Cloud Control: Bliss Release Tour

Last night Clinton and Kevin came to pick me up (saving me walking in the cold) and we headed to The East Brunswick Club to see Cloud Control's sold out show in support of their fantastic new album Bliss Release. When we arrived Richard In Your Mind was starting their set. I thought they were okay but after a while I found the lead singer's voice to be annoying and their songs didn't really draw me in to their performance.

Cloud Control came out onto the smoky stage to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Their set list consisted of songs from the new album and their self-titled EP. My favorites for the evening were "There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight," "The Rolling Stone," "My Fear #2," "Vintage Books" and "Gold Canary," which received the biggest response of the night likely due to its airplay on Triple J. They finished their set with "Buffalo Country" and we thought for sure there would be an encore but the lights went up and the show was over. It was a bit disappointing as they could have easily played 2-3 more songs. The boys gave me a ride home and I even got a couple pieces of homemade cake to take with me.

The Basics May Residency

Each Tuesday in May The Basics are playing a residency at Northcote Social Club in support of the release of their new EP Wait For You. The usual suspects (aka Tash, Mary and I) were in attendance and here is a report of what happened at the shows.

May 11
Lachlan Bryan from The Wildes had the opening slot this week. He played a solo acoustic set and told some very funny stories to intro his songs. Unlike for many opening acts, the audience was actually quiet and listening to him sing instead of chatting away. It was good to see some musical manners in Melbourne.

I didn't make it to the first week of the residency, but had heard reports about what a disastrous performance The Basics gave last week, which had me worried. There are obvious tensions within the band, and it seems they had a therapeutic paintball session together over the weekend. This week was better than last, but it's still not quite up to standard. The set list was about half covers and half band songs. Kris played the first few songs wearing a parka (it has gotten cold, but not that cold) and took a phone call on stage from someone in the audience. "Second Best" got an extended heavy jam in the middle of it, and "With This Ship" was played when they pulled the plug on another song. It was mostly Wally singing lead tonight with "Memory Lane," "Just Hold On," and "Rattle My Chain" in the set. They also played the title track from their new EP "Wait For You," which is actually an older song that just hasn't been released before. Some of the covers throughout the evening included The Cure's "Lovesong," Electric Coconut's "Jungle Juice," which then led into Harry Nilsson's "Coconut." We also had a rocking version of The Beatles' "Day Tripper" and an audience request for George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You."

May 18
The Basics are nearly back! What a difference a week makes. Although Kris was still a bit off, they were smart this week and had a fan make the set list. We got a lot more Basics this time, which made me happy. They began the evening with the rarely played "Get Me Down," which is a b-side on the latest album and also included on the EP. Other rarities played included "Lovin' Man," "Call It Rhythm and Blues," and "Keep The Door Open." As always it was good to hear "Better" and my favorite "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today." All the new songs on the EP got an airing with the inclusions of "Wait For You" and "I Could Be Happy" in the set list. Towards the end of the set Kris ran off stage to go to the bathroom, so we got a bit of surf guitar music from Tim and Wally. Covers were kept to a minimum, but they did play Neil Young's "Southern Man," a beautiful a cappella version of Bill Scott's "Hey Rain" and The Police's "Roxanne" for an encore. It's Wally's 30th birthday on Friday, so I hope he has a good one!

Karaoke

Today was Natalie's birthday so she invited some friends and a group of us from work to celebrate with her by having a karaoke fest at Chi Lounge in Chinatown. We had our own private room for four hours at $25 per person, which was used to cover food and drinks for the group. It was an entertaining evening and we had a wide selection of music to choose from. Clinton did a good job of picking the divas to sing along to- Mariah, Britney, Beyonce, Lady GaGa, and Madonna. We also had some ABBA, Snoop Dogg, *NSYNC, Kanye West, and finished up the night with a rousing rendition of the Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life." I was hoarse by the end of the night but had a great time.

Vampire Weekend

Danny and I headed to Festival Hall tonight to see the second Melbourne show for New York band Vampire Weekend. It was an all ages gig and I was flattered to have been carded at the door (although they may have been doing that to everyone). The opening act was Sydney band Cloud Control, who I have been wanting to see for a while now. Their set was full of lovely harmonies and "Gold Canary" and "Buffalo Country" were highlights of the evening.

Vampire Weekend came out to huge cheers from the crowd. I am not as familiar with their music as Danny is, but they put on a solid set playing the majority of the songs from their two albums. Their indie rock sound is infused with Calypso rhythms, and while interesting, some of songs started to sound a bit the same after a while. My favorites of the evening were "Oxford Coma," "Cousins," "A-Punk," and the current single "Giving Up The Gun." They closed out the night with "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," which I found amusing since kids from Melbourne were singing along to a song about Cape Cod. All in all it was a good night of music, and my first time in the box that is Festival Hall.

ANZAC Day Match

Today is ANZAC Day, the Australian and New Zealand equivalent of Memorial Day. Besides the dawn service and veterans marches, there is also the tradition of the annual footy match between Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG. Jonathan joined me on the day and wore the Essendon colors even though he is a Melbourne supporter. We had standing room tickets near the members' section, and were surrounded by Collingwood fans (more on that later). I knew going into this game that either we would play well and win or get destroyed. Unfortunately, the later was the case and it was all pretty much over after the first quarter. The boys seem to have lost all their confidence and had so many skill errors. We could not move the ball inside 50 and often if we did it got turned over. We were dominated by Collingwood all day and at the end of the match it was a disappointing 65 point loss. I have a feeling this is going to be a long season.

Being at the footy surrounded by the people we were made me wonder why no one has done a sitcom focused on footy fans. Jonathan and I were amazed by all the different characters standing around us. There was the loud guy who would start cheers or rebuke the fans of the other team's cheering efforts. There was the one liner guy who I am convinced spends his week coming up with lines about various players to shout out at the game and impress his friends. Then there were the hangers on or yes men, who are big, burly, and you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley. At least they all provided some entertainment on a depressing afternoon.

Final Score
Essendon: 8.7 (55)
Collingwood: 18.12 (120)

The Good China April Residency

This month The Good China are doing a Tuesday night residency at The Evelyn. Tash is such a hard core fan that she drove down from Ballarat to see them play. She came by and picked me up and then we headed to Brunswick Street. We ate dinner at Bimbo Deluxe, sharing our $4 pizzas and then indulging in the chocolate dessert pizza (kind of a pain au chocolat).

We arrived at The Evelyn for the start of the second support act Mercury White. The lead singer switched between keyboards and a keytar! Though hard to pinpoint, the band have a bit of an Irish rock sound to them and some songs reminded me of New York City band Black 47. They got a group of people up on stage with them to play percussion and sing along for "Sticks and Stones." It was an energetic set.

The Good China opened the evening with "No More Maps." There were a few issues they had to deal with this week, including a leaking roof and some of the band members having the flu. However, they persevered and put on a solid set of old and new songs. It was good to hear my favorite "If Pain Persists" and "Turn the Page." Each week the band are taking requests from fans for a cover song to perform at the each show. This week we got Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)," which was a fitting choice because Arcade Fire was one of the bands that inspired them to form The Good China two years ago. They finished their set with "We Found 3 Whistles" and then came out to do "All Nothing" for the encore.

Pumpkin Bread

I made some pumpkin bread last week and it was a big hit at work. Using pumpkin in baking is not a familiar thing for Australians, so after explaining that it's like a spice bread they give it a try and usually like it. Or love it in my case. I'm currently baking a second loaf to use up the rest of the canned pumpkin. Here's the recipe if you would like to make it for yourself:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350F/180C. Grease a 9 x 5 inch (8 cup) loaf pan.

In a medium size bowl whisk together thoroughly:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Combine in another bowl:
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat until creamy:
6 tablespoons butter
Gradually add and beat until lightened in color and texture:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
Beat in one at a time:
2 large eggs
Add and beat until just blended:
1 cup pumpkin puree

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture in two parts, stirring until smooth. Fold in:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on a rack.

Thunderstorms

Once again Melbourne has been hit by severe thunderstorms this afternoon, which resulted in flash flooding and a lot of damage around town. The sky went black around 2:30 pm and it started to bucket down. The rain was so hard it was almost like a blizzard whiteout and we even got hail that was the size of quarters. The street outside my apartment flooded, as did a lot of places in the Melbourne CBD. Elizabeth Street turned into a river as you can see from this video. We received over an inch of rain in one hour (and about 0.7 inches of that was in 20 minutes), and the storm drains just couldn't cope. It has calmed down now, but more thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow.

Sydney Road Street Party

Because we didn't see enough of each other last night, Clinton, Kevin and I met up at the Sydney Road Street Party this afternoon. Joined by their friend Cameron we walked up and down Sydney Road a few times checking out the booths and food stalls. Unfortunately it seems as though the Muslim Women's Association has given up on selling their wonderful gozleme, which is so disappointing. We ended up eating chocolate croissants and sharing a lemon tart at Choukette and had our main meal from the Hare Krishna stall. There were lots of people out enjoying the street party and the various band stages, although we didn't find any music acts that grabbed our attention. After a few hours we decided we had seen everything there was to see and headed for home.

Hungry Kids of Hungary- The Air Sick Tour

Tonight Clinton, Kevin and I met up at The East Brunswick Club to see Hungry Kids of Hungary return to Melbourne on their "Air Sick" tour. The first band I saw for the evening was Boy & Bear from Sydney. I was really impressed by them and their harmonies and folk sounding music, which is a bit similar to Fleet Foxes. They are definitely a band to watch. Next up was Ernest Ellis, also from Sydney, who had a few songs that sounded good, but overall their set didn't really grab my attention.

Hungry Kids of Hungary came out to the nearly sold out venue and opened with their latest single "Let You Down." They then launched into a couple new songs that they've just recorded for their new album. The set list was a mix of old and new material. As always it was good to hear "Set It Right," "Lenny," and "Old Money." For "Scattered Diamonds" the members of Boy & Bear came up to play percussion and sing along. They ended the set with "Good Times" and then for an encore did a cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." It was great to see them play once again and enjoy those harmonies and wonderful power pop songs. The new material sounds good, so I'm looking forward to a full length debut album.

Visiting Regional Victoria

This morning I caught the train from Southern Cross Station up to Ballarat. It was my first time on V/Line and the nearly hour and a half train ride was a comfortable one. Michelle picked me up at the station and then we headed over to get Tash. Her little cottage house is very cute. After a bit of a chat we hit the road for Hepburn Springs to have lunch at Chowder House. Co-owned by an American chef, we had been wanting to try out this place for a while now, and Michelle thought it would be a good way to celebrate my birthday. They have about six different chowders on the menu. I had a traditional clam chowder, Tash had a seafood chowder and Michelle went with the chicken and corn chowder. All of them came with a piece of homemade cornbread as well. The big bowl of chowder tasted fantastic and although not too thick was quite filling. It definitely met my expectations.

After a quick drive around Hepburn Springs to check out the many mineral spring spas in the area, we went to neighboring Daylesford to have a walk around downtown and visit some of the shops. In one of the first places we went into I spotted this necklace and really liked it, so I bought it as a gift for myself. After a while we ended up finding an ice cream shop and stopped in for some dessert. Once we returned to Ballarat we had a drive around the city and the now dry Lake Wendouree (a victim of the drought). One of the great things about many of the towns in the region is that they still have a lot of their historical buildings from the gold rush era in the mid-1800s. We stopped by Michelle's townhouse so I could have a look at it before she dropped Tash and I off for the train ride back to Melbourne. While Tash went off to watch the Tropfest short film festival at Federation Square, I headed for home.

One Year Older

It is now officially my birthday in both Australia and the United States. The day began with a phone call from my parents. I was good and did not open the present they sent me until today, which was a photo book of my life that my Mom made. It's really awesome. They also got me the bouquet of flowers you see in the picture. I have received some lovely birthday wishes from friends and family throughout the day. Chantal and I went out to lunch at Shuji Sushi and Clinton treated me to a mini chocolate mud cake at Treasury Deli in the afternoon. After working off the cake at the gym I returned home and I'm spending the evening watching Gossip Girl and RuPaul's Drag Race. All in all it's been a pretty good birthday.

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

After work Clinton and I grabbed a quick dinner and then met his partner Kevin at the Kino Cinema to see Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. The movie, set in Harlem in 1987, is about a 16 year-old obese, illiterate girl named Claireece Precious Jones who lives with her dysfunctional mother, Mary. Precious has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long term physical, mental and sexual abuse from her unemployed mother. Despite the grim storyline, it is a tale of trying to make a better life for yourself and not giving up.

All of us had prepared ourselves for the movie to be difficult to watch, but it wasn't that graphic and at a lot of the worst moments in Precious' life, it would switch to her having a dream sequence. Gabourey Sidibe is great in her first acting performance as Precious and Mo'Nique is amazingly brutal as Precious' mother. This film definitely deserves all the awards and Oscar nominations it has received.

The Good China at St. Kilda Festival

Today I headed down to the St. Kilda Festival to catch The Good China playing the Main Stage on the beach. They won the opening slot by being voted best band on the New Music Stage at last year's festival. A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch them play their half hour set. They started with a new song and then played one of my favorites "If Pain Persists." Other songs in the set included "No More Maps," "Turn The Page" and "All Nothing" (complete with hand claps). They finished off the day with a rousing rendition of "We Found Three Whistles" that had the crowd dancing. It was very exciting to see the band playing on the big stage, and I'm sure it would have been a huge thrill for them all. Since it was a fairly warm day and there weren't any other acts I was dying to see I headed back for home.

The Cuckoos

Last night Belinda came and picked me up and we headed off to Brunswick Street as a bit of a farewell since she will be moving to London in about a week. We had dinner at The Vegie Bar, dessert at Trampoline and then headed to The Evelyn to see The Cuckoos. The first band we saw for the evening was The Alcorettes, who had a much more alt-country/early rock 'n' roll sound that I was expecting. Next was The Revels, who have that classic Aussie pub rock sound and good energy on stage.

The Cuckoos played a fun set and had a group of people dancing at the front of the stage. They played a mixture of new songs and ones off their EP. It was good to hear "Sweet Tooth Sally Malouf," "Clementine" and my personal favorite "Lovely Day." They even sang their own version of "Happy Birthday" for someone in the crowd (and I'll take it as early birthday wishes for myself too). It was good to see Tom and Quang playing live again, as Little Red don't seem to be doing much these days.

When Thunderstorms Attack

Around 3:30 pm the thunder and lightning started and then the rain began. By 4:30 pm parts of the city were under water due to flash flooding and a couple people were even spotted swimming down Flinders Street. It was the heaviest rain I have ever seen in this town, and the lightning was very close to the CBD. Thankfully by the time I left work for the gym things had calmed down, and more importantly the temperatures have finally cooled after a hot week.

The Basics Record a Live Album

Last night Tash, Mary and I made our way to the Northcote Social Club to see our beloved band The Basics record songs for an upcoming live album. After signing our names in paint on the boards that will be used for the album cover, we entered the sold out room. The band played a range of songs spanning all their releases throughout the two hour set. The evening started with just Wally, Kris and Tim on stage, and then they were joined by David Bramble on keyboards and other musicians as the evening progressed.

There were a fair amount of songs from Stand Out/Fit In, with "Lookin' Over My Shoulder" having a more reggae sound. "Three Cool Cats" had the audience clapping out the rhythm and Tim played a lively version of "Have Love, Will Travel." There were only a few songs played from the new album Keep Your Friends Close, including our favorite "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today" and a completely new and faster arrangement of "Home Again" that was inspired by Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)." I was really excited to hear the unreleased track "What It Feels Like To Be Loved," which was played at The Evelyn residency in 2008 but didn't make the album.

It wouldn't be a Basics gig without covers, and we got a few throughout the evening, including The Police's "Roxanne," Neil Young's "Old Man" and New Kids On The Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" complete with dance moves. To finish off the night they played a medley of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" and Eric Clapton's "Cocaine." It will be interesting to see what songs end up making it onto the live album.

Here's the video for their brilliant latest single, "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today"

Happy Birthday Danny

After our big shopping excursion last week today was the day for Danny's American/Australian-themed 30th birthday party. A group of us gathered at Princes Park in Carlton this afternoon on what was a very hot day. We set up a table in the shade with a variety of American foods as well as some Kool-Aid. Surprisingly a lot of guests weren't big fans of the Kool-Aid, which I guess is an acquired taste. Ruth braved the barbecue grill in the sun and we had hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages along with some salads. I contributed a classic macaroni salad, which came out just as I remember it from my youth (it was the first time I had made the dish).

Danny had brought a variety of balls, so while some people kicked the footy we were throwing around a football. I think we had people throwing spirals after a few tries. Danny's attempt at an American accent contest didn't really take off, so we sang happy birthday and had some of Ruth's chocolate ripple cake, which was in the shape of the number 30. It was a fun afternoon and as darkness descended on the park we cleaned up and headed for home.

Americana Australian Style

This morning Danny and Ruth picked me up and we drove out to the USA Foods store in Moorabbin. Danny is having an American/Australian themed b-day party next week so he was looking to pick up some items for the event. The shop was smaller than we were expecting, but I did find some great stuff to buy:
- Jello
- Jello pudding
- Libby's canned pumpkin
- Bulls Eye Original barbecue sauce
- Honey Maid cinnamon graham crackers
- Marshmallows
- Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

So inspired were we by our American purchases that we decided to head to Costco in Docklands for some further shopping and to go in together on a joint membership. Walking into the store made me feel like I was back in the States because the layout is practically identical to the one in Novato. Warehouse stores are a new concept in Australia so they are allowing people to sign in and walk around if they aren't members (although you can't buy anything). I picked up some bagels and a gigantic bottle of Saigon cinnamon that was priced the same as a small bottle of ground cinnamon at the grocery store. It was a successful shopping excursion and if I ever feel homesick I will just go hang out at Costco. I'm now going to make some Rice Krispies Treats with the marshmallows I bought.

Brushes with Greatness

Tonight I exchanged smiles and waves goodbye with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the Teach For Australia celebration at Melbourne Museum. Maybe she thought I was a TFA Associate? Yesterday Victorian Premier John Brumby walked by while I was at Treasury Deli. Unfortunately, I have yet to run into Prince William while he's been in Melbourne.