Essendon v. Western Bulldogs

Last night a group of us headed to the Telstra Dome to watch Essendon play the third ranked Western Bulldogs. I knew we wouldn't win, but was hoping it would have been a bit closer than a 46 point loss. We did lead early into the second quarter but then the Bulldogs started playing much better and dominated the rest of the match. We had at least four kicks hit the post, which was frustrating. It was good to see Paddy Ryder and Mal Michaels playing up forward and Mal even got two goals. There is one more game left in the regular season, and considering the amount players on the injured list for Essendon that's probably a good thing. We definitely have a lot of young talent which will serve the team well in the future.

After the game it was time for what Danny likes to call "dirty Asian" food. We headed to the Nam Loong Chinese restaurant on Russell Street and had a very tasty late dinner. We shared six or so dishes amongst the group and then everyone headed for home around midnight.

Little Red- Corner Hotel #1

Last night was the first of three shows that Little Red are playing at the Corner Hotel during their first national headlining tour. Belinda, Ruth, Danny and I started the evening with a great Mexican dinner at Mexicali Rose. Tash joined us for dessert, and then we walked to the Corner for the show. We entered just as Andy Bull finished his set, so I will need to get their earlier next time to catch him. Next up was The Holidays, a young indie band from Sydney. I thought they were good and they've got a bit of buzz around them.

Little Red came out to loud cheers from the sold out hometown crowd. It's amazing how much success the boys have had over the past year. They played the majority of their debut album as well as a few new songs. The call and response during "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper" was fantastic and everyone had a great time throughout their hour-long set. There was a lot of energy and goodwill in the room and Taka was his cheery self behind the drum kit. They finished up the night with a rocking version of "Coca Cola." I can't wait to see them again when they come back in September towards the end of their tour.

Oh Mercy- Take Two

After having to leave Oh Mercy's show a couple weeks ago before they took the stage, I was happy to be able to attend last night's gig at the Brunswick Hotel. Michelle and Tash joined me for the evening, and it was a fantastic hour plus set of music. They played some older songs like "Salvation Jane" and "Holding On" as well as newer material that they are recording for their debut album. I absolutely adore this band because they play some of the most beautiful and dreamy pop music. The only down side was some mobster's two drunk girlfriends who came into the venue midway through and tried to spoil things, but the band wouldn't let them. The night finished with Alex solo singing The Triffids' "Wide Open Road." It was a great evening- and so close to home too.

Mark of the Year

Matthew Lloyd flies up, up!

The Basics- Get Back Relaunch

This evening Tash and I met at Roxanne Parlour in Chinatown to see The Basics launch the re-release of their debut album from 2002 "Get Back." During the 45 minutes set we were treated to many of the songs on the album as well as covers of the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin" and The Police's "Roxanne" (in honor of the venue). Besides the gorgeous harmonies there was lots of humorous banter between songs about the history of the band and origins of the songs. It was a great warm-up for the August residency shows on Thursday nights at The Evelyn starting next week. Also in the crowd were Taka and Quang- I think they're stalking me.

Oh Mercy Equipment Fundraiser

Last night I headed over to The Evelyn Hotel for a benefit show for Oh Mercy. Their musical equipment was stolen a couple months ago in Sydney while on tour, so this was an attempt to raise some money to buy new gear. The evening opened up with Kimbra, a singer-songwriter originally from New Zealand. I thought her set was good- she used looping pedals for vocal and rhythm effects and did covers of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Gotye's "Hearts A Mess."

Next up was my favorite Japanese pop band The Hondas. Taka was once again a comedic shining light as he introduced a song by telling a story about a girl who left her watch in his room. He took it to Cash Convertors and bought a harmonica, which he proceeded to play on the next song. Funny stuff! Their set was a mix of old favorites and new songs they are recording for a new album, which will be out soon. Very exciting.

After The Hondas was Little Red's other side project band The Greasers. How lucky for me to have both groups on the same bill. I still have not managed to get a copy of The Greasers album, but they played a good set, including my favorite of theirs "Metamorphosis." Once they finished it was already late, and since I didn't have much time before I would have to leave for the tram I decided to head for home. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to miss Oh Mercy's set. However I'm hoping to catch them when they play down the road at the Brunswick Hotel in August.

Red Door Burlesque

Tonight a group of us from work headed over to the Order of Melbourne for the Red Door Burlesque show. Our table was right up against the stage, and by the time we finished eating our dinner, the show was ready to start. We were treated to an aerial artist, magician, and dancing from the Hi Ball Burlesque girls. The main reason we were there though was at the invite of one of our coworkers who was the intermission girl for the evening. It was a fun and entertaining ladies night for us all.

The Dark Knight

Tonight I met Tash and her friends at Hoyts in Melbourne Central to see the latest Batman film The Dark Knight. I haven't seen many of the previous movies, so I think I was lacking some elements of the back story that would have helped the plot for me. Overall it's a good film and I thought that Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker was fantastic. He was very funny in parts and increasingly psychotic as the film went on. The special effects are well done and would probably be insane to see on an IMAX screen.

The Basics

Last night after a tasty dinner at Tash's house, she, Belinda and I walked over to The Empress Hotel to see The Basics play. The show was a benefit for director Campbell Hynam-Smith to help fund his final project for film school. The place was packed and we really couldn't see Wally at all from where we were (only when he stood up from the drum kit a couple times). The hour long set was a mix of new songs and old favorites, and it was good to hear them play electric this time. They even had "ghost member" David Bramble with them on keyboards (he used to do IT work in our office). All in all it was a great night, and we look forward to catching them play again at their residency dates in August at The Evelyn.

Here is the video Campbell directed for "Lookin' Over My Shoulder"

Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2008-2009

John Galliano has outdone himself with this collection for Christian Dior Haute Couture.
Check out the show here (Part 1) and here (Part 2)

Listen to Little Red

Tonight after work Lucas and I headed over to Polyester Records on Flinders Lane for Little Red's in-store performance to celebrate the release of their debut album "Listen to Little Red." I last saw them play in March during a lunchtime concert at Melbourne Uni, so it was good to see the five boys together on stage again. Their 40 minutes set included many songs from the new album and it was one of the tightest performances I have seen them do. Everything sounded really great. I highly recommend that you go out and buy their album- those of you overseas can order it from JB Hi-Fi.

Here's the video for the first single "Witch Doctor."

The Black Keys

Last night I joined Danny to go see The Black Keys play a sold out show at the Palace Theatre on Bourke Street. The band consists of a drummer and guitarist (sort of an all male White Stripes) and they have a very bluesy/rock sound. Their backdrop was a giant inflated tire- an homage to their Akron, Ohio roots. I had heard a couple of their songs from appearances on Conan, but wasn't that familiar with their catalogue. Overall it was a good show. Dan and Patrick are talented musicians although at times the songs sort of blended together because there is only so much you can do live with drums, guitar and one singer.

Liam Finn and The Gin Club

Last night I headed to The Evelyn Hotel to see Liam Finn play. After touring extensively throughout the US for the first half of the year, he scheduled four dates in Australia and New Zealand as part of his "Better to Be Home Soon" tour. My first surprise of the night was the length of the line that greeted me when I arrived at the venue. Liam is obviously getting more popular as none of his previous shows had been this packed out. Opening band The Gin Club were entertaining as all the band members switched instruments and took turns on vocals depending on what song they were playing. They sounded great (sort of folk-rock) and are a talented bunch of musicians.

Liam and his lovely sidekick EJ Barnes opened with a crazy noise jam that was actually done to test out their equipment as they had been having technical issues at sound check. Unfortunately, EJ's loop pedal wasn't working so she couldn't do any vocal loops (although she did get it to cooperate once). Liam also had problems keeping his guitar in tune after he knocked it against a beam in the ceiling. Despite the technical difficulties it was a fun hour long set with lots of banter back and forth between EJ and Liam. Jokes about Liam's height led EJ to refer to him as Prince, and they created a jam about EJ's cowboy boots because Liam wanted to wear them. Liam nearly broke his drum kit when he used one of her boots to play. We got a new song that featured EJ on autoharp and Liam using percussion mallets to play the drums, and they closed the night with "Wide Awake on the Voyage Home." On my way to the tram stop I had my second surprise of the night when I passed Quang and Taka of Little Red sitting outside at a restaurant on Brunswick Street. Melbourne can be a small town at times.

The Hondas

Since Monday is a holiday Belinda and I took advantage of not having to go to work and headed out to the Ding Dong Lounge tonight to see The Hondas play. The opening band The Moderns were nothing to write home about, and their lyrics were laughable (I went to LA/I drank a latte). I was glad when they finished.

The Hondas came out with great energy and played a fantastic and entertaining set. I should mention that this is the other off shoot band of Little Red, containing Taka Honda and Quang Dinh. Taka was really emphasizing the Japanese pop angle of the band (appropriate since he's from Japan), and it was good to see him out from behind the drum kit and up front with a guitar. He was very amusing throughout the night and had a good rapport with the audience. I was laughing a lot at his song intros and even the venue employees picking up empty glasses had smiles on their faces. Their set was short but they played a lot of songs- a mix of stuff from their album and some new numbers. I was very happy to hear "God Save Your Soul," which is my favorite song on the record. All in all I was impressed and look forward to catching them live again soon.

Plastic Palace Alice, The Greasers, and Oh Mercy

Last night Belinda and I headed over to the East Brunswick Club for the album launch of Plastic Palace Alice's "The Great Depression." We didn't know much about the band but were impressed by their musicianship and the epic, ornate nature of the songs. They even did a cover of Jefferson Airplane's "Don't You Want Somebody To Love?" which was entertaining.

The real reason we went to the show though was to see the opening bands Oh Mercy and The Greasers. Oh Mercy kicked off the night with their folk-pop tunes. It was a mellow set but this young band has a great catalogue of songs already, which I would love to get my hands on as a CD release. Next were The Greasers, an off shoot band for Little Red's Dominic Byrne. The Greasers are rockier than Little Red but the songs and harmonies are still there. I was really happy to hear them perform "Metamorphosis," one of my favorites. Their debut album is coming out next week, so I will be eager to get a copy as I think the songs will be a bit more polished on record.

Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform

It is my second week working in the Research Branch and today I got the opportunity to attend the final consultation forum for the Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform at Moonee Valley Racecourse. Both Ministers addressed the audience about the Blueprint discussion papers and the government's reform agenda. Then we broke up into three different workshops. I was a scribe at one of the tables for the Early Childhood Development discussion. It was interesting to hear what the various professionals from different parts of the sector had to say. After the workshops everyone reconvened for a plenary session to finish up the afternoon's proceedings.

Dinner and Breakfast on the Mountain

Last night I met up with Fran at Melbourne Uni and we headed out to Kalorama to have a birthday dinner for Peter and Rebecca at Peter and Mark's house. It was chilly in Melbourne so we knew it would be a cold night on the mountain. Thankfully the boys had the fire going when we arrived. We ate Indian for dinner and cake for dessert (although most of us were too full to eat it). I stayed the night and played games of pool with the boys (won against Mark and lost against Peter).

Melanie came and picked me up in the morning and we drove to Olinda for breakfast at Ranges. We got a table by the fireplace and I had pancakes with a side of bacon. After eating we visited a few of the antique shops before Mel took me to see her house in Tecoma. It's a very peaceful place being surrounded by trees and I admired all of her art deco furniture. We chatted for a bit and had some tea before Mel dropped me off at the train station for the hour long journey back to the city.

San Francisco and Beyond

Louise Bourgeois’ Crouching Spider

It has been a fun and relaxing second week in the Bay Area. On Tuesday Lynne and I took the ferry into San Francisco. We had lunch at the Ferry Building and then walked around the Embarcadero and downtown for some shopping. It was a gorgeous day and I bought a few things but didn't do too much damage to the bank account. That evening Lynne and Jeremy came over for dinner and American Idol. Unfortunately my parents hate Jason Castro, but at least Lynne was there to back me up on liking him.

On Wednesday my brother came and got me bright and early and we headed up to his new house in Green Valley (between Fairfield and Vallejo). It was my first chance to see the house and area where he and Simi will soon be living. They have been having basic work done around the house before they move in- painting, floors, carpet cleaning, etc. The house looks great and is big enough that they will probably never need to move again.

Angel Island

Yesterday Lynne and I took the ferry to Angel Island for a hike. We walked around the perimeter of the Island (4 1/2 miles) and had great views of the bay along the way. They are gradually fixing up the various Army buildings and Immigration Station around the Island. After taking the ferry back we had a late lunch in Tiburon and then headed for home- sunburnt and tired.

Unfortunately my time is now up and tonight I fly back to Australia. It has been a quick two weeks but was nice to be home and spend time with family and friends.

Angie and Andy's Wedding

Yesterday was Angie and Andy's wedding, the official reason for my trip home. Things kicked off on Friday when Angie and I had our nails done at a salon next to her coffee shop (my first manicure and pedicure ever). We got all the wedding favors done while we were there- lottery tickets in little envelopes with a lucky penny. After our nails were finished we headed up to Healdsburg for the wedding rehearsal and dinner. Everyone practiced their entrances and exits a few times and I worked on my job as flower girls wrangler. The dinner was at an Italian restaurant and it was nice to catch up with some old friends and members of Angie's family.

Angie and I went out to run a few errands and then had breakfast on the morning of the wedding (the calm before the storm). We got our hair and makeup done before getting dressed and heading up to the Healdsburg Golf Course. It was a hot day but not too horrible. We did photos with the bridal party before the ceremony and then Angie went off to hide before her grand entrance. The wedding itself went very quickly. The flower girls did a great job getting down the aisle and the vows were over and done with before I could get a sunburn. After the family and wedding party photos we were finally able to join the reception inside. I got through my wedding toast and once dinner service was finished they cleared some tables so we had a dance floor. Everyone had a great time and I made sure to have a sample of each layer of the wedding cake when they finally cut it. Angie and I ended the reception dancing to New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle." The newlyweds are now off to Disneyland for their honeymoon, and will have a few days alone before Katie joins them mid-week.

Bay Area Fun

It has been a mellow yet somewhat active few days back home. I had Angie's bridal shower on Sunday and was happy to be able to attend. We had a few party games, including creating wedding dresses out of toilet paper. My group's efforts were not the best, but the others were very creative. I picked up my bridesmaid outfit from Angie's house, which thankfully only required a few alterations to the top. The wedding rehearsal and dinner are on Friday, with the wedding taking place Saturday afternoon up in Healdsburg. I think most things are ready to go.

I have enjoyed seeing my family and spending time with them. We all went out to dinner last night at The Cheesecake Factory and ate way too much food (the servings are huge there). I have yet to see my brother's new house, but hope to go up for a visit early next week when he is off work. I have also been on a few shopping excursions around Marin but have not found that much stuff that I like in the shops. I plan to go into San Francisco next week so hopefully there will be some good things to buy downtown.