Blur- The Magic Whip Tour

I have been a fan of Blur since their very first single, so you can imagine my excitement when The Magic Whip got released earlier this year and they announced they would be playing live in Melbourne. Belinda and I arrived at Rod Laver Arena tonight and found a position on the floor (yay for general admission). The opening act was UK singer-songwriter Jamie T, who I thought was ok and got a good reaction from the crowd for a few of his songs.

The last time I saw Blur live was in San Francisco in 1997, so it's been a long time between gigs. When they came out onstage after the ice cream van jingles it was as if no time had passed. They started the evening with "Go Out" off the new album and then played "There's No Other Way" from their first. Damon had so much energy as he worked the stage and got the crowd going (thankfully I was just out of range for his water bottle sprays). Alex was the epitome of cool on the bass, Dave was fantastic on the drums, and Graham was his usual genius on the guitar.

The set list for the 2 hour concert spanned all their releases and was a great mix of old and new. The Magic Whip is a fantastic album and I was glad "Lonesome Street," "Ong Ong" and the magnificent "Thought I Was A Spaceman" got played. Everyone in the crowd sang along throughout the night, especially for those epic ballads like "Tender" and "This Is A Low." Graham said hi to the crowd before launching into my all time favorite Blur track "Coffee & TV," and managed to mostly keep it together at Damon knelt in front of him and made faces while he sang.

It was the big singles though that really got the crowd jumping around - "Beetlebum," "Parklife" (where Damon invited some people up on the stage) and "Song 2" all went off. The encore started with "Stereotypes" and then everyone was seriously dancing for "Girls & Boys." I never thought "For Tomorrow" would make it in (loved that everyone shouted out the "modern life well it's rubbish" line) and then it all ended with a lovely version of "The Universal." I still can't believe I finally got to see Blur again live after all these years (hopefully it's not another 18 years until the next one).

Here's the video for "Lonesome Street"

Essendon v. Port Adelaide

Tonight's game at Ethiad Stadium against Port Adelaide was always going to be an interesting one from an Essendon perspective. With our shot at finals over for this year the coaches have been playing the "Baby Bombers" for the past couple weeks, which has brought some much needed excitement and energy to the team. Dyson Heppell, currently acting as captain with Jobe Watson out injured for the rest of the season, was celebrating his 100th game. In addition, we had the return of two popular former Essendon players now with Port Adelaide- Angus Monfries and Paddy Ryder, who was facing his old side for the first time.

Essendon got off to a fantastic start by scoring 6 goals in the first quarter, but unfortunately in the second we couldn't kick through the middle and had eight behinds to just 2 goals. Although we were down 8 points at halftime, we managed to come back to life in the third quarter and tie up the game heading into the final term. However, Paddy Ryder managed to kick a few goals in the fourth quarter (despite boos from the crowd every time he touched the ball throughout the game) and although we got on a couple runs and clawed the score back to be in touch, Port managed to kick away and win by 13 points. It was a disappointing loss due to some questionable umpire calls and skill errors in defense, but it's good to see the young Bombers starting to play well and give us some hope for the future.

Final Score
Essendon: 17.14 (116)
Port Adelaide: 20.9 (129)

Square & Compass

Kat has once again introduced me to a new lunch place- this time a short walk through the Fitzroy Gardens to Clarendon Street in East Melbourne. Square & Compass is a lovely cafe located in an old red brick terrace house that opened in May. I think the best thing about the place is the option for breakfast all day, so depending on your mood, you can choose whether you are feeling more brunch or lunch.

I have been to eat at Square & Compass twice now and tried out dishes from both sides of the menu. The waffles with strawberry and rhubarb compote, vanilla creme and brandy snaps were good, and the waffle almost had a bit of a pancake quality to it. My menu highlight so far though was the wagyu cheeseburger with raciette, zucchini pickle, mustard, tomato sauce and chips. Very yummy. I'm looking forward to going back and trying out more of the menu in the future.

Unplugged Live: Anne-Marie May and Alexander Gow

Unplugged Live is back for a six week run on Sunday afternoons at the NGV Australia. Curated and hosted by Jae Laffer of The Panics, each session brings together a contemporary artist and musician for a discussion and performance in the gallery space. This afternoon's event began with Melbourne visual artist Anne-Marie May. She talked about the processes she goes through in creating her works, which are sculptural and utilise different materials. Anne-Marie has two pieces that currently feature in The Kaleidoscopic Turn exhibition: Untitled (Construction of coloured rays), which is made from felt, and RGB (Mobile), which is made from thermally formed acrylic.

The second half hour involved Alexander Gow from Oh Mercy. He and Jae have known each other for 8 years when a young Oh Mercy opened for The Panics, and their drummer Myles produced Oh Mercy's debut album Privileged Woes. Their chat covered a variety of topics, including the songwriting process, being creative and making something beautiful (which happens for Alex when is happy and healthy), the representations of himself at a certain age on each album, and the influence of Australia and his upbringing on his music.

Interspersed between the discussion segments were the songs "Cool Water," "Lady Eucalyptus," "Iron Cross" and "Let Me Be Him," which sounded heavenly in the acoustics of the room. Alex talked about the writing of these songs and others for the latest album When We Talk About Love in Nashville, and the benefits of being an outsider not writing country music there. The most interesting bit of the chat for me was towards the end when Alex spoke about his creative ambition to explore the essence of him and get that into a song, which is why he prefers to work by himself at this point in his career.

Eagle vs Roo

There has been a proliferation of American restaurants in Melbourne over the past few years as American food has become quite trendy. My fellow dual citizen Danny has joined me in creating the food blog Eagle vs Roo, where we aim to separate the authentic from the pretenders as we dine at American themed restaurants around Melbourne. We've got a large list of places to try out, and the three main genres seem to be New York deli, Southern barbecue and burgers. You can follow our adventures on the blog and @eaglevsroo on Instagram and Twitter.

Oh Mercy- Melba Spiegeltent

The Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is on at the moment, and as part of the events around the City of Yarra Mary and I went to see Oh Mercy play at the Melba Spiegeltent tonight. The opening act was one of our Melbourne faves, The Ocean Party. It was good to finally see them play live again, and their set mainly featured new songs off their upcoming album. We also got to hear the latest single "Guess Work," as well as "Deluded" and the fantastic "Head Down" off their previous album Soft Focus.

It was a full band show for Oh Mercy, and they started the evening with "Iron Cross." As this was the first official gig since the release of When We Talk About Love, the set list featured most of the songs off the new album. Many of my current faves are the uptempo tracks such as "Sandy," "All Roads Lead To You," and "Let Me Be Him." "Lady Eucalyptus," which Alex played solo on acoustic guitar, and "Can't You Hear My Body (Calling Out To You)" were also quite good tonight. We even got treated to an unreleased song with funny lyrics called "Hot Topic."

Alex was in good spirits and told an amusing story about being out jogging and getting hit with a dirty puddle of water as a car drove by. This ultimately led to him singing a short ode to his asthma inhaler. The band played some older tracks as well, with "My Man," "Stay Please Stay," "Deep Heat," Drums" and "Lay Everything On Me" making it into the set list. The final song of the evening was a cover of The Go-Betweens' "Love Goes On!" in honor of their upcoming slot at the GW McLellan Tent at Splendour In The Grass in a few weeks.

Here's the voyeuristic video for "If You Come Around Tonight"

Gertrude Street Projection Festival 2015

The Gertrude Street Project Festival kicked off tonight, celebrating its eighth year with over 35 works by various artists on display over the next ten days. With the threat of the Antartcic Vortex hitting Melbourne this weekend and next week, I figured tonight was my best shot of getting to see the works and staying dry. These were some of my favorites pieces from this year's festival.

Deb Bain-King with Finding Your Way: Finding Home is a very relevant and topical narrative for Australia about immigration and refugees which superimposes images with messages such as "Finding your way," "Mother, I am safe now" and "Welcome home."

The light projections I look forward to the most every year are the ones on the Atherton Towers. This year's piece Form Work was done by Guled Abdulwasi. It explores architectural forms, lines and shapes and utilises some vivid colors.

The most humorous work in the festival this year is Freya Pitt's Fortune and Love Favour the Brave. The animated film clip has a hilarious narrative on human attraction and desire that is accompanied by images that are a mixture of photos and illustrations. It's very entertaining and had people laughing out loud.

Chase Burns piece White Wash is a commentary on climate change that sees the Builders Arms Hotel awash in waves like some coastal cities may be in the future as sea levels rise.

Once again this year Skunk Control has done a magnificent window display. Secluded Evolution is a very detailed piece that illuminates species and environments that would normally be found in darkness.

Finally, I also have to give a special mention to Federico Winer's Ultradistancia, which is an amazing film of different aerial photographs showcasing the geometric beauty of cities and other built environments. The Gertrude Street Projection Festival runs until 19 July.

Apple Pie

Happy 4th of July! Instead of sitting poolside in the sunshine I am huddled near a heater indoors because it is rainy and freezing in Melbourne. One of the classic desserts for any Independence Day celebration is apple pie, which I managed to bake last night. There are many recipes to choose from, but I have always used the one in the American cooking bible The Joy of Cooking.

First, prepare the pie dough for a double crust pie. I used the basic pie dough recipe from Williams Sonoma, which was easy to make and tastes good. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half the dough, and roll out the other half for the top crust.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 F/218 C.

Peel, core and slice 5-6 large apples 1/4 inch thick. I use Granny Smith apples, but you can choose whichever ones you prefer. Combine the apples in a bowl with:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Let it stand for 15 minutes, stirring several times, so that the apples soften slightly.

Pour the filling into the bottom crust and gently level with the back of a spoon. Dot the top with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

Brush the overhanging edge of the bottom crust with cold water and cover the pie with the top crust. Pinch together the dough and crimp or flute the edge. Cut 3 to 4 2-inch vents into the top crust and sprinkle with:
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Bake for 30 minutes and then slip a baking sheet under the pie and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F/176 C. Bake for another 30 to 45 minutes until the fruit feels just tender when a knife is poked through the vents. Cool completely before serving.

Oh Mercy- Parlour

It's almost like the old days with Oh Mercy playing monthly gigs in Melbourne at the moment with the imminent release of album number four When We Talk About Love. Tonight's gig was hosted at Magic Johnston in Collingwood by Parlour, a new platform that connects artists with hosts for intimate house shows. Mary, Tash and I got our free mulled wine on arrival and took a seat on the floor for the show. Alex began the evening with a cover of David McComb's "The Good Life Never Ends" and played a set that mainly featured songs off the new album.

It's always such a privilege (not a woe) to get to hear new songs before an album is released, and an added bonus when the renditions are stripped back and acoustic. The standout tracks for me at the moment are "Sandy," "All Roads Lead To You" and "Let Me Be Him." We also got to hear "Catherine," "Iron Cross" and "I Don't Really Want To Know," with Alex joined by Cecilia on viola for many of these songs. Alex was on fire with the puns throughout the night incorporating Jamaica and various Victorian towns (the Euroa one was my favorite). Some tracks from the previous album also made it onto the set list with "My Man," "Deep Heat" and b-side "Lady Eucalyptus" (which is also on the new album with some strings) played. The evening ended with "Without You," and Alex was kind enough to have some albums for sale ahead of the official release next Friday. Don't miss out- order your copy of When We Talk About Love here.

Here's the video for "Without You"

Neil Finn- Melbourne Recital Centre

Any incarnation of Neil Finn live is going to be amazing, but getting the chance to see him solo is extra special, especially at a venue as intimate as the Melbourne Recital Centre. Neil played two shows in Melbourne on Wednesday (his birthday) and tonight, and I was lucky to be able to attend with different groups of friends on both nights.

The first half of the set was Neil playing solo, alternating between acoustic guitar and piano. The set lists were really for the hard core fans as he played songs spanning his entire career that I haven't heard live in years. On Wednesday night alone we were treated to the unreleased "Spirit Of The Stairs," solo tracks "Addicted" and "Faster Than Light," the Split Enz song "The Devil You Know" (used to get a baby Liam Finn to sleep) and the Crowded House tracks "When You Come" and "As Sure As I Am." Tonight we had the Finn Brothers song "Only Talking Sense" and a sneak peak at a new one he's working on with Tim titled "Never Return," the Crowded House tracks "Catherine Wheels," "Black And White Boy" and "Love This Life," and solo tracks "Last Day Of June" (dedicated to accountants) and "Try Whistling This." On both nights Neil also invited up a member of the audience to play along with him- Wednesday saw Darrell add some piano to "Anytime" and tonight Kieran played guitar on "Wherever You Are."

For the second half of the set Neil was joined by a mini orchestra, which performed some amazing string arrangements by composer Victoria Kelly, who joined Neil onstage along with Sharon Finn. They began with a fantastic version of the Split Enz track "One Step Ahead" and then focused on the following tracks from Neil's latest album Dizzy Heights (which Victoria did the strings for): "Better Than TV," "In My Blood," "Impressions," "Divebomber," "Dizzy Heights" and "White Lies And Alibis." We also got to hear incredible versions of the solo track "Sinner," the Finn Brothers song "Edible Flowers" (possibly the stand out number of the night), and Crowded House's "Private Universe." The strings sounded beautiful in the acoustics of the venue and just added another dimension to the songs.

The encore contained a couple surprise audience requests with a snippet of "Anyone Can Tell" on Wednesday night, and Neil attempting Tim's Enz track "I Hope I Never" tonight (managing to hit many of those high notes). He finished the evening with the Crowded House songs "Distant Sun" and "Fall At Your Feet." I thoroughly enjoyed both nights and how much Neil varied the set lists. He was in good spirits and humor, sounded great, and was very humble and grateful for everyone's continued support of his music.

Here is Neil playing a live version of the Dizzy Heights track "Lights Of New York" in London:

Eurovision 2015

It's one of my favorite weekends of the year- the annual Eurovision Song Contest. This year's Eurovision was held in Vienna, Austria, and to celebrate its 60th anniversary they invited a little continent on the other side of the world to be involved as a wildcard- Australia! I watched the semi-finals on Friday and Saturday night, and then got up bright and early this morning to watch the Grand Final live. Thankfully my favorites made it through the semis to the Grand Final. Noting the rule of not being able to vote for your own country, here were my top 3 songs:

Elena Born and Stig Rasta (Estonia) with their catchy duet "Goodbye to Yesterday," which ended up finishing 7th on the night.


The Makemakes (Austria) with their indie rock song "I Am Yours." For some reason they received no votes at all (despite having a fantastic song and a flaming piano!).


Mans Zelmerlow (Sweden) with the anthemic "Heroes" was the well deserving winner of Eurovision 2015. He not only had a great song but the performance included some cool animation.


Honorable mention has to go to Bojana Stamenov (Serbia) with her powerhouse performance of "Beauty Never Lies," which kicked into another gear about half way through.


As for Australia, we ended up doing quite well. Guy Sebastian represented us with his soulful and upbeat song "Tonight Again." We manged to finish 5th on the night, which is an amazing result for a one off appearance and having no geographical voting blocs to rely on.

Brisbane and GOMA

Although I've been living in Australia for nearly ten years, the one state I hadn't traveled to yet was Queensland. So while some people might dread an interstate work trip, I was really excited to get the opportunity to visit Brisbane for the first time. We flew up on Thursday afternoon and landed just as the sun was setting. Staying in the CBD made it easy to get around on foot, and my work colleague and I took a stroll down to Eagle Street Pier along the river to find somewhere to eat for dinner. After wandering around and taking in the views of the city and Story Bridge we settled on having some Italian food at Il Centro. We shared a mixed salad and I had the duck ravioli with orange thyme jus, baby beetroot and baked ricotta. The food was good and filling, and it was also nice to have some warm sourdough bread with the meal.

After my meeting was over today I headed across the river to spend the afternoon at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). The timing of this trip couldn't have been more perfect as these are the last few weeks of the David Lynch: Between Two Worlds exhibition. It features more than 200 works of his paintings, photography and drawings, as well as some short film clips and music. While the exhibition is more focused on his visual arts, there are also opportunities to see screenings of his film and tv works with showings happening daily. Upon entering the exhibition you not only have all of the very Lynchian art works to explore but also some ominous music playing in the background.

My favorite part was probably the collection of music from his movie and tv soundtracks (it was great to revisit songs from Julie Cruise's first two albums). There was also a loop of Twin Peaks Log Lady clips to watch in the lobby section of the movie theaters.

Another really interesting exhibition that is on at GOMA at the moment is New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai: The Promised Land. It covers more than two decades of his work and features many large scale sculptures and pieces that are quite playful and humorous. I loved his use of color and the placement of objects in spaces throughout the gallery. Each room told a different story and he even built a mini house for the large stainless steel sculpture The English Channel. It's a fantastic exhibition that is definitely worth checking out before it ends on 21 June.

Da Rin

The Korean restaurant Da Rin on Bourke Street has become my new favorite lunch spot of late. Kat is the master of finding new places to try and took me here for the first time a few months ago. The restaurant itself is narrow, with PopAsia videos airing on the tv. I have sampled a few dishes off the menu, including the $12.50 lunch set plates for the vegetarian and bulgogi bibimbaps, and the Korean fried chicken dosirak. However, what this place is really known for is its large platters of Korean fried chicken coated in a variety of sauces: original, sweet & spicy, or honey & garlic. At this point I've only tried the original fried chicken, which was yummy, moist and not too oily. Da Rin is a great place to go with a group of people so you can sample all the different flavors of Korean fried chicken.

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.