Liam Finn

Last night Belinda and I headed to The Toff in Town to see Liam Finn play a solo show. Liam played songs off his new album "I'll Be Lightning," which comes out in July. I already knew about half of the songs from hearing them on his myspace page. Liam was a one man band (with some backing vocal support from EJ Barnes). He looped guitar riffs and then used the pedals to change up the sound and layer everything. Liam also had a drum kit that he would play over the loops. It was pretty amazing to watch. This clip will give you an idea of what it was like- the song "Lead Balloon" filmed at Spaceland in LA.

Operator Please, Treetops, and Little Red

Last night Belinda came over to my place for dinner and then we headed to The East Brunswick Club for Queensland band Operator Please's EP launch. This young band plays very happy indie/electropop and the crowd was bopping along. They reminded me of The Grates with their enthusiasm on stage and sound.

The second band of the night was Treetops, who have been around for a while. They have that unique Melbourne sound which is hard to describe but you know it when you hear it. From what I have read they have gone through many line up changes over the years (their current drummer seems a lot younger than the rest of the band). The songs sounded good- very nice melodic pop.

Of course, the real reason I wanted to go was to see my new favorite band Little Red who opened the night. They were fantastic and the harmonies were in top form. Three of the guys take turns singing lead on the songs, and you can't help but love them. They are unsigned at the moment, but I doubt that will be the case for long. Little Red are opening for another band next week, so I may have to go see them again and bring along more people to convert into fans.

Essendon v. Hawthorn

Michelle and I headed to the MCG for our first Essendon footy match of the season. We met up with Tash, her mom, sister Jessie and her boyfriend Heath, who are all big Hawthorn supporters. Thankfully the rain we experienced on our way to the MCG stopped an hour before the game began- although we would have been fine either way since we had seats undercover. The game started out well for Essendon and we had the lead at first quarter time. However, just like last week's game against Collingwood, we lost our lead and got soundly beaten by the Hawks. Lance "Buddy" Franklin kicked 9 goals for Hawthorn, which is just inexcusable. I don't know what has happened to the Bombers in the last few weeks, but they are playing like they did last year which is not a good thing. Hopefully they can turn it around and cut down on all the mistakes otherwise it will be a long season.

Final Score
Essendon: 15.6 (96)
Hawthorn: 20.11 (131)

The Good Shepherd's Circus Pie Classic

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

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

Conan O'Brien on TV Talk Machine

As a devoted viewer of Late Night with Conan O'Brien since its inception in 1993 (and yes, I still watch it here in Australia) I was excited but a bit bummed out when I heard that Conan was coming to San Francisco to do a week of shows at the Orpheum Theatre starting April 30th. I would have loved to attend one of the tapings, but that won't be happening. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle has done a podcast with Conan discussing the upcoming shows, his take over of The Tonight Show in 2009, and other assorted topics, which you can listen to here. Most interesting factoid for me- Conan's sister lives in San Rafael!

MICF: Tim Minchin: So F**king Rock

Tonight Belinda, Natasha and I went to see Tim Minchin's show "So F**king Rock" at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tim is a genius musician/comedian and he interspersed stand-up bits with his songs throughout the hour show. I had missed Tim's show last year, so was very happy to be able to catch him this year. Here is a sample of a couple of the songs we heard tonight: "Peace Anthem for Palestine" and "Canvas Bags"

Update

I hope you all had a good Easter/Passover. In the great Aussie tradition, we had a four day weekend- Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. People at work even lamented that they don't get Easter Tuesday off anymore. I just laughed and told them to be happy to get any days off. It was great to have the long weekend to relax. I was a good Catholic and went to mass on Easter Sunday. I was shocked at the lack of effort in the dressing appropriately department for a large part of the congregation. Why on Earth would you wear shorts and flip flops to church, let alone on Easter? The other big thing in Australia over Easter is this weird obsession with the national Easter road toll. Victoria lead the way this year with nine deaths, which we're supposed to feel ashamed about (I wasn't out there speeding). For Tuesday night trivia we named our team "Easter Road Toll Shame." Unfortunately we lost by two points.

Work is getting interesting. The Department of Education is currently undergoing a restructure, which will go into effect at the start of May. No one is losing their jobs- it's a realignment of people to meet the newly elected government's priorities. They have renamed the four offices and each one has a different focus area. Most divisions and branches are moving as whole chunks, but our branch will be split up between two offices. My boss is becoming the general manager of student learning programs, which means I will now be higher up in administrative responsibilities for her (more involvement with the ministers' office and briefings). It should be a good shake up and ultimately I hope it means that some senior policy/project officer positions will open up so that I can advance in the Department. I want to get involved with the policy research side of things, which will be in a different office to the one we are moving to.

The Australian Rules Football season has begun, and Essendon are doing much better than last year. We won our first two matches against Adelaide and Fremantle. However, yesterday's game killed me because despite having a 48 point lead over Carlton in the second quarter, we lost by 3 points! So utterly depressing and it should never have happened.

MICF: Meshel Laurie- A Shadow Of My Former Self

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is on once again, so tonight Belinda and I went to see Meshel Laurie's show "A Shadow of my Former Self." In the show she told stories about her life based around segments of a tv taping she did ten years ago for the series "The Smallest Room in the House." To get on the tv show she had to tell a secret about herself- hers being that she was fat. She joked that after the taping she gained a lot of weight and her image on the tv became her goal weight. The show was very funny as she talked about members of her family, celebrity, and the desire to be thin. In the end she urged everyone to accept themselves and be happy. She's achieved her dream of fitting her body into one leg of a pair of pants by making really big pants!

Minor celebrity sighting of the night: Australian Idol 2006 contestant Dean Geyer, who walked past us on Swanston Street.

Trivia at The Drunken Poet

Last night I joined Tash, her sister and their friends at The Drunken Poet for trivia night. It's a cute Irish pub across the street from the Vic Market. The questions over 8 rounds covered general knowledge, movies, music, sports, geography and celebrity faces. Our team did quite well and actually won the night! This may become a Tuesday night tradition.

Moomba

Belinda and I went to the Moomba Parade today along Swanston Street. Moomba is a cultural festival along the Yarra River over the Labour Day weekend. Besides the parade they had rides, carnival booths, waterskiing, and other entertainment. The most amusing highlight of the day for me was the Code One Police Band performing the Black Eyed Peas "Pump It" (and they weren't that bad).

The Whitlams

Last night I finally got to catch up with Natasha as she had a spare ticket to see The Whitlams play at the Corner Hotel. We ate dinner at Mexicali Rose in Richmond and chatted about what she has been up to since returning from London. Fingers crossed that Tash gets the job she has applied for since it would mean her working in the city. After eating we headed to the venue and sat through the opening acts before finding spot in the crowd for The Whitlams. Tash is a big fan, so you should read her review for all the details. It was a good concert and I was impressed with how tight the band played. The second encore finished just in time and we made the last tram back into the city. I'll have to dig out my two CDs of The Whitlams and give them a listen- it's been a while.

Helen O'Sullivan

My great-aunt Helen O'Sullivan passed away last Friday, March 2nd at the age of 92. Helen and her husband James (Jay-O) were the closest thing my brother and I had to grandparents growing up. Helen always remembered us around our birthdays and the holidays and would send cards with the greatest gift a kid could ever want- a check inside. I have fond memories of eating Thanksgiving Dinner at their house in Terra Linda and also going over there to visit. Helen always had See's Candies lollypops and Andes chocolate mints around for us to snack on- I'm sure my love of Andes started at her house. My condolences go out to Jim and Nancy and their son Tim. Rest in peace Helen.

Sydney Road Street Party

I spent my afternoon at the Sydney Road Street Party. I met up with Ruth and we stopped for some gozleme to eat on our way up to Victoria Street for the fashion parade. Ruth's friend Danielle joined us, and we enjoyed the fashions from Episode, Lulamae, and Frau Skill, among others. When the runway show ended we wandered back down Sydney Road and stopped at the various booths, performance stages, and shops. Thankfully the weather wasn't too hot, and there was a good turn out of people. We had a rest and chat at Kaleidoscope Cafe before hunting down some jam donuts and then heading for home.

Music and Lyrics

In order to escape the heat and humidity that Melbourne is currently suffering through, Michelle and I headed to Melbourne Central to see the movie Music and Lyrics. I always enjoy Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, and they were great in this film. Hugh plays a washed up 80's pop star who is currently playing the county fair circuit. He and Drew's character end up writing a song together for current teen pop sensation Cora (modelled off a sane Britney Spears) called "Way Back Into Love." It's a cute little movie and really has some good parodies of the music business. The songs aren't that bad either. Definitely stay for the credits where they give the Pop-Up Video treatment to "PoP! Goes My Heart."

Happy Birthday To Me

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes my way. The best present to me is new music, so here is Neil Finn performing "Silent House" at the SCOPE Benefit in the UK on February 8th. This is a song he co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks, and it should appear on the new Crowded House album. It's not the best quality audio/video, but the beauty of the song still shines through.

Tim Finn

Tonight I went to see Tim Finn play at The Forum. Before the show I wasted some time in the city with Belinda and we had dinner at Taco Bill. The food was okay, but still not up to my standards of good Mexican food. After wandering around some more we parted ways and I headed to the venue. I was surprised how packed it was inside as the majority of seats were already full.

Josh Pyke opened the show and did a good job. After his set I headed down to the booths in front of the sound booth to meet up with Rosemaree, Fran and her sister. Peter, who had been kind enough to comp us all tickets also reserved us the booth. We had a perfect view of the stage. Tim played a range of songs from throughout his career. The setlist was as follows:
Currents
Weather With You
Couldn't Be Done
Still The Song
Shark Attack
Unsinkable
Six Months In A Leaky Boat
Persuasion
Parihaka
Midnight Coma
Dirty Creature
Salt To The Sea
Horizon
So Precious
It's Only Natural

Not Even Close
So Long For Now

Astounding Moon
Poor Boy
I See Red

The pace of the show was non-stop since Tim went immediately from one song to the next. I was really impressed with his band, especially the rhythm section of Matt Eccles on drums and Mareea Paterson on bass. I personally think Matt is one of the best drummers in the world, so it's always great to watch him. The Split Enz songs really held up well even though they are over 20 years old. "So Long For Now" was a highlight to hear. Of the new material "Astounding Moon" is a beautiful song and "Salt To The Sea" was somewhat emotional since it's about Paul Hester's death. The crowd went crazy at the end for "I See Red" and a bunch of people were dancing at the front of the stage. Overall it was an impressive show and a good night.

Crown Casino

Tonight Adam and I headed to Crown Casino for dinner. He was kind enough to pick me up from work (this also allowed him to say hello to everyone). We had a wander around the Casino as I had somehow managed to never go inside the place before. The complex has assorted shops and restaurants, which get more upscale and expensive depending on what area you are in. There is also the casino, a movie theater, bowling alley, and concert venues/clubs. In the atrium they have a little show on at the moment for Chinese New Year which includes a dragon as well as lanterns that descend from the ceiling. We watched that for a few minutes before heading off to eat dinner at the Automatic Cafe. After eating we had a nice walk along the Yarra down to Southbank to have gelato at Trampoline. It was a nice evening and lots of fun to chat about work and how Adam's new job is going.

Connex Nightmare

The Melbourne train system has gone completely to hell this week. The Siemans trains (their newest ones in the fleet) are having braking issues and overshooting platforms. Each time it happens the train has been pulled out of the system. As a result, 37 train services on various lines have been cancelled, and more importantly for me, my train line has gone from 6 carriages to 3 until further notice, including during peak commute hours when they were already full. After two days of cramming myself onto the train in the morning and being a sardine, and the start of the school year on Wednesday (kids with backpacks) I decided for my own sanity to take the tram to work until Connex gets their act together. It may take a bit longer, but at least I can breathe and not be pressed up against people I don't know.

Articles to read on the topic:
Soapy Suds Too Much for Trains in Make or Brake Tests
Connex May Halt Fleet Today
Dangerous Tracks Slow Rail Speeds on Busy Lines

Happy Australia Day

Today is Australia Day, which means I had the day off work. I didn't do too much (other than watch a lot of American talk shows on tv). However, I did head out to dinner with Fran tonight. We ate at Rumi in East Brunswick and shared several dishes. It was pretty good Lebanese food. Afterwards we headed down the road for some gelati. It was nice to catch up with Fran and have a chat about what she's been up to lately.

Crowded House Reunion

My favorite band of all time, Crowded House, announced this week that they are reforming! Neil Finn explains his desire to reunite the band here. There has been a lot of press internationally, including this article in the LA Times:

Crowded House stands out in the Coachella crowd

"I just wanted to be in a band again," says lead singer Neil Finn.
By Randy Lewis, Times Staff Writer

There's "Something So Strong" about New Zealand rock band Crowded House after all: The group that disbanded a decade ago is re-forming for a new album and tour that will begin at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

While most of the headlines regarding the latest Coachella talent lineup announced Monday focused on the one-night-only reunion of rock-rap group Rage Against the Machine, fans have been buzzing worldwide about the resurrection of Crowded House.

After charting hits with Crowded House in the late '80s and '90s, including "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong," the group's lead singer and chief songwriter Neil Finn decided to retire the band so he could concentrate on a solo career and on sibling projects with his brother Tim Finn, who also joined Crowded House briefly. Both had previously been members of Australia's Split Enz, which did a reunion tour in 2006.

But after the suicide of Crowded House drummer Paul Hester in 2005, Finn says he slowly came to the realization that "I just wanted to be in a band again. And what other band could it be, really?"

Speaking from Auckland, New Zealand, where he's been finishing the new album with bassist Nick Seymour, Finn told The Times today that he and Seymour came together again after Hester's death, and last year began working on new songs. They also spent time revisiting the band's past for "Farewell to the World," a 10th anniversary expanded DVD release of the film of their final concert at the Sydney Opera House, which came out earlier this month.

"It just feels like something good and true," Finn said. "We sought each other out in the shadow of Paul's passing. That helped us reconnect and gave me a reminder of what bands are and what they bring, with the sharing of the load between everybody, and the humor of not being the only guy at interviews and photo shoots. It all started to feel very natural to me."

The new album, due in the spring, will be called "Time on Earth," signaling the fleeting nature of life, a theme that came into sharp focus for Finn and Seymour with the loss of Hester.

"In ways I can't really elaborate on, Paul's presence looms large on the record," Finn said. "I didn't want to make a record that was wallowing in anything.... We were moved to write and to do things that remembered him to some degree, to acknowledge what happened. It affected us both very deeply and it still resonates very strongly. I dream about him a lot, and it will always to some degree haunt me. But ultimately it's an act of free will and choice, and you have to recognize that too."

Keyboardist Mark Hart, who toured and recorded with Crowded House, also will be taking part in the reunion tour, but Finn said there were no plans for his older brother, who has a solo album due soon, to join in. He and Seymour have been holding auditions in New Zealand and Australia and will continue the search for a new drummer with additional tryouts in Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks.

"It's pointless trying to find another Paul, because there isn't another Paul," he said. "It will be different, but hopefully it will be something that can grow and develop.... I'm very concerned that we do this properly so that it becomes a real band, and not just a brand."

Acknowledging rampant skepticism about the ever-rising tide of band reunions, Finn said, "There are people who may choose to see it in cynical ways, and I can't blame anybody — they can look at it any way they want. I know what drives me, and I'm not doing it for the money. I've done very well and I've got a really great, loyal and significant community of people who follow what I do as solo artist, with the Finn Brothers, and this is very exciting and has got me very fired up."