Oh Mercy- Sandy Single Tour

It's been two years since Oh Mercy last played a proper band show in Melbourne, so it was no surprise that tonight's gig at The Gasometer Hotel to launch the new single "Sandy" was sold out. Mary and I arrived just as the first act, the Steve Miller Band (not the one you're thinking of), kicked off the night with a loud, old school punk set of songs and covers. Next up was Melbourne four piece band Pearls with their 70s inspired glam rock songs.

The Oh Mercy of old is no more as Alexander Gow has assembled a new live band that includes a drummer, keyboardist, bass guitarist and violinist. They started off the evening with "My Man" and then played the new single "Sandy," which is a fantastic song with a driving guitar and synth line throughout. The set list included songs off the upcoming album When We Talk About Love including "Without You" and "Iron Cross." We also got some old favorites such as "Keith St," "Deep Heat" and "Stay Please Stay," which Alex hopes to be on high rotation on Smooth FM one day. Towards the end of the set Alex invited his "tall and handsome friend" Paul Dempsey on stage to join him in singing a cover of The Waterboys' "The Whole Of The Moon." The band came back on and they played a cover of Echo & The Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" before finishing the night with "Lay Everything On Me." The new songs sound great on first listen and I'm looking forward to the new album coming out in June.

Here's the video for "Sandy."

Rolls Bayce- On My Own Tour

While it's sad that Brisbane's Hungry Kids Of Hungary are no more, out of the ashes of that band have emerged several new projects, including Rolls Bayce featuring Dean McGrath. Tonight they played their first Melbourne show at The Curtain on Lygon Street. Opening the evening was the lovely Slow Dancer. Simon played his set solo on electric guitar and did stripped back versions of his songs, including "Took The Floor Out," "Leave It To Me," "Please" and "Doesn't Matter." He also treated us to a cover of The Go-Betweens' "Streets Of Your Town." Next up was Melbourne five piece Playwrite, who had these big anthemic songs and made it through their set despite the fact their lead singer had the flu.

Rolls Bayce were immediately impressive for a band that hasn't been playing together live for that long. Their set contained new songs as well as "Mutate," the hit single "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "On My Own" off their EP. All three members are such amazing musicians and fed off each other as they played extended jams. I loved the chunky guitars and psych sound to their songs, and it was great to hear Dean singing again. Rolls Bayce are such a talented band that they should have no trouble rising in popularity quickly.

Here's a live version of "On My Own."

Essendon v. Hawthorn

It has been an unusual start to the 2015 AFL season for Essendon. The 34 current and former players who were serving provisional suspensions after being given infraction notices by ASADA last November over the 2012 supplements program were finally cleared by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal just days before the start of Round 1. While this meant our 13 current players could finally play in the team, they hadn't had any match preparation until our first game last week against Sydney. Although we started strong and had a 41 point lead into the third quarter against the Grand Finalists, we ended up fading in the fourth quarter and got overrun, losing to Sydney by 12 points.

For today's Round 2 match we faced the reigning Premiers Hawthorn. No one really had any hope that we could win, especially after Hawthorn's emphatic win over Geelong last week. I joined Tash and her mum and sister at the MCG, seated behind the Hawthorn goals for the game. Amazingly Essendon had another fantastic start and we were up by 22 points at half time (which should have been more but we allowed two late goals before the siren). In the third quarter Hawthorn started to come back, and we went into the fourth quarter with an 8 point lead and a sense of deja vu from last week.

Hawthorn kept coming and eventually went in front by 16 points midway through the fourth quarter. Although it looked like the game was over, the Essendon players did not give up and they cut Hawthorn's lead down to 10 points with 2 minutes left to play. We then somehow managed to kick two goals in a little over a minute, with defender Cale Hooker's goal putting Essendon back in front by 2 points with 57 seconds left on the clock. The ball was back in Hawthorn's 50 as time ran down, and they would have won the game had the siren not sounded a couple seconds before Luke Breust kicked the ball through the goal. The Essendon supporters erupted as we somehow managed to beat the best team in the competition, while the Hawthorn fans were in shock that they lost the game. As the Essendon club song played over the loud speakers former coach Kevin Sheedy walked around the boundary waving his scarf over his head and the crowd joined in.  It was a great moment and a fantastic win for the club.

Final Score
Essendon: 12.6 (78)
Hawthorn: 11.10 (76)

MICF: Hannah Gadsby and Sara Pascoe

Friday night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is always super busy and full of sold out shows. Tonight Onagh and I started our evening at the Melbourne Town Hall with Hannah Gadsby's show Donkey. We are both big fans of Hannah, having seen her show in previous years. This year she explored her mental health and how being diagnosed with ADHD has changed how she views herself. Having built a career around "depression comedy," being told she had ADHD and getting on ritalin has completely changed her perspective on her behavior and attitude to life. The funniest stories revolved around her long simmering hatred for a server named Fletcher at her local cafe, and her unique solutions to problems she couldn't bring herself to deal with. This was another funny show from Hannah at the festival and it finished with an entertaining singing number.

Next we rushed downstairs to join the line for UK comedian Sara Pascoe and her show Sara Pascoe Vs History. Sara was incredibly smart in the way she wove together stories of her own relationships over time while delving into the sexual evolution of the human race. She wondered if her current relationship could last when history's great romances have not (e.g. Adam and Eve; Napoleon and Josephine). She also explored male and female sexual desire, sperm selection, female anatomy, having babies and other interesting insights from research she has done. All in all this was an intelligent and fascinating hour of comedy and my favorite show of the festival so far.

Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions

After a tapas dinner at Teatro along Southbank Promenade (food was good, service not so much) Tash and I headed to Hamer Hall for Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions. The opening act for the evening was Emma Donovan & The Putbacks. Joined by Kylie Auldist on backing vocals, they played a soulful set of songs and sounded great.

The musicians assembled by Paul Kelly for The Merri Soul Sessions were an amazing bunch of Australian talent. The album itself has songs written and sung by a variety of members of the group, as well as covers of a couple Paul Kelly tracks. The evening started with Vika and Linda Bull taking turns singing lead on the the first two songs "What You Want" and "Smells Like Rain." Paul Kelly dedicated "Thank You" to a couple after receiving a letter, and it resulted in a marriage proposal during the song (she said yes). Dan Sultan and Clairy Browne did a sultry duet of "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby."

It was the Paul Kelly tracks from his back catalogue though that got the biggest response, with "How To Make Gravy, "Song From The Sixteenth Floor," Clairy's version of "Keep On Coming Back For More," Dan singing "Look So Fine, Feel So Low" (complete with audience sing along), Kira Puru doing "Give In To My Love" and Vika's great rendition of "Sweet Guy." In the encore everyone joined in to sing "Dumb Things" and then the six vocalists gathered around a microphone in the middle of the stage to sing "Meet Me In The Middle Of The Air" a capella.  It was a moving finish to such a fantastic evening of music.

Here's a clip about how The Merri Soul Sessions came to be:

MICF: Geraldine Hickey and Adam Hills

It was tightarse Tuesday at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival tonight, so how could you not head out to see some shows? Onagh and I began our evening at the Melbourne Town Hall for Geraldine Hickey's Listen Out For The Castanets. Geraldine came out dancing and joked that she's getting fitter as the festival progresses. After asking us about our favorite footy teams and singing portions of their theme songs, she began the show. While telling a story about an encounter with an unstable person in a bottle shop, she expertly wove in tales from her childhood and life to illustrate points before continuing with the story. You also have to like a show that discusses ice cream bars, and I learned about two I've never heard of before- Bubble O'Bill and his cheap imitation Garry Gumball. This was a subtle and smart show that's definitely worth checking out.

Next, after some dessert, we headed to the Athenaeum Theatre to see Adam Hills show Clown Heart. Adam is a veteran of the Australian comedy scene and started off his show by calling out late comers and dragging them up onto the stage with hilarious results. His actual show explores getting older, fatherhood, cancer and dying after losing his dad recently. After showing a clip of his friend Craig Coombs, who is fighting cancer in a unique way (hint- Naked Tuesday), Craig came out and told a few jokes before he and Adam launched into the big finale number. Adam just makes it look effortless on stage, and I really enjoyed his show and its overall message.

MICF: Wil Anderson, Arj Barker and Joel Creasey

It's Melbourne International Comedy Festival time once again and there are over 500 acts performing this year from 25 March - 19 April. I have gone through the program and shortlisted a bunch of shows (we'll see how many I end up getting to). My first MICF show was last Monday with Onagh for Wil Anderson's Political Wil at the Comedy Theatre, which is only running for three shows in total on Monday nights. Wil is doing two shows this year, but this one is focused on Australian politics and other things that wouldn't fit into his regular show. He covered a wide variety of topics, including Tony Abbott eating a raw onion, the Australian knighthood of Prince Philip, refugees, violence against women and his hatred of columnist Andrew Bolt, amongst other things. It was a funny and insightful 70 plus minutes and I actually enjoyed the darker moments of the show as it reminded me of the stand-up comedy I grew up watching. As Wil stated about 45 minutes in that he was where he thought he'd be at the 15 minute mark, it will be interesting to see how much the show changes each week.

Tonight Belinda and I started our Easter evening at the Melbourne Town Hall for Arj Barker's Get In My Head. This is the first MICF show of his I have caught, even though he is a regular visitor to Australia. I'll always have a soft spot for Arj as he also grew up in Marin. The show had an overarching theme of getting older and looking back at simpler times, such as when children had manners and people didn't have control over photos because they were taken on film. Portions of the material were blokey (his anti-aging "poo facials," freezing sperm at home and erections) but overall it was an entertaining hour, with the best bits of the night being about airplane boarding systems, what Bob Marley would be like today if he smoked as much weed as in the past, and surprisingly ISIS.

Next we headed down to ACMI to see Joel Creasey's show The Hurricane. Joel recently did a stint on the Australian version of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here in the South African jungle, so he was full of amusing anecdotes from that as well as other events in his life. His tales from the jungle were hilarious, especially about Maureen McCormick (aka Marsha Brady) and some of the other "celebrities" that were there. He also snarked about being invited back to the apartment of a closeted male star of the tv soap Neighbours for a sex party, and a particularly nasty run in at an interview with a two time Oscar winner. Joel is a fantastic storyteller and not afraid to share the inside dirt from his encounters, which resulted in a funny and fast-paced hour of comedy that ended with an amusing costume change.

Chantal and Richard's Wedding

Yesterday was Chantal and Richard's wedding day. The wedding ceremony took place at Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church in South Melbourne. Chantal looked gorgeous in her beautiful lace dress as she entered the church with her Mum. The priest who performed the ceremony was quite a character- it almost felt like a Catholic revival at times. Family members from both sides took part throughout the ceremony, and we learned that they were getting married on the birthday of Chantal's late father, which I thought was special and a good omen.

After the ceremony there was a few hours gap before the reception started, so I had a coffee with Amrita, Philippe and their two little ones in a cafe next door to the church before heading into the city to kill some time. The reception took place at the Wattle Park Chalet in Surrey Hills which is located within some parklands. We had pre-dinner drinks, hors d'oeurves and a group photo before heading inside for dinner. Once the wedding party entered they cut the cake and then spread out speeches before the entree and main course. The food was quite tasty throughout the night. I had the pumpkin and feta tortellini, chicken breast stuffed with brie and sundried tomatoes, and tiramisu for dessert. The dance floor was pumping early as well as the photo booth upstairs. The evening was a mix of Sri Lankan and Swedish traditions in honor of their family heritages. Overall it was a fun night and I wish the happy couple all the best for their future together.

French Film Festival 2015

The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival has been on in Melbourne over the past few weeks and Onagh and I have been to see a number of the films showcased this year. Attending has also allowed me to see how much of my high school French I actually remember. Here are the films that I have seen, which thankfully have been pretty good for the most part:

The Gazelles follows Marie (Camille Chamoux) as she throws away her 15 year relationship with Eric and enters the dating scene with a bunch of friends of her work colleague Sandra (Audrey Fleurot). A lighthearted and at times scary glimpse into the singles scene when you are older, it was an amusing film to watch.

The New Girlfriend is a psychological thriller that starts with the funeral of Laura and follows the aftermath for her husband David (Romain Duris) and their baby, as well as Laura's lifelong best friend Claire (Anais Demoustier). Claire goes to visit David one day and discovers him dressed as a woman. The film explores how Claire helps David to develop his female persona Virginia, and how that impacts on Claire's relationships with both her husband and David.

The Connection is the true story behind the hit movie The French Connection told from a European perspective. The film covers the drug trade and corruption in Marseille in the mid-1970s and stars Jean Dujardin as the magistrate Pierre Michel and Gilles Lellouche as mafia boss Gaetan Zampa. It was an action packed film and quite entertaining.

Saint Laurent is another film set mainly in the late 1960s to mid-1970s and covers the life of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel). You get to see his struggles with poor health and addiction, as well as his relationships with his partner and muses. The film culminates with his 1976 Moroccan-inspired collection. If they ever do an English language biopic they should get designer and Project Runway alum Austin Scarlett to play YSL.

Almost Friends is a comedy that involves two women at a crossroads in their lives. Carole (Emmanuelle Devos) feels overshadowed by her chef husband Sam (Roschdy Zem), and secretly comes to an adult training center to get an assessment of her career options. She becomes friends with her counsellor Marithe (Karin Viard) and Marithe gives Carole advice that plays more to her ulterior motives than Carole's best interests. I thought the film was ok, but found Sam distracting as the actor has a resemblance to President Barack Obama.

The Gate is set in Cambodia during the 1970s reign of Pol Pot and tells the true story of French ethnologist Francois Bizot (Raphael Personnaz), who was captured and imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge. It explores the relationship he develops with Comrade Duch (Kompheak Phoeung) while under captivity and what happens when they meet again years later. Considering the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, I thought the film was quite restrained in what it showed of the realities of captivity in the prison camps.

Girlhood is set in the housing projects of Paris and follows 16-year-old Mariame (Karidja Toure). After she is told her grades are too poor to continue on to high school, she meets three other girls who are brash and stylish and joins up with them. The film explores their friendships, the social and gender politics of growing up in a tough neighborhood, and the choices the girls make in order to survive.

The Belier Family also focuses on a 16-year-old girl, Paula (Louane Emera), the only hearing member of a deaf family who are dairy farmers in a small village. At school she decides to join the choir because of a cute boy, but it turns out she has an amazing singing voice. Her teacher encourages her to practice in order to audition for a music school in Paris, and Paula struggles with wanting to aim for independence in her life while at the same time feeling guilty about abandoning her family. The audition scene was particularly poignant as she sang Michel Sardou's "Last Flight"- especially for someone like me who has left family behind to live half way around the world. This was probably my favorite film of all the ones we saw.

Huw Parkinson Lampoons Australian Politics

Huw Parkinson is doing some of the best political commentary going with his mash-ups of Australian politicians with popular films and tv shows. His latest video is a take on Christopher Pyne's Sky News Interview last week where Pyne claimed to be a fixer.

Star Wars: Fixed (with Christopher Pyne)


Here are some other great creations by Huw from the past few months:

Four Weddings and a Funeral with Tony Abbott


Consider Yourself Part Of The Furniture


Seinfeld In Parliament


The Darjeeling Abbotted
The Darjeeling Abbotted from Huw Parkinson on Vimeo.

In Dreams- David Lynch Revisited

As a huge fan of director David Lynch and the soundtracks he and Angelo Badalamenti composed for his film and tv work, I was really excited to get the opportunity to hear these songs interpreted live. In Dreams: David Lynch Revisited brought together an array of artists under the musical direction of David Coulter to perform tracks from throughout Lynch's career. Onagh joined me for tonight's second and final show at the Melbourne Recital Centre where we had very close second row seats.

The evening began in a very Lynchian way with David Coulter in a sequenced jacket and long red gloves sawing into a log. Sophia Brous did an amazing a capella version of "Llorando (Crying)" from Mulholland Drive, and was later joined by Kirin J Callinan for a unique interpretation of "Blue Velvet." It was the Twin Peaks tracks though that I was really eager to hear, and thankfully many of them featured throughout the night. Cibo Matto did a raucous version of "A Real Indication," Sarah Blasko sang the two Julee Cruise tracks "The Nightingale" and "Into The Night" before being joined on stage by Sophia and Kirin for "Just You and I" (with Kirin at his creepy/charming best). Violinist Owen Pallett sang the iconic "Falling," Sophia performed Jimmy Scott's "Sycamore Trees," and harpist Marshall McGuire played "Laura Palmer's Theme," which was both haunting and beautiful.

Camille O'Sullivan had fantastic outfits for both her numbers, and I really enjoyed her version of "Song To The Siren" from Lost Highway. Mick Harvey and the band did a thumping version of "Ghost Of Love" from Inland Empire, before Sophia joined him for a duet of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" with Owen, Camille and Kirin on backing vocals. As David thanked everyone who participated in this tribute show, the band finished the night with "Dance Of The Dream Man." Overall it was a pretty impressive evening and such a privilege to see all these fantastic artists perform together on the same stage.

Chet Faker- Palais Theatre

Chet Faker (aka Nicholas Murphy) has been on a meteoric rise over the past two years, taking out the number one spot on the Triple J Hottest 100 for 2014. Tonight Tash and I attended his fifth and final sold out show at the Palais Theatre. I've been aware of him for a while but never really listened to his releases, so I went into this show fresh. His music is more of a soulful electronica, and throughout the night he built up the layers of beats and sang along while accompanied by a drummer/percussionist and guitarist/keyboardist. He also had a pretty intricate light show to go along with each song, although there were way too many strobe lights. All of the songs got big reactions from the all ages crowd, and I really enjoyed his cover of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" (which first brought him to prominence), "Gold" and "Talk Is Cheap." Sitting up in the lounge also allowed us to be able to see what he was doing throughout the night, which made things interesting.

Here's the video for "Talk Is Cheap"

Dan Sultan- Zoo Twilights

A few weeks ago Dan Sultan was meant to play a Zoo Twilights show at the Melbourne Zoo, but a thunder and lightening storm shortly after the gates opened meant that it had to be cancelled. Fortunately they were able to reschedule it for this evening, and the weather managed to cooperate. Ruth staked out some prime space up the front and Belinda, Tash and I joined her and Danny there for the night. The opening act was Benny Walker and his band, who played a bluesy set with some extended jams.

Dan Sultan came out solo and started his set with "Dirty Ground" off his recent EP of the same name. After playing "Nobody Knows" and his Way Of The Eagle collaboration "Rattlesnake" the rest of the band joined him on stage. Dan played tracks from all of his releases, including "Under Your Skin," "Crazy," "It Belongs To Us," "Your Love Is Like A Song," "The Same Man" and a very cathartic version of "Old Fitzroy," which was dedicated to a couple of family members who recently passed away. Throughout the night he was quite gracious and thanked people for buying his album Blackbird, which recently went gold. The main set finished with "Kimberley Calling" and then for an encore they tore through a great version of "Letter." It was a bit chilly by the end of the night, but I'm glad the show was able to be rescheduled and we didn't have to deal with rain.

Here's the video for "Kimberley Calling"

Rufus Wainwright- Vibrate Tour

Rufus Wainwright has returned to Australia to play some solo shows in support of his best of album Vibrate.  Simon joined me for tonight's concert at the Palais Theatre. The opening act was Rufus' half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche, who played a solo folk set on acoustic guitar. She was very funny in between songs and requested questions from the crowd. One person asked if she and Rufus ever played together as children and she recounted a story of Rufus having her pretend to lay dead on the couch while he sang arias to her. Besides her own songs she played a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" (complete with an audience sing along) and a track off an album of dark lullabies that she is currently recording with her sister Martha Wainwright.

Rufus came out in jeans and a pink patterned jacket and sat at the piano to start his set with "Grey Gardens." This was the first time I have seen him live without a band. He alternated between piano and acoustic guitar as he played songs from throughout his career. I was really excited to hear older songs such as "Beauty Mark," "Vibrate," "April Fools," "Gay Messiah" and my personal favorite "Going To A Town." We also got the more recent tracks "Out Of The Game," "Montauk," "Sonnet 20" and an aria from his recently recorded opera Prima Donna. Rufus' voice sounded absolutely amazing during the night, and at one point he said he was channelling Joan Sutherland. It wouldn't have been a Rufus show without some humorous moments, and we were visited on stage by Liza Minelli and Judy Garland before he and Liza (aka Lucy) duetted on the song "Me and Liza." Rufus also worked through a brand new song called "Lucy's Blue" and finished the main set with "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk."

The encore started with another one of my favorites "The Art Teacher" and then he invited out the Melbourne Hallelujah chorus (people who pledged a certain amount for the recording of Prima Donna). Rufus and Lucy did a duet of "Pretty Things" before the chorus joined in for Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which sounded great. The first encore finished with "Poses" and then Rufus came back out and sang "Foolish Love" to close the evening. This was another fantastic concert by Rufus and it's always a privilege to see such a talented musician play in person. If you don't own any of his albums start off with Vibrate and then work your way through his back catalogue.

Here's the video for "Me and Liza"

Andy White- Wesley Anne

Andy White has just returned from an overseas tour of Italy, the UK, Ireland and Canada, so he was fighting fit for his live set at the Wesley Anne in Northcote tonight. This was actually my first time in the venue, and the bandroom is a great space (and they serve food in there). I came in towards the end of folk singer Alison Thom's set, catching the last few songs. Fran joined me and it was good to be able to catch up with her.

Andy started his set solo by playing "James Joyce's Grave" before inviting members of his band The Antipoets onto the stage. Most of the songs in the set were off his recent album How Things Are, with highlights including "Drifting," "Band Of Gold," "Jessica Says," "Everyone's In Love," and "Lennon." We were also treated to the older tracks "Italian Girls on Mopeds," "Vision Of You," "If You Want It" and the set closer "Jacqui." Andy seemed to enjoy himself throughout the night and sounded great. I'd really like to catch him doing a whole set solo just on acoustic guitar.

The Basics- Tinder Knight

It was billed as a secret show under the moniker Tinder Knight on the Northcote Social Club website, but those in the know realised tonight was going to be a unique and special evening featuring The Basics. They set up to play 'in the round' style in the middle of the bandroom with just a piano and two acoustic guitars. The crowd was limited to 200 people, which made for an intimate experience as everyone sat or stood around them. In addition, people were invited to bring along sheet music for any songs they would like the band to attempt to play, which added an element of unpredictability to the night.

After Kris, Tim and Wally came out and took their seats they started off with a cover of Crowded House's "Not The Girl You Think You Are." Kris explained that they called the show Tinder Knight because Tuesday's are supposed to be the nights that people go on Tinder dates. The band promised to play mostly rarely heard Basics songs and covers, so I knew we would be in for a great evening. In the first set we were treated to a number of Basics tracks, including "To Think Of You," "Wait For You," "Ashleigh Wakes," "Trouble In His Head" and "What Do You See In Me?" Some of the covers were pretty amazing as well, especially Tears For Fears' "Mad World," The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" and David Bowie's "As The World Falls Down" from the movie Labyrinth (perhaps the most random cover of the evening). The highlight though was Wally singing an audience request for George Michael's "Freedom" while trying to read the lyrics in the dark room.

After a brief intermission the guys came back out for what was a pretty eclectic second set. They began with Cold Chisel's "When The War Is Over" and then Kris sang Christina Aguilera's "Genie In A Bottle." Wally slayed Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" and they all played a beautiful version of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon." As for Basics tracks we got to hear "Hey Rain" (with Tim on piano), "Keep The Door Open," "With This Ship," "All Or Nothing" and "Home Again." One theme that ran throughout the night was Wally's excitement about having seen Roxette last week and his desire to sing "The Look." We got a few snippets here and there, including a bit of a jazzy version, but it wasn't until near the end of the set that he finally got to sing the song in full. As they were on a Swedish kick Ace of Base came up, which resulted in a little piece of "The Sign."

Kris made a request for Wally to sing the Gotye track "Bronte." It had a couple false starts around Kris and Tim not being able to do the harmonies but Wally did a gorgeous version in the end. I enjoyed hearing Kris and Wally sing Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins' "What A Fool Believes," but my favorite moment was an audience request for John Farnham's "You're The Voice" that they took on with gusto (that song is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me). Kris dedicated Neil Young's "Old Man" to himself as it's his birthday on Saturday and had everyone singing along with him. The very last song of the night was The Beatles' "The End," which was the perfect way to finish this epic 3 hour gig.

The evening felt like one of those classic Basics shows of the past with all the humor, harmonies and unique covers. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much. The guys really seemed to be enjoying themselves, but there was also a tinge of sadness as Wally is moving to New York and we don't know when The Basics will be playing together again. I'm having flashbacks to the Keep Your Friends Close era as there is a finished album (currently titled The Age of Entitlement) but no release date on the horizon. We will just have to wait and see what the future holds, but I don't think this is the end for The Basics.

White Night Melbourne 2015

I enjoyed White Night Melbourne so much last year that I was eager to check it all out again this year. Running for one night only from 7:00 pm - 7:00 am, it's an opportunity to choose your own adventure as there is so much to see and experience. In order to get the best out of White Night, I have the following tips:

• Plan ahead what you want to see: Look at the program and highlight what your "must sees" are on a map. It's much easier to see things in a geographical order than to zigzag across the city.
• Come into the city after midnight: The best way to avoid the big crowds and long lines is to come in as many people are starting to head home. I arrived around 1:00 am and was able to wander around without having to deal with a crush of people.
• Wear comfortable shoes: As the footprint of White Night expands, it means you will be doing a lot of walking in order to see everything. I walked over 11 kms (nearly 7 miles) during the four hours I was at White Night.
• Follow #WhiteNightMelb: Wondering where those secret spots on the map are going to be located? Utilise social media to find the answer so you don't miss out on something great.

I started my night at the NGV to see KEYFRAMES by Group LAPS, which featured illuminated stick figures in motion, and experience the laser lumia effect of Infinite Curve by Kit Webster and David Leigh.

Next I headed into the Queen Victoria and Alexandria Gardens to hear the kinetic sound sculptures of Ray Lee's Chorus, and see the ultimate profile photo opportunity provided by Carla O'Brien's Neon Angel Wings (and there was a line of people waiting to take pictures in front of it). I then walked past the glowing giant lotus flowers of Sita's Garden in the Yarra River and across to Birrarung Marr to see the fire breathing dragon of Sean Diamond and Stephanie Selig's The Crucible.

I am a massive fan of The Electric Canvas as their light projections are always so amazing. Once again they did an fantastic job with Wonderland along Flinders Street, taking on the theme of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The laneways and streets of Melbourne's CBD held many little treasures to discover, including the combination of street art and light projection with Yandell Walton and 'I & The Others' Exodus, the animated sculptures projected in Plasmatic No.1, Plasmatic No.2, Plasmatic No.3 by Andy Buchanan, and the Vanishing and Becoming light projections on the Queen Victoria Women's Centre by Sohan Ariel Hayes.

At the State Library there were two different pieces to celebrate the sesquicentenary of the publication of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Outside were the Rabbit Hole light projections by Nick Azidis, and inside the library dome were the 360-degree light projections of Eat Me by Antoine + Manuel accompanied by music by Sui Zhen. It was great to finally get into the dome this year (the line was much shorter at 4:00 am) as I not only enjoyed the projections, but also the air conditioning since it was still so warm and humid outside.

On the map for White Night there were a number of secret spots named with a question mark as to their location. Fortunately I learned via Twitter that one not to miss was Sofles - Graffiti Mapped curated by Juddy Roller, which was located on the way to the Carlton Gardens. The work combined 3D video mapping with street art and a musical score. It was an innovative work and one of the highlights of the evening.

My last location for the night was the Royal Exhibition Building to see 4 Elements by Ocubo. Showcasing the elements of earth, water, fire and air, the projections also featured dancers moving across the building as the elements changed. This was a large scale, amazing work projected onto one of my favorite buildings in Melbourne. I couldn't think of a better way to end my White Night journey for 2015.

Birthday Celebrations

My milestone birthday has finally arrived, and it's been a great day! Unfortunately things at work are really busy so I was unable to take the day off. However, my parents brightened my desk by sending an incredible bouquet of flowers (which also tipped off my colleagues that it was my birthday). Justin and I escaped for lunch at Mamasita, which was fantastic as usual and fulfilled my craving for Mexican food. Then my divisional colleagues threw a little surprise afternoon tea for me with a cake from Laurent, which was really thoughtful of them.

As someone who went on a patisserie crawl last year, it should be no surprise that I chose to celebrate my birthday this year by doing the dessert degustation at Om Nom in the Adelphi Hotel. When you walk in you are hit by the sweet smell of sugar. I was joined by a lovely group of friends, with over half of us doing the degustation and the others ordering savory food to share. Onagh was kind enough to get me the Adelphi Rose cocktail, which was quite nice. I think between us we managed to order all of the degustation options on the menu. My three choices were as follows:

• Raspberry Field- Raspberry and lychee sorbet, baked meringue, raspberry panna cotta, rosewater pearls and white chocolate
• Icecream 'Sanga'- Pistachio ice cream, ricotta orange cream, vanilla chantilly, biscuit cuillere, strawberry swirled vanilla ice cream and balsamic spheres
• MagNOM- Flourless chocolate, valhrona manjari 64% chocolate ice cream, peanut dacquoise and peanut butter swirled vanilla ice cream

All of the dishes tasted and looked great, but I think my favorite was the Raspberry Field with its raspberry sorbet mushroom cap. It was really nice of the staff to write happy birthday on my MagNOM plate (I blew out one of the table candles after my friends sang to me). Since the sizes were smaller than normal desserts and had light flavors I didn't feel overloaded on sugar by the end of the evening. The degustation was a great way to sample a portion of the menu at the quite reasonable price of $48 per person. I look forward to coming back to Om Nom to try some more dishes. I would also like to thank all my friends for making turning 40 years old a fun and relatively pain free experience.

Daniel Rossen- Northcote Social Club

When Daniel Rossen last played in Melbourne with Grizzly Bear in 2012 his solo EP Silent Hour / Golden Mile had just been released. I never thought I would get to hear these songs played live, so I was super excited when he announced he would be doing a solo tour of Australia last year. Belinda joined me at the Northcote Social Club for tonight's second sold out show. The opening act was Jasia (aka Josiah Willows), who was accompanied by a guy on double bass. He mixed his classical training on violin with loops and electric guitar, producing an ethereal sound with his voice and music.

Daniel Rossen came out and took a seat on the raised platform on the stage and started his set with "Up On High." He joked that this was his vacation tour as he's escaping the winter and snow in New York. Alternating between 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars run through pedals and a piano, he played songs spanning his entire career. Highlights included "Silent Song" and "Golden Mile" from his solo EP, and a number of Department of Eagles tracks off In Ear Park: "In Ear Park," "Herringbone" and "Balmy Night," which he played on the banjo. He did a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Kathleen" as well as a few brand new and unreleased songs of his own, including the amazing track "Not Coming Back."

Daniel is a phenomenal guitar player so it was such a privilege to watch him play up close in an intimate setting. I also have to commend the crowd who were quiet and very respectful throughout the evening. It was so nice to not have to deal with talkers and noise and be able to focus on the music. This is especially true since he only played a couple of older Grizzly Bear tracks in the set: "Easier" and "Deep Blue Sea." Daniel finished the night with the Department of Eagles' song "Phantom Other." It was such an amazing show, and so great to hear songs that I thought I would never get to see played live in concert.

Here's a 2014 live set by Daniel on Seattle's KEXP:

St Kilda Festival- The Basics and San Cisco

Today was Festival Sunday at the St Kilda Festival, and thankfully the weather Gods were kind to us as the temperature wasn't nearly as hot as forecast earlier in the week. This year is the 35th anniversary of the festival, which is the largest of its kind in Australia. As I was walking along Jacka Boulevard I came across the Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra parade as it passed under the pedestrian bridge and people threw down rose petals from above.

I met up with Mary near the front of the main stage for the mid-afternoon set by The Basics. It was an impassioned start with "Time Poor" and "The Lucky Country" as the first two songs. Kris reminded the crowd that Monday's Liberal Party spill wouldn't result in any real change if someone else became Prime Minster. The set was a good mix of older songs, with the Stand Out/Fit In tracks "Have Love, Will Travel," "Hey There!," "Just Hold On," "Three Cool Cats" and "Rattle My Chain" (appropriate for the occasion as the album cover was shot at The Espy). Kris and Tim just returned from a quick trip to Kenya and were dressed in a dashiki and Maasai red plaid cloth. Unfortunately Wally was losing his voice as the set went on, but he made it through "So Hard For You" and "Second Best," which contained an extended drum solo. One funny moment was when he took a sip of Kris' lemonade, realized it contained alcohol, and asked Kris if he'd made a shandy (the answer was yes). By the end of their set the grey skies had turned blue and the sun was out. They closed with a great cover of Neil Young's "Old Man," and as Kris referenced Jimmy Fallon I think my tweet to him about the Two Neil Youngs bit on the Tonight Show last week may have inspired its inclusion in the set.

We managed to find Tash, who was sitting further back on the hill, and stayed there to watch San Cisco's set. Although I own all their releases this was the first time I've seen them live. They played a mix of new songs off their upcoming album Gracetown as well as some old favorites such as "Awkward," "Beach" and "No Friends." The newer single "Run" and just released "Too Much Time Together" got a good reaction, but it was the set closer "Fred Astaire" that had the huge crowd bopping along. I thought it was really brave of them to play so many new songs to a festival crowd, as it would have been easier to focus on their older, more well known tracks.