long term boyfriend overseas into an expertly woven series of events about the highs and lows he experienced both professionally and personally during that period of his life. Joel's show was fast paced and very funny.

Next we headed over to the Victoria Hotel for UK comedian Luisa Omielan's show Am I Right Ladies?! As we entered the room Luisa was already up on stage singing and dancing around as she had her sound person running through a playlist of songs. Once the show started it was a solid 70 minutes of female empowerment as Luisa tackled issues around body image (even stripping down to her bra and underwear at one point), sex and mental health in a very powerful and honest way. The show was fantastic and ended with a hilarious recreation of a scene out of the movie Dirty Dancing with some help from the audience.

MICF- Hannah Gadsby and Nick Cody

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival officially began yesterday and will run until 17 April. I've already booked into a number of shows and tonight were my first two at ACMI down in the Beyond Room. First up was Hannah Gadsby with Dogmatic. Unlike previous shows Hannah promised no woe this year. Loosely inspired by Taylor Swift's 1989 world tour Hannah has changed things up by telling short stories about different events in her life such as renting a cottage from a gay couple in North Carolina who were gun-toting 9/11 deniers, her family's use of boxes of discarded plastic corn cob bags during her childhood, and a dog sitting excursion in New York that went horribly wrong. Just like TayTay's tour we were treated to videos of Hannah and her pet (a dog named Douglas) while she did a few costume changes. The show is very well done as Hannah gradually reveals the truth about her "underdog" muse and the hypocrisy of her "feminist" stance with an epic speech at the end. It's definitely a show not to miss (unless you are a big Taylor Swift fan).

Next was Melbourne comedian Nick Cody and his show Come Get Some. Nick delivered more of a traditional stand up set revolving around a few themes such as his lack of a driver's license at the age of 28, his girlfriend's magical ability to stop him before even he realises he's about to swear at someone, traveling the globe and the unreliability of frequent TripAdvisor reviewers. His material was more blokey in topic matter but did have a couple good threads running throughout the set that tied together well at the end.

French Film Festival 2016

Over the past week I have been attending movies that are part of this year's Alliance Francaise French Film Festival. I bought myself a five film pass and have checked out the following films:

La Belle Saison is set in 1970s France as Delphine (Izia Higelin) moves from her family's farm in the country to live in Paris. While there she becomes involved with a group of women in the feminist movement and falls for Carole (Cecile De France). When Delphine's father becomes ill and she has to move back to the farm, it tests her relationship with Carole as well as her family.

The Anarchists is a crime drama set in Paris at the close of the 19th century. Jean (Tahir Rahim) is a low level cop who is asked to go undercover and infiltrate an anarchist group. He befriends members through his job in a nail factory and slowly gains their trust. As time goes on he gets more involved in the group's crimes and falls in love with the ringleader's girlfriend Judith (Adele Exarchopoulos). One is left to wonder where his real loyalties lie at the end of the day.

Chic! is a modern day romantic comedy focused on iconic fashion designer Alicia Ricosi (Fanny Ardant) who threatens to give it all away after her most recent break-up. In order to get her to complete her collection, her assistant Helene (Marina Hands) tries to set her up with a younger man, but instead Alicia ends up falling for the landscape gardener Julien (Eric Elmosnino) that Helene has just fired from working at her home. Helene has to try to convince Julien to come to Paris to be Alicia's muse in order to save not only her job but the fashion house.

All About Them is a complicated romantic comedy revolving around Melodie (Anais Demoustier) who is having an affair with her friend Charlotte (Sophie Verbeeck) and is surprised one day when Charlotte's boyfriend Micha (Felix Moati) answers the door as he is back in town. Soon Micha also admits his feelings for Melodie and each couple is sneaking around behind the other's back trying to avoid detection. At times highly comical this film does reach the plot point you think it will, but in the end who will end up together?

Lolo is the latest film written and directed by Julie Delphy. She plays the neurotic Violette, a sophisticated Parisian who falls for country bumpkin Jean-Rene while on holiday with friends. This unlikely couple starts to see each other as Jean-Rene takes an IT job in Paris. Everything is going smoothly until her 19-year-old son Lolo (Vincent Lacoste) once again secretly starts to play havoc with his mother's love life. Will Violette finally realise the root cause of all her failed relationships? This fast-paced and very funny film was probably my favorite of all the ones I saw.

The Charlatans- Australian Tour 2016

It's been over 20 years since I last saw The Charlatans play live in the early 1990s in San Francisco. They were one of my favorite bands during high school, so I was excited to finally get the chance to see them again on their Australian tour in support of their latest album, the wonderful Modern Nature. The opening band for their show at 170 Russell tonight was six piece The Harlots, who put on an energetic set.

The crowd had really built up by the time The Charlatans hit the stage. I managed to position myself front and center on the barricade and had the perfect view for the whole show. The band started the evening with "Talking In Tones" and then played a couple of old favorites with "Weirdo" (and its instantly recognisable organ opening) and "North Country Boy." Tim Burgess has really not aged that much and was interacting with the crowd throughout the night. He even multitasked by taking pictures and tweeting them throughout the show. I made it into his crowd shots.
 

Just when pic.twitter.com/is6NI2YHvT

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) March 13, 2016

The tracks from Modern Nature fit right in with the rest of their back catalogue, with highlights being "So Oh," "Let The Good Times Be Never Ending," "Emilie," "In The Tall Grass" and "Come Home Baby." The older songs though got a huge reaction from the crowd, with the floor becoming a mosh pit at times as they played "Tellin' Stories," "Can't Get Out Of Bed," "One To Another," and "The Only One I Know." The encore featured two tracks from their debut album Some Friendly with "Then" and my absolute favorite song of theirs "Sproston Green" to finish the night. This concert was almost like reliving my youth and I had such a great time (despite the crush of the crowd at times).

Here's the video for "So Oh"

C.W. Stoneking and Marlon Williams- Zoo Twilights

The Zoo Twilights series over Friday and Saturday nights during the summer months at Melbourne Zoo helps the fight against wildlife extinction. Tonight Onagh joined me for the excellent sold out double bill of Marlon Williams and C.W. Stoneking. There was a huge line even before the doors opened, but once we got in we set up our picnic blanket on the lawn and settled in for the evening. Thankfully the weather wasn't too hot today, and despite a few drops it stayed dry.

Marlon Williams was up first and began with a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" solo on guitar. He then played "Lonely Side Of Her" before inviting out his band The Yarra Benders. They did a couple bluegrass numbers with their covers of The Stanley Brothers' "Nobody's Love Is Like Mine" and "If That's The Way You Feel." Songs from Marlon's debut album were featured with "Strange Things," "I'm Lost Without You," "After All," "Dark Child" and "Hello Miss Lonesome." They also played "The State Hospital," "Heaven For You, Prison For Me" and "The Ballad Of Minnie Dean." Marlon finished the night with a beautiful solo rendition of "When I Was A Young Girl."

As darkness fell C.W. Stoneking took to the stage in his all white outfit and bow tie. He was joined by his band and Vika and Linda Bull and Maddie and Memphis Kelly on backing vocals. They played the entirety of his last album Gon' Boogaloo throughout the evening, with highlights including "The Zombie," "Get On The Floor," "Tomorrow Gon' Be Too Late," "Good Luck Charm," "We Gon' Boogaloo" and "On A Desert Isle," where C.W. had to stop mid-song because a bug climbed up his pant leg. The middle of the set was appropriately jungle themed with "I'm A Jungle Man," "Jungle Lullaby," "Jungle Blues," "Talking Lion Blues" (which had a few stops and starts as C.W. got lost in his yodeling) and "The Jungle Swing." It was great to get to hear "The Love Me Or Die" and a lovely cover of The Soul Stirrers' "He's Been A Shelter For Me." To close out the night C.W. played "Jailhouse Blues" solo and invited the crowd to sing along to the chorus. This was such a great evening of music in the beautiful surrounds of the zoo (with the occasional lion roar in the background).

Here's a live version of "The Zombie"

White Night Melbourne 2016

Support for White Night Melbourne 2016 was announced fairly late by the Victorian Government, which may have had an impact on the number of artists taking part this year at the all night arts festival. Compared to last year it didn't seem there was as much to see, and not having any projections on the Flinders Street buildings was a disappointment. However, there were some real gems that I discovered throughout the early morning hours as I wandered around the city.

The focus on Indigenous storytelling was the real highlight of White Night this year, and these artists had the best light projections of anyone. Federation Squared by Reko Rennie with the Electric Canvas lit up Federation Square with some bright colors and graphic designs on the facade of the building.

At the NGV was the very powerful Still Here by Josh Muir with Ample Projects. The illustrations, accompanied by music from Emma Donovan and James Henry, tell the story of Aboriginal people in Victoria before and after white settlement. It was a fast-paced visual narrative and the crowd applauded once it finished.

The best work though due to its sheer scale was Pitcha Makin' Fellas and OCUBO at the Royal Exhibition Building. Their piece told the story of the six Aboriginal seasons. It was stunning to watch and great to hear stories told using traditional language as well as English.

The State Library once again had light projections both outside and inside the building. Landscaping Architecture by Amanda Morgan and James HH Morgan had the front of the library bathed in a kaleidoscope of color. Inside the dome of the La Trobe Reading Room was Ideation by Nick Azidis, Lisa Greenaway, Adem Jaffers and Bentley Dean. Using soundscapes and light projections it celebrated the world's achievements in knowledge.

There were many music stages spread across the city that featured bands from different types of genres. With so many things to see throughout the night it's impossible to view everything. Of all the bands playing I didn't want to miss The Harpoons so I made sure to catch their 1:30 am set at the Live on Lonsdale stage. We were treated to a lot of new songs as well as old favorites "Falling For You," "Can We Work This Out," "Unforgettable" and "Ready For Your Love." The crowd was dancing and it was great to hear other people singing along to the lyrics.

Animals were a feature of some of the pieces at White Night this year. On the Melbourne Town Hall was Golden Monkey by Lisa Roet, which saw a giant gold inflatable monkey clinging to the building. At the Melbourne City Baths was Incubator by Craig Walsh with its 3D animations and projections of creatures swimming around in the pool.

My favorite interactive piece was Neon Laneway by Alana Hoggart and Michael Duncan in Rutledge Lane. This work brought together some of Melbourne's finest street artists with contemporary dancers under the neon glow from black lights. The neon street art, ominous music and dancers really made this the most creative thing I witnessed all evening.

Finally, the hills of the Queen Victoria Gardens were the perfect place to showcase The Dresses by Tae Gon Kim. These beautiful dresses were made of fibre-optic strands that changed color, symbolizing the dresses' history and transformation over time. These were amazing to see in person and another definite highlight of White Night.

Oh Mercy- The Gasometer Hotel

As part of the "Collingwood Open" open-air series the Gasometer Hotel is hosting musical acts through February with the roof to the bandroom open. Tonight was Melbourne's own Oh Mercy in their first show since winning the 2015 ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album for When We Talk About Love.

I arrived about half way through the opening act Gabriella Cohen, who played a solo set on electric guitar and sounded good. Mary then joined me before The Ocean Party took the stage. They are probably Melbourne's most prolific band, having released an album each year since 2011 and recently putting out the hilariously titled EP Mess & Noise Critics Poll 2015. It was good to see them live again (and once again supporting Oh Mercy) but unfortunately the sound mix was off for most of their set, particularly around being able to hear the keyboards and vocals. They played some new songs along with the album tracks "Guess Work, "Greedy," "Light Weight" (which featured Zac dancing around a bit on the floor as part of a bet), and one of my favorites "Head Down" to finish the set.

It was a full band show for Oh Mercy tonight and they opened with "Can't You Hear My Body (Calling Out To You)." Alex was channelling the Deep Heat era in his very shiny pink lame button down shirt. The set list was mainly songs off When We Talk About Love, with highlights being "Without You," "All Roads Lead To You," a solo version of "Lady Eucalyptus," "Sandy" and "Let Me Be Him." I thought the band sounded good and this was the first show for me where they've really gelled with the songs and made them their own. Tracks from previous albums were also played, including "Keith St." "Drums" (complete with a Burt Bacharach style opening verse), "Deep Heat" and "Lay Everything On Me." Alex said he is currently recording new songs in his bedroom and played "Get On." The band once again did a cover of The Waterboys' "The Whole Of The Moon" and finished the night with "My Man." It was good to see Alex feeling well and being in a more positive head space these days. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to hear some more of these new tracks he is working on.

Holy Holy- A Heroine National Tour

Holy Holy have been increasing in popularity both here and overseas since the release of their debut album When The Storms Would Come. Last night they returned to Melbourne to play a sold out show at the Corner Hotel as part of their latest Australian tour.

Opening the evening was Montreal four piece The Franklin Electric, who sounded really great with their folk-rock set which had the crowd engaged from the start. Having been in Australia for the past month they were not looking forward to returning to the snow in Montreal in a few days time. Next up was an electro-rock set by Olympia (aka Olivia Bartley) and her band, which was good but didn't really seem to capture the crowd.

The venue was absolutely packed by the time Holy Holy hit the stage and started their set with "Impossible Like You." As luck would have it lead singer Timothy Carroll blew his amp during the song, so while that was replaced guitarist Oscar Dawson led the rest of the band in playing the theme from Terminator to the amusement of the crowd. Holy Holy were already a great live band, but touring has made them even more of a force onstage with some pretty impressive versions of songs such as "Sentimental And Monday," "History," "A Heroine," "Holy Gin," and "Pretty Strays For Hopeless Lovers." Oscar's guitar work throughout the night was fantastic, and Ryan Strathie was awesome on the drums (and had one blistering drum solo).

We were treated to two new songs, which sounded more upbeat than their previous releases. To finish the set they tore through "House Of Cards" off The Pacific EP. For the encore Timothy and Oscar came out and did a cover of David Bowie's "Starman" before the rest of the band joined them to finish the night with my favorite track off the album "You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog." It's always great to see a truly talented group of musicians get the success they deserve and Holy Holy can only continue to go up from here.

Here's the video for "You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog"

Boy & Bear- Limit Of Love Tour

Surprisingly it has been 18 months since Boy & Bear last played in Melbourne. Mary, Tash and I met up tonight at Festival Hall for their all ages gig in support of their latest album Limit Of Love. We arrived for the second support act, Brisbane band Art Of Sleeping. They had the crowd into their anthemic indie rock sound.

Boy & Bear began their set with the title track "Limit Of Love." Lead singer Dave Hosking was slightly awkward without his guitar and didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. It was good to hear old favorite "Rabbit Song" early in the set, followed by "Lordy May." Pretty much all of Limit of Love was played, and I really enjoyed "Where'd You Go," "Man Alone," "Just Dumb" and my favorite song off the album "A Thousand Faces." Other highlights from the previous albums included "Southern Sun" and "Old Town Blues" off of Harlequin Dream and "Golden Jubilee," "Feeding Line" and "Big Man" off of Moonfire.

As it was Dave's birthday today drummer Tim Hart got everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. They did their Triple J Like A Version cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black," but I'm not so sure about the arrangement they chose. In keeping with tradition they had to make the no encore announcement three songs from the end of the set. For "Harlequin Dream" a saxophone player came out to play the sax solo at the end of the song (the easiest 20 seconds of work you could have). They finished the night with the single "Walk The Wire." It was another fantastic show from the guys and you know you will get nothing less when seeing them live.

Here is the hilarious video by Oh Yeah Wow for "Walk The Wire"

Icecream Hands- John Curtin Hotel

After missing last year's 15th anniversary performance of their fantastic album Sweeter Than The Radio, I was really happy when Icecream Hands announced they were playing a one off show at the John Curtin Hotel doing highlights from all five of their albums. Danny, Ruth and I started our evening downstairs having dinner at Bluebonnet Barbecue (look out for a review on Eagle vs Roo shortly) before heading upstairs to the bandroom where we caught the last song by opening act Luke Sinclair of Raised By Eagles.

For tonight's special show Charles Jenkins, Douglas Lee Robertson and Derek G Smiley were joined by the talented Davey Lane (You Am I) on lead guitar. They started their set with "The Obvious Boy" (which includes a shout out to California). Despite not having listened to these Icecream Hands albums for a while I was impressed that I managed to remember most of the lyrics to the songs they played. Highlights for me during their hour and a half set included "Come Along," "Why'd You Have To Leave Me This Way?," "Spiritlevel Windowsill," "Nipple" and "Yellow & Blue." It was so great to hear those jangly guitars and harmonies live again. We even got a couple of covers in the encore with Davey leading a version of The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" and a fantastic cover of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging." I am hopeful that we will get treated to more of these one off shows in the future.

The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino's eighth film The Hateful Eight has just been released with a series of exclusive 70mm Roadshow screenings in select cinemas. Danny and I went to check out this special event at the Astor Theatre in Windsor. Besides being on 70mm film, the roadshows are showing a longer version of the film that includes a musical overture at the start and intermission between acts, along with a special program.

The film is a western set in the post-Civil War era. A stage coach with bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) picks up fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and his dead bounties. Both parties are on their way to Red Rock to cash in as a blizzard is about to hit. They end up stopping at Minnie's Haberdashery to ride out the storm, and encounter another group that arrived earlier. As you would expect everyone is suspicious of each other, which leads to the typical elements of any Tarantino film: blood, lots of violence and death. The film is set out in six chapters and goes for over three hours. It was quite entertaining, and being able to see it the 70mm format was amazing. If you can handle blood and comical ways of dying, definitely go and check it out.

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)."

The Chills- Silver Bullets Tour

The Chills burst onto the scene in the US in the early 1990s with the albums Submarine Bells and Soft Bomb and exemplified the sound of the Flying Nun record label. Lead singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps is the sole remaining member of the original band, and after years of dealing with health issues he is back with the fantastic new album Silver Bullets. As a long time fan I was thrilled that they were playing a show in Melbourne, as the last time I saw them live was in Auckland at the millennium concert with Split Enz.

I arrived at Max Watt's (the former Hi-Fi Bar) right before they took the stage. The set list was a mix of songs from throughout their career. They played most of the tracks off of Silver Bullets, including my favorites "Aurora Corona," "I Can't Help You," "Silver Bullets," "When The Poor Can Reach The Moon" (the second half of "Pyramid") and the brilliant "America Says Hello." We even got a new song called "Easy Peasy." Martin sounded great and his guitar work was beautiful on those jangly songs. It was amazing to hear the classics such as "I Love My Leather Jacket," "Pink Frost," "The Male Monster From The Id" and "Heavenly Pop Hit," which closed the evening and had everyone singing along. I'm so glad I got the chance to see The Chills play again and hear these new songs live for the first time.

Here's the animated clip for "When The Poor Can Reach The Moon"

Blur- New World Towers

Tonight was the second showing of Blur's New World Towers at the Shadow Electric Outdoor Cinema at Abbotsford Convent. It's a unique experience to watch a movie outside, particularly with fruit bats flying overhead as the sun is setting.

The documentary is about the making of Blur's latest album, The Magic Whip, and the revival of the band as a four piece. Five days stuck in Hong Kong changed the course of their history as they decided to secretly head to the studio to jam with no one knowing and no pressure. While the end result took time to emerge, it was definitely worth the wait.

The film contains interviews with each of the band members interspersed with concert footage from Hong Kong and Hyde Park, as well as recordings from the sessions at the Hong Kong studio. It's the story of the band, their relationships with each other (particularly Damon and Graham) and the music. At times hilarious and at others poignant, the film tells the story about their journey together over all these years. I really enjoyed it and it brought back fond memories of seeing them at Rod Laver Arena last year.

Here's the trailer for the film:

The Basics- Tinder Knight 2

In what may be the shortest hiatus ever, The Basics were back together again last night at Northcote Social Club for Tinder Knight 2, thanks to Wally being in town for the holidays. As was the case for Tinder Knight last February, the boys set up in the middle of the room with Kris and Tim on acoustic guitars and Wally on a Wurlitzer. The sold out crowd of over 200 people sat around them as they played covers, audience requests via sheet music, and a few Basics numbers across two sets.

The evening began with "In My Life" and "Ain't She Sweet" by The Beatles. They were revisited later on with covers of "If I Fell," "I'll Cry Instead" and "Golden Slumbers," as well as George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass." Other artist multiple tracks included The Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream," Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" and "Songbird" (another beautiful version by Wally) and David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" and "As The World Falls Down" from the film Labyrinth.

The boys did a couple of covers they played during the last tour with their fantastic version of Eric Bogle's "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and Neil Young's "Birds" (sung by Tim). In honor of Stevie Wright they played The Easybeats "I'll Make You Happy" to start off the second set, and got some Creedence Clearwater Revival in with "Someday Never Comes." Two of the more interesting cover choices of the night were Joe Jackson's "Real Men" and the 1990s classic "Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies.

The audience requests also brought up some interesting songs. They played Crowded House's "Sister Madly" and "I Got You" by Split Enz. Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" turned into a Cookie Monster mash up half way through with hilarious results. They played the Eagles track "Lyin' Eyes" despite Tim's hatred for the band, and an audience shout out for George Michael resulted in a fun version of "Faith."

Thankfully a few Basics tracks made it into the set, with Tim taking over the Wurlitzer for "Hey Rain" (complete with an extra verse about cane toads as a reprise due to the frog in Wally's throat), a lovely "Home Again" by Wally, "Memory Lane," and a brand new untitled track by Kris about lost love.

The whole evening finished with an epic version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." It was another excellent two plus hours of fun and entertainment by the boys with a wide range of song selections played. Kris and Wally were kind enough to hang around during the set break to mingle and talk with people. I had a quick chat with Wally after the show and he was once again surprised to see me as he seems to forget that I still live in Melbourne (or I have a doppelganger somewhere that is confusing him). It sounds like there might be some Basics shows in the States this year, so if they manage to time them when I'm around in May/June I may get to see them on home soil.

Here's the video for "Time Poor" off The Age Of Entitlement:

Suffragette and Spectre

Tonight Onagh and I met up for a bit of a British movie double header at the Kino Cinemas. Our first film was Suffragette, a historical drama about the British suffrage movement in the early 20th century. It stars Carey Mulligan as Maud Watts, a laundry worker who gradually becomes a suffragette through some women she works with and interactions with others she encounters along the way, including Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter) and Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep). There is huge personal cost for many of these working women as their activism makes them get shunned by their employers, families and communities due to their increasingly militant activities which result in them getting thrown in jail. The film culminates at the Epsom Derby as they try to get media attention for the suffrage cause as King George V is in attendance. It wasn't until 1928 that all women over the age of 21 got the right to vote in England.

Our next movie was Spectre, the latest James Bond film (and complete opposite of what we had just seen). While I have viewed bits and pieces of Bond films over the years I don't think I've ever actually watched one from start to finish. Spectre begins in Mexico City at a Dias de los Muertos parade as Bond (Daniel Craig) takes down an assassin who is part of the global criminal organisation SPECTRE. Although he has been suspended from the field by M (Ralph Fiennes), who is battling C to keep the 00 program alive, Bond slips out the country to learn more about SPECTRE and fight its leader Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). The film's action sequences are completely over the top, as you would expect from a big budget Bond film. While I found Bond's immediate hook-ups with the women he meets to be ridiculous, the film overall was entertaining although a bit too long.

Indie Australia Sampler Vol. 6

As we come to the end of another year, here are some of my favorite Australian tracks from 2015 that have made it onto my annual sampler CD. It's a pretty eclectic collection for a year that has seen a lot of fantastic new releases.

1. Crayon Fields - "She's My Hero"


2. San Cisco - "RUN"


3. Dan Kelly - "Never Stop The Rot"


4. Sarah Blasko - "I'd Be Lost"


5. Brous - "The Sound"


6. L-FRESH The LION - "Get Mine"


7. Omar Musa - "Dead Centre"


8. Saskwatch - "In Your Arms"


9. The Harpoons - "Ready For Your Love"


10. The Ocean Party - "Aircon"


11. Oh Mercy - "Sandy"


12. Boy & Bear - "A Thousand Faces"


13. Holy Holy - "You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog"


14. Rolls Bayce - "Lost"


15. The Stiffys - "Kick Another Flip"


16. The Basics - "Roundabout"


17. Marlon Williams - "Hello Miss Lonesome"


18. Fraser A. Gorman - "Shiny Gun"


19. Henry Wagons - "Cold Burger, Cold Fries"

Christmas In Sorrento

A few of my friends were kind enough to extend invitations to me to join them for Christmas, and I took up the first offer I received from Onagh to join her and her extended family in Sorrento along the Mornington Peninsula. We got a ride down to her cousin's place, which has recently finished being renovated and has a great beachy vibe.

We had a beautiful spread of food for Christmas lunch, with a salmon roulade to start and then ham, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, snow peas and a couple salads to eat for the main. Everyone wore their crowns from the Christmas crackers, and we enjoyed the breeze out on the deck during the hot afternoon.

After opening presents and having a bit of Christmas pudding for dessert, everyone headed down to the beach at Lavender Hill, home of the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club. It was a beautiful afternoon and swimming in the water from the bay was the perfect way to cool down.

We headed back to the house for some more celebrations in the evening before heading back to Onagh's aunt's house up the road to sleep. It was a very Aussie way to spend my Christmas, although tempered by the bushfires in Wye River and Separation Creek along the Great Ocean Road which saw the loss of 116 homes.