Anika Moa- CD Launch

Tonight Tash and I returned to The Spiegeltent for Anika Moa's Australian CD launch for "In Swings The Tide." This time we were able to share a much more comfortable booth with some other people for the show. Anika flew out the drummer and bass player from her band, so that added a richness to her songs. My favorite of the night was the reggae/dub version of "Youthful." We even got a couple verses of a reggae version of Crowded House's "Weather With You." Anika was her usual humorous self with the intros for each song and had the crowd laughing out loud most of the night. It's too bad she's going to move back to New Zealand at the end of the year.

Vote on November 4th

"VOTE" by Shepard Fairey

Dan Kelly with The Ukeladies

Tonight Tash and I met at The Spiegeltent down by the Arts Centre to see Dan Kelly and The Ukeladies. This was our first time in The Spiegeltent, and it is a small and intimate venue to see a show. Shortly after taking our seats near the front Dan Kelly hit the stage and started out solo before being joined by The Ukeladies for the majority of the set. He was quite hilarious with his intros and played some old and new songs. "Drunk on Election Night" was a highlight solely for the vulgar lyrics sing-a-long. Their new single together about global warming, "The SUV Song" can be heard here. They also did an amazing cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U." Overall it was a very entertaining hour plus set and I would definitely recommend checking out Dan if he's playing a show near you.

Crowded House Karaoke with The Basics

Last night was the convergence of two of my favorite things- Crowded House and The Basics! After the success of their Beatles Karaoke night, they decided to tackle the songs of Crowded House. Tash, Mary and I met at The Empress Hotel for dinner before taking our seats for the show. The premise of the night was simple- choose a Crowded House song from the list and The Basics would be your backing band. The boys started the night with "Weather With You" and then volunteers started to come up on stage. Some versions were better than others, and the guys probably could have practiced some of the songs a bit more as the instrumentations are not as easy as they might seem.

Mel joined us a few songs in and during the intermission dobbed me in to David the keyboard player, so I ended up signing up to sing "Mean to Me" with another girl. We were the third ones called up on stage and thankfully the song went pretty well! Even the band said we did a good job. As the night went on more people started to volunteer to sing. We had a few repeat songs but overall it was a fun night and the boys played "Not The Girl You Think You Are" and "Distant Sun" on their own before closing with "Don't Dream Its Over." I had a quick chat with Wally after the show and then it was off to home. I still can't believe I got up on stage and sang with The Basics!

AFL Grand Final Parade

Yesterday Inala and I escaped the office to attend the AFL Grand Final Parade. This year the reigning premiers Geelong were playing Hawthorn. All the players were in the parade from the Arts Centre up Swanston and Collins Streets. There was a huge crowd there to cheer on their teams. It was the first all Victorian final for 8 years, and Hawthorn's first trip the Grand Final in 17 years. The game itself today was fantastic and Hawthorn pulled off a huge 26 point upset of Geelong (who had only lost one game this season). I'm sure Tash will be celebrating this victory for the next month or so.

Little Red-O-Rama

It has been fun with Little Red over the past week with several shows starring the boys.

September 12
This was the second sold out show at the Corner Hotel. The opening bands were the same and last month, and this time I got to see Andy Bull play. He was entertaining and has a bit of a soul/funk sound to him because of the horns section. The Holidays started out good but after a while their songs began to get repetitive.

Little Red were in excellent form on the night as they tore through their set list. I was really happy to hear "Isabella" and "Believe In Your Man" tonight, as well as the unreleased "Forget About Your Man." We got some new songs as well, and it's good to see Tom playing keyboards on those numbers (an added instrument to the Little Red repertoire). Unfortunately due to Andy Bull starting late I had to miss the encore so that I could catch the last tram back to the city.

September 18
The Hondas came and played a show at the Brunswick Hotel so of course I couldn't miss it being so close to home. It has been a while since they played together, so their set was a bit messy at times but still entertaining. They played songs from the first album as well as brand new ones they have just written. I was glad to hear "God Save My Soul," "When I Was Young" and what could be the gay anthem for 2008 "I Am A Homosexual." It was all over in about 50 minutes and I went over to Taka afterwards to thank him for playing. Hopefully he'll get his visa sorted out.

September 20
Yes, I know what your thinking, "But you just saw them a week ago." I probably would have skipped Little Red's last date at The Corner Hotel except for the fact that The Fearless Vampire Killers were opening and I've been wanting to see them for a while now. Thankfully they did not disappoint and put on a fantastic set of 60's inspired psychedelic rock. I was very impressed by them and it's no surprise that they were named one of the "10 Bands To Watch" for 2008 by Wireless Bollinger.

Little Red put in another great performance, and Mel was impressed by them. They played a similar set to the previous shows, and of the new songs "Lazy Boy" is my personal favorite. The show closed with a rousing rendition of Coca Cola and all the bands came on stage to sing along (if anyone knows people who work for Coke, that song is begging to be used in some advertising). It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for Little Red and hopefully they will continue on their upward trajectory.

You can watch Little Red live from The Annandale Hotel in Sydney on 23/8/08 here.

Anika Moa

Tash and I headed to The Toff in Town this evening to see New Zealand singer/songwriter Anika Moa. This was the last night of her Wednesday residency and there was a good sized crowd in the room (including many Kiwis). She started the show with lots of disclaimers about what we were about to witness and hear, which was very funny. There were many amusing stories throughout the evening about the origins of the songs. Anika is a very entertaining performer! My favorite songs in the hour-long set were an emotional version of "My Old Man" and the fantastic "Dreams in My Head." Her latest album is coming out in Australia in November, so I'm looking forward to finally getting a copy (complete with some bonus tracks).

Art Deco 1910–1939

Mel and I headed down to the National Gallery of Victoria after work to see the Art Deco 1910-1939 exhibition. It comprised over 300 works and covered all artistic media from painting to photography, fashion to film and architecture to jewelery. The historic and global influences on Art Deco were displayed, as well as how the style differed in various countries and throughout the time period. My favorite pieces were the gorgeous gowns and the crockery. It's a fantastic exhibition and if you are in Melbourne and into Art Deco, you should definitely check it out before it closes in a month.

Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development

This week the Victorian government launched the new Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development. This document sets the agenda for education and early childhood services for the next five years. Yesterday both Ministers gave a briefing on the Blueprint to Department staff, which was one of the better presentations I've seen them both do. My work at the moment falls under the workforce reform strategies.

Here's an article from The Age about some of the actions in the Blueprint: School shake-up, with fries.

A Month of Augusts with The Basics

Thursdays in August were a bit sweeter this month because The Basics had a residency at The Evelyn Hotel in Fitzroy. Below is a report from the shows that I attended over the past few weeks.

August 14
Opening bands for the night were The Sophisticants and Smurfinger. The Sophisticants are a punk/ska mix of music with a very entertaining and animated lead singer. We were kept quite amused my his shuffle and twist dance moves. Tash and I had seen Smurfinger before when they opened at The Empress show last month. I guess I would describe their music as more punk/grunge.

The Basics played a mix of old and new material over their hour plus set. There was lots of joking and dancing by Tim and Kris. Covers for the night were The Clash's "London Calling" and "Rock the Casbah" as well as New Kids On The Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)." They even threatened to play Bryan Adams and Kenny Rodgers!

August 21
After a very delicious pizza dinner at Bimbo Deluxe Tash and I headed over to The Evelyn. The opening bands this week were primarily girl groups- Hot Liquid Sex and Princess One Point Five. We didn't think much of either of them, but the second group was less annoying than the first.

The theme for this week's show could be photographers. There were about five people taking shot after shot of The Basics throughout their set. One of these photographers was from MySpace, and I noticed that he didn't care to take our picture in the crowd (I think he knew we were out of his demographic). The boys played a ripping set once again and fought against technical difficulties like the guitar and keyboard going out and Tim breaking a string. I was very happy to hear two of my favorites "Hey There!" and "Just Hold On." We once again got a cover of The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" as well as Wilson Pickett's "Land of a Thousand Dances." Tim and Kris brought the coordinated dance moves, and I enjoyed the fact that Kris kept his beer and water stored on the ceiling beam above his head. Tash and I have realized that we know the majority of the new songs, and "The Executioner" was particularly brutal tonight (I would hate to have a song like that written about me).

August 28
It was the final night of the residency and a packed house. I have discovered a new young band to champion due to the first opening act- The Harpoons! They are adorable and awesome and play some great tunes. Their 60's inspired three-part harmonies were fantastic. I will definitely be seeking out their gigs in the future. I cannot say the same for the second band, The Swindlers. They were just a mess and trying too hard to be avant garde and punk. The rhythm section actually showed potential at points, but the lead singer's shrieking got old really fast.

It was very exciting when The Basics came out on stage for the last time this month. They played a lot of songs off the album "Stand Out/Fit In" and we got energetic versions of "Memory Lane" and "Rattle My Chain." Poor Kris is a heartbroken boy, which you can tell from the lyrics of his new songs (see last week). Wally dedicated a song to Tash- well, perhaps not my Tash, but she'll take it. We even got an encore tonight and they finished off the residency with a cover of The Police's "Roxanne." My Thursday evenings will never be as fun as these past few weeks.

Watch The Basics play live at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 30/11/07 here.

Essendon v. Western Bulldogs

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

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

Little Red- Corner Hotel #1

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

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

Oh Mercy- Take Two

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

Mark of the Year

Matthew Lloyd flies up, up!

The Basics- Get Back Relaunch

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

Oh Mercy Equipment Fundraiser

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

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

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

Red Door Burlesque

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

The Dark Knight

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

The Basics

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

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

Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2008-2009

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

Listen to Little Red

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

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

The Black Keys

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

Liam Finn and The Gin Club

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

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

The Hondas

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

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

Plastic Palace Alice, The Greasers, and Oh Mercy

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

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

Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform

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

Dinner and Breakfast on the Mountain

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

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

San Francisco and Beyond

Louise Bourgeois’ Crouching Spider

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

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

Angel Island

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

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

Angie and Andy's Wedding

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

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

Bay Area Fun

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

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

Farewell

Today at work I got to have a morning tea in my honor not only because I am going on leave back to the States for two weeks, but also since this was my last day in my current role for the next six months. After a good month and a half of waiting for the paperwork to be signed off, I have now officially secured my secondment as a project officer to the Research Branch of the Education Policy and Research Division in the Department. It should be exciting as I'll get to do new things and this is the area I really want to work in. So I'm looking forward to that, but my immediate concern is getting my packing done and surviving the long flight across the Pacific on a United Airlines plane (which I am really hoping has had a major interior upgrade since I last flew with them).

Fran and Pete's Wedding

Today I was fortunate enough to attend Fran and Pete's wedding. The church service was at St. Dominic's in Camberwell. Fran looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle. It wasn't a full mass, but I was amused by the fact that the first reading was the same one I did at my brother's wedding. After the ceremony we got to congratulate Fran and Pete and also do a big picture with everyone in attendance out in front of the church.

The reception was held at Yianni's Tavern in Kew. Each table seat had a wedding favor of either hot chocolate or coffee, which I thought was really generous. Our food throughout the night was a mix of Greek and Italian tapas plates- and they didn't stop coming. We also had an interesting selection of music from the DJ. Fran and her friends had put together a CD of her favorite songs, but the DJ treated us to a good half hour of Greek music. It was entertaining to watch Pete's family dance and sing along to all these songs. Overall it was a great night, and I'm so glad that Fran and Pete have finally tied the knot. They now get to head off to far north Queensland for their honeymoon.

Slumburbia

Here's a really interesting article for those of you interested in housing and urban planning: "Is Suburbia Turning Into Slumburbia?" by Carol Lloyd.

The Footy Is Back!

These are very exciting times for sports fans in Melbourne because Australian Rules Football is finally back. It's the preseason at the moment, which means the NAB Cup is on. I joined Michelle and her extended family for tonight's semi-final match between Essendon and St. Kilda at Telstra Dome. Michelle's parents saved us some seats near the goal at the bottom of Level 2. We had a great view of the field and the game. It was a tight match with some pathetic umpiring decisions that resulted in St. Kilda winning by 3 points on a questionable free kick at goal with less than a minute to play. However, the Bombers have been very impressive over the last few weeks. New coach Matthew Knights has introduced a fast and entertaining style of play, and all of the younger players have been fantastic. It looks to be a promising season, which will kick off on Easter weekend.

The Music Moves My Feet

I have spent the last two evenings attending concerts. On Tuesday night Belinda and I headed over to the Northcote Social Club to see Little Red play at one of their Tuesday night residencies in February. Opening this week was Oh Mercy, a young Melbourne band that I was curious to see. I really enjoyed their set and they are another up and coming band to watch. Little Red was fantastic, as usual, and played for a bit over an hour. One of best things about the night for me was that I finally got my hands on a copy of their debut EP "Get Ready!" which I have been trying to get for months.

Photo by Tash

Wednesday night I joined Tash at the Prince Bandroom for Gotye and The Basics. I have been wanting to see The Basics live for a while now, and while I didn't get to hear the album tracks, we were treated to an acoustic set of all new material. Those three-part harmonies were so lovely. Gotye, otherwise known as Wally de Backer (and the drummer for The Basics), came out and played an amazing set of music. Wally's songs are created from a compilation of samples and vocals that he pastes together. It was amazing to watch him create this all on stage by himself. This show was scheduled to allow him to try some stuff out before the upcoming Laneway Festival, and while the lighting and visuals may not have gone quite to plan, it was still an entertaining evening. He finished up the night with a crowd sing-a-long of "We Are The World," which was quite funny.

Here's the video for "Hearts A Mess" by Gotye


Watch Gotye live at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 29/7/07 here.

The Longnecks

I had a very special birthday evening last night because I got to see The Longnecks, otherwise known as The Living End, play a sold out show at the Ding Dong Lounge in the CBD. Ruth and Danny joined me for the evening. This was our first time in the Ding Dong Lounge, and it's a nice room. They have tables where you can play 80's video games, which I thought was cool. We enjoyed the second opening act, Yves Klein Blue, a band from Brisbane with a diverse number of great little songs.

The Longnecks came out to a roar from the audience. We were safely positioned by the soundboard off the main floor in order to avoid the mosh pit. The band played a very similar set to the St. Kilda Festival with some more new songs added to the set list since they didn't have a time limit:
- Raise The Alarm
- Hey Hey Disbeliever
- Loaded Gun
- Kid
- How Do We Know
- New Frontier
- Waiting For The Silence
- Faith
- Moment In Sun
- November
- Rats
- Suzy
- 21st Century
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- E-Boogie
- What's On Your Radio?
- West End Riot

A majority of the new songs have a much heavier rock sound than their previous efforts. There was some diversity though and some songs are more polished than others. I'm really curious to see what will make the album and what the final versions will sound like. For the encore they played officially as The Living End, and the energy in the room just went to another level. These guys are amazing musicians and so fun to watch live.

Sorry

Today Australia said sorry to its indigenous people.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's speech: text or video

The Hour Has Come. A Nation Says Sorry The Age Editorial

Hands Across The Nation by Professor Mick Dodson

St. Kilda Festival

Today was the St. Kilda Festival along the Esplanade and St. Kilda Beach. Belinda and I headed down to the festival in the afternoon and got there just in time for The Longnecks, aka The Living End. The boys are playing a series of shows around Victoria to try out the new songs in front of an audience before recording. They played a rocking 45 minute set of all new stuff and finished with "West End Riot." I'm really looking forward to seeing them again on Saturday night. After a very delicious hot jam donut break, we hit the Max Beach Stage and watched Operator Please, who sounded great. They even did a cover of Devo's "Whip It." We decided to head for home after their set before it got too chaotic in the evening. It was a gorgeous day down by the beach.

Rufus Wainwright

After an afternoon of catching up with Will and Helen at Edinburgh Gardens in North Fitzroy (they are in town from the UK), I headed into the city to see Rufus Wainwright play at Hamer Hall. Despite being a fan of Rufus since his debut album, this was the first time I had seen him perform live. I had a seat up in the balcony with a great view of the whole stage. Rufus has a full band with him for most of this Australian tour, and they were excellent and very versatile musicians. The setlist:
- Release The Stars
- Going To A Town
- Sanssouci
- Rules And Regulations
- Matinee Idol
- The Art Teacher
- Tiergarten
- Leaving For Paris
- Between My Legs
(Intermission)
- The Consort
- Do I Disappoint You
- Foggy Day
- If Love Were All
- Beautiful Child
- Not Ready To Love
- Slideshow
- Macushlah
- 14th Street
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- I Don't Know What It Is
- Poses
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- Get Happy
- Gay Messiah

The sound in Hamer Hall was absolutely fantastic- the best I have ever heard at a concert. My favorite songs of the night were "Going To A Town," "Slideshow," and "Poses." The lighting and staging really enhanced a lot of the songs and Rufus performed material from all his albums. We even got a few Judy Garland numbers- complete with Rufus in drag for the encore. It was an amazing concert and I am so glad I went.

Little Red- SoCo Cargo

Last night Belinda and I ventured down to SoCo Cargo in St. Kilda to see Little Red play as part of the Sunday Soul Sessions. SoCo Cargo is a live venue made out of shipping containers that has traveled around the country. It was very comfy inside- especially since we got to sit in lounge chairs facing the stage. The boys played two sets of 40 minutes each and had many people up and dancing by the end of the night. The harmonies were gorgeous, as usual, and it was good to hear the old favorites along with newer material (really liked "Sad Song.") They have such a diverse range of songs it will be interesting to see what ends up on their debut album when it comes out sometime this year.

Here's the video "Waiting" for your viewing pleasure:

Happy Australia Day!

Today is Australia Day, although you wouldn't really know it by walking around as most stores are open. The day definitely doesn't seem to hold the same significance as Independence Day in the US. Here are some opinion pieces from The Age to read around Australia Day and national identify:
Australia Day In Question by John Hirst
True Blue In All Its Shades by Peter Goldsworthy
Our Flagging Enthusiasm by Michael Leunig
Why It's Australian To Be Un-Australian by Larissa Dubecki

Juno

Tonight Belinda and I went to see the movie "Juno." It stars Ellen Page as Juno, a sarcastic teenager who ends up getting pregnant by her good friend, Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera. Juno decides to have the baby but puts it up for adoption. She finds a couple to adopt her unborn child through a local paper. The movie is very well written and explores not only Juno's feelings during and after pregnancy, but also that of the couple who are desperate for a child and scared that Juno will back out on them at the last minute. I thought Jennifer Gardner and Jason Bateman were great as the couple and a lot of their scenes were really touching. "Juno" has received four Academy Awards nominations, so you should definitely go check it out.

Conan Doesn't Need Writers

Happy New Year

It is 2008 here in Australia and soon to be in the United States. I spent my New Year's Eve at The Espy in St. Kilda with Tash and her friend Steve listening to various bands. We caught the second half of Children Collide's set, rang in the new year with Architecture in Helsinki and caught a couple songs from Rocket Science before heading home. It was an incredibly hot night as temperatures during the day were 41/106 degrees, and it was still 30/86 degrees by the time I got home around 3:00 am. I've been lying low today as it reached 41 degrees again, but a cool change has finally come through, so I should be able to sleep tonight. I hope you all have a fantastic 2008!

St. Kilda Esplanade

Today Missy and I took the tram to St. Kilda to wander around. Our first stop was to look in the windows of the cake shops on Acland Street. From there we walked to Luna Park so Missy could get photos of the entrance and then we headed to the stalls of the Sunday Esplanade Market. There were quite a few vendors there who were also at the Night Market on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Missy, the one vendor she wanted to buy from who had paper-mache ornaments was not there. For lunch we walked down the pier to the kiosk, where we had toasted sandwiches and hot chocolate. A brief rain shower passed over while we were eating, but the weather was calm again when we headed back towards the beach.

Once we were back in the city we stopped at a few shops so Missy could buy some souvenirs and gifts to take home. She headed back out to Brunswick Street for more shopping while I headed home so I could get some groceries and food for dinner. It has been great to have Missy here for a visit and I think she has enjoyed her stay in Australia. Tomorrow she flies back to LA, just in time for Christmas.

Yarra Valley Wine Tour

Missy and I were up bright and early this morning to meet up with our van for a wine tour of the Yarra Valley. Our tour guide was Cameron from the Australian Wine Tour Company and he gave us amusing commentary as we made the hour drive to the Yarra Valley from Melbourne. Our first stop was Yering Station, where we had our first taste of wine at 10:45 am! Missy and I sampled probably half of the wines available for tasting. After checking out their gift shop we went for a wander around the lush grounds and took pictures.

Our next stop was Rochford Wines. We went to their tasting room first, where we got to sample more wine as well as hear about the Day on the Green concerts they hold at the winery. After our tasting we went into their large dining area and sat at a table by the fireplace for our gourmet lunch. Both Missy and I had the grilled tuna with Asian greens, which was yummy. We also got a full glass of wine with lunch, and it was funny to see how most of the group were barely touching it. After lunch we checked out the grounds before heading back onto the van.

Yering Farm was the smallest vineyard we visited. Their tasting room is a former hay shed and they joked about the fact that the rust was authentic. Their wines are more boutique and aged longer than most other places. We were able to taste wines from their different ranges, which were all good. While we were there the skies opened up and it just poured rain. Thankfully it stopped as we went to leave.

The last place we visited was Domaine Chandon, the complete antithesis of Yering Farm. Our guide Cameron gave us a tour of the winery and cellars, explaining the different steps taken to make the sparkling wine along the way. We then went to their huge tasting room and had a glass of the sparkling wine of our choice, along with some cheese and crackers. Missy went for the red sparkling wine while I stuck with the classic dry. As the rain began to fall again we all headed back to the van for the drive back to Melbourne. The tour was really good and I highly recommend it if you are ever in town.

Evening Adventures

My cousin Missy has come to stay with me for a week, so we have been out having fun around town. On Tuesday night we headed down to the Corner Hotel in Richmond to see Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set in concert. The first opening act was Whitley who was drunk or on something because he didn't make much sense when talking. We thought shoegazer music was over, but he is bringing it back. He even did an emo version of Bjork's "Hyper-Ballad." The real stars of the night were Little Red, who played a very energetic set on the smaller second stage, including my favorite song of theirs, "Misty I." Missy was impressed and deemed them a band to watch. We stayed for most of Clare Bowditch's set but left around 11 pm as it was hot in the venue and we were both tired.

On Wednesday we were joined by Belinda and went to the Night Market at the Queen Victoria Market. It was another hot evening, but we checked out all the various booths and sampled the food. We had gozleme first and then the honey dumplings with chocolate and ice cream. While wandering around we even ran into Michelle and Ruth.

Tonight Missy met me at work and we headed across the road to The Commune for dinner and jazz, which is a regular Thursday night event. Mel had reserved a table, and it was good to see both Carlene, who is teaching at the Victorian International School of Sharjah, and Marg, who is doing teacher coaching at schools in New York. They were both back in Melbourne for the holidays. The jazz music was good (they played some Jobim) and my dish of pad thai was yummy. Missy and I had a delay of 20 minutes at the train station because of all the thunderstorms, but we managed to make it home safe and dry.