Oh Mercy- Parlour

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

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

Here's the video for "Without You"

Neil Finn- Melbourne Recital Centre

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

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

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

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

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

Eurovision 2015

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

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


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


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


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


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

Brisbane and GOMA

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

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

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

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

Da Rin

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

Oh Mercy- Sandy Single Tour

It's been two years since Oh Mercy last played a proper band show in Melbourne, so it was no surprise that tonight's gig at The Gasometer Hotel to launch the new single "Sandy" was sold out. Mary and I arrived just as the first act, the Steve Miller Band (not the one you're thinking of), kicked off the night with a loud, old school punk set of songs and covers. Next up was Melbourne four piece band Pearls with their 70s inspired glam rock songs.

The Oh Mercy of old is no more as Alexander Gow has assembled a new live band that includes a drummer, keyboardist, bass guitarist and violinist. They started off the evening with "My Man" and then played the new single "Sandy," which is a fantastic song with a driving guitar and synth line throughout. The set list included songs off the upcoming album When We Talk About Love including "Without You" and "Iron Cross." We also got some old favorites such as "Keith St," "Deep Heat" and "Stay Please Stay," which Alex hopes to be on high rotation on Smooth FM one day. Towards the end of the set Alex invited his "tall and handsome friend" Paul Dempsey on stage to join him in singing a cover of The Waterboys' "The Whole Of The Moon." The band came back on and they played a cover of Echo & The Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" before finishing the night with "Lay Everything On Me." The new songs sound great on first listen and I'm looking forward to the new album coming out in June.

Here's the video for "Sandy."

Rolls Bayce- On My Own Tour

While it's sad that Brisbane's Hungry Kids Of Hungary are no more, out of the ashes of that band have emerged several new projects, including Rolls Bayce featuring Dean McGrath. Tonight they played their first Melbourne show at The Curtain on Lygon Street. Opening the evening was the lovely Slow Dancer. Simon played his set solo on electric guitar and did stripped back versions of his songs, including "Took The Floor Out," "Leave It To Me," "Please" and "Doesn't Matter." He also treated us to a cover of The Go-Betweens' "Streets Of Your Town." Next up was Melbourne five piece Playwrite, who had these big anthemic songs and made it through their set despite the fact their lead singer had the flu.

Rolls Bayce were immediately impressive for a band that hasn't been playing together live for that long. Their set contained new songs as well as "Mutate," the hit single "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "On My Own" off their EP. All three members are such amazing musicians and fed off each other as they played extended jams. I loved the chunky guitars and psych sound to their songs, and it was great to hear Dean singing again. Rolls Bayce are such a talented band that they should have no trouble rising in popularity quickly.

Here's a live version of "On My Own."

Essendon v. Hawthorn

It has been an unusual start to the 2015 AFL season for Essendon. The 34 current and former players who were serving provisional suspensions after being given infraction notices by ASADA last November over the 2012 supplements program were finally cleared by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal just days before the start of Round 1. While this meant our 13 current players could finally play in the team, they hadn't had any match preparation until our first game last week against Sydney. Although we started strong and had a 41 point lead into the third quarter against the Grand Finalists, we ended up fading in the fourth quarter and got overrun, losing to Sydney by 12 points.

For today's Round 2 match we faced the reigning Premiers Hawthorn. No one really had any hope that we could win, especially after Hawthorn's emphatic win over Geelong last week. I joined Tash and her mum and sister at the MCG, seated behind the Hawthorn goals for the game. Amazingly Essendon had another fantastic start and we were up by 22 points at half time (which should have been more but we allowed two late goals before the siren). In the third quarter Hawthorn started to come back, and we went into the fourth quarter with an 8 point lead and a sense of deja vu from last week.

Hawthorn kept coming and eventually went in front by 16 points midway through the fourth quarter. Although it looked like the game was over, the Essendon players did not give up and they cut Hawthorn's lead down to 10 points with 2 minutes left to play. We then somehow managed to kick two goals in a little over a minute, with defender Cale Hooker's goal putting Essendon back in front by 2 points with 57 seconds left on the clock. The ball was back in Hawthorn's 50 as time ran down, and they would have won the game had the siren not sounded a couple seconds before Luke Breust kicked the ball through the goal. The Essendon supporters erupted as we somehow managed to beat the best team in the competition, while the Hawthorn fans were in shock that they lost the game. As the Essendon club song played over the loud speakers former coach Kevin Sheedy walked around the boundary waving his scarf over his head and the crowd joined in.  It was a great moment and a fantastic win for the club.

Final Score
Essendon: 12.6 (78)
Hawthorn: 11.10 (76)

MICF: Hannah Gadsby and Sara Pascoe

Friday night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is always super busy and full of sold out shows. Tonight Onagh and I started our evening at the Melbourne Town Hall with Hannah Gadsby's show Donkey. We are both big fans of Hannah, having seen her show in previous years. This year she explored her mental health and how being diagnosed with ADHD has changed how she views herself. Having built a career around "depression comedy," being told she had ADHD and getting on ritalin has completely changed her perspective on her behavior and attitude to life. The funniest stories revolved around her long simmering hatred for a server named Fletcher at her local cafe, and her unique solutions to problems she couldn't bring herself to deal with. This was another funny show from Hannah at the festival and it finished with an entertaining singing number.

Next we rushed downstairs to join the line for UK comedian Sara Pascoe and her show Sara Pascoe Vs History. Sara was incredibly smart in the way she wove together stories of her own relationships over time while delving into the sexual evolution of the human race. She wondered if her current relationship could last when history's great romances have not (e.g. Adam and Eve; Napoleon and Josephine). She also explored male and female sexual desire, sperm selection, female anatomy, having babies and other interesting insights from research she has done. All in all this was an intelligent and fascinating hour of comedy and my favorite show of the festival so far.

Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions

After a tapas dinner at Teatro along Southbank Promenade (food was good, service not so much) Tash and I headed to Hamer Hall for Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions. The opening act for the evening was Emma Donovan & The Putbacks. Joined by Kylie Auldist on backing vocals, they played a soulful set of songs and sounded great.

The musicians assembled by Paul Kelly for The Merri Soul Sessions were an amazing bunch of Australian talent. The album itself has songs written and sung by a variety of members of the group, as well as covers of a couple Paul Kelly tracks. The evening started with Vika and Linda Bull taking turns singing lead on the the first two songs "What You Want" and "Smells Like Rain." Paul Kelly dedicated "Thank You" to a couple after receiving a letter, and it resulted in a marriage proposal during the song (she said yes). Dan Sultan and Clairy Browne did a sultry duet of "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby."

It was the Paul Kelly tracks from his back catalogue though that got the biggest response, with "How To Make Gravy, "Song From The Sixteenth Floor," Clairy's version of "Keep On Coming Back For More," Dan singing "Look So Fine, Feel So Low" (complete with audience sing along), Kira Puru doing "Give In To My Love" and Vika's great rendition of "Sweet Guy." In the encore everyone joined in to sing "Dumb Things" and then the six vocalists gathered around a microphone in the middle of the stage to sing "Meet Me In The Middle Of The Air" a capella.  It was a moving finish to such a fantastic evening of music.

Here's a clip about how The Merri Soul Sessions came to be:

MICF: Geraldine Hickey and Adam Hills

It was tightarse Tuesday at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival tonight, so how could you not head out to see some shows? Onagh and I began our evening at the Melbourne Town Hall for Geraldine Hickey's Listen Out For The Castanets. Geraldine came out dancing and joked that she's getting fitter as the festival progresses. After asking us about our favorite footy teams and singing portions of their theme songs, she began the show. While telling a story about an encounter with an unstable person in a bottle shop, she expertly wove in tales from her childhood and life to illustrate points before continuing with the story. You also have to like a show that discusses ice cream bars, and I learned about two I've never heard of before- Bubble O'Bill and his cheap imitation Garry Gumball. This was a subtle and smart show that's definitely worth checking out.

Next, after some dessert, we headed to the Athenaeum Theatre to see Adam Hills show Clown Heart. Adam is a veteran of the Australian comedy scene and started off his show by calling out late comers and dragging them up onto the stage with hilarious results. His actual show explores getting older, fatherhood, cancer and dying after losing his dad recently. After showing a clip of his friend Craig Coombs, who is fighting cancer in a unique way (hint- Naked Tuesday), Craig came out and told a few jokes before he and Adam launched into the big finale number. Adam just makes it look effortless on stage, and I really enjoyed his show and its overall message.

MICF: Wil Anderson, Arj Barker and Joel Creasey

It's Melbourne International Comedy Festival time once again and there are over 500 acts performing this year from 25 March - 19 April. I have gone through the program and shortlisted a bunch of shows (we'll see how many I end up getting to). My first MICF show was last Monday with Onagh for Wil Anderson's Political Wil at the Comedy Theatre, which is only running for three shows in total on Monday nights. Wil is doing two shows this year, but this one is focused on Australian politics and other things that wouldn't fit into his regular show. He covered a wide variety of topics, including Tony Abbott eating a raw onion, the Australian knighthood of Prince Philip, refugees, violence against women and his hatred of columnist Andrew Bolt, amongst other things. It was a funny and insightful 70 plus minutes and I actually enjoyed the darker moments of the show as it reminded me of the stand-up comedy I grew up watching. As Wil stated about 45 minutes in that he was where he thought he'd be at the 15 minute mark, it will be interesting to see how much the show changes each week.

Tonight Belinda and I started our Easter evening at the Melbourne Town Hall for Arj Barker's Get In My Head. This is the first MICF show of his I have caught, even though he is a regular visitor to Australia. I'll always have a soft spot for Arj as he also grew up in Marin. The show had an overarching theme of getting older and looking back at simpler times, such as when children had manners and people didn't have control over photos because they were taken on film. Portions of the material were blokey (his anti-aging "poo facials," freezing sperm at home and erections) but overall it was an entertaining hour, with the best bits of the night being about airplane boarding systems, what Bob Marley would be like today if he smoked as much weed as in the past, and surprisingly ISIS.

Next we headed down to ACMI to see Joel Creasey's show The Hurricane. Joel recently did a stint on the Australian version of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here in the South African jungle, so he was full of amusing anecdotes from that as well as other events in his life. His tales from the jungle were hilarious, especially about Maureen McCormick (aka Marsha Brady) and some of the other "celebrities" that were there. He also snarked about being invited back to the apartment of a closeted male star of the tv soap Neighbours for a sex party, and a particularly nasty run in at an interview with a two time Oscar winner. Joel is a fantastic storyteller and not afraid to share the inside dirt from his encounters, which resulted in a funny and fast-paced hour of comedy that ended with an amusing costume change.

Chantal and Richard's Wedding

Yesterday was Chantal and Richard's wedding day. The wedding ceremony took place at Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church in South Melbourne. Chantal looked gorgeous in her beautiful lace dress as she entered the church with her Mum. The priest who performed the ceremony was quite a character- it almost felt like a Catholic revival at times. Family members from both sides took part throughout the ceremony, and we learned that they were getting married on the birthday of Chantal's late father, which I thought was special and a good omen.

After the ceremony there was a few hours gap before the reception started, so I had a coffee with Amrita, Philippe and their two little ones in a cafe next door to the church before heading into the city to kill some time. The reception took place at the Wattle Park Chalet in Surrey Hills which is located within some parklands. We had pre-dinner drinks, hors d'oeurves and a group photo before heading inside for dinner. Once the wedding party entered they cut the cake and then spread out speeches before the entree and main course. The food was quite tasty throughout the night. I had the pumpkin and feta tortellini, chicken breast stuffed with brie and sundried tomatoes, and tiramisu for dessert. The dance floor was pumping early as well as the photo booth upstairs. The evening was a mix of Sri Lankan and Swedish traditions in honor of their family heritages. Overall it was a fun night and I wish the happy couple all the best for their future together.

French Film Festival 2015

The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival has been on in Melbourne over the past few weeks and Onagh and I have been to see a number of the films showcased this year. Attending has also allowed me to see how much of my high school French I actually remember. Here are the films that I have seen, which thankfully have been pretty good for the most part:

The Gazelles follows Marie (Camille Chamoux) as she throws away her 15 year relationship with Eric and enters the dating scene with a bunch of friends of her work colleague Sandra (Audrey Fleurot). A lighthearted and at times scary glimpse into the singles scene when you are older, it was an amusing film to watch.

The New Girlfriend is a psychological thriller that starts with the funeral of Laura and follows the aftermath for her husband David (Romain Duris) and their baby, as well as Laura's lifelong best friend Claire (Anais Demoustier). Claire goes to visit David one day and discovers him dressed as a woman. The film explores how Claire helps David to develop his female persona Virginia, and how that impacts on Claire's relationships with both her husband and David.

The Connection is the true story behind the hit movie The French Connection told from a European perspective. The film covers the drug trade and corruption in Marseille in the mid-1970s and stars Jean Dujardin as the magistrate Pierre Michel and Gilles Lellouche as mafia boss Gaetan Zampa. It was an action packed film and quite entertaining.

Saint Laurent is another film set mainly in the late 1960s to mid-1970s and covers the life of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel). You get to see his struggles with poor health and addiction, as well as his relationships with his partner and muses. The film culminates with his 1976 Moroccan-inspired collection. If they ever do an English language biopic they should get designer and Project Runway alum Austin Scarlett to play YSL.

Almost Friends is a comedy that involves two women at a crossroads in their lives. Carole (Emmanuelle Devos) feels overshadowed by her chef husband Sam (Roschdy Zem), and secretly comes to an adult training center to get an assessment of her career options. She becomes friends with her counsellor Marithe (Karin Viard) and Marithe gives Carole advice that plays more to her ulterior motives than Carole's best interests. I thought the film was ok, but found Sam distracting as the actor has a resemblance to President Barack Obama.

The Gate is set in Cambodia during the 1970s reign of Pol Pot and tells the true story of French ethnologist Francois Bizot (Raphael Personnaz), who was captured and imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge. It explores the relationship he develops with Comrade Duch (Kompheak Phoeung) while under captivity and what happens when they meet again years later. Considering the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, I thought the film was quite restrained in what it showed of the realities of captivity in the prison camps.

Girlhood is set in the housing projects of Paris and follows 16-year-old Mariame (Karidja Toure). After she is told her grades are too poor to continue on to high school, she meets three other girls who are brash and stylish and joins up with them. The film explores their friendships, the social and gender politics of growing up in a tough neighborhood, and the choices the girls make in order to survive.

The Belier Family also focuses on a 16-year-old girl, Paula (Louane Emera), the only hearing member of a deaf family who are dairy farmers in a small village. At school she decides to join the choir because of a cute boy, but it turns out she has an amazing singing voice. Her teacher encourages her to practice in order to audition for a music school in Paris, and Paula struggles with wanting to aim for independence in her life while at the same time feeling guilty about abandoning her family. The audition scene was particularly poignant as she sang Michel Sardou's "Last Flight"- especially for someone like me who has left family behind to live half way around the world. This was probably my favorite film of all the ones we saw.

Huw Parkinson Lampoons Australian Politics

Huw Parkinson is doing some of the best political commentary going with his mash-ups of Australian politicians with popular films and tv shows. His latest video is a take on Christopher Pyne's Sky News Interview last week where Pyne claimed to be a fixer.

Star Wars: Fixed (with Christopher Pyne)


Here are some other great creations by Huw from the past few months:

Four Weddings and a Funeral with Tony Abbott


Consider Yourself Part Of The Furniture


Seinfeld In Parliament


The Darjeeling Abbotted
The Darjeeling Abbotted from Huw Parkinson on Vimeo.

In Dreams- David Lynch Revisited

As a huge fan of director David Lynch and the soundtracks he and Angelo Badalamenti composed for his film and tv work, I was really excited to get the opportunity to hear these songs interpreted live. In Dreams: David Lynch Revisited brought together an array of artists under the musical direction of David Coulter to perform tracks from throughout Lynch's career. Onagh joined me for tonight's second and final show at the Melbourne Recital Centre where we had very close second row seats.

The evening began in a very Lynchian way with David Coulter in a sequenced jacket and long red gloves sawing into a log. Sophia Brous did an amazing a capella version of "Llorando (Crying)" from Mulholland Drive, and was later joined by Kirin J Callinan for a unique interpretation of "Blue Velvet." It was the Twin Peaks tracks though that I was really eager to hear, and thankfully many of them featured throughout the night. Cibo Matto did a raucous version of "A Real Indication," Sarah Blasko sang the two Julee Cruise tracks "The Nightingale" and "Into The Night" before being joined on stage by Sophia and Kirin for "Just You and I" (with Kirin at his creepy/charming best). Violinist Owen Pallett sang the iconic "Falling," Sophia performed Jimmy Scott's "Sycamore Trees," and harpist Marshall McGuire played "Laura Palmer's Theme," which was both haunting and beautiful.

Camille O'Sullivan had fantastic outfits for both her numbers, and I really enjoyed her version of "Song To The Siren" from Lost Highway. Mick Harvey and the band did a thumping version of "Ghost Of Love" from Inland Empire, before Sophia joined him for a duet of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" with Owen, Camille and Kirin on backing vocals. As David thanked everyone who participated in this tribute show, the band finished the night with "Dance Of The Dream Man." Overall it was a pretty impressive evening and such a privilege to see all these fantastic artists perform together on the same stage.

Chet Faker- Palais Theatre

Chet Faker (aka Nicholas Murphy) has been on a meteoric rise over the past two years, taking out the number one spot on the Triple J Hottest 100 for 2014. Tonight Tash and I attended his fifth and final sold out show at the Palais Theatre. I've been aware of him for a while but never really listened to his releases, so I went into this show fresh. His music is more of a soulful electronica, and throughout the night he built up the layers of beats and sang along while accompanied by a drummer/percussionist and guitarist/keyboardist. He also had a pretty intricate light show to go along with each song, although there were way too many strobe lights. All of the songs got big reactions from the all ages crowd, and I really enjoyed his cover of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" (which first brought him to prominence), "Gold" and "Talk Is Cheap." Sitting up in the lounge also allowed us to be able to see what he was doing throughout the night, which made things interesting.

Here's the video for "Talk Is Cheap"

Dan Sultan- Zoo Twilights

A few weeks ago Dan Sultan was meant to play a Zoo Twilights show at the Melbourne Zoo, but a thunder and lightening storm shortly after the gates opened meant that it had to be cancelled. Fortunately they were able to reschedule it for this evening, and the weather managed to cooperate. Ruth staked out some prime space up the front and Belinda, Tash and I joined her and Danny there for the night. The opening act was Benny Walker and his band, who played a bluesy set with some extended jams.

Dan Sultan came out solo and started his set with "Dirty Ground" off his recent EP of the same name. After playing "Nobody Knows" and his Way Of The Eagle collaboration "Rattlesnake" the rest of the band joined him on stage. Dan played tracks from all of his releases, including "Under Your Skin," "Crazy," "It Belongs To Us," "Your Love Is Like A Song," "The Same Man" and a very cathartic version of "Old Fitzroy," which was dedicated to a couple of family members who recently passed away. Throughout the night he was quite gracious and thanked people for buying his album Blackbird, which recently went gold. The main set finished with "Kimberley Calling" and then for an encore they tore through a great version of "Letter." It was a bit chilly by the end of the night, but I'm glad the show was able to be rescheduled and we didn't have to deal with rain.

Here's the video for "Kimberley Calling"

Rufus Wainwright- Vibrate Tour

Rufus Wainwright has returned to Australia to play some solo shows in support of his best of album Vibrate.  Simon joined me for tonight's concert at the Palais Theatre. The opening act was Rufus' half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche, who played a solo folk set on acoustic guitar. She was very funny in between songs and requested questions from the crowd. One person asked if she and Rufus ever played together as children and she recounted a story of Rufus having her pretend to lay dead on the couch while he sang arias to her. Besides her own songs she played a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" (complete with an audience sing along) and a track off an album of dark lullabies that she is currently recording with her sister Martha Wainwright.

Rufus came out in jeans and a pink patterned jacket and sat at the piano to start his set with "Grey Gardens." This was the first time I have seen him live without a band. He alternated between piano and acoustic guitar as he played songs from throughout his career. I was really excited to hear older songs such as "Beauty Mark," "Vibrate," "April Fools," "Gay Messiah" and my personal favorite "Going To A Town." We also got the more recent tracks "Out Of The Game," "Montauk," "Sonnet 20" and an aria from his recently recorded opera Prima Donna. Rufus' voice sounded absolutely amazing during the night, and at one point he said he was channelling Joan Sutherland. It wouldn't have been a Rufus show without some humorous moments, and we were visited on stage by Liza Minelli and Judy Garland before he and Liza (aka Lucy) duetted on the song "Me and Liza." Rufus also worked through a brand new song called "Lucy's Blue" and finished the main set with "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk."

The encore started with another one of my favorites "The Art Teacher" and then he invited out the Melbourne Hallelujah chorus (people who pledged a certain amount for the recording of Prima Donna). Rufus and Lucy did a duet of "Pretty Things" before the chorus joined in for Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which sounded great. The first encore finished with "Poses" and then Rufus came back out and sang "Foolish Love" to close the evening. This was another fantastic concert by Rufus and it's always a privilege to see such a talented musician play in person. If you don't own any of his albums start off with Vibrate and then work your way through his back catalogue.

Here's the video for "Me and Liza"

Andy White- Wesley Anne

Andy White has just returned from an overseas tour of Italy, the UK, Ireland and Canada, so he was fighting fit for his live set at the Wesley Anne in Northcote tonight. This was actually my first time in the venue, and the bandroom is a great space (and they serve food in there). I came in towards the end of folk singer Alison Thom's set, catching the last few songs. Fran joined me and it was good to be able to catch up with her.

Andy started his set solo by playing "James Joyce's Grave" before inviting members of his band The Antipoets onto the stage. Most of the songs in the set were off his recent album How Things Are, with highlights including "Drifting," "Band Of Gold," "Jessica Says," "Everyone's In Love," and "Lennon." We were also treated to the older tracks "Italian Girls on Mopeds," "Vision Of You," "If You Want It" and the set closer "Jacqui." Andy seemed to enjoy himself throughout the night and sounded great. I'd really like to catch him doing a whole set solo just on acoustic guitar.