too old for band teeshirts? :: Wilco (again) at the Palais Theatre

sometimes i get carried away with anticipation.

wilco's melbourne gigs are a case in point. i marked any calendar i could get my hands on in an effort to disperse the excitement. some might argue that that only makes it worse!

for wilco's first show at the palais theatre last wednesday night, there was a palpable sense of excitement amongst the crowd milling outside the palais theatre. though this may also have been amplified by our indulgent muso spotting (look! the dudes from The Audreys! the drummer from Gersey! that guy that we always see at gigs!).

so much so was our excitement that we rushed over to join the queue to the merchandise stand - should we get a hoodie or a poster or a tee? oooh is their new album for sale here? i love checking out the merch but i must confess that i have been remarkably resistant.
snout socks? nuh.
dallas crane beach ball? nuh.
rebecca's empire tea towel? nuh.
the grates' screen printed tote bags? nuh.
you am i footy scarf? nuh.
yeah yeah yeahs rack of clothes for the karen o wannabees? NUH!
dan kelly and the alpha males sticker? ...um, OK!
see. _remarkably_ resistant.

while cass and elmo went to check out the luxurious seating in the bar upstairs, my good friend dr b and i convened to the queue where i thought out loud:
you know, i think i might be too old for band teeshirts.
she immediately pooh-poohed this idea "noooo. [waves hand. shakes head. looks generally shocked] you're never too old. I'm going to get the hoodie. i've been looking for one, it's fate"

let me provide some context about this 'too old' statement. another good friend is losing the 2 in front of her age this month - HAPPY BIRTHDAY EKY! - and this event is looooming for yours truly as well - eek. and you think of those middle aged dudes from the 'burbs on RockWiz (cass excluded of course ;p) in their Motorhead teeshirts...and i wonder if i'm seeing the future. i'll be a crusty jaded 60 year old holding onto Radiohead, Dirty Three, Teenage Fanclub, Even and Never Letting Go. Those were the days when music was music, i'll say to my grandkids. when we had analogue. none of this newfangled stuff, what do you call that anyway? and what machine do you play it on? and how do you turn it down? what makes someone choose to wear an emblazoned tee? announcing that you're such a fan that you advertise proudly on your person - i guess it's no different to those who wear their polo collars up to display their brand of choice? then again, these days it seems that you can purchase a ramones, stones or velvets tee from an alternative chain store as a fashion statement or maybe even a means to get some rock'n'roll cred (god knows, that seems a difficult commodity these days). i got a wilco tee-shirt anyway ;D

Wilco, Palais Theatre, 18 and 19th April, 2007

the second gig was awesome! wilco played a different set to that of the night before, a good sign that a band appreciates their audience.

kicking off with "misunderstood" and "via chicago", we were also treated to "passenger side" from AM and tracks from A Ghost is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot such as "'kamera" that weren't aired the previous night. within the context their new album Sky Blue Sky, older songs like "jesus, etc" appeared to take on some of the new 70s west-coast styling or perhaps this was already implicit. seeing them live really made me appreciate the complexity of their music, i sat there thinking i could hear something new if i saw them every night. i love the song "hummingbird": it's so light and airy in the opening verse only to swell and swoon upon the chorus, 'she appears/in his dreams' , it is one of my favourite songs. i particularly loved the military-like drumming during 'i am trying to break your heart". it sounded so amazing, as if i were hearing it for the first time. this song also serves as a great example of how wilco play as if deconstructing each song by the distinct sound contributed by individuals in the band. they layer instrument over instruments, melody over melodies, riff over riffs to create a warm, buzzing sound that isn't exactly absent in their albums but somehow more present in the flesh.

not to say that were all bluster, they also know how to be quiet and elegant allowing singer/songwriter jeff tweedy's melancholic voice more prominence. the second night audience missed out on the gorgeous outtake from mermaid avenue and the acoustic, un-miked uncle tupelo song tweedy performed the night before. tweedy again engaged at length with the crowd, apologising for comments from the previous night, asking dancing folks to turn to their neighbours for permission 'to stare at their [dancing] butt all night' and stating 'we all want to live here [in australia]. this is what america used to be like, don't f**k it up!' it was such an enormous pleasure to see how much the band themselves were enjoying their music. really looking forward to the new record, sounds like it will make a great driving tape!

heavy metal drummer

I'm doing my happy dances again because Chicago alt-country sweethearts WIlco are touring Melbourne this week!

Wilco haven't visited Australia since the Big Day Out bandwagon in the early 2000s. Since this time, singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy has tried his darndest to break up the band, most notably documented in I Am Trying To Break Your Heart about the making of their glorious album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and the breaking of Wilco's core duo, Tweedy and Jay Bennett.

A brilliant, sonically fractured album later in "A Ghost Is Born" plus a wonderful live double ceedee "Kicking Television" and they're finally back for two shows this week, woohoo! Here's hoping the new (stable) lineup have learnt 'Hummingbird' or 'California Stars' or 'Ashes of An American Flag' or 'Outta Mind Outta Sight' or 'Jesus, etc' or ...anything from Summerteeth...maybe some material from their new album?

I'll be pretty happy with whatever they play :D Yeah, I'm ignoring my student budget and splurging out on the two shows (so don't be surprised if I invite myself over to dinner- ha!). The last time I doubled up was for two sweltering Radiohead gigs at Festival Hall for their OK Computer tour and that was a truly amazing experience.

Ooooh, can't wait!

Oot and Aboot

…in which jfox ventures forth outside to festivals of food and wine, the fina cultural weekend and the best of the v fest.

:: food and wine festival
the wind is beginning to bite and snap, its chilly fingers reaching in and icily poking in between layers of clothes. We headed out to enjoy the last of the twilight warmth before the cold truly settles in. Melbourne shrugged off the remains of summer with some free festivals for the last weekend of March, held in and around the hubs of Federation Square and Birrarung Marr.

Food and Wine Festival, Riverside Terrace and Federation Square

I don’t recall the Food and Wine Festival ever being this accessible. The Yarra River terrace was transformed with free-entry celebrations of Flour - think gozlemes, cakes, pides, breads, pastries and er….icecream; followed by Wicked Sunday featuring all things coffee, chocolate, more coffee and er…icecream. Three sites at Fed Square provided the opportunity to see chefs from fancy-pants restaurants such as Fenix, Maribyrnong Boathouse, Jacques Reymond, the Grand and chef-of-the moment, George Calombaris from the Press Club cooking up for appreciative foodies. Some chefs had more flair than others, we definitely want to visit the Boathouse based on the chef’s cheeky humour and portly belly!

As a devotee to food-porn, it was a fascinating insight into how dishes are created. One striking aspect was how a dish could be transformed from a basic foundation of ingredients simply by manipulating contrasting tastes and presenting with creative elegance. It really makes you appreciate the art of balance within a dish and reminded me how rough and ready my own concoctions are. The chefs really encouraged the audiences to think about how flavours and textures are put together and to try some techniques at home. And not surprisingly, they were equally passionate about fresh, quality produce.

:: fina festival weekend

Following on from the rip roaring success of the Commonwealth Games Cultural festival last year, this years big sporting event, the FINA World Championships, was also accompanied by a free arts program to complement the splishing and a splashing at Rod Laver (what drought? what water shortage? let’s build a pool on a tennis court! this is another rant in itself).

I love that the curation of this festival was a bit left of centre, the acts we saw were wide ranging and packed a lot of spunk. Yayoi Kusama’s bright red mushrooms on the dried, yellowing grass of Birrarung Marr were an amazing sight. There were random life-savers, sea creatures (?) and sharks(?) literally running around striking random poses or creating random mischief. Adding to the carnivalesque atmosphere, the obligatory circus act with a twist: Queensland trio Circa performed 46 different acts in 45 minutes.
The most interesting act we saw was the European group, Ulik and Le Snob, an amazing gliding orchestra of brass and percussion. The trumpet, trombone and tuba were particularly striking - all bent up and wound up and down in odd ways. With flames on their metal hats/spires and floating around in matching black funnel costumes - the sight and sound was ominous and compelling.

Ulik and Le Snob

The most fun were Strange Fruit as the under 9’s B synchronised swimming team from Wangaratta. Wearing bright pink leotards and noseclips, this team presented their synchronised routine from bendy poles four metres in the air. They managed to be both graceful and playful and the humour of their show was infectious. They were a crazy sight sitting on the hill overlooking the Yarra River. It was a shame that the swimming championships themselves didn’t capture crowds as much as the acts on the river, perhaps this Festival Weekend will be able to stand alone without being tethered to a big sporting event next year!

Strange Fruit :: Synchro Swing, Birrarung Marr

:: best of the v festival

April 4th 2007, Sidney Myer Music Bowl

all work = no play = dull gal, it’s true! but I haven’t been locked that closely to the desk of late.

Courtesy of a certain Mr Branson and his V Festival, the reformed Pixies toured Australia for the first time. Very excitement! And although I was originally miffed at missing out on Gnarls Barkley and The Rapture due to us Southerner’s getting a split V Festival, the line up also featuring Jarvis Cocker, French band Phoenix and New York Dolls was something of a music nerdo’s dream – something for each of the last four decades.

We grabbed some goodies from the stupormarket, found a nice patch of lawn and settled in.

The NY Dolls have been variously credited with being spearheads for the punk and glam movements during the early 70s, way before The Ramones in the US and Sex Pistols in the UK. They opened with Personality Crisis and blistered through their set. Although their music sounded of their time, there was something about these old dudes rocking it out in front of young fans a third of their age. It really was fantastic to see!

Next up, Phoenix. OK. Hands up. Does anyone know of any French bands? I don’t mean ya electro/beatsy stuff - I’m talking guitars, drums, shoegazing or kick out the jam type bands. Anyway after a while, we stopped wracking our brains to enjoy the 80s dance/ hard beats of Phoenix. Other than the Merci beaucoups in between, you’d never know they were French as the singer adopted the international language of rock screaming. All in all, I reckon they’d be a great band to see in a smaller venue but perhaps not so challenging to listen to over and over. One thing was clear, they had their lighting cues down pat with their rhythmic tracks, it really added to their presence. And of course, we must thank Phoenix for leaking the news of the V Festival on their myspace calendar!

Jarvis Cocker was as big a drawcard for me as the Pixies. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Pulp (sadly, no Pulp songs in the set) so seeing the man himself seemed the next best thing. Drawing mostly from his latest album, Jarvis strutted, conducted/danced angularly and karate chopped his way across the stage. He was a fantastic showman, not so much chatting as thinking out loud to the audience in between songs such as Fat Children, Heavy Weather, Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time, I Will Kill Again and ending with C***s Still Rule The World (and hilarious commentary about the apparent ridiculousness of the taboo of c*** over words such as “frisbee. They’re just words”). It was somewhat disappointing not to hear any Pulp tracks, though I would say his solo work stands up well next to Pulp. Hopefully the charismatic Jarvis and the band will return soon.

And so to the Pixies. The V Festival had an area cordoned off with a long queue into this bar area: we wondered why you’d pay 100 bucks to drink in a small corner of the venue. As the time drew nearer, the bar area emptied out and filled up the Music Bowl showing that most people were there for the Pixies. They opened with Bone Machine (Freddy’s favourite) and their set included Wave of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man (my favourite), Caribou, Planet of Sound, Where Is My Mind? and closed with Gigantic. They came back and played Debaser in the encore (their alias for a secret show at the Northcote Social Club). As you can imagine, it was an incredible playlist with their songs remaining fresh and diverse – melodic and cutesy to screeching and RAAAAWWWWK. Although there was some small banter from Kim Deal, there wasn’t a lot of chatting to the audience; it really was about the music. We were quite far away so we could barely make out Frank Black’s ever increasing chins, but it truly was exciting to hear these amazing songs played live. We all left with big grins on our faces and humming along to songs from the setlist (pics to be posted later...maybe?)

Enough festing/festering for the moment – back to the books!

Click click..click

Excuse my blog-o-world absence, hope you're all doing well!
These last few months, all I do the whole day through is stare at images like these: on the confocal microscope...
as they are being scanned and recorded...
on the computer...
in my results folders...
then on a poster...

but not yet in dreams, now that would really make me batty!

Anyway, thought I’d post one up since they form my current internal/external wallpaper. Research stuff aside, these tissues are actually quite beautiful to look at. Every now and then when I’m scanning my slides for an unmashed, unmooshed, cleanly dissected tissue, I stop and think how amazing nature/ biology/ the whole doo-dah is.
Don’t get me started on Attenborough’s Planet Earth, I love that show!

Public Health Warning

It is increasingly common among those who extend their education (or “Student”) to develop tunnelus visionlus, a debilitating condition that renders sufferers unable to think beyond their focus of study. This condition was recently described in "Factor of Impact", a highly regarded journal dedicated to the phenomena of delusions.

Particular to those ensconced in research, though not exclusive to the field, this aggressive disease can leave sufferers with the paradoxical feeling that time is both condensed and infinite. This is illustrated by the common cry, or variations thereof, amongst sufferers: Where Did The Weekend Go? or When Will It Ever End?

This condition is often accompanied by extravagant fantasies that the thesis produced at the end of Student-ship will serve mankind in its Significant, Relevant Contribution to the canons of world knowledge, rather than the reality of producing a big book that only a handful of people will ever read.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that tunnelus visionlus may be aggravated by lack of exercise, social isolation and takeaway food on the way home from the lab. Care must be taken to prevent progression towards guilt of Catholic proportions when Students take time out from studies to eat or sleep.

Although a magic bullet for this insidious condition may be decades away, some methods have been found to be effective temporary treatments. It is recommended to gently lead the Student away from their experiments towards a pub, a band and a beer or three.

Note: this treatment has best efficacy when Students are submitting university forms or discussing timelines with supervisors.

For other conditions of which to be aware, I refer you to Serenity Later, Vernoona, Cassiopeia Gegenbaurer III, Sartorial Splendour and Flygirl.

Yippee!

How's this for a tough life? Last weekend, a bunch of scientists descended on sunny Lorne for a conference. The previous fortnight's preparation was hard going but turned out to be well worth it. Oh and I'm all over Illustrator too - double yipeeee! A conference is hard work: lazy lunches on the beach, a small nap then back to the talk-fest-o-rama.

The weekend was topped off by a beautiful wedding in the gardens of the Exhibition Buildings, coincidentally holding a bridal expo. Yup, picture the bridezillas and wanna-beeees walking out to the real thing. Luckily, the gale-force winds died down during the intimate ceremony with only a few small branches and leaves as confetti!
Ahhhh.
And a lovely reception to boot, congrats Ilse and Derryck!
PS: Happy Valentine's Day for Wednesday folks, or Happy Un-Valentine's if you're a grouch/non-believer ;)

go on, you know you want to...

some links i have been clicking on
:: you can bake muffins for the boys or you can throw rocks at them!
:: have just recently started reading this great blog Drawn! - all kinds of 2D creativeness at the helm of John Martz
:: another secret love, i like 'big fish ensemble' and 'confusebox' - how bout choo?

...would love to hear what you've been reading lately!

Cabin Fever

have been holed up at the computer for the last week - til all hours after work and most of the weekend. except for a lovely Yarra side BBQ on Satdee (thanks Elmo!), it's been a sad state of affairs in the social department (sorry kaz, cass and kaluuuds - didn't make it on frideeee)!
all this amounts to a frazzled cabin fever of some sort, so apologies go out on the astral plane to the poor (albeit incompetent) sods who copped it when i ran some uni errands this morning... you won't have to see me again, hopefully it's the last time i have to enrol!

haste vs speed

it's barely 2007 and i already feel like i'm rushing around, doesn't seem right!

Thwack!

It seems an UnMelbournian thing to say, but I am really not a sporty/ sportloving/ sportsanything person.
It's sad but true!
Despite living in walking distance to the MCG, I have been to one footy match in my whole life - that's a long time (also sad but true)!

However, the only exception I make for sporting spectatorship is the tennis. My childhood summer holidays were largely spent in front of the teev, watching tennis. It has rules that I understand (cricket? how does that go again?) and it's something I could possibly even play myself - one day (except maybe lawn bowls, is that a sport? ;p).

Thwack - thwack - thwack.

Normally, we grab a ground pass for the AusOpen and take our chances on the outside courts - hoping to see a great match. This year, we braved the heat and headed out to the east for the Kooyong Classic, a great tournament that features 8 of the top-ranked men on the circuit.
We were treated to Stepanek vs Federer, Safin vs Nalbandian, Roddick vs Haas and Murray vs Ljubicic, and it was pretty exciting to see these guys beyond the little square box.

As the temperature hit the mid-30s, I took this photo in a mild attack of jealousy of those under the covers.

The poor people's seats (with our free Age bags as cushioning).Andy vs Tommy: note the spectators huddled under the shade of the large, tall tree.

Not that I only post about cute fuzzy toys, but also check out Unicef's Feder-bear: http://www.unicef.org/people/people_35676.html

Ring a ring a rosie...

I'm sure I can make her hand fit mine...

You Am I fans together now: Woo-oooo!

Who'd thought You Am I's reach included a convenience store in Toronto?

I See Red

L->R, T->B

A humble Montmartre fruit shop / Deux vins rouge\ Random sign, random small green woman

Napoleon's lurve seat (ahem, yup it's a 3-seater) \ Bloomin' marvellous / Adelaide

Pompidou/ Berry nice! \ Vroooom vrooom Valiant

Of all the colours in the rainbow, red is able to represent the whole spectrum of passion. Sure, orange is pretty chirpy but when you Really Wanna SMASH SOMEONE... [punching fist into palm]
See? Orange just doesn't cut it.

Red can be anger, love, evil, happiness, luck, the warmth of a fire, the heat of the sun, speeeed (hoons take note: red cars go faster - NOT canary yellow ones) and what dessert is complete without a red something- berry /rose petal /flame on a candle? Imagine a lamington without the jam? a pavlova without the strawbs? a blackforest cake without the cherries?

And maybe this could be my favourite RED moment: if travelling and feeling just a little bit homesick, think of Dorothy clicking her sparkling pair of red shoes [click click] [click click].

For other musings on RED, check out Cassiopeia Gegenbaurer III, Vernoona, Serenity Later, Sartorial and Flygirl.

Frog and Bear

I've recently been toying with felt and it's so wonderful! Very simple and easy to use: all you need is some stuffing, glue and a blanket stitch or two - many new ideas and possibilities sprouting!

Please allow me to introduce Frog and Bear.

Long time visitors may recognise Frog who made his first (bi-focal) appearance ~10 months ago. As you can see, Frog's already learned that life's tough - especially when you're hanging off a backpack. Still, I reckon that he retains a whole lotta charm despite being a cyclops.

Bear has only recently been completed and was introduced to his new owner last
week so hopefully he's out and about in Brisvegas, lapping up the northern
summertime sunshine!

For Frog and Bear activities of another kind, go here.

[PS: It's all ok, Frog experiences the world safely from Dr Kath's backpack
sidepocket these days. Cheers to Dr Kath for her great pic!]

Baaaaaa

I've lived in Melbourne my whole life and I've only just recently visited the Collingwood Children's Farm. Situated less than 2km away from the CBD with the Yarra River bike path running through their gardens, the Farm is open everyday and provides a little bit of country in the big smoke.

Although we arrived when it was closed, big or small city kids can still walk along the river and check out the cuuute goats, sheep and horsies. In fact,the baby animals ran in a big mob towards us and scrambled at the fence - they are definitely not afraid of people!Unfortunately, we didn't get to check out the Farm Cafe, but we did like their illustrations accompanying the menu.

Don't forget to drive a bit further along Yarra Boulevard for a lovely view of the Melbourne skyline.....another glimpse of the sheep...

Summer = BBQ

Summertime means BBQ time!
As much as we'd all like to be Merv Hughes in a BIG truck on a BBQ mission, a simple gathering with family and/or friends is just as good! This is a plate of goodness from a previous summer thanks to Kaz and Alex. Delicious!
May your summertime BBQs be this good!

Christmas time is here...

bringing Christmas cheer...

The other morning, we were talking about those letters that arrive this time of the year. You know the ones:
'this year has been a busy time in [insert family] household with Mum working hard in [company X], with Child A kicking goals in [extra curricular pursuit] and Child B toothing'
Sometimes there's photoshopped images of Dad in a Santa hat pulling a sleigh with the fam behind. This phenomena seems to be a love/hate thing that can induce serious eye-rolling and groaning in some, but I kinda enjoy the breezy cheesiness of it all. And the fact that Danny Katz writes em every year makes em OK by me!

*shrugs* what can I say?
Even jfox can't be cynical at Christmas time.

Don't know about you but it's been a crazy messed up year at this end! Hope you were kicking goals in your own big (drb!) or small way and that you share your holidays with your nearest and dearest.
Cheers to 2006 and here's to 2007!

Dr B and her Balloon

Well done dr b!

:: Hear Ye Hear Ye :: Best Gigs of 2006 ::

Off with their heads!

I kinda like lego men....but not like this.
[let me know if you want one! ha]

And Your Bird Can Sing

Presenting: the Rubber Soul Beatles Show, in honour of this post’s theme of My Favourite 20.

Yup, it’s another headscratching list, this time prompted by the ABC’s My Favourite Album which featured two Beatles albums in the Top 5.

I must admit, it doesn’t bother me that much that people are voting for Anthony Callea or Delta Goodrem. I can’t say that I understand it but I can appreciate that taste can encompass all kinds of music. Pop isn’t all bad juju. There are an equal number of el crappo indie/alternative/punk/rock bands yeah?
We have SERIOUS radio wars at work – the commercial radio kids vs the cynical community radio stalwarts. As one diplomatic colleague says – there’s no such thing as good or bad music, it’s all down to personal taste (what do you think?). Having said that, it would be interesting to see whether modern day entries can stand the test of time.

:: So to My Top20 ::
The criteria for favourites? Those albums (dare I say tapes?) that have been played ad nauseum and where songs can be named from one chord.
No surprises then that subsets of this list can be mapped to particular time periods. A good test would be to revisit and see what survives.

West Side Story = Movie Soundtrack
Blur = Blur VS Oasis = What’s the Story, Morning Glory? c.a.n.'t. p.i.c.k.
Rail = Bad Hair Life
You Am I = Dress Me Slowly (tough choice out of all their gems)
Dirty Three = Ocean Songs
Ice Cream Hands = Sweeter Than The Radio
Jason Falkner = Author Unknown
Bjork = Post
Crowded House = Together Alone
Beck = Odelay
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong = Ella & Louis
PJ Harvey = Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Beth Orton = Daybreaker
Flaming Lips = Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings = Naturally
Teenage Fanclub = Grand Prix
Jeff Buckley = Grace
Radiohead = The Bends
Blackeyed Susans = Mouth to Mouth
Pernice Brothers = The World Won’t End

So predictable yeah?
Couldn’t decide which Wilco album out of the last four and so endow them with a big honourable mention instead. Oh and Beach Boys = Pet Sounds – that is a melodically dense, wonderful album.
Better stop now.

Check out the lists of Cassiopeia Gegenbauren III, Yossarian, Serenity Later, Sartorial and Flygirl for more opinions on favourite sounds.

:: Addendum ::
In my youth (!), I used to see heaps of bands live and then tape them live from the radio.
Armed with trusty walkman on the train to uni, I listened to
* Pulp rained out at Glastonbury 1998
* Jeff Buckley on the 3RRR Rooftop
* Blur at their peak at the Astoria 1997
* an extremely charismatic Frank Sinatra at Festival Hall
* the beauty of Portishead with orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom
* The Fauves or
* Rebecca’s Empire both at the Espy.

When the walkman batteries ran low, I’d switch over to the 3RRR Breakfasters stifling guffaws of laughter between the Chris Hatsis playlist of power- , brit- and electro- pop that formed the basis of my musical taste for a long time.
So Cassiopeia, I’d like to stretch the rules to include these as a postscript to a favourites list, because for a long time I didn’t listen to anything else.

Summer nights

It's already been a year since this blog started which means that the Night Market is back. Food all down one side and stuff to buy on the other.

Last night we enjoyed paella, Roo steak sanger, yakitori and okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and honey dumplings. No sign of the Persian fairy floss though - disappointing!
High-tail it down to Queen Vic and indulge in a cupcake or two!

Kick or Spit

the choice is yours...

Early Christmas Cheer

Despite a fire, the Melbourne General Post Office remains a beautiful building in the centre of town. Converted into a fancy pants shopping centre (as cute as they are, who can really afford Campers shoes?), its owners have also taken advantage of a lofty ceiling and used it as a space for art.

My favourite so far would have to be the long opened umbrellas balanced precariously along criss-crossing wires strung from all four balconies. Being Melbourne, they had to be black and lent the usually light and airy ceiling an ominous feel. More recently as part of the State of Design Festival, bird cages were hung from the rafters. I quite like the absurdity of a mass of open umbrellas inside a building - multiples of seven-years-bad-luck notwithstanding.

After banana crepes yesterday morning and a surprise birthday greeting, I diverted on the way to work and noticed that there were strangled plastic christmas trees hanging not only from the outside pillars but also in the building itself.
I'm not sure how to respond to this one, but I did say the art pieces tended to the absurd!

Paper Cuts

How great is it: the sun's up at stoopid hours, flowers are blooming and it's that lovely temperate weather to get the BBQ going for a cruisey afternoon in a park.

Time to dust off the sandals and the summer gear - how about this mini-skirt or these heels?

If updating your wardrobe isn't your thang, maybe consider some of these other wondrous items.

What's with all the origami? I happened upon an amazing(ly nerdy) book by origamist Robert Lang who has designed newfangled ways to fold paper. We're not talking about making cranes here - he has dense, 100-plus-folded instructions for insects, elephants and cuckoo clocks (BIG piece of butcher paper that). It's all to do with vectors, angles and circumference - I can't convey how mind-blowing it is to flick through his books.

Check em out and become a paper-nerdo yourself!

Kid Koala

I never really understood why hordes of cameras gravitate towards these fuzzy creatures and when overseas folk often excitedly associate I'm from Australia with Have You Held A Koala?, I politely ?shrug? and say, I live in the city.
This all changes of course when you see the fuzzy creatures in person.
On the way to the lighthouse at Cape Otway, we spied this very cute family. They must have been bored by yet another group of excited random passerbys snapping away.
[Thanks to Elmo for the pic!]

Got em!

Finally!
Months ago, I discovered a small hole at the top of my trainers. Now I'm pretty lazy and since summer was approaching, I thought I'd be able to hold out until winter. Plus, we're in a drought right? It probably won't rain any time soon!
This was all before a lovely bushwalk on the crater rim at Tower Hill Reserve just out of Warrnambool where my shoe proceeded to fill up with dust and dirt. Hence a quicksticks hunt for a replacement (refer above).
Bonus: A goodget to boot - only 40 bucks from Smith St.

Just Might Do

Due to a delicious banquet FEAST last night, I missed most of the ARIAs. And although I am generally out of touch these days due to studies (Youth Group? and when did Eskimo Joe become so big?), I was most excited to hear that Clare Bowditch won a gong for Best Female Artist. My favourite memory of Clare Bowditch is from a HiFi Bar gig where exiting punters were treated to birthday cake which Clare had presented to her mother earlier that night. Even if she didn't write lovely songs, she deserves some kinda award for punter appreciation!

** Oh and The Audreys won for Best Roots and Blues Album too! This has to be one of my favourite albums from this year - really cruisey soundtrack to a Sunday afternoon BBQ and bevvy.

Ole! Tarantula

My friend Pierre Burkensoir is a music connoisseur. Across most genres, he knows all the old stuff and keeps up to date with the new stuff. This has extended to trawling the internet discover something new or maybe download a mash-up or three. He even likes that four letter word, jazz. (Sorry, I like Ella and Louis but I don't get the modern noodling).
Pierre is a also font of musical knowledge, an amalgamation of Mojo/Uncut magazine in one source: "Hey Pierre, who is this Billy Childish guy?" and after a particularly bad episode of Australian Idol "what exactly is disco anyway?"

It's a shame then, that Pierre has an anti-gig stance. He reckons he's too old! too tall! but mainly he can't be bothered. In fact, in six years in Melbourne, Pierre has ventured out to only four bands. F.O.U.R.

So it is significant that the announcement of a couple of gigs by Robyn Hitchcock woke a dormant enthusiasm rarely seen in Pierre whereby he not only purchased tickets for one gig, but was seriously considering attending the second.

I went along to an instore at Basement Discs out of curiosity - what could be so great about this guy that would induce Burkensoir to actively go to a gig?

Most well known for his eccentric lyrics and floppy hair, Robyn Hitchcock of seminal late 70s band Soft Boys, recently toured Australia with the Venus 3 in support of his new album "Ole! Tarantula". True to Pierre's words, Hitchcock's songs were melodic and lyrical with an added bonus of a Bob Dylan cover and entertaining banter in between - my favourite line: "This song goes out to....all the people behind that pillar".

Afterwards, the band greeted fans and signed ceedees and it was at this point that I acquired this seriously goodget.
For those with good eyesight, this is an enhanced goodget: Peter Buck of REM fame is in Venus 3!

George Orwell's 1984, 13 October 2006

Melbourne International Arts Festival
The Actor’s Gang
“George Orwell’s 1984”

In the dust of the raucous energy of public Singing or Dancing in recent times, this years Arts Festival seems restrained in comparison.

In 2006, one of the flagship productions of the Melbourne International Arts Festival is a presentation of ‘George Orwell’s 1984’ by The Actor’s Gang, adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan.

1984 is one of my favourite books and describes the creation of a futuristic world where the population lives under constant surveillance by the omnipresent Big Brother. It is within this totalitarian social order that Orwell explores the relationship of an individual to the state. It was frightening in its portrayal of a society where law, media and even language were designed to prevent free will and freedom of thought. Although it has been a few years since I’ve revisited the story, I still remember feeling completely devastated at its conclusion.

This adaptation is set during an interrogation of Citizen Smith, where four Party members re-enact the events leading up to Smith’s arrest at the direction of Big Brother. P Adam Walsh is convincing and heartbreaking as Smith, with the four other actors believably slipping in and out of characters from Smith’s past as his confession is extricated.
The set is designed to situate and thus implicate the audience within this process, as if we could be Big Brother. We are voyeuristically watching and made to feel as if we are participating - the audience flinched in response to the ‘torture’ perpetrated. It was confronting: at one point, Smith is presented in an electric chair at the front of the stage and the Party Members are standing directly in front of the first row, as if the audience are the jury at Smith’s trial. This was not a passive experience, it wasn’t always easy to sit and watch this play - the lady sitting next to me did not return from interval.

In our ridiculous world where the internet broadcasts real-life, real-war torture, it was worrying how much the themes connect to current events. In particular, the use of periodic interruptions from the telescreen selling state propaganda was effective in setting the tone of society outside the prison cell, but also striking in its familiarity of its fabrication or stretching the truth of war and how governments can manipulate media to generate fear as a means to justify the end.

The strength of the novel lies in its imagining of this future society and although the play is timely in some of its themes, I did find some parts in the second act a bit preachy and wordy. When Big Brother is revealed to be merely another Party member and comes out from behind the walls of the set, the story became less compelling and somewhat diminished the idea of the pervasiveness of Big Brother in society.

Despite the draining nature of the production, this production was well worth seeing and, if anything, will inspire people to return to the original novel.

As a side note, is it really Melbourne without an abundance of festivals? A stroll through Federation Square, previously populated with aforementioned enthusiastic Singers and Dancers, reveals fledgling festivals muscling in. Situated opposite St Pauls was the slinky-like white tent flogging the State of Design Festival, nicely echoing the new Design Centre at the East end of Fed Square. And how delightful to see the Fringe Festival burst out of the cool inner suburbs and claim a small stake in the heart of town (though one too many celebrity comedians in the program – the Fringe should be strictly for amateurs!).

gelateria

It didn't seem enough to sit in the park to pass a sunny lunchtime, we strolled down to a new gelati shop. I put it down to reconnaissance for the summer ahead.

Kool Kimono Bits

I bought these fabrics in a textile/homewares-type shop in the country - they are vintage kimonos that have been cut into pieces *gasp*. Beyond quilting and patchworking, the small sample size of these delightful pieces could test the boundaries of your imagination/creativity. There's just not enough of each one!
Anyway, I don't think I'm quite at the patchworking stage of my life just yet...

Some questions: if they really are 'vintage', shouldn't they be deemed too precious to cut into small squares? And when does 'vintage' embody value and not just o.l.d.?

As much as it pains me to think that these beautiful handmade garments are being butchered, some of them are quite pretty to look at, aren't they?