C.W. Stoneking and Marlon Williams- Zoo Twilights

The Zoo Twilights series over Friday and Saturday nights during the summer months at Melbourne Zoo helps the fight against wildlife extinction. Tonight Onagh joined me for the excellent sold out double bill of Marlon Williams and C.W. Stoneking. There was a huge line even before the doors opened, but once we got in we set up our picnic blanket on the lawn and settled in for the evening. Thankfully the weather wasn't too hot today, and despite a few drops it stayed dry.

Marlon Williams was up first and began with a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" solo on guitar. He then played "Lonely Side Of Her" before inviting out his band The Yarra Benders. They did a couple bluegrass numbers with their covers of The Stanley Brothers' "Nobody's Love Is Like Mine" and "If That's The Way You Feel." Songs from Marlon's debut album were featured with "Strange Things," "I'm Lost Without You," "After All," "Dark Child" and "Hello Miss Lonesome." They also played "The State Hospital," "Heaven For You, Prison For Me" and "The Ballad Of Minnie Dean." Marlon finished the night with a beautiful solo rendition of "When I Was A Young Girl."

As darkness fell C.W. Stoneking took to the stage in his all white outfit and bow tie. He was joined by his band and Vika and Linda Bull and Maddie and Memphis Kelly on backing vocals. They played the entirety of his last album Gon' Boogaloo throughout the evening, with highlights including "The Zombie," "Get On The Floor," "Tomorrow Gon' Be Too Late," "Good Luck Charm," "We Gon' Boogaloo" and "On A Desert Isle," where C.W. had to stop mid-song because a bug climbed up his pant leg. The middle of the set was appropriately jungle themed with "I'm A Jungle Man," "Jungle Lullaby," "Jungle Blues," "Talking Lion Blues" (which had a few stops and starts as C.W. got lost in his yodeling) and "The Jungle Swing." It was great to get to hear "The Love Me Or Die" and a lovely cover of The Soul Stirrers' "He's Been A Shelter For Me." To close out the night C.W. played "Jailhouse Blues" solo and invited the crowd to sing along to the chorus. This was such a great evening of music in the beautiful surrounds of the zoo (with the occasional lion roar in the background).

Here's a live version of "The Zombie"

White Night Melbourne 2016

Support for White Night Melbourne 2016 was announced fairly late by the Victorian Government, which may have had an impact on the number of artists taking part this year at the all night arts festival. Compared to last year it didn't seem there was as much to see, and not having any projections on the Flinders Street buildings was a disappointment. However, there were some real gems that I discovered throughout the early morning hours as I wandered around the city.

The focus on Indigenous storytelling was the real highlight of White Night this year, and these artists had the best light projections of anyone. Federation Squared by Reko Rennie with the Electric Canvas lit up Federation Square with some bright colors and graphic designs on the facade of the building.

At the NGV was the very powerful Still Here by Josh Muir with Ample Projects. The illustrations, accompanied by music from Emma Donovan and James Henry, tell the story of Aboriginal people in Victoria before and after white settlement. It was a fast-paced visual narrative and the crowd applauded once it finished.

The best work though due to its sheer scale was Pitcha Makin' Fellas and OCUBO at the Royal Exhibition Building. Their piece told the story of the six Aboriginal seasons. It was stunning to watch and great to hear stories told using traditional language as well as English.

The State Library once again had light projections both outside and inside the building. Landscaping Architecture by Amanda Morgan and James HH Morgan had the front of the library bathed in a kaleidoscope of color. Inside the dome of the La Trobe Reading Room was Ideation by Nick Azidis, Lisa Greenaway, Adem Jaffers and Bentley Dean. Using soundscapes and light projections it celebrated the world's achievements in knowledge.

There were many music stages spread across the city that featured bands from different types of genres. With so many things to see throughout the night it's impossible to view everything. Of all the bands playing I didn't want to miss The Harpoons so I made sure to catch their 1:30 am set at the Live on Lonsdale stage. We were treated to a lot of new songs as well as old favorites "Falling For You," "Can We Work This Out," "Unforgettable" and "Ready For Your Love." The crowd was dancing and it was great to hear other people singing along to the lyrics.

Animals were a feature of some of the pieces at White Night this year. On the Melbourne Town Hall was Golden Monkey by Lisa Roet, which saw a giant gold inflatable monkey clinging to the building. At the Melbourne City Baths was Incubator by Craig Walsh with its 3D animations and projections of creatures swimming around in the pool.

My favorite interactive piece was Neon Laneway by Alana Hoggart and Michael Duncan in Rutledge Lane. This work brought together some of Melbourne's finest street artists with contemporary dancers under the neon glow from black lights. The neon street art, ominous music and dancers really made this the most creative thing I witnessed all evening.

Finally, the hills of the Queen Victoria Gardens were the perfect place to showcase The Dresses by Tae Gon Kim. These beautiful dresses were made of fibre-optic strands that changed color, symbolizing the dresses' history and transformation over time. These were amazing to see in person and another definite highlight of White Night.

Oh Mercy- The Gasometer Hotel

As part of the "Collingwood Open" open-air series the Gasometer Hotel is hosting musical acts through February with the roof to the bandroom open. Tonight was Melbourne's own Oh Mercy in their first show since winning the 2015 ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album for When We Talk About Love.

I arrived about half way through the opening act Gabriella Cohen, who played a solo set on electric guitar and sounded good. Mary then joined me before The Ocean Party took the stage. They are probably Melbourne's most prolific band, having released an album each year since 2011 and recently putting out the hilariously titled EP Mess & Noise Critics Poll 2015. It was good to see them live again (and once again supporting Oh Mercy) but unfortunately the sound mix was off for most of their set, particularly around being able to hear the keyboards and vocals. They played some new songs along with the album tracks "Guess Work, "Greedy," "Light Weight" (which featured Zac dancing around a bit on the floor as part of a bet), and one of my favorites "Head Down" to finish the set.

It was a full band show for Oh Mercy tonight and they opened with "Can't You Hear My Body (Calling Out To You)." Alex was channelling the Deep Heat era in his very shiny pink lame button down shirt. The set list was mainly songs off When We Talk About Love, with highlights being "Without You," "All Roads Lead To You," a solo version of "Lady Eucalyptus," "Sandy" and "Let Me Be Him." I thought the band sounded good and this was the first show for me where they've really gelled with the songs and made them their own. Tracks from previous albums were also played, including "Keith St." "Drums" (complete with a Burt Bacharach style opening verse), "Deep Heat" and "Lay Everything On Me." Alex said he is currently recording new songs in his bedroom and played "Get On." The band once again did a cover of The Waterboys' "The Whole Of The Moon" and finished the night with "My Man." It was good to see Alex feeling well and being in a more positive head space these days. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to hear some more of these new tracks he is working on.

Holy Holy- A Heroine National Tour

Holy Holy have been increasing in popularity both here and overseas since the release of their debut album When The Storms Would Come. Last night they returned to Melbourne to play a sold out show at the Corner Hotel as part of their latest Australian tour.

Opening the evening was Montreal four piece The Franklin Electric, who sounded really great with their folk-rock set which had the crowd engaged from the start. Having been in Australia for the past month they were not looking forward to returning to the snow in Montreal in a few days time. Next up was an electro-rock set by Olympia (aka Olivia Bartley) and her band, which was good but didn't really seem to capture the crowd.

The venue was absolutely packed by the time Holy Holy hit the stage and started their set with "Impossible Like You." As luck would have it lead singer Timothy Carroll blew his amp during the song, so while that was replaced guitarist Oscar Dawson led the rest of the band in playing the theme from Terminator to the amusement of the crowd. Holy Holy were already a great live band, but touring has made them even more of a force onstage with some pretty impressive versions of songs such as "Sentimental And Monday," "History," "A Heroine," "Holy Gin," and "Pretty Strays For Hopeless Lovers." Oscar's guitar work throughout the night was fantastic, and Ryan Strathie was awesome on the drums (and had one blistering drum solo).

We were treated to two new songs, which sounded more upbeat than their previous releases. To finish the set they tore through "House Of Cards" off The Pacific EP. For the encore Timothy and Oscar came out and did a cover of David Bowie's "Starman" before the rest of the band joined them to finish the night with my favorite track off the album "You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog." It's always great to see a truly talented group of musicians get the success they deserve and Holy Holy can only continue to go up from here.

Here's the video for "You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog"

Boy & Bear- Limit Of Love Tour

Surprisingly it has been 18 months since Boy & Bear last played in Melbourne. Mary, Tash and I met up tonight at Festival Hall for their all ages gig in support of their latest album Limit Of Love. We arrived for the second support act, Brisbane band Art Of Sleeping. They had the crowd into their anthemic indie rock sound.

Boy & Bear began their set with the title track "Limit Of Love." Lead singer Dave Hosking was slightly awkward without his guitar and didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. It was good to hear old favorite "Rabbit Song" early in the set, followed by "Lordy May." Pretty much all of Limit of Love was played, and I really enjoyed "Where'd You Go," "Man Alone," "Just Dumb" and my favorite song off the album "A Thousand Faces." Other highlights from the previous albums included "Southern Sun" and "Old Town Blues" off of Harlequin Dream and "Golden Jubilee," "Feeding Line" and "Big Man" off of Moonfire.

As it was Dave's birthday today drummer Tim Hart got everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. They did their Triple J Like A Version cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black," but I'm not so sure about the arrangement they chose. In keeping with tradition they had to make the no encore announcement three songs from the end of the set. For "Harlequin Dream" a saxophone player came out to play the sax solo at the end of the song (the easiest 20 seconds of work you could have). They finished the night with the single "Walk The Wire." It was another fantastic show from the guys and you know you will get nothing less when seeing them live.

Here is the hilarious video by Oh Yeah Wow for "Walk The Wire"

Icecream Hands- John Curtin Hotel

After missing last year's 15th anniversary performance of their fantastic album Sweeter Than The Radio, I was really happy when Icecream Hands announced they were playing a one off show at the John Curtin Hotel doing highlights from all five of their albums. Danny, Ruth and I started our evening downstairs having dinner at Bluebonnet Barbecue (look out for a review on Eagle vs Roo shortly) before heading upstairs to the bandroom where we caught the last song by opening act Luke Sinclair of Raised By Eagles.

For tonight's special show Charles Jenkins, Douglas Lee Robertson and Derek G Smiley were joined by the talented Davey Lane (You Am I) on lead guitar. They started their set with "The Obvious Boy" (which includes a shout out to California). Despite not having listened to these Icecream Hands albums for a while I was impressed that I managed to remember most of the lyrics to the songs they played. Highlights for me during their hour and a half set included "Come Along," "Why'd You Have To Leave Me This Way?," "Spiritlevel Windowsill," "Nipple" and "Yellow & Blue." It was so great to hear those jangly guitars and harmonies live again. We even got a couple of covers in the encore with Davey leading a version of The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" and a fantastic cover of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging." I am hopeful that we will get treated to more of these one off shows in the future.

The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino's eighth film The Hateful Eight has just been released with a series of exclusive 70mm Roadshow screenings in select cinemas. Danny and I went to check out this special event at the Astor Theatre in Windsor. Besides being on 70mm film, the roadshows are showing a longer version of the film that includes a musical overture at the start and intermission between acts, along with a special program.

The film is a western set in the post-Civil War era. A stage coach with bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) picks up fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and his dead bounties. Both parties are on their way to Red Rock to cash in as a blizzard is about to hit. They end up stopping at Minnie's Haberdashery to ride out the storm, and encounter another group that arrived earlier. As you would expect everyone is suspicious of each other, which leads to the typical elements of any Tarantino film: blood, lots of violence and death. The film is set out in six chapters and goes for over three hours. It was quite entertaining, and being able to see it the 70mm format was amazing. If you can handle blood and comical ways of dying, definitely go and check it out.

The School Of Life Secular Sermon: On (Not) Knowing

It's been a while since I went to Sunday mass, so I was intrigued to learn about The School of Life's Secular Sermons. Belinda joined me this morning at Deakin Edge in Federation Square to see comedian Lawrence Leung speak about the topic On (Not) Knowing. Of course any service should have some music, and the morning began with Dan Kelly singing three of his songs solo on acoustic guitar: "Baby Bonus" (with one of my favorite lyrics, "Baby was born in the morning, traditional Cesarean style"), "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam" where he got the crowd to sing along to the chorus, and "Catholic Leader." Dan sounded great in the acoustics of the room, and used his sound effects peddles to add to the vibes of each song.

It was then time for Lawrence's sermon about his obsession with the unknown and curiosity leading to trying to find the answer. But do we really need to know everything? Throughout his presentation Lawrence argued the “not knowing” of something is the catalyst that drives human endeavour, science and other things. He did psychological tests, magic, discussed coincidence and why we easily fall for hoaxes - it's all in the drive to "know" the answer. Lawrence was quite entertaining and his magic tricks were amazing. I'm still trying to figure out how he did a couple of them. To close the service Dan came back out and sang "I Will Release Myself (Unto You)."

The Chills- Silver Bullets Tour

The Chills burst onto the scene in the US in the early 1990s with the albums Submarine Bells and Soft Bomb and exemplified the sound of the Flying Nun record label. Lead singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps is the sole remaining member of the original band, and after years of dealing with health issues he is back with the fantastic new album Silver Bullets. As a long time fan I was thrilled that they were playing a show in Melbourne, as the last time I saw them live was in Auckland at the millennium concert with Split Enz.

I arrived at Max Watt's (the former Hi-Fi Bar) right before they took the stage. The set list was a mix of songs from throughout their career. They played most of the tracks off of Silver Bullets, including my favorites "Aurora Corona," "I Can't Help You," "Silver Bullets," "When The Poor Can Reach The Moon" (the second half of "Pyramid") and the brilliant "America Says Hello." We even got a new song called "Easy Peasy." Martin sounded great and his guitar work was beautiful on those jangly songs. It was amazing to hear the classics such as "I Love My Leather Jacket," "Pink Frost," "The Male Monster From The Id" and "Heavenly Pop Hit," which closed the evening and had everyone singing along. I'm so glad I got the chance to see The Chills play again and hear these new songs live for the first time.

Here's the animated clip for "When The Poor Can Reach The Moon"

Blur- New World Towers

Tonight was the second showing of Blur's New World Towers at the Shadow Electric Outdoor Cinema at Abbotsford Convent. It's a unique experience to watch a movie outside, particularly with fruit bats flying overhead as the sun is setting.

The documentary is about the making of Blur's latest album, The Magic Whip, and the revival of the band as a four piece. Five days stuck in Hong Kong changed the course of their history as they decided to secretly head to the studio to jam with no one knowing and no pressure. While the end result took time to emerge, it was definitely worth the wait.

The film contains interviews with each of the band members interspersed with concert footage from Hong Kong and Hyde Park, as well as recordings from the sessions at the Hong Kong studio. It's the story of the band, their relationships with each other (particularly Damon and Graham) and the music. At times hilarious and at others poignant, the film tells the story about their journey together over all these years. I really enjoyed it and it brought back fond memories of seeing them at Rod Laver Arena last year.

Here's the trailer for the film:

The Basics- Tinder Knight 2

In what may be the shortest hiatus ever, The Basics were back together again last night at Northcote Social Club for Tinder Knight 2, thanks to Wally being in town for the holidays. As was the case for Tinder Knight last February, the boys set up in the middle of the room with Kris and Tim on acoustic guitars and Wally on a Wurlitzer. The sold out crowd of over 200 people sat around them as they played covers, audience requests via sheet music, and a few Basics numbers across two sets.

The evening began with "In My Life" and "Ain't She Sweet" by The Beatles. They were revisited later on with covers of "If I Fell," "I'll Cry Instead" and "Golden Slumbers," as well as George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass." Other artist multiple tracks included The Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream," Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" and "Songbird" (another beautiful version by Wally) and David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" and "As The World Falls Down" from the film Labyrinth.

The boys did a couple of covers they played during the last tour with their fantastic version of Eric Bogle's "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and Neil Young's "Birds" (sung by Tim). In honor of Stevie Wright they played The Easybeats "I'll Make You Happy" to start off the second set, and got some Creedence Clearwater Revival in with "Someday Never Comes." Two of the more interesting cover choices of the night were Joe Jackson's "Real Men" and the 1990s classic "Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies.

The audience requests also brought up some interesting songs. They played Crowded House's "Sister Madly" and "I Got You" by Split Enz. Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" turned into a Cookie Monster mash up half way through with hilarious results. They played the Eagles track "Lyin' Eyes" despite Tim's hatred for the band, and an audience shout out for George Michael resulted in a fun version of "Faith."

Thankfully a few Basics tracks made it into the set, with Tim taking over the Wurlitzer for "Hey Rain" (complete with an extra verse about cane toads as a reprise due to the frog in Wally's throat), a lovely "Home Again" by Wally, "Memory Lane," and a brand new untitled track by Kris about lost love.

The whole evening finished with an epic version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." It was another excellent two plus hours of fun and entertainment by the boys with a wide range of song selections played. Kris and Wally were kind enough to hang around during the set break to mingle and talk with people. I had a quick chat with Wally after the show and he was once again surprised to see me as he seems to forget that I still live in Melbourne (or I have a doppelganger somewhere that is confusing him). It sounds like there might be some Basics shows in the States this year, so if they manage to time them when I'm around in May/June I may get to see them on home soil.

Here's the video for "Time Poor" off The Age Of Entitlement:

Suffragette and Spectre

Tonight Onagh and I met up for a bit of a British movie double header at the Kino Cinemas. Our first film was Suffragette, a historical drama about the British suffrage movement in the early 20th century. It stars Carey Mulligan as Maud Watts, a laundry worker who gradually becomes a suffragette through some women she works with and interactions with others she encounters along the way, including Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter) and Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep). There is huge personal cost for many of these working women as their activism makes them get shunned by their employers, families and communities due to their increasingly militant activities which result in them getting thrown in jail. The film culminates at the Epsom Derby as they try to get media attention for the suffrage cause as King George V is in attendance. It wasn't until 1928 that all women over the age of 21 got the right to vote in England.

Our next movie was Spectre, the latest James Bond film (and complete opposite of what we had just seen). While I have viewed bits and pieces of Bond films over the years I don't think I've ever actually watched one from start to finish. Spectre begins in Mexico City at a Dias de los Muertos parade as Bond (Daniel Craig) takes down an assassin who is part of the global criminal organisation SPECTRE. Although he has been suspended from the field by M (Ralph Fiennes), who is battling C to keep the 00 program alive, Bond slips out the country to learn more about SPECTRE and fight its leader Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). The film's action sequences are completely over the top, as you would expect from a big budget Bond film. While I found Bond's immediate hook-ups with the women he meets to be ridiculous, the film overall was entertaining although a bit too long.

Indie Australia Sampler Vol. 6

As we come to the end of another year, here are some of my favorite Australian tracks from 2015 that have made it onto my annual sampler CD. It's a pretty eclectic collection for a year that has seen a lot of fantastic new releases.

1. Crayon Fields - "She's My Hero"


2. San Cisco - "RUN"


3. Dan Kelly - "Never Stop The Rot"


4. Sarah Blasko - "I'd Be Lost"


5. Brous - "The Sound"


6. L-FRESH The LION - "Get Mine"


7. Omar Musa - "Dead Centre"


8. Saskwatch - "In Your Arms"


9. The Harpoons - "Ready For Your Love"


10. The Ocean Party - "Aircon"


11. Oh Mercy - "Sandy"


12. Boy & Bear - "A Thousand Faces"


13. Holy Holy - "You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog"


14. Rolls Bayce - "Lost"


15. The Stiffys - "Kick Another Flip"


16. The Basics - "Roundabout"


17. Marlon Williams - "Hello Miss Lonesome"


18. Fraser A. Gorman - "Shiny Gun"


19. Henry Wagons - "Cold Burger, Cold Fries"

Christmas In Sorrento

A few of my friends were kind enough to extend invitations to me to join them for Christmas, and I took up the first offer I received from Onagh to join her and her extended family in Sorrento along the Mornington Peninsula. We got a ride down to her cousin's place, which has recently finished being renovated and has a great beachy vibe.

We had a beautiful spread of food for Christmas lunch, with a salmon roulade to start and then ham, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, snow peas and a couple salads to eat for the main. Everyone wore their crowns from the Christmas crackers, and we enjoyed the breeze out on the deck during the hot afternoon.

After opening presents and having a bit of Christmas pudding for dessert, everyone headed down to the beach at Lavender Hill, home of the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club. It was a beautiful afternoon and swimming in the water from the bay was the perfect way to cool down.

We headed back to the house for some more celebrations in the evening before heading back to Onagh's aunt's house up the road to sleep. It was a very Aussie way to spend my Christmas, although tempered by the bushfires in Wye River and Separation Creek along the Great Ocean Road which saw the loss of 116 homes.

Kit Kat Studio

If you have ever wanted to create your own custom Kit Kat bar now is your chance as the Kit Kat Studio is open at Melbourne Central until 17 January 2016. It's a pretty simple process to make your own personalised Kit Kat bar, which is also a great gift idea. First you choose your chocolate (white, milk or dark) and then create your signature flavor by choosing up to three different ingredients from the range of 17 on offer.

Once you design your personalised packaging, the Kit Kat employees will hand make your creation and then text you when it's ready for pick up in a few hours. If you don't want to wait there are some pre-made special edition flavors available for the holidays. I got the butterscotch fudge, pretzel and pecan one, which was quite good.

Holiday Season In Melbourne

As someone who did not grow up celebrating the holidays in the southern hemisphere, it is hard to get my mind to equate Christmas with summer. The only things that remind me are the holiday decorations around the Melbourne CBD (which I will note are only Christmas and not other holidays such as Hanukkah). There are the annual items like the Myer Christmas Windows, City Square becoming "Christmas Square," light projections on Melbourne Town Hall, and decorations on Flinders Street Train Station. This year they have added a lit Merry Christmas sign across the Yarra River on the Princes Bridge, and a Lego Christmas tree in Federation Square. It's going to be a warm one this year, and my first Christmas back in town after spending the last three years overseas celebrating with family.

Din Tai Fung

The Din Tai Fung Taiwanese restaurant chain opened their first Melbourne restaurant in June this year. Located on Level 4 of Emporium, there is a lot of space in this 235-seat restaurant and service is pretty fast once you are seated. We went to check out the steamed dumplings and buns, ordering the vegetable and pork wontons, xiao long bao, vegetable and pork buns, and the limited dumpling gems in a variety of different colors and flavors. While their dumplings are world renowned, I thought they tasted good but didn't really surpass my favorite dumpling and steamed bun places in Melbourne.

Father John Misty- The Forum

Tonight Father John Misty played a second night at The Forum in a sold out show to support his latest album I Love You, Honeybear. Opening the evening was Tame Impala bass player Cam Avery, who played a solo set mostly on guitar, with some piano and loops thrown in.

The band came out and started playing "I Love You, Honeybear," with Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) emerging on stage in time for the first verse. Dressed in all black he writhed around the stage and sounded fantastic as he sang songs off both his albums. Highlights of the set included "True Affection," "When You're Smiling And Astride Me" and "Chateau Lobby #4 (In C For Two Virgins)" off I Love You, Honeybear and "Only Son Of A Ladiesman," "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" and "Nancy From Now On" from Fear Fun. Josh was hilarious and interacted with the crowd all night. He asked how many people had jumped on the bandwagon due to his best limited edition packaging Grammy nomination for I Love You, Honeybear. Then during "Bored In The USA" he grabbed someone's phone midway through and filmed himself singing with the crowd able to see his face on the phone screen.

For the encore Josh began with a Q&A session with the crowd, with the most interesting response being the last one where he combined two questions: Are you into butt play and why the alter ego? He then played "I Went To The Store One Day" solo on guitar to a hushed crowd, and brought out the band to finish the night with "Everyman Needs A Companion." It was a great show and a pleasure to watch such an entertaining frontman have the audience in the palm of his hand.

Here's the video for "I Love You, Honeybear"

Expat Observations: Real Estate

Would you pay $1.5 million for this?

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area made me used to insane real estate prices, but even I have been floored by the Australian obsession with property. In the 10 years I have lived here the median house price in Melbourne has gone from $350,000 to $729,500. To put this number into perspective, the median house price in the Bay Area is currently $790,500. I love Melbourne, but it is no Bay Area.

Each week there are breathless articles in the papers about Saturday auction results, clearance rates and houses that have gone $100,000+ over their reserve. One recent example is this two-bedroom home in Hawthorn which was bought in 1970 for $10,000, has been uninhabitable since 1983, and sold for $1.51 million. Yes, someone paid that much for a tear down.

So what is causing these ridiculous prices? Australia escaped the worst of the GFC and never had a property market crash. Prices have been going up an average of 6 per cent a year since the 1990s. We have low interest rates, a tax system that favors investors instead of owner-occupiers with negative gearing and capital gains tax, and stamp duty instead of land tax which adds a huge up front cost to buying a house. There is also no independent reporting of the housing sector as the media use figures directly from the Real Estate Institute and newspapers are reliant on the advertising revenue from their property sections.

Prices are currently seven times average household income (instead of the normal three). People have been calling out this housing bubble for years, but it has yet to burst. Politicians don't want a crash to happen so they have been doing everything in their power to keep the housing market propped up. In addition, because all this money across the nation is stuck in a non-productive asset, it means it is not being invested in the stock market or businesses and helping to grow and expand the economy. The day of reckoning is coming, and it's not going to be pretty.

Expat Observations: Food

Melbourne is the foodie capital of Australia. There is no shortage of options for restaurants around the city to meet your culinary needs. This is the result of successive waves of immigration and each new group bringing its cuisine to the food scene. It's one of the many benefits of living in such a multicultural city.

New hot spots pop up all the time (usually easy to spot because of the long lines out front) and different cuisine trends come and go. Mexican food has gotten increasingly better over the last few years, which is a great relief for me. The American food trend is still going strong, although it is mainly focused on barbecue, Southern or New York deli style foods. My friend Danny and I started our food blog Eagle vs Roo in order to explore how authentic all these American places are.

Melbourne is also home to some amazing patisseries, many of which are located in South Yarra. It is a really creative part of the food scene as they all push the envelope to create innovative flavor combinations and desserts.

Expat Observations: Drinking

Alcohol is a huge part of Australian culture. Most social gatherings will involve drinking of some sort and often lead to binge drinking. Even at work, going out for Friday night drinks is a regular occurrence and can extend late into the night. When I first arrived in Australia it was a shock how much alcohol people would consume. Having a big night out and bragging about it was commonplace. Moderation just didn't seem to exist, and for someone who isn't really much of a drinker, it was hard to convince others that no, I don't need another drink.

More recently I think attitudes to alcohol have been gradually changing here. Daily drinking is in decline, and younger people are abstaining more. There are fundraiser events to encourage people to take a break from alcohol for a month with Dry July and Ocsober. The Hello Sunday Morning initiative is also gaining traction in trying to change people's relationship with alcohol and getting them to drink in moderation. These are all positive signs, but until people realise that you don't have to have a drink to have a good time, there won't be a true shift in society to responsible drinking.

Marlon Williams- Prince Bandroom

It was a sold out show at the Prince Bandroom tonight to celebrate the release of New Zealander Marlon Williams's debut eponymous album. Belinda and I arrived towards the end of Ben Salter's opening set, but the couple songs we did hear sounded good.

Marlon came out onto the stage solo and began the evening with an acoustic version of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." He then started to bring out his band The Yarra Benders along with singer Aldous Harding. The set was a mix of songs from his album and covers, which crossed a variety of musical styles from folk to country to bluegrass. Highlights included "After All," "Lonely Side Of Her," "I'm Lost Without You," "The Ballad Of Minnie Dean" and "Dark Child," which was done with Ben Salter.

Marlon has such an incredible voice with this Maori lilt to it that adds another dimension to his vocals. He finished the main set with my favorite track off the album, the barnstorming "Hello Miss Lonesome." For the encore he played "When I Was A Young Girl" solo on acoustic guitar, and then he and the band brought the house down with an impassioned cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "Portrait Of A Man" to finish the night. It was such a privilege to be able to see Marlon play live, and he has certainly earned all the acclaim coming his way.

Here's the video for "Hello Miss Lonesome" (warning NSFW):

Expat Observations: Cultural Cringe and Tall Poppy Syndrome

Despite the success of Australians in many different fields, the cultural cringe is still alive and well. The only proof you need is to look at the various award shows or sporting events celebrating Australian achievement that for some reason need to have an international guest to make it relevant and valid. Just this year alone we have had the following visitors to our shores:

• Logie Awards (equivalent to The Emmys/People's Choice Awards): Ricky Martin, Meghan Trainor and The Script
• AFL Grand Final (equivalent to the Super Bowl): Chris Isaak, Ellie Goulding and Bryan Adams
• Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards (equivalent to The Grammys): James Blunt and Ed Sheeran (they even created a special award to lure Ed out here)

There is so much talent in Australia and it makes me mad that they don't get the opportunity to showcase themselves on a national stage because slots are being taken up by someone from overseas. This sham was exposed brilliantly in 2006 when the late Joan Rivers presented with The Today Show's entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins at the Logies and questioned why she was there.



The other side of this equation is the unique Australian phenomenon of tall poppy syndrome. They will celebrate the international success of our Nicole, our Hugh, our Cate and our Russell, but if any of them appear to be acting like they are better than everyone else then they will be chopped down to size in the media.

The latest victim of this is Bindi Irwin, who just won the US version of Dancing With The Stars. On the panel show The Verdict this week, former Australian Senator Amanda Vanstone actually said after clips were shown of Bindi, "Give me a break. She's not the only kid whose father has died. My father died when I was young; it happens to lots of kids. It doesn't make her special." This is possibly the meanest thing anyone has ever said about her. While Bindi's positivity and passion for wildlife is celebrated in the United States, I feel like if she had competed in our version of Dancing With The Stars she would have never won.

Many Australians would rather cut you down than celebrate your successes. It's an unfortunate national trait and one that can deter people from making a huge effort and expressing their pride at accomplishing something big in their life.

Liam Finn and Dan Kelly- The Shadow Electric

Tonight was Finn Kelly 2.0 at The Shadow Electric at Abbotsford Convent with Liam Finn and Dan Kelly playing a dual headline show together. Opening proceedings was Palm Springs who played a solo set on electric guitar as her drummer had just had a baby.

It was the Kelly family band with Dan on guitar and his cousins Maddy and Memphis doing backing vocals. They started the night with "Baby Bonus" and then launched into "The Catholic Leader" (an appropriate song considering the venue). Dan gave hilariously detailed explanations to intro each of his songs, and apologised for working blue throughout the night. The set was more subdued due to not having the full band like at his album launch a few weeks ago. Highlights included "Never Stop The Rot, "Gold Coast Man," "Drunk On Election Night" and "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam." The set closed with "Dan Kelly's Dream" complete with a conga line going through the crowd.

Liam Finn came out onto the stage wearing a black beaded jacket over his black shirt and was joined by EJ Barnes. It was just like old times as they began their set with "Fire In Your Belly" and "Better To Be" and used loops to create the layers of sound. It's been over 4 years since I last saw Liam do a proper live show here (not counting last week's SUCCESS performance) so it was exciting to get the chance to hear many of these old songs live again, as well as The Nihilist tracks for the first time. EJ sang "On Your Side" from the Champagne In Seashells EP, and "Second Chance" had Liam hopping onto the drum kit at the end.

They brought out their bandmate Jim to play bass and then kicked into some tracks off the new album, including "Snug As Fuck," "Miracle Glance" (complete with theremin), "Ocean Emmanuelle" and my favorite "Burn Up The Road." Liam made up a song on the spot for Mistletone Records, who put together this little tour. He also played the New Zealand national anthem on guitar to counter Dan's Australia tracksuit jacket and his playing of the Australian national anthem earlier (Liam did note he was wearing all black). To finish off the main set they played "I'll Be Lightning" and had everyone singing along at the end. For the encore Liam stripped off his shirt and put on the beaded jacket and got Dan out on stage to do an energetic cover of Devo's "Gut Feeling." It was an amazing finish to a fantastic double bill and a great way to spend my Thanksgiving night.

Here is one of the best videos Liam has ever made: "Wrestle With Dad"

Expat Observations: The Tyranny Of Distance

Geoffrey Blainey's book The Tyranny Of Distance explored how Australia's distance and isolation has shaped its national identity. This island continent is a long way away from most other countries in the world. There is no quick trip home for me as a direct flight from Australia to the West Coast is 14 hours (plus a few more hours because there are no direct flights from Melbourne to San Francisco).

Today is Thanksgiving and it's on these holidays that I feel this tyranny of distance the most. Over these past 10 years abroad I have missed holidays, family and friends' birthdays, special events and family crises that I should have been there for. I have made it home for the past three Christmases, but will be staying in Australia this year. This is the life of the expat and the trade offs you have to make when you decide to live in another country.

Expat Observations: Domestic Violence

Today is White Ribbon Day, a national day to stop men's violence against women. According to Destroy The Joint, 78 women have been killed by violence this year in Australia. Last year the number was 84. Police are dealing with domestic violence incidents every two minutes. A woman is hospitalised every three hours and there are over 100,000 apprehended violence orders (AVOs or protection orders) that have been taken out nationally.

The conversation about domestic violence in Australia became a national one through Rosie Batty, who is the 2015 Australian of the Year. In 2014 Rosie's 11 year-old son Luke was murdered by his own father at cricket practice. Rosie spoke openly and honestly to the media just hours after his murder and raised the consciousness of domestic violence across the country. Through the Luke Batty Foundation, Rosie is working to give victims a voice and demand that Australia's leaders act.



On this White Ribbon Day I remember my cousin Marie, who was murdered six years ago by her boyfriend at the age of 28.

If you are in Australia and need help, call the National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counseling Line on 1-800-RESPECT.

Expat Observations: Leave Entitlements

Australians have some of the best leave entitlements in the world. Full time employees get a minimum of four weeks paid annual leave each year, often with this great thing called leave loading paid on top of your normal salary (typically 17.5% of your base rate of pay). In addition, if you have worked for an employer for more than seven years, you can access long service leave pro-rated, which is worth three months at the end of 10 years of service. For personal leave (sick or carers) the entitlement is a minimum of 10 days each year.

The United States, by comparison, is the only developed country in the world without legally required paid annual or sick leave. Most people do get at least 10 days annual leave though depending on their years of service. So while Americans sometimes get made fun of for not leaving the country, when you consider how little leave they have in comparison to everyone else it's no surprise they tend to stay closer to home.

Expat Observations: Anti-Americanism

This morning one of my work colleagues said she didn't like the movie Bridge Of Spies because it was "too American and schmaltzy." I have had other people make similar offhanded comments in my presence without a second thought. In all these instances American is always code for bad. It's like some deeply ingrained prejudice that most Australians have, and it drives me nuts. I'll often respond with "not everything American is bad" which kind of makes them realise what they are saying and apologise.

When I was studying at the University of Melbourne in the mid-1990s I took a few American politics classes. In the first tutorial people were introducing themselves and expressing some fairly prejudiced views about the US. When it was the turn of another American girl and I to introduce ourselves you would not believe the sheepish looks on their faces when they heard our accents.

When I moved back to Melbourne 10 years ago it was during the height of Bush presidency (and post-Katrina) and the anti-American sentiment was off the charts. I got blamed for having voted for him (not true) and I wouldn't dare speak out loud on public transport as I didn't want people to hear my accent. I also had to deal with being called a yank or seppo (septic tank = yank in rhyming slang) at work.

Of course, when Obama became President things improved (although they didn't give me any credit for voting for him). However, anti-Americanism is always lurking under the surface. Any article in the paper about American things will always have a string of really hostile comments under it. Political parties also like to use American as code to scare people, with the Labor Party the main culprits around higher education and health care. It reminds me of Republicans when they would say "San Francisco values" as code to frighten middle America.

What goes around comes around, and it's only been during the past year when Abbott was Prime Minister and trashing Australia's reputation internationally that I think Australians finally got a taste of what it was like for Americans during the Bush years. This may be the first time that Australia is being seen in a bad light politically around the world for its treatment of refugees and views on climate change.

Expat Observations: Racism

Melton protest. Photo by Chris Hopkins

Today saw another wave of anti-Islamic rallies around the country by the right-wing group Reclaim Australia. Thankfully they were countered by anti-racism protesters, but these nationalistic movements are nothing new. Recent examples include Pauline Hanson and the One Nation Party, and the 2005 Cronulla riots in Sydney, where the Australian flag became a symbol of hate.

There is a casual racism that still pervades Australian society, which isn't that much of a surprise when you consider White Australia policy existed until 1975. Each new wave of refugees and migrants faces discrimination (particularly those that are non-white). In addition, Indigenous Australians continue to face institutionalised racism, with the closure of remote communities in WA just the latest injustice.

One glaring example of racism that played out this year was the treatment of AFL footballer Adam Goodes. The two-time Brownlow medallist, dual Premiership player with the Sydney Swans, and 2014 Australian of the Year was continuously booed during games this season just because he dared to show pride in his culture by doing a war dance after a goal during the Indigenous Round (!). The racial vilification got so bad after a game in Perth that he decided not to play the following week, and was ready to never play again. What made him return was a huge campaign of support for him by the public and players in that next round. Adam Goodes retired at the end of the season, but still continues to face racist comments, with the latest incident being when he was named a brand ambassador for the department store David Jones. Once again people stood with Adam, but the fact this keeps happening demonstrates the overt racism that persists in Australia.

Joelistics- The Workers Club

Last night the fantastic Joelistics played his last show for the year in Melbourne at The Workers Club. The opening act was Indigenous rapper Birdz, who rapped about culture and country and along with DJ Marze got the crowd moving. Next up was writer and slam poet Omar Musa with DJ B.TWO on the decks. He played a powerful set, with his new song "Dead Centre" being the standout track.

The room was completely packed by the time Joelistics and DJ Beatrice hit the stage. He started with my favorite song off of Blue Volume, the politically charged "Say I'm Good." The set was a mix of tracks from his two albums, with highlights including "Head Right," "The People," "Glorious Feeling," "Days" and "Out Of The Blue." Joel also invited a couple guests up onto the stage with Birdz doing a song they are working on together, and MPD drum pad player Dollface doing some beats. It was a fun show with some great energy, and the crowd went off for the closing track of the night "In The Morning."

Here's the video for "Out Of The Blue"

Expat Observations: Road Rules

For the most part road rules in Australia are similar to what I'm used to in the United States, but there are some key differences that one needs to be aware of if driving here.

Keep to the left: Australians drive on the left side of the road. This is easy to remember, but you can experience some temporary panic at intersections if you aren't sure you have turned onto the correct side of the road (in addition to the problem of accidentally hitting the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal).

Roundabouts: There aren't many roundabouts in the States as we have four way stops at intersections (sometimes with blinking red lights so everyone takes their turn). Single lane roundabouts make sense, but it's when you get into those giant multi-lane ones that things can get confusing. Perhaps I just need to sing The Basics "Roundabout" to remember the rules.

Hook turns: Hook turns are a unique feature of driving in the Melbourne CBD so that you don't block trams. Signs clearly mark the intersections where to make a right turn you have to do it from the far left hand lane as the light is about to change. Yes, this confuses many people who aren't used to it.

Stopping for trams: This is a big one for me as a public transport user as I don't want to get hit by a car when getting off the tram. When a tram stops in the road cars also need to stop so that people can get off and on safely. They can only continue driving and pass the tram when it closes the doors and starts to move again.

Motorcycle parking: For some reason motorcycles and scooters are allowed to park on the sidewalk in Melbourne as well as in designated parking spots. I still don't understand why this is the case.

Expat Observations: Tipping

While some people do tip in Australia, it really is not obligatory like it is in the United States. Here wait staff are paid an average of $15.50 AU an hour (going up to $20+ AU on weekends with penalty rates), while in the States that drops to $4.00 US per hour.

As you can see, it's a matter of survival for US wait staff to get their 15-20% tip, and establishment owners unfortunately factor in what they should be getting in tips when determining salaries. I also think US wait staff earn it more by providing superior customer service to their Australian counterparts. If I were to get exceptional service here I would be willing to leave a tip, but considering wage rates and the cost of a meal I rarely feel the need to leave a tip on a bill.

SUCCESS: Liam Finn

Tonight I went to see SUCCESS at ACMI, a specially created piece by Liam Finn and New York filmmakers Anthony & Alex for Melbourne Music Week. The piece tackled the concept of success through a series of filmed vignettes and performance pieces accompanied by Liam playing original compositions and improvisations live.

The performance started with a clip of Liam backstage getting ready and warming up before he came into the room. Next was an interview clip between Liam and his brother Elroy, which was quite funny with some pointed barbs. Then Liam performed the song "Miracle Glance" with a theremin that was mirrored by the clip shown on the screen.

From there the piece went into the series of vignettes, with each one commencing by focusing up close on someone's eyes before pulling back to the scene. The music Liam played varied from the somber to manic with him jumping between guitar and piano and triggering different loops. The clips by Anthony & Alex were quite interesting and sometimes disturbing. The most memorable one for me was a woman cutting out the bottoms of small teddy bears and inserting dollar bills interspersed with footage of kids in Halloween costumes. I got nervous when it went from the first bear being cut to a shot of a baby in a bear costume, but thankfully it didn't take the dark turn I was fearing. SUCCESS was an interesting and thought provoking performance piece that will take a while to digest and mull over.

To give you an idea of the clips, here are three teasers that Liam put up ahead of the performance.