Sydney- Bronte Beach and Fireworks

Yesterday after having brunch at a local cafe Mel and I caught the bus to Bronte Beach.  The weather in Sydney was hot and we went to Bronte because it was less crowded than Bondi would have been.  We started on the beach and took turns going into the water.  The current and waves are really strong so keeping my feet was a bit of a challenge at times.  Even though I was slathered in sunblock I knew it was only a matter of time before I started to get a sunburn, so after a bit we went over to the salt water lap pool on the other side of the beach where there was some shade.  The pool was nice and occasionally a wave would crash over the wall.  We next headed to the grassy park area and lounged for a while, watching the action on the beach.

After a few hours at the beach we went back to Mel's place to shower and clean up.  We then walked down to Darling Harbour for dinner, eating at Asian restaurant Wagamama.  Post dinner we grabbed a spot along the harbour to watch the free fireworks show.  I've never been that close to them before, so it was great to see them explode and fill up the sky.  Since it had been such a long day we caught the train home and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Hungry Kids of Hungary- Escapades Tour

I flew into Sydney yesterday afternoon and took the train into the city to meet up with Mel.  We walked back to her lovely art deco apartment building in Potts Point/Kings Cross so I could drop off my bag and have a quick change before heading back out.  After meeting up with a friend of hers we headed to The Factory Theatre in Marrickville to see Hungry Kids of Hungary.  The venue was interesting with this outdoor lounging area before you head upstairs into the bandroom.  Since this was an all ages show, the front of stage area was dominated by some very enthusiastic teenagers, while those of us over 18 were in a raised bar area in the other half of the room.

When we arrived we caught the second half of the set for fellow Brisbane band Ball Park Music.  They are a very young six piece with a heap of energy.  I found them quite entertaining and their single "iFly" was a big hit with the crowd.  The lead singer even did some crowd surfing during the song.  Next up was Melbourne two piece Big Scary, who I saw earlier in the year opening for Little Red.  I enjoyed their set, which was primarily their heavier songs on guitar and drums including "The Apple Song" and "Tuesday Is Rent Day."  On the heavier numbers they still remind me of The White Stripes.  They did also play two of their quieter songs on piano and drums in the set- "Autumn" and "Falling Away."

Hungry Kids of Hungary came out to big cheers from the nearly sold out crowd, starting with "The Vacationer" and then launching into "Wristwatch."  On this tour for their debut album Escapades they have added another guitarist to the band to fill out the sound.  I thought the band had great energy on stage and fed off the crowd's enthusiasm.  "Let You Down" and "Scattered Diamonds" got a huge response. I was also really happy to hear "China Will Wait," "Set It Right," and old favorites "Arrest This Heart" and "Old "Money."  They closed the main set with current single "Coming Around" and then for the encore brought out both opening bands to do a cover of Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and finished with "Two Stones."  It was probably one of the best shows I have seen them do.

Here is the video for "Coming Around"

Job Interviews

The one great thing about getting an ongoing job earlier this year was that I did not have to do job interviews anymore.  They are definitely my least favorite part of the application process, especially when I've had these horribly long hour and half ones with an activity (usually writing a briefing).  I'm just not that good at interviewing, especially when the panel is all people you know or work with.  It's a bit hard to sell yourself and your accomplishments when they see what you do on a daily basis.

I have, however, dressed up nicely today to interview for a two month secondment to a manager position in my Branch, which is covering for my manager who is going on holidays over December and January.  The interview process this time was a little less stressful as it was an informal conversation for 20 minutes.  I felt that I did well answering their questions and emphasizing my strengths.  Hopefully I'll be given the opportunity to do the role- will hear a result sometime next week.

Double the Passports, Double the Fun

I am now officially a dual citizen since I received my Australian passport yesterday.  Did you know that you are not allowed to smile in Aussie passport photos?  No one can really explain to me why this is the case.  Having my new passport means that I can finally leave the country again.  I won't be needing it tomorrow though because I am only traveling up to Sydney.  It should be nice to have a weekend excursion and visit my friend Mel.  I will also escape another weekend of thunderstorms in Melbourne and the inevitable flooding of my street that will follow.

Fitness

I have been going to Virgin Active Health Club for over a year now and still enjoy it.  I have a good mix of group exercise classes that I attend, and usually am there 3-4 days per week.  I do kickboxing and spin for cardio, Body Pump for weights, and Pilates and Body Balance for mind/body.  The instructors are all great and quite nice.  I've been particularly enjoying the kickboxing class because the instructor we've had for the past few months actually comes up with her own routines, which are much closer to what I was used to in the States.

I have also just recently started to keep a food and exercise diary.  I found a fantastic free app for my iPhone called MyFitnessPal (they also have a website you can use).  You start out by entering in details about yourself, what kind of weight goal you have and how much you would like to lose each week.  It then calculates how many calories you should eat in a day.  So many foods and brands are already in their database that it is easy to accurately put in what you are eating and drinking. Since it keeps a record of what you have previously listed,  most times it's just a matter of moving things across for each meal.

The MyFitnessPal site is also good because you not only enter in food but also your exercise.  It takes both into consideration when calculating your net calories and how many you have remaining for the day.  In addition, it also gives you a nutritional breakdown summary each day, so you can see if you are meeting your targets there as well.  I have found the data interesting because on days where I have exercise classes I usually have a lot of calories left over, but when I'm not exercising it's either even or a bit over my goal.  Also, having a food diary really keeps you honest, and when you see that a small cookie has the same calories as an apple, it makes you reconsider heading for the cookie jar for an afternoon sugar hit at work.

Conan's Back!

I am so excited that Conan is finally back on the air in late night.  His show may have moved to basic cable on TBS, but I'm sure it will be just as funny as his stints on Late Night and The Tonight Show.  The only downside for me is that his show is airing on an HD channel in Australia, and I don't have HD.  Therefore, I am hoping that the majority of each episode will be uploaded onto the show's website so I can watch it.  I've been a fan since 1993- can't miss the show now!

Here's the cold opening from his first night:

Hillary Clinton's Australian Visit

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been in Melbourne for the past couple days holding meetings with various Australian politicians as well as Prime Minister Julia Gillard.  Her visit culminated today with the annual Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) meeting, the principal forum for bilateral consultations between US and Australian defense and foreign policy leaders.  They discussed a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues.

Yesterday she held a town hall style meeting at the University of Melbourne with young Australians, which was broadcast on the ABC.  Titled Hillary Rodham Clinton: An Australian Conversation it was interesting to watch and hear her answers on a wide variety of topics.  You can watch the hour long program here (although I'm not sure if it will work outside Australia).

2010 ARIA Awards

Tonight was the 2010 ARIA Awards, which were held outside at the Sydney Opera House.  They have done things differently this year by announcing the winners of various music genre awards during the week and saving the 10 main awards for the tv broadcast.  The show began with the last ever live tv performance from retiring rock band Powderfinger.  The nominees this year reflected the new crop of Australian artists that are emerging onto the music scene.  Live performances included album of the year nominees Sia, Birds of Tokyo, Washington, and Angus and Julia Stone as well as old favorites like John Butler Trio and INXS.  Carrying on the strange tradition of needing "international celebrities" as presenters at Australian award shows, this year they flew out Carmen Electra and Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family.  The multiple winners on the night were The Temper Trap, Powderfinger, Washington, and Angus and Julia Stone, who won both single and album of the year.

Crowded House- Intriguer Tour

Last night after viewing Kevin's exhibition I headed down to Rod Laver Arena for the sole Melbourne date of Crowded House's Australian tour in support of their latest album Intriguer.  I had the best tickets I have ever had in my life for this concert- front row and center.  The opening act for the evening was the lovely Oh Mercy.  They started with "Hold Out Your Hand" and played other unreleased songs in their set including "Confessions," "On The Run" and "Stay Please Stay."  It was good to hear "In My Stride," "Broken Ears," "Lay Everything On Me" and "Keith St," which has just been released as an EP.  They closed their set with "Get You Back" and seemed to get a good reception from the building crowd.  It's such great exposure for them to be on this tour and I hope they gain some new fans along the way.

Crowded House took to the stage and started with "I Feel Possessed" and then launched into "When You Come."  The whole set was a fairly even mix of songs from all their albums.  Neil and Nick were in good humor and had amusing banter going on throughout the night.  I thought the tracks from Intriguer really stood out- "Amsterdam," "Either Side of the World," "Archer's Arrows" and "Isolation."  Of the older songs I was very happy they played "Whispers and Moans," "Love You 'Til The Day I Die," and "Locked Out."  The majority of the crowd stayed seated for most of the show, except for the two people next to me and some girl behind us who decided to jump over their chairs and stand up front with them.  This was my one annoyance during the night as she occasionally obscured my excellent view at times (I should have called security on her).  Everyone on the floor did eventually get up for "It's Only Natural" and stayed standing throughout the encore.

As expected at a Crowdies gig, some songs took unexpected turns.  In the middle of "Private Universe" Neil started to sing a snippet of "Black and White Boy."  During the encore, "Weather With You" became an epic medley with them covering portions of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax," Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing," and Mark Hart doing Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born on the Bayou."  Some people in the crowd started to sing "Mean to Me" and the band picked it up in the second verse and completed the song.  The final number of their over two hour set was "Better Be Home Soon."  It was good to finally see them live again after two years and hopefully Melbourne won't have to wait so long for a return visit.

Kevin Chin- Playing House

Tonight I went to the closing night and catalogue launch for Kevin Chin's art show Playing House at The West Wing in Melbourne Central.  The blurb for the show says it all:

What happens when you combine the First Home Owners Grant, TV home makeover shows, and a clueless couple of the Ikea generation undertaking their first home renovation?  Playing House offers a whimsical look at how rising housing prices and the domestic blitz craze affect a generation that refuses to grow up.

The show covers Kevin and Clinton's renovations of their unit through photos, paintings and other pieces, including a life size vinyl laminate bear rug and "panic room" made up of thousands of different colored paint card samples.  I liked how Kevin interspersed photos of their renovations with ones of Clinton's baking, which added to the theme of home.  It was good to finally see the show and celebrate the launch of a catalogue of Kevin's work.

San Francisco Giants Parade

It is days like today that I wish I was home.  I think the entire Bay Area turned out for the San Francisco Giants parade down Market Street to City Hall to celebrate their being the 2010 World Series champions.  The crowd estimates are that over 1 million people were there!  It was the first World Series title for the Giants since the team moved from New York to San Francisco 52 years ago.  I had been eagerly following the playoff games online at work and at home and cheering them on from half way around the world.  It's so exciting for The City that the Giants have finally won the big one.

US Midterm Election

Today was the midterm election in the United States, where all of the House of Representatives and 1/3 of the Senate were up for election.  Considering the state of the economy, any party in power was going to get pounded, and that was the case for the Democrats.  There has been a huge swing of at least 60 seats to the Republicans in the House, but at least they did not gain control of the Senate, with the Democrats holding a very slim majority.  The Tea Party candidates also had mixed success, with both Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle not winning their races (thank God).  In California, Barbara Boxer retained her Senate seat and Jerry Brown is once again the Governor (he was first Governor when I was born!).

In The Age this weekend there was a great article by Simon Mann called "Divided states of America" which explained the current state of play in the US.  There is a shift underway that is especially squeezing the middle class.  According to CNN's Fareed Zakaria, ''[Americans] fear that we are in the midst not of a cyclical downturn but a structural shift, one that poses huge new challenges to the average American job, pressures the average American wage and endangers the average American Dream.'' 

This, along with a widening inequality in the US, is leading to a lot of the fear that is currently going on.  Robert Reich, a former member of President Clinton's cabinet views it this way:

"What we get from widening inequality is not only a more fragile economy but also an angrier politics... When virtually all the gains from growth go to a small minority at the top - and the broad middle class can no longer pretend it's richer than it is by using homes as collateral for deepening indebtedness - the result is deep-seated anxiety and frustration.  This is an open invitation to demagogues who misconnect the dots and direct the anger toward immigrants, the poor, foreign nations, big government, 'socialists', 'intellectual elites', or even big business and Wall Street.''

Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution sees the collapse of opportunity for the working and middle class as the core issue.  "Mass unemployment, underemployment, entire industries down-sizing with no particular hope of recovery … And so, the atmosphere of anxiety I think is rooted in the fact that people don't have a clear understanding of what the success story is for the next decade, either for the country or for themselves personally."

So what is the solution?  According to Galston, "Unless [people] have some increased confidence that somebody does understand the path to a better future and is prepared to put the country on course to move down that path, our political system is going to be very unstable and characterised by resentment, rejection and mistrust.''  With a gridlocked government, will anything get done over the next two years?  Only time will tell.

Melbourne Cup

Today was the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops the nation and allows those of us living in Melbourne to have a public holiday.  The weather for the Spring Racing Carnival has not been too kind this year, with all the big racing days so far having rain, including today.  So You Think was the big favorite going into the Emirates Melbourne Cup, but it was won by Americain, with Maluckyday finishing second and So You Think coming in third.  If only I had listened to my instincts and placed a bet on Americain!

The Basics- Live Album Tour

The last couple of nights I have been at the Northcote Social Club to see The Basics play shows in support of their recent live album /ðə'bæzɪtʃ/, which you can download for free here.

October 30
After having a lovely dinner at Ruth and Danny's place we headed over to Northcote for the gig.  Mary and a couple of her friends met us there.  I had a brief chat with Kris at the merch desk before Georgia Fair began to play.  Their alt-country set was very good and I liked a lot of their songs.  One I recognized was "Picture Frames," which was used for a Big M milk ad.

The Basics played a rocking and tight set of primarily old material.  They started off with "Yeah, Yeah" and then did pretty much the entire first half of the Stand Out/Fit In album.  Michael Hubbard, their original guitarist, joined them for some songs from their first album Get Back (including the rarely played "Sound Off") as well as some covers, including The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night," and the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin".  The only recent stuff played was "With This Ship" and a brand new song called "So Hard For You."  The banter was amusing throughout the night, especially since Tim was on cold medication.  Wally's voice was really strong and he sounded and played great.

October 31
Tash came down from Ballarat to attend this show.  We had dinner at the venue, where Mary joined us before heading into the bandroom.  The stage was all decked out in cobwebs and spiders since this was a Halloween show.  Georgia Fair once again played support and did a good job.

The Basics came out onto the stage in costume, with Wally dressed as priest, Kris as a monk, and Tim with some black lines drawn onto his face (perhaps he didn't get the costume memo?).  They started off the night with our favorite song from Keep Your Friends Close "The No. 1 Cause of Death Amongst Youth Today."  This show was a bit of a contrast to last night because it was very loose and a bit all over the shop since Kris appeared to have had a lot to drink.  The hour and a half set was a mix of Basics songs and covers, with Dave Bramble joining them on keyboards throughout the night.  From The Basics catalogue the highlights were "Lookin' Over My Shoulder," "Like A Brother," "U R The 1," and "Feels Like Love."  Covers included The Cramps "Garbageman," Neil Young's "Old Man," The Police's "Roxanne," and New Kids on the Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)." 

The banter throughout the night was quite funny but there were some dark undertones to what was being said and you could sense a bit of tension between the band members.  The encore was an epic medley of Henry Nilsson's "Lime in the Coconut" interlaced with "All Day and All of the Night," "Gimme Some Lovin'," and "Lovin' Man."  Sadly this will be the last time we see The Basics live for a while as Wally is about to embark on promoting a new Gotye album.  Hopefully they will pop out of hibernation to play a show here and there over the next year, otherwise I guess we will be seeking out each band member's solo projects.

Little Red- Midnight Remember Tour

Last night I went to the Forum Theatre to see the sold out first night of Little Red's Midnight Remember tour.  The opening act for the evening was New Zealand native Kimbra, who I saw a couple years ago when she first moved to Melbourne.  She has gone from a singer/songwriter to more of a jazz-soul chanteuse, looking much more glamorous these days.  Although she has a full band now, she still does samples of her vocals and loops them into the songs. Besides playing her own material she also did a cover of Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover" in her set.

Next up was Sydney band Sparkadia, who I missed seeing on their last album tour and have been wanting to catch live for a couple years now.  They have been on a bit of hiatus, but are now back and about to release a new album.  Their set consisted of songs from Postcards as well as a few new ones.  It was so great to hear "Too Much To Do," "Morning Light," and "Animals."  The new songs are pretty amazing as well, with the audience singing along to the chorus of "Mary" and their new single "Talking Like I'm Falling Downstairs."  They closed the set with "Jealousy."

It continues to amaze me how popular Little Red have become.  Each time they play in Melbourne they are in a bigger venue and selling it out.  They opened the night with one of my favorites, "Lazy Boy."  For these shows at the Forum they had a horn section along, which really adds so much to the songs.  Dom, Quang and Tom alternated lead vocal duties throughout the night, playing songs from both Listen to Little Red and Midnight Remember.  Taka added his usual flair by wearing a fantastic white suit and standing up on his drum kit to get the audience to clap along.  Highlights of the night were "Get a Life," "Slow Motion," "Forget About Your Man," "Witchdoctor," "Jackie Cooper," "She's Not The Only One" and "It's Alright."

The crowd for the show was interesting to watch, because they really did not seem to know any of the album songs except ones that were singles.  I wonder if the success of "Rock It" is what brought most people to the gig as that was one of the few songs to get a massive reaction.  It's a bit of a shift from previous shows where everyone in the crowd has been singing and dancing along to every number.  For the encore they started slowly with "Follow You There" and then picked it up to another level with "Coca Cola."  The last song of the night was my other favorite, the fabulous "Misty, I."

Here's the video for the latest single, "Slow Motion"

Boy & Bear- Blood to Gold Tour

Tonight I headed over to The East Brunswick Club for the second of three sold out shows by Boy & Bear.  The first opening act for the evening was Passenger, aka UK singer/songwriter Mike Rosenberg.  He was great to watch and listen to, with both funny and moving folk songs played on acoustic guitar.  His latest album Flight of the Crow has him collaborating with assorted Australian artists, including Boy & Bear, who came out and joined him to sing "Shape of Love" without mics from the middle of the floor.  He did a fantastic cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" and had the crowd singing along at the end of his set to "Holes."  Next up was Perth alternative band The Chemist.  They had the song title of the night with "Heaven's Got a Dress Code."  Highlights of their set included the songs "Lullaby #1" and "When the Morning Comes."

It's exciting to see the word spreading about Boy & Bear and how popular they have become.  They opened with "The Storm" and then went into their latest single "Blood to Gold."  The set was a mix of songs from With Emperor Antarctica and new ones they have written, which are these amazing, epic numbers.  All of the bands came onto the stage to sing a cover of Bon Iver's "Flume."  Other highlights of the night were "Rabbit Song" and "Mexican Mavis" with its extended intro.  I absolutely love this band and their harmonies are just so beautiful and uplifting that you can't help but walk away feeling inspired after seeing them perform.

Here's the video for "Blood to Gold"

Adam Lambert- Glam Nation Tour

Tonight I was at the Palais Theatre in St. Kilda (amazingly the first time I've ever been there) for the first stop of Adam Lambert's sold out Australian Glam Nation tour.  Earlier this year very few people would have known who he was, but his promo visit in March really did the trick so far as radio is concerned and he's had a couple top five hits on the Australian charts.

This show was originally a general admission concert at The Palace, but it got moved to a bigger, all ages venue when it sold out within a couple weeks.  The Palais Theatre is seated, and while I would have preferred it to remain a general admission gig, I couldn't really complain about the fact I got allocated a seat in the eighth row on the side.  I had an excellent view!  The opening act for the evening was Sydney-based singer songwriter Morgan Joanel.  She played a good half hour set on acoustic guitar and used a loop petal to overlay instrument and vocal samples into her songs.  She even did a cover of Rihanna's "Please Don't Stop the Music."

When Adam finally took the stage the whole floor section was standing up and cheering.  He started off with a medley of "Voodoo," "For Your Entertainment," and "Down The Rabbit Hole"  (I would have loved to hear full versions of all three songs!)  as well as a teaser of "Ring of Fire," which he performed on American Idol.  The show is set up as a musical journey and the set list doesn't really change from night to night.  "Fever" really got the crowd pumping (especially the kiss with bass player Tommy) before the set moved into the acoustic section of the evening.  Absolute highlights were "Soaked" and "Broken Open."  The final more rock section of the night included fantastic renditions of "Sure Fire Winners," "Strut," and "Music Again."  Probably my favorite song off the album, "If I Had You" finished up the main set and had everyone dancing and singing along.  The band returned for just one encore, "Mad World," which was performed much closer to the tempo of the original Tears For Fears version.  It was a bit of an odd way to end the concert as I would have expected them to play at least one more song.  In any case, I still can't believe I actually saw Adam in person.  His voice is amazing live and he and his dancers and band put on a great show.  Hopefully he will return to play in Melbourne again, and actually get to spend more than a day in my fair city.

Nicole Turns Aussie

Tonight I completed the final step to becoming an Australian citizen- the citizenship ceremony.  I arrived early at Coburg Town Hall to register and was then shown to my seat, which was in the front row.  They had some musicians playing beforehand and then got everyone to be seated in order to start.  The Mayor of Moreland City Council, Cr Stella Kariofyllidis presided over the ceremony.  We had a keynote speech by Melanie Raymond, the Chair of the Board of Youth Projects, and also remarks from the Federal Member for Wills, Kelvin Thompson MP.  I'm not sure if doing a political speech about sustainability and population control at a citizenship ceremony was the best move on his part.

After the speeches it was time to stand and recite the pledge:

From this time forward,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,
whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and
whose laws I will uphold and obey.

Then the Mayor presented each candidate with their certificate and an Australian native plant.  My crew of friends (Ruth, Danny, Michelle, Tash, Mary and Elvira) gave a big cheer when my name was called, which made the Mayor comment that I must have a fan club.  After everyone had received their certificates we sang the national anthem and then the ceremony was finished.  Danny grabbed my camera and started taking photos of everyone.  I was very appreciative of people coming to watch, especially Michelle and Tash who drove down from Ballarat in the rain.  We said goodbye to Elvira and then headed out to dinner at Baba on Lygon Street to celebrate.  It doesn't yet feel like I'm an Australian citizen, but I'm sure it will sink in over the next few days.

Oh Mercy- Melbourne Music Festival

Today is the last day of the Melbourne Music festival so I headed into the city to watch Oh Mercy play at the closing concert in City Square.  As always it was great to see them and we got a mix of old and new songs in their 45 minute set.  Of the new ones I really liked "Confessions," and as always it was good to hear "Broken Ears," "Get You Back" and "Lay Everything On Me."  Alex did a brief and amusingly awkward interview with Dave O'Neil after they finished playing.  The exciting news for the band is that they will be the opening act for Crowded House's Australian tour in November.  I look forward to cheering them on from front and center at Rod Laver Arena.

Here is the new video for "Keith St"

Melbourne On Stage

Today I spent my lunchtime at City Square watching the free Melbourne On Stage musical performances, which were part of the Melbourne Music festival.  We got to see a medley of songs performed by the cast of Hairspray The Musical, an aria sung by Emily Wang from the upcoming Melbourne Opera production of Madame Butterfly, assorted songs from past musicals sung by music theatre students from the Victorian College of the Arts, and the cast of Mary Poppins- The Musical singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."  All the performances were really amazing and highlighted the quality of theater productions that come through town.  There was also a running theme of So You Think You Can Dance Australia throughout the hour with judges Jason Coleman (choreographer of Hairspray) and Matt Lee (Mary Poppins), as well as Season 1 winner Jack Chambers (Hairspray) all up on the stage.

The Frowning Clouds- Melbourne Music Festival

After work today I headed down to City Square on Swanston Street to see The Frowning Clouds play a free show as part of the Melbourne Music festival.  The festival is running from 29 September - 10 October and provides the opportunity to see acts from different musical genres at various venues around the city (and mostly for free).  It is a true showcase of what the Melbourne music scene has to offer.

It has been a while since I've seen the The Frowning Clouds play live, and their set was filled with songs from their debut album Listen Closelier, which I finally managed to pick up a copy of after the show.  Highlights of the set were "Purple Heart," "Snake Charmer," and "I Saw You."  It was fun to see a band playing outside in the middle of the city with people and trams going by in the background.

Five Year Anniversary

Today is the five year anniversary of my arrival in Australia. It certainly doesn't seem like it's been that long since I first moved here. I feel very settled in Melbourne, and in ten days I will officially become an Australian as my citizenship ceremony is on October 12th. It will be great to have an Aussie passport and be able to leave the country again.

The Domino Effect

I have been debating for a while whether or not to get an Apple iPhone, but with the release of the iPhone 4 in August I finally decided to take the plunge. I ordered the phone a couple weeks ago, and it arrived on Monday. However, getting the iPhone 4 has had a bit of a domino effect:
1. My previous mobile was on a pre-paid plan, so getting the iPhone meant finding a cap plan that would allow me to make international calls. As a result, I have switched mobile phone carriers.
2. The iPhone 4 requires your computer to have the latest Mac operating system in order to sync it. My nearly 5 year old PowerBook G4 unfortunately couldn't run the latest OS due to it not having an Intel chip. Therefore, I needed to buy a new laptop. I am now the proud owner of a shiny new MacBook Pro. It's really great and has a much bigger hard drive than my old one. In addition, I am no longer worried about my computer dying on me.
3. Going onto a mobile cap plan made me examine the need to keep my landline. Since my home phone plan was bundled with my internet account, I started looking around at plans offered by assorted internet providers. I found a fantastic deal that bundled a home phone and ADSL 2+ plan for less than what I'm currently paying for just the internet. As a result, I'm switching to a new internet provider (and able to keep my home phone line as well).

Despite all these changes, I am enjoying having new toys to play with. I am loving my new laptop and manged to successfully migrate all my files over (including, most importantly, my iTunes library). The iPhone 4 is pretty great as well, and it's like having a mini-computer with you at all times. I'm still figuring out how to use it, but I have installed a few apps, the best of which are the Melbourne public transport ones which will prove to be very useful.

The only downside so far occurred when I bought my laptop a few weeks ago. I purchased it at My Mac on Flinders Street, which proved to be a really bad decision because they are totally dodgy and completely ripped me off. In order to get the $300 education discount in their store I was told I needed to buy Apple Care. I thought the guy said it cost $79, so I agreed to it. It wasn't until I got back to the office and had a close look at the receipt that I discovered the price was actually $579.

When I realised the mistake and tried to return the Apple Care, they first told me I couldn't because they had already registered the software. I rang Apple and they told me that was incorrect, and that I could return it as long as it wasn't opened. So I went back to the store and argued with them and got them to take it back for a refund. However, the small print on their receipt (which I only received after paying for everything) says that if you "change your mind" they charge a 20% restocking fee. At the end of the day I lost the education discount and ended up having to pay an extra $115. I was so disgusted with the store that I wanted to return the laptop too, but again I would have been hit with the 20% restocking fee. The whole experience was really traumatic and took away the joy I initially had about getting a new computer. Consumer protection laws in Australia suck and Apple really should not have these guys as authorised resellers of their products. If you are in Australia tell everyone you know NEVER to shop at a My Mac store.

New Essendon Coach

The Essendon Football Club announced today that former great James Hird will be the new coach of the club. He replaces Matthew Knights, who was fired a few weeks ago after what was possibly the club's worst season in 40 years. While Hird has no AFL coaching experience, he will help reunite the various factions in the club and shore up the fan base that has been unhappy over this past season. Hirdy will have a lot of work to do to bring the club back to its former glory, but we have a good list of young players who will only get better in the coming years. And with a four year contract, hopefully the club and the board will be patient and give him time to improve the team.

Hipsters are the new Emos

A couple funny videos have popped up recently mocking indie hipsters, which must mean that hipsters have become the new emos. First up is a UK one called "Being a Dickhead's Cool" by The Grand Spectacular.


And not to be left out, Melbourne comedian The Bedroom Philosopher (aka Justin Heazelwood) has the song "Northcote (So Hungover)" from his album Songs from the 86 Tram.

Tim Burton: The Exhibition

After work Clinton and I headed down to ACMI in Fed Square to see Tim Burton: The Exhibition. It charts works from his early years growing up in Burbank through to the movie Alice in Wonderland. Here's the blurb for the show:

Curated in direct collaboration with Burton, the exhibition brings together over 700 works, including paintings, drawings, puppets, costumes, storyboards and film. Discover the elements of gothic fantasy, dark humour and motifs that characterise Burton's work as director, concept artist, illustrator and photographer.

It amazing how much of his artistic style was already developed from an early age. I had no idea he had a background as an animator, even working for Disney out of art school. There were costumes, artifacts, storyboards and clips from his films, as well as some sculptures he has done. One of my favorite things in the exhibition though was his 1982 film Vincent.


If you are in Melbourne, the exhibition is on until October 10th.

Australia Finally has a Prime Minister

Julia Gillard was officially sworn in today by Governor-General Quentin Bryce as Australia's first elected female Prime Minister. The federal election took place on August 21st but neither Labor nor the Coalition got the required 76 seats in the House of Representatives to form government. As a result, Australia had its first hung parliament since 1940. Since both parties were stuck on 72 seats, it all came down to which party the six elected Independent and Green MPs would side with to get them over the line. After 17 days the final 3 Independent MPs announced their preferences, and Labor got the two final seats that they needed to form a minority government. It will be interesting to see how Gillard holds together this bare majority and gets her policy agenda through the legislative process. The results will also make things interesting for the Victorian state election in November. Will Labor lose even more inner-city Melbourne seats to the Green Party? Could there be another hung parliament?

Oh Mercy- Keith St. 7" Single Launch

Tonight Tash and I met up at The Toff in Town for the launch of Oh Mercy's new 7" single "Keith St." The two opening acts were lead singers from up and coming Melbourne bands: Geoff O'Connor of Crayon Fields and Kieran Ryan of Kid Sam. Geoff played his set on electric guitar with a sampler, while Kieran's set was all on acoustic guitar. It was good to see them both play for the first time after hearing positive things about their respective bands.

Oh Mercy started the night with "Lay Everything on Me" and then segued into "Seemed Like a Good Idea." Their set consisted mostly of new material from their upcoming album, which will be out in early 2011. It was nice to get a sneak preview and hear what they have been working on, including the new single "Keith St." A few of the songs really stood out on first listen, and Eliza even sang lead on one song called "Doldrums." We also got some of my favorites like "Broken Ears" and "In My Stride," and they finished their set with "Get You Back." The only downside of the evening was the fact that guitarist Thomas Savage has gone MIA. For some reason he is no longer touring with the band, which is a bit of a worry as he and Alex are such a great songwriting partnership. I would hate it if he has left the band.

Ruth and Danny's Wedding

Yesterday was Ruth and Danny's "Dutchnamese" wedding day. They started the morning with a traditional Vietnamese ceremony with both families, and then had the wedding in the afternoon at St. Margaret Mary's Church in Brunswick. It was a joyous ceremony and the priest's homily about them was quite funny. I hitched a ride with people over to the reception at Abbotsford Convent, and while they took photos we killed time in a cafe and then a small bar.

At 6pm the reception officially started with hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the courtyard. We then headed inside and sat down for the eight course Vietnamese seafood banquet which included oysters, scallops, lobster, abalone, and trout. In between the courses we had speeches, the cutting of the cake and first dance, which Danny and Ruth had a refresher swing dancing lesson for. After all that food we managed to hit the dance floor during the last hour of the reception. It was a great night and I am sure they will have a long and happy marriage.

Hungry Kids of Hungary- Shady Haze of Winter Tour

Last night Tash, Mary and I met up at the East Brunswick Club for Hungry Kids of Hungary's Shady Haze of Winter tour. After eating dinner in the bar we headed for the bandroom to catch the first act, Auckland's Artisan Guns, who were good. Next up was Sydney band The Holidays, who Tash and I last saw a couple years ago. They entered the stage to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" complete with lights flashing along to the beat (quite funny). Their set consisted entirely of new songs off their upcoming debut album Post Paradise, which I thought was a brave choice. The standout track for me was "6am."

Hungry Kids of Hungary hit the stage to big cheers from the crowd. They opened the night with "Set It Right." This was their first sold out show in Melbourne, which was exciting. The set list consisted of a few new songs, but was mostly all of their released material. "Wristwatch," "Scattered Diamonds" and "Let You Down" had the audience singing along and it was also good to hear some rarely played songs such as "Arrest This Heart" and "One By One." The encore saw an invasion of about 20 members of the crowd onto the stage for "Lenny" and "Good Times." It was another fun show by the Hungry Kids, and I can't wait for the release of their debut album Escapades on October 1st.

Here's the video for their latest single "Wristwatch"

Music Video Star

I got an interesting message from Mary yesterday alerting me to the fact that she, Tash and I appear in The Basics latest video for "Better." This was filmed at the last night of their Northcote Social Club residency in June, and is the first single off their new live album /ðə'bæzɪtʃ/, which is available now for free download.


Amazingly, this is not my first appearance in a music video. I am also in the Crowded House video for "It's Only Natural" in a crowd shot from a free show they played in Golden Gate Park in 1991 at the 2:22 minute mark (center of front row, black top). Blink and you'll miss me!

Ruth's Hen Night

Last night was Ruth's hen (or bachelorette) night. It was thankfully a very civilized affair. We started at Ruth's place around 4pm for the "triangles of wisdom" craft activity where everyone created a colorful triangle with some words of wisdom that were then strung together to create a banner. Next we headed out to dinner at the Turkish and Middle Eastern inspired restaurant Baba on Lygon Street in East Brunswick. For $35 per person we got a massive amount of food off the three course food safari banquet, which ranged from dips to assorted vegetables dishes and a lamb roast claypot. It was all very good and we had heaps of food left over.

After dinner we discovered a cute little bar a few doors down from the restaurant called Eydie's. We found a nice quiet spot at the back near a fake fireplace and had a couple of drinks before heading for home. Next Saturday is the wedding, so it was nice to meet and chat with Ruth's family and friends before the big day.

Visiting Schools

Over the last week and a half I have been able to escape the office and visit schools to do some filming. We are putting together a short DVD to show what a wider workforce in schools looks like and try to get away from the image of one teacher in front of 25 students in a classroom. We went to schools in the eastern and northern suburbs, as well as Ballarat. All these schools are using a variety of staff with different expertise to work in teams with students. Some of the schools also have built brand new open learning spaces using state and federal funding. It was good to get back into a school environment, and one school in particular with open learning spaces and teams of teachers made me even consider wanting to return to teaching. Now the fun will be editing down the massive amount of footage we have into 10 minutes. We probably have enough material to make several clips on different topics.

Mamasita

One of the biggest things I miss from home is Mexican food, and trying to find a decent Mexican restaurant in Australia has been a struggle. A few months ago I heard about a new restaurant opening in the former space of the Recorded Music Salon on Collins Street called Mamasita. I have been wanting to try it out and today Clinton, Jonathan and I headed over there for lunch. We got seats at the bar and started off with chips and salsa. The salsa had that smokey flavor that I love and the chips were made fresh (not from some cheap kilo tortilla chips bag like most places).

Next we shared a tostada tasting board with four tostadidas each of the de Maiz (sweet corn, black beans, epazote & jalapeno salsa, queso fresco) and de Pescado (market fish with lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chili). They both tasted fresh and delicious. For my main I ordered three de Pescado tacos (soft corn tortillas with grilled fish with lime, achiote paste & red onion salsa) which were absolutely amazing and had the most fantastic flavors. I also had bites of Jonathan and Clinton's food and it was great as well. Every dish I tasted just made me happier and excited to have finally found a fabulous Mexican restaurant in Melbourne. I can't wait to go back and try out more dishes on the menu.

The Return to endota spa

Tonight I treated myself to an hour and a half of bliss at endota spa. I had received a gift certificate from endota around my birthday for a free 30 minute facial with any hour-long treatment. Since it was about to expire in a few weeks I finally made an appointment to go. I started off the evening with the scrub and glow body treatment. It began with a billabong footbath, then a body scrub with essential oils, salts and organic herbs. After washing off the salts she applied the lilly pilly moisturiser. Next I had the organic endota facial, which involved cleansing my skin, putting on a mask, a scalp massage, and then moisturising my face. I felt great after the treatments were finished and it was such a relaxing process having all these things massaged into my skin, which has never felt so soft and smooth.

Little Red- "Rock It" Single Tour

Last night I met up with Tash for dinner at SoulMama, a vegetarian cafe at the St Kilda Baths. It has a cafeteria set up where you pay by how many different sides you want and then get into a serving line to make your selections. The food was good, flavorful and filling.

After eating we headed over to the Prince Bandroom for Little Red's sold out show. First band for the night was the eclectic outfit Richie 1250 and the Brides of Christ. Richie may be a good DJ, but I'm not so sure about his band. Next up was Melbourne duo Big Scary. Most of their songs were played on guitar and drums (a bit of a light version of The White Stripes), but I preferred it when the lead singer Tom switched onto the keyboard for the songs "Autumn" and "Falling Away."

The crowd was already cheering even before Little Red hit the stage. It was good to see them sell out their biggest venue to date, especially since they have been out of the spotlight for quite a while. They opened the evening with "Stare In Love" then segued into "She's Not The Only One." The setlist was an even mix of old songs and new ones from their upcoming album. Standouts of the new material were "Slow Motion" and "Forget About Your Man." Their new single "Rock It" got a big reception, as did old favorites "Little Annie" and "Jackie Cooper." The band sounded great with the addition of a horn section for most of the songs, as well as having Tom on keyboards to fill out the sound. They finished off their set with "Coca Cola" and played "It's Alright" for an encore. I can't wait for the second album to finally be released in a couple months.

Here's the video for the new single "Rock It"

The Basics June Residency

The Northcote Social Club extended The Basics Tuesday night residency into the month of June. However, Mary and I have been bad fans as we did not attend any of the June shows until tonight, which was the last one. At least Tash had a good excuse- she's been overseas for the past few weeks. We met up in the dining area for dinner and to hear about Tash's trip. Then it was time to go into the bandroom to get a spot before The Basics set.

They started the night in traditional fashion with "Yeah, Yeah" and had quite the choreographed hand movements in the middle. It was a classic rock 'n' roll Basics gig with songs such as "Lovin' Man," "My Baby," "Money (Gimme, Gimme)" and "Call It Rhythm and Blues" played. There were surprisingly no songs played from the new album. As expected, there were several covers, including Electric Coconut's "Jungle Juice," Bill Scott's "Hey Rain" (which had the talkers quiet by the second verse), and an encore medley of Harry Nilsson's "Coconut," Wilson Pickett's "Land of a 1000 Dances" and The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'."

Kris also made mention during the show of Kevin Rudd's departure as Prime Minister and when they met him at this Australia Day celebration in Canberra in 2008. Here they are playing "Just Hold On" and "Hey There!"

A Week Of Win

This has been a very good week for me personally as I have made progress on two big goals for the year. The first is that I finally have permanent employment as a Senior Research and Policy Officer in the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. I thought this day would never come as I have been applying for ongoing jobs for quite a while and just missing out. It has been a frustrating and stressful time as my latest fixed term contract was due to finish in September. Thankfully I no longer have to worry and can relax. I will be working in the same research and policy area I have been in for the last two years doing work focused on school workforce reform, pre-service teacher education, and open learning spaces in schools.

The other thing I have had to deal with is applying for Australian citizenship. My permanent residency visa needed to been renewed this year if I ever wanted to leave and get back into the country. Since I was going to have to pay the government either way, I decided it was time to finally put in my application for citizenship. My citizenship appointment was originally scheduled for early August, but in a strangely proactive move for a bureaucracy, I got a call last week asking if I would like to move up my appointment. "Yes please" I said, so today was the new day. I had spent this week getting certified copies of documents done and studying for the citizenship test by reading Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes from start to finish. First they went through my application and checked all my original documents to verify my identity. Next I was brought into the testing room to take the test, which I passed with a 100% score! I now need to wait 4-6 weeks for a decision, and then anywhere from 3-6 months to attend a citizenship ceremony, which is the final stage of the process. I am hoping it won't take too long because I would really like to be able to vote in the upcoming state and federal elections. It will be fun to have dual citizenship.

Australia's New Prime Minister

It has been a crazy 24 hours in Australian national politics. In what I view to be a bloodless coup, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was challenged to a leadership vote in the Labor Party and ended up resigning this morning when he didn't have enough support to overcome the challenge of his Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. As a result, Australia now has its first female Prime Minister. I feel sad for Rudd as I don't think he deserved what happened to him today. It's not like there has been any scandal or anything. You might ask what did Rudd do to deserve being tossed out before the end of his first term in office? Well, it seems his greatest failure was falling poll numbers with an election on the horizon. Factions in the party felt is was time for a change, but I'm not so sure there will be much difference in policy. And don't get me wrong, I really do like Gillard and think she will make a great Prime Minister. I just wish she didn't come into power like this.

Here are some articles from The Age that explain everything a bit further:
Phillip Coorey and Tim Lester- "Gillard becomes Australia's first female Prime Minster as tearful Rudd stands aside"
Megan Levy- "Labor Party was losing its way under Rudd: Gillard"
Shaun Carney- "Hell hath no fury like a deputy scorned"

And here is video of Kevin Rudd's farewell speech and excerpts from Julia Gillard's address to the media.

Boy & Bear

Clinton, Kevin and I went to see Boy & Bear tonight for their first headlining tour in support of their new EP With Emperor Antarctica. Before hitting the venue we went and had dinner at Warwick Thai on Sydney Road in Brunswick. The food was good with generous serving sizes and fairly cheap prices.

We arrived at Northcote Social Club just as Oh Ye Denver Birds was about to start their set. I had a quick listen to their Myspace page and thought they would be decent, but the band that played tonight sounded nothing like the recorded songs. It was quite disappointing.

Boy & Bear came out to big cheers from the sold out crowd and opened with "Blood to Gold." They played all the songs off the EP and a few new ones as well. Lead singer Dave Hosking has such a soothing voice I could listen to him sing all night. That combined with the harmonies from the other band members made every song sound fantastic. The current single "Rabbit Song" received a great reception from the crowd and was probably the highlight of the evening. They also treated us to a cover of Bon Iver's "Flume," and finished the night with their first ever single "Mexican Mavis." Although it was a short set due to their lack of material (which Dave was apologetic about), they are an absolutely amazing band and I can't wait for them to write enough songs to be able to release a full length album.

Here's the video for "Rabbit Song" for your viewing pleasure:

Cloud Control: Bliss Release Tour

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

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

The Basics May Residency

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

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

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

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

Karaoke

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

Vampire Weekend

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

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

ANZAC Day Match

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

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

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

The Good China April Residency

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

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

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