They Will Have Their Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn

Tonight Tash, Mary and I met up in St Kilda for the They Will Have Their Way tribute concert featuring the songs of Tim and Neil Finn.  After a quick dinner at Grill'd we headed over to the Palais Theatre and took our seats in the orchestra section.  The performers on this tour all feature on the newly repackaged They Will Have Their Way album: Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby, and Sally Seltmann (solo and as Seeker Lover Keeper), Paul Dempsey, Clare Bowditch, Lior, and Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy).  Each artist played several songs either by themselves or with others.  There was also a backing band to round out the sound of the songs, which spanned all eras of Tim and Neil's careers: Split Enz, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, and solo.  

There were so many great versions of the songs, but my favorites were Clare, Sarah, Holly and Sally doing "Fall At Your Feet," Lior's "Into Temptation," Sarah's "My Mistake," Paul's "Message To My Girl," Seeker Lover Keeper's "Sinner," Paul and Clare's "Turn and Run" (the one song I was hoping would get played), and Alex's "Now We're Getting Somewhere."  I felt the crowd was subdued and a bit dull since they wouldn't really sing along or interact.  Clare and Alex were the funny ones on the night and had us laughing a lot.  The encore saw all the artists come onto the stage to finish with "It's Only Natural" and "Weather With You."  All in all it was a great show with some interesting interpretations of the Finns' amazing songs.

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 6

I have ventured to St Kilda this evening for dinner and the They Will Have Their Way Finn tribute concert. Today's photo is taken in front of the entrance to Luna Park.

Today's outfit:
Blue dress (Old Navy)
Sandals (Diana Ferrari)

Photo by Mary

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 5

It's the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival with Emirates Stakes Day at Flemington Racecourse.  Thankfully the Kardashians fled Australia so they did not make it down to Melbourne for today's races.  The weather is quite warm, which is a nice change from the rain and cooler temperatures we've been having.  I've just been doing normal Saturday activities- laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning.

Today's outfit:
Black top (StudioM)
Olive shorts (Now)

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 4

TGIF!  It's always good to get to the end of another work week.  Fridays are casual dress days in the office and usually a time for drinks after work.  Mary and I met up with Chantal at Tuscan Bar and we hit the rooftop bar since the sun was out.  After a drink and catch up we went for dinner at China Red (site of today's photo), a sister restaurant of HuTong Dumpling Bar.  We feasted on an assortment of dumplings from the touch screen menu, which were all delicious.

Today's outfit:
Pink polka dot top (Merona)
Black long sleeve shirt (Merona)
Jeans (Gap)
Sneakers (Puma)

Photo by Chantal

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 3

One of the great things about working in the city is all the little cafes in the surrounding area.  Taking a "coffee break" (more hot chocolate or chai latte for me since I don't drink coffee) is a good way to break up the work day and get out of the office.  This morning we went to Little Bean Blue, which is the site for today's photo.

Today's outfit:
Black top (INC International Concepts)
Plaid wool skirt (Gap)
Boots (Diana Ferrari)

Photo by Onagh

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 2

It's a grey and chilly day in Melbourne so I am dressed accordingly.  The office is also a bit quiet today (perhaps post-public holiday sadness).

Today's outfit:
Green dress (Gap)
Black sweater (Old Navy)
Black tights
Boots (Diana Ferrari)

Photo by Youla

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 1

It is a public holiday today due to it being the Melbourne Cup.  As a result, I have been spending the day relaxing at home.  The winner of the race that stops the nation was Dunaden from France by the absolute slimmest of margins (it really should have been called a dead heat with Red Cadeaux).

Today's outfit:
Purple long sleeve top (Old Navy)
Black camisole (Old Navy)
Grey corduroy pants (Old Navy)

NaBloPoMo: Wear My Wardrobe Challenge

Tomorrow begins National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) where you post at least once a day for the 30 days of November.  This will be my third time participating, but I've decided to do something a bit different this year.  Inspired by my friend Inala's Frocktober effort of wearing a different dress everyday, I have decided to challenge myself to "Wear My Wardrobe" and not repeat an item of clothing during the month of November.  Most people only wear about 20% of their wardrobe.  I have two closets and a dresser full of clothes, so finding something different to wear each day should not be an issue.  I will document my efforts here with a daily photo of my outfit and try to put all those years of watching America's Next Top Model to good use.  Here's hoping Melbourne continues its predictably unpredictable weather throughout the month.

Napoleon

I just made a Napoleon dessert for the first time and yes, it tastes awesome. This is also why I will be hitting the gym on Sunday.

The Good China at Cherry Bar

It has been almost a year since The Good China last played a show, so when Tash and I learned they would be returning to the live stage we had to be there.  I headed out into the rain last night and got to Cherry Bar towards the end of The Harlots energetic set, with Tash arriving shortly after (driving down from Ballarat, such is her dedication). 

The Good China still have eight members, but a new bass player.  They started their set with a new song and then launched into "All Nothing," complete with hand clapping from various parts of the crowd.  The set list was a mix of some pretty good sounding new numbers and old favorites like "If Pain Persists" and "We Found 3 Whistles."  We also got to hear their new single "No More Maps, No More Roads," which was another favorite from previous gigs.  It's so nice to have The Good China back on the Melbourne live scene and I look forward to catching them again soon.

The Queen in Melbourne

The Queen and Prince Phillip were in Melbourne today for a very quick visit lasting about 4 hours.  They opened the new Royal Children's Hospital, then traveled to Federation Square to see an Indigenous art exhibit at the Ian Potter Gallery.  After walking through Fed Square and greeting the massive crowd (measured as "five times bigger than for Oprah") they boarded the "Royal Tram" and took a ride down St Kilda Road to Government House for a reception in their honor.  Soon afterward they were back on a plane to fly to Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the main purpose for The Queen's trip to Australia.

Melbourne Festival

Over the past few weeks the Melbourne Festival has been going on around town, featuring dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia and outdoor events by Australian and international artists.  Today at lunch I finally managed to get out of the office to see the Angels-Demons. Parade statues by Russian art collective AES+F that are dotted around Swanston Street and St Kilda Road.  I saw four of the seven giant statues at Town Hall, City Square, St Paul's Cathedral and Federation Square.  Each one is a different shape and size, and are quite amazing to come across in the middle of an urban landscape.

After having drinks and dinner with Chantal and Amrita at a bar along the Yarra River in South Wharf, I walked to the Arts Centre to see the remaining three Angels-Demons. Parade statues and catch the light show Cacophony: The Art of Conflict by Australian projection artists The Electric Canvas.  The walls of Hamer Hall and the State Theatre were used for a series of different projection vignettes- some going on simultaneously and others alternating.  I watched for about 15 minutes and one of my favorite projections was a paint ball war where guns and cannons appeared and then paint splotches hit the opposing buildings.  This is the last week of the Melbourne Festival so be quick if you watch to catch any of the events or shows.

Yet Another Music Video Graced By My Presence

I have recently discovered that I am in yet another music video!  This time it is Little Red's "Get A Life" which uses footage that was shot during their show at The Palace earlier this year.  You can see me around the 0:29 and 4:18 marks in the crowd to the right of the soundboard.  Look for Mary who has her camera up blocking her face and I'm next to her on the left.  For those of you in the US, Little Red are coming to the States and playing some shows in October/November, so go check them out!

Gotye- Making Mirrors Tour

After meeting up for dinner at Tazio on Flinders Lane, Tash, Mary and I headed over to The Forum for the first of Gotye's four sold out shows in Melbourne in support of his chart topping album Making Mirrors.  We arrived during the second half of Oscar + Martin's set.  They sounded okay but had some tech problems at the end so played a song doing the beats on the drums and rapping freestyle.

Gotye started his set with "Making Mirrors" and then played "Eyes Wide Open."  Wally once again had the 10 piece mini-orchestra with him and used many of the same animations as at the Sydney Opera House album launch last month.  The audience sang along to a lot of the songs, which was exciting since the album has only been out for a little over a month. "State of the Art," "I Feel Better," "Smoke and Mirrors," and the number 1 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (this time performed with Kimbra's recorded vocals) were highlights of the night.  Unfortunately Wally has been sick during the week and was starting to lose his voice by the end of the night.  This may have resulted in a song or two being cut out of the set list, but he did come back out for an encore and played "Learnalilgivinanlovin."  It is amazing how much success Wally is having with this new album and I hope the momentum keeps building for him both here and overseas.

Here's a short documentary on the making of Making Mirrors

When Silence is Hard to Find

Flights back to Australia from the States are usually during night time, so it's often easier to try and get some sleep.  However, when you have a toddler who is not a happy flier and spends the majority of the time crying, it makes sleeping difficult.  The other kids on the plane did great, but this one child could not be consoled, which did not make for a fun 12 hours from San Francisco to Auckland.  In addition, the Auckland to Melbourne leg had a fussy baby (but at least that was only a 3 1/2 hour flight).  I tried to block out the noise by listening to music and watching some episodes of Modern Family as well as the movies Something Borrowed and The Switch.  I am glad to be back in Melbourne, but not surprisingly I feel a bit tired.  We will see how long I can manage to stay up today.

Logan

One of the best things about being in the States these past three weeks has been getting to spend time with my nephew Logan.  He was only a few weeks old when I last saw him so it's been fun to play with him now that he's nearly 2 years old.  Logan is a sweet, calm, good-natured boy who loves cars and trucks and running around. And he hasn't been that shy around me, which could be in part because my parents show him photos of me when he's at the house.

My brother and I took him to the park one day and he immediately grabbed my hand and led me around to the different play structures.  James, Simi and Logan have also been over for dinner a couple of times and Logan loves to run around in the backyard and explore things.  Today my parents and I got to babysit him since James and Simi both had to work.  It's going to be sad to leave and fly back to Australia today, but mostly because I won't get to play and hang out with Logan until I'm next in the US.

Heading Back North

My Southern California road trip has come to an end.  This morning we all went to have breakfast at IHOP and then Lei dropped me off at the airport in Burbank before driving back to the Bay Area (she wasn't sure she would be able to stay the whole week which is why I bought a plane ticket).  I flew Southwest Airlines to Oakland and then took the Airporter bus back to Marin.  I have had a fantastic time over this past week.  Special thanks to Lei for being my travel companion and our Uncle Tom and Aunt Dulce for letting us stay with them (and also introducing us to the very yummy Porto's Bakery in Glendale).

Oh Mercy- The Hotel Cafe

Photo by Leilani

Lei and I returned to The Hotel Cafe tonight to see Oh Mercy play their only show in Los Angeles.  I ran into Alex last night at Paul Kelly's show and he was kind enough to put me on the guest list. We got a table up the front and had a great view of the stage.  The set was about 40 minutes long and instead of Alex solo we were treated to what he called the "trans-Pacific version of Oh Mercy" consisting of some LA musicians, including Mitchell Froom (producer of Great Barrier Grief) on keyboards.  They started with "Keith St." and played "Mercy Valley," "Blue Lagoon," "Lay Everything On Me," "Stay Please Stay," "My Man," a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Memories," and finished with "Europa."  It was good to hear the songs with a full band, especially the new ones that I first heard Alex play in July.  I am really liking the harder edge to the new material.  After the show I chatted briefly with Alex and thanked him again for putting me on the list.  He flies back to Melbourne on Monday and is looking forward to showing off his tan.

Here is Alex doing an acoustic version of "Blue Lagoon"

Griffith Observatory

This afternoon Lei and I drove up to Griffith Observatory.  It was a hazy and overcast day so there weren't very clear views of LA but we could see the Hollywood sign.  The Observatory building is pretty amazing and I went a bit crazy taking photos of its art deco features at various angles.  We went inside and checked out all the different exhibits, which were well done, interesting, and engaging for a wide range of ages.  This was the first time both of us had been there and we had lots of fun.  Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to see any of the planetarium shows, but maybe that can happen on a future visit.  If you are ever in Los Angeles I definitely recommend making a trip to the Observatory and Griffith Park.

Paul Kelly- The A to Z Shows

Tonight was the second night of Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly's A-Z shows at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles.  Paul was accompanied on stage by his nephew Dan Kelly for the shows.  We got songs from his catalogue starting with the letters M- Z, including "The Oldest Story in the Book," "Randwick Bells," "To Her Door," "When I First Met Your Ma," "Winter Coat," "You're 39, You're Beautiful and You're Mine" and "Zoe."  Since Paul did not have a "Q" song, he let Dan do one of his own- "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam" off his latest album Dan Kelly's Dream, complete with the audience singing along to the chorus.  The show was fantastic and it was a privilege to see Paul play in such an intimate venue (and for much cheaper than it would cost in Australia).  I also got to catch up with my friend Nancy and her husband after the show, which was nice.