Surprise!

i'm extremely bad with surprises; i always ruin them.

if i'm planning a surprise for someone else, i have big problems keeping my big mouth shut cos i can't wait to present the gift.
conversely, if someone tells me there's a surprise coming, i stoopidly guess away until i wear them down, thereby ruining it for myself. i should just learn to enjoy the anticipation huh?

and it's not because i can't keep a secret (don't worry folks! it's all in the vault).

two cases in point: the previous pressie hadn't even been mailed when i posted it... i'm really hoping that a certain someone's track record of only checking this blog when the link is sent will hold true. anyway [lame justification ahead], i needed to ask someone else's opinion on the matter... ...

and now: i can't even wait two measly weeks to give little miss and master buttons away.
a piddlely two weeks.
ended up passing them on as soon as i made them, "surprise!"

the glass-half-fulls out there might say, well that actually adds to the surprise. it all works out, see?

mmmm.

basically, if you like being surprised, never ask me if i have a secret plan, cos it will all come tumbling out. ;)

the pattern and fabric for miss buttons comes from the magnolia square market stash (damnit, the goodies in the maru bag are also meant to be a surprise!). miss b seemed lonely so i used some more of that fetching vintage kimono loot for master buttons.

wanna try? we've seen this pattern around town (eg Meet Me At Mikes) or you can try the original source here , check out the photo gallery of other little misses - it's like an army.

Vintage Schmintage

my friend lisa, whom you may or may not recall as a self proclaimed Bogan, recently went to a recording of Deal Or No Deal. sadly, she didn't get a chance to swap witticisms with andrew o'keefe, but the funny thing about this tv show caper were the rules about dress.

Strictly Smart Casual.
No Denim.
No Stripes.
Apparently stripes or loud patterns don't go across the teev waves too well. And how would a self proclaimed Bogan cope without denim I asks ya?

i was reminded about this quirk of teev land when trying to snap my latest project.
granted, my lazy pics are generally fuzzy but do the polka dots seemed especially fuzzy??
or was it the influence of a double dose of cawfee?
:D

yup, i've moved away from the too-cute prints and pinks to some more muted fabric. i found these in a knitting/japan-o-phile shop in daylesford. the place had only just opened and the shopowner, a former textiles lecturer at r.m.i.t. informed us that these were sourced from vintage kimonos. the texture of the fabric is sturdy and lovely - how anyone could bear to cut them up for patchworking is beyond me!


considering how unplanned it was, i'm quite happy with this spontaneous project. this gift will be winging its way across the oceans to another hemisphere soon... am crossing fingers that the cat isn't out of the bag before it arrives!

for a minute there...

random musical meanderings on the information superhighway while on the microscope this week. and it only confirms that im completely out of the musical landscape loop ;D

:: daytrotter really love the simple line drawings of the profiled artists, though i don't always know who they are so i take it as an opportunity to hear some new sounds with a free download or two ;)

and great feature on kurt vonnegaut (r.i.p)

:: stereogum presents OK_X, a 10th anniversary tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer.

eek! it's already been 10 years! in my youth, this album was a constant in my earholes on the train to uni. when i learnt how to play my mum's acoustic guitar (cos anyone can, right? ;p), i downloaded the geetar tabs from this album and also jeff buckley's Grace.
on reflection, it wasn't as ambitious as you might think and i did manage most of the songs on OK Computer.
Grace on the other hand... mmm

anyway, no surprises that i eventually retreated to the sunshine power pop chords of jason falkner's Author Unknown and teenage fanclub's classic Grand Prix.
diversions aside, download the tribute album while you can - it's all legal and free! i have only just grabbed it so a [ ] yay or [ ] nay report soon!

a scratch to itch...

sometimes i think my biggest lesson in returning to study has been learning how to exercise patience and restraint.
lately, this seems to be mostly derived from frustration *grrr-bah*!
dr b poses a good question: where _do_ all the unanswered emails and phone calls go?
don't worry, i'm ok! i merely diverted some of that frustration-energy into the sewing machine and made a bag using gorgeous fabrics from kimono house (with some help from amitie textiles, and a friendly cup of tea from son ;) ).

presto vest-o

The winter cold is killing me! After being spoiled with sunnier climes this time last year, I am finding the current Melbourne weather a bit bite-y and chilly - brrrr! With all the studying and stressing, i haven't found spare time to go shopping for winter duds (and ok, i actually really really hate shopping. do we really need all this *stuff*, more *stuff* and that shiny *stuff*?)

when it was a little warmer, my friend pierre burkensoir hosted a garage sale at his joint for a friend and, like seagulls swooping on a recently vacated fish and chip session, my sis and i got to pick through the leftover dregs.

in this cold shivering weather, i was extremely grateful for the goodget of a grey lambs wool/angora jumper. a few centimetres taken in on the side and a couple of larger snips taken off the arms, it makes for a toasty, fleecey, vesty thing. i wore it for about a week after i made it, such was its warmth (and goodget glow: that feeling kept me warm too! ha!).

you may wonder where this scavenging for the el bargain-o comes from: my mum is the queen of good gets. in fact, we used to trawl after her on saturday mornings at various op shops, and she often passes on random goods from treasure hunting; handbags galore "it was only a dollar!" or skirts to turn into bags " just sew up this bit here, and then add some handles - easy!".

she'd be so proud :D

ps: would anyone like some grey lambswool/angora arm warmers? ;p

creative fix

with the piano at my parents' place, i find myself at a loss without some creative release. all-day-every-day: experimenting, confocalling -scan-scan-scan, writing, experimenting, reading, writing, photoshopping, reading, more writing, procrastinating, experimenting, ... arrghhhhh!

i bought some red fleece on sale to make a hoodie for winter. out of pure laziness the fabric remains all rolled up, hanging in a spotlight bag on the back of my bedroom door. i did manage to pin the pattern pieces on (huzzah!) but the project remains eerily silent, inert. meanwhile, winter soldiers on, taking all with its icy tentacles. every morning i see that fabric as i leave for work and think, gee i should get onto that soon. before winter's really over.. then again, i could use that fabric to sit on the beach... mmmm.
[Procrastinators Unite Tomorrow! i'm currently claiming lack of time. on the plus side, all this practise at procrastinating means i'm going to be SO good at it!]

my current favourite quick and easy creative burst is to play with paper. i looooove paper. cammers and i went to a paper expo at st kilda town hall many moons ago (yup. they exist. and we actually went). we were amazed / somewhat frightened by how many other people really looooooove paper. despite the fact that the majority of the crowd were middle aged women, it was roll-up-your-sleeves, elbows out and into the fray.
and don't think that it didn't cross our minds that we may well have glimpsed our future either!

i like to make cards for my mates: it's so simple and each one is unique. it's really so satisfying! i have finally given this lot away, so they can be posted without spoiling any surprises... ;)
now, back to procrastinating, er.. writing, experimenting, more writing, confocalling -scan-scan-scan....

St Andrews Market

my good friend jess-bo lives near kinglake, about an hour's drive north west of melbourne. jess is one of those solid, no b.s. country kids and her attitude to city slickers' slickness is refreshing (i also love hearing stories about her animals, she used to own a pet goat with one horn, sad but true - and amusing to a city chick). it was through jess that I found out about the St Andrews market, down the road from her property. she warned us about the hippies, but with my faux-hippiness down pat, it didn't deter us too much.
besides, it was a good excuse to go for a weekend drive.

we should have taken note of the wisdom of jess.
! ha

seriously though, take a few minutes to adjust to the environs and take a walk through the stalls - lots of handmade goodies with plenty of organic produce and great food to eat. you can even get a haircut or a massage! we munched on a frankfurt with sauerkraut/mustard and some pumpkin soup ( which had a dash of chilli, coriander and ginger) with a loaf of fresh rye bread. delicious!

Delicious treat from the cafe across the road

silver linings: wilco, catpower and bjork's latest

maybe it was the anticipation.
maybe it was too much of a good thing.

having had a few listens to the new wilco album _sky blue sky_, it pains me to say that i have found myself skipping tracks. i don't mind a bit of country, i don't even mind the wall of noise experimenting - i could even put up with noodling...for a while..., but i should just accept that i don't dig on the 70s west coast sound.

it's true that i often expect too much (of everything!) but i must confess i'm disappointed. there's still the odd lap steel flourish and tweedy's sighing, melancholic voice is in fine form but the pace feels too slow or too relaxed; there's an intensity lacking. there are more empty spaces in the songs and the arrangements don't seem as sharp. the restlessness and turbulence at force during their recent live performances are starkly missing.

c'mon jfox, i hear you say. this is jeff tweedy as his most chirpy and happy. he's shrugged off his drug addled demons, he has a stable family, a stable band - he's h.a.p.p.y.
why doncha leave him alone!

all i can say is, i'm happy that jeff's happy...maybe it'll grow on me?

not to say it's completely unlistenable. it's a great weekend album, lazing away in bed with the papers and a cup of coffee in the mornings. overall though, this album is not as compelling as their back catalogue. looking forward to the next one...

::

in the meantime, i have been enjoying cat power's latest "the greatest" in the last few months. it's a summery, warm album with the gentle voice of chan marshall. current favourite track is "islands" which makes me want to jet off to a beach with a pina colada, a good book and a man waving a palm frond over me ;D

::

also, bjork's new album volta landed in my mitts courtesy of cobs, cheers! it's the first time i've listened to a complete album since _post_ more than a decade ago *gulp*. i don't always dig what she does (the dogme musical??) but i love that she doesn't bow to current or retro fads. in a pop culture landscape that is often monotonous or a cheap tease, the mere thought of bjork forging on and stretching herself is enough to keep searching for something new. i love that her art is undeniably of her spirit.

in _volta_, it's reassuring to hear that bjork remains agitated, dynamic and creative. this is perhaps most apparent in the opening track 'earth intruders' or 'innocence'. in quieter tracks, bjork uses simple arrangements to mix traditional instruments - indigenous or more classical- to complement her voice.

A sense of insistence is created with bjork's trademark angular electronic beats and stylings, a core element of her work and a constant undertone to this album.

it may well be that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but after listening to this latest offering, i'm tempted to revisit her more recent albums _vespertine_ or _medulla_. _volta_ is well worth checking out.

Are these for real?

Mr Yippee?One bean at a time?

Rock and roll is not a specator sport, baby

Hands down, that is the best line I’ve ever heard at a gig. This week was bookended by two local bands that couldn’t be more disparate.

13th May 2007
Architecture in Helsinki
w Muscles
Prince of Wales

AIH from the Car Park Festival, 2005

The week began with Architecture in Helsinki at the Prince supported by Muscles and Soft Tigers. Part of the appeal of live gigs is checking out the punters, figuring out what tribe they belong to, making outlandish assumptions about what they might do during the day or what other bands they might listen to. In keeping with AIH’s art school cred, the Prince was decorated with the cardigan/specs/kooky nerd look – male and female youths alike.

We arrived late due to an extremely long wait for dinner - an hour and a half for a shellfish stirfry and bad attitude from the staff. Steer clear of Claypots St Kilda until they get their service and kitchen up to speed with their newly expanded premises.

I really tried, but I just didn’t get Muscles: one man, a machine and a mike. It was all LOUD shouting and LOUD beats and NO dynamics – just a steady stream of LOUD. Louis had just been to see him the week before and Freddy reckoned there might be some influence of The Streets. I guess I need some melody and form in my sounds so I personally didn’t find Muscles particularly compelling.

Fans of Architecture in Helsinki would say that their mashed up sounds of horns, machines, vocals and random percussion is creative and fresh. I’ve not had an easy relationship with this band, when I saw them a couple of years ago at the Carpark Festival, I had to retire to the bar with a hotdog. Their music seemed too random and a bit amateurish and their mish-mash sounds were divergent rather than cohesive.

Since this time, they have lost a couple of brass players and gained a funk influence that provides a stronger framework for their hodge podge noodlings. Drawing largely from their current EP _Heart in Races_ and their previous album _In Case We Die_, it was interesting to hear how they have developed and the addition of a decent bass line is just enough to make their songs more listenable. I was pleasantly surprised (fellow carpark fest attendees mike and mel, I know. But it’s true, they were actually kinda ok).

However, diehard fan Freddy found their new sound too different to what had brought him to the band and seemed disappointed. It’s a shame: Freddy is a Bostonian who is returning soon to the US after a year in Melbourne and had been hanging out to see AIH in their home town. Although most people responded well to their new material, at one point, Kellie Sutherland had to say (paraphrased), “I know we’re in Melbourne, but get up and have a dance”.

::

18th May 2007

Airbourne

w Hell City Glamour, The Shine

Corner Hotel

Which brings us to Airbourne, The Shine and Hell City Glamour capping off the week at the Corner Hotel. None of these bands had to ask the crowd to dance – the punters were going absolutely bananas.

We caught the tail end of Hell City Glamour, whose lead singer provides the post title quickly followed by The Shine, an entertaining, rollicking, slightly glam in a bogan kinda way outfit. They announced their imminent support for the next instalment of Wrestlerock, the perfect indicator of their loud, fun, noisy RAWK.

But nothing compares to Airbourne. Don’t go for the music, there's nothing too imaginative or progressive in this department. Go for the intense, no bull, LOUD AS HELL show. Joel O’Keefe and the boys are dynamic and intensely strong performers, with O’Keefe pouring shots into the mouths of rabid punters at the front in between crowd surfing while striking his guitar all the way to the bar and back.

With all the dramatic lights, giant amps, frenzied guitar waving and head banging, it felt like at a stadium gig had been transplanted into the humble Corner Hotel. The gig was just as much fun for atmosphere as there was a wide range of testosterone present, from the original AC/DC fans right down to the younger, flannel-clad, uni crowd. And what a delicious pleasure to note the array of Metallica, Poison, Slayer and Motley Crue tees dotted amongst the punters. Like Dr B, I was cursing myself the whole night for forgetting my camera.

See them for the atmosphere, see it to revisit your (lost?) youth, live vicariously through the kids letting out their aggression in the mosh - just make sure you see them!

cawfeeee

coffee = gooood
neeeed coffee daily
sick = no coffee
no coffee = sad jfox

before i came down with this damn cold [aaaaaa-choo!], i have been patronising various cafes during my morning walk to work looking for a fresh hit. the winner so far has to be the GPOs Federal Coffee Palace. once the dude starts making my coffee as i walk up those stairs, then i know i have found a good barista for the winter...

Federal Coffee Palace = excellent cawfee

Some other cawfeeees consumed...

University Cafe = so-so cawfeee

Food and Wine Festival = creamy cawfeee

Tap tap...tap

Zelda: Take that, Procrasti-Nation!

.

[i wish! ok back to work then... looking fwd to getting out of the big smoke this weekend, going down to the peninsula for a small break, maybe see how the plants are going]

w(arm)er

don't know why, but i've been obsessing about arm warmers.

i put it down to melbourne's in-between weather.
it's not cold enough to wear a long sleeve top but still too cold to wear only a tee.
an arm warmer seemed an ideal, logical solution.

"what are you talking about?" the disbelievers ask. "why don't you just wear a long sleeve top?"

imagine my excitement when i discovered another kindred soul had thought up and acted upon this idea, brilliant!

hippy or bogan?

my friend lisa reckons there are two types of people in the world: hippies and bogans. lis proudly aligns herself to the latter (she is, after all, from trentham) and when she acquired a second hand ex-police car, it seemed a no-duh idea to get her some fluffy dice for her birthday to formalise her bogan status.

now i'm no bogan, as my sis would concur, i'm apparently a hippy. and having never visited a car bits shop before, walking into autobarn was like stepping into a whole new world. it was all engine oils, Big Tools, manly colours and hyper masculine font. i hightailed it outta there before the handlebar moustached dude could approach.
can you imagine: 'er, do you sell fluffy dice? and what colours do you have?'

since i'm infinitely more comfortable at spotlight, i grabbed some felt, stripey trim, polyfiller (thanks dr kath!) and set to work to make some felt dice. they took a bit longer to complete than anticipated. who knew that you can't glue felt to felt? who knew!! tried pva, acid-free craft glue and even superglue.

no dice. so to speak. they turned out ok and lis reckons they're 'the bestest present ever!'

that's high praise from a bogan ;)

ace-us!

it's been a long and tiring week. ups and downs and too much going on generally.

to regain a bit of sanity, i dusted off the sewing machine. found this gorgeous partridge/duck fabric at amitie textiles in bentleigh and whipped up this simple bag. it's held together with some cute ribbon (thanks cammers!) to hold some bits and bods for my new compooter machine.
feel quite chuffed with it!
don't worry, i have been reminded that just because you buy a compooter to write a thesis doesn't mean that it will write itself ...i'm onto it elmo!

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!