The Dandy Warhols, The Tivoli, Tuesday 31st May 2011

Happy first day of winter everybody! I am celebrating it with a cough and sore throat and day in bed. Hooray. :(

Before that however I celebrated by seeing the Dandy's live for the first time in my life. This fact is quite silly as they have had many tours and I have had many chances to see them, who I have always had a great love for. Better late than never. And being my first time, my expectations were pretty high along with my excitement level. It was also my first valley gig since moving there and I was keen to take advantage (actually being able to walk home in less than 10 minutes, what!).

What followed was a gig that totally exceeded my expectations beyond belief, which is a hard feat. My group and I got caught up with food and drink and hence missed the support act, Los Huevos, which I was a little looking forward to checking out, but being a Brisbane band I'm sure I'll have the chance to see them again. Before long, the main act arrived; Courtney Taylor-Taylor, still very doable even with his hair in a bun, Zia McCabe, similarly doable enhanced by her rock chick long hair, epicly teased-haired Brent de Boer on a low to the ground drum kit, and shy on the sidelines guitarist Peter Holmström. They began with a long wall of sound which then became "Be-In". from 'Come Down'. Having 'Be-In' as an opener was literally the best thing they could have done (to me imo) and I was thrilled. It is such a perfect opening for that album and one of my favourites of theirs. I expected the crowd to be just as thrilled but I felt a little dorky jigging around and fist pumping while the rest around me just stood and watched. It's not a big

thing but it is really awkward getting into a song when no one else is... it's so much more fun when others are (safely and not rudely!) going mad for it with you. GUYS, AREN'T YOU AS EXCITED AS ME! IT'S THE DANDY'S! Oh that's right you've all probably seen them three times already. Sigh.

On the topic of going mad for it I cannot avoid talking about the middle aged lady who was in front of me the whole gig. First she introduced her weird thing by thinking that my (well it was oversized, I had come straight from work), handbag was a dog. Ummmmm. Then for the rest of the gig anyone that came within any sort of proximity to her was moved aside, by her. When the crowd DID get into it, and others' space were being invaded (NOT hers), she made it her business to butt in and have her say, to the point of harshly pushing someone right through the crowd, which was more damage than he was doing at the time (and again, NOT TO HER).

It was pretty brutal and distracting and further reinforces my view (which I am often reminded of while accompanying my parents to gigs) that if you have big issues with having yours or others' space invaded at shows/festivals, then there are probably better places for you to stand. And the Tivoli has a perfectly good balcony where she would have enjoyed herself more. There aren't so much 'rules' at gigs as expectations, and while people pushing through is annoying, of course, to most people, there is really nothing you can do about it, as in a General Admission gig, no piece of space is rightfully anyones. All personal space boundary rules are totally broken in mosh pits, and they always will be. And there is always that annoying drunk idiot who dances around completely unaware of other people in their wake. It happens, we get annoyed (as do I), but it's to be expected, and if it's not for you, there are better places to view the show.

Speaking of the show, back to it. The set was absolutely epic. They played a huge stack from 'Come Down' and '13 Tales from Urban Bohemia' and won the crowd with their hits from 'Welcome to the Monkey House' (namely "You Were the Last High" and "We Used to be Friends"). The earlier two albums I completely adore so I was ecstatic to hear so much from them. It's fantastic when a band picks a setlist that seems to echo completely your personal favourites, and it sounds wanky, but it was as if the band went into my brain and picked out the songs I had really been enjoying and decided there was a good selection there and went with it. And with that, played the songs extremely well, with full passion, power and harmony.

There were a few new songs there which sounded really good and appeared to hark back to their rawer earlier sound, moreso than the synth driven songs of their later offerings. Courtney decided to break up the momentum a little by leading the audience into a softer, slower acoustic version of "Everyday Should Be A Holiday", which worked really well even though it would have been just as fun to rock out to with the full band. Where horns were present in songs such as "Godless", the band sang 'ba-ba-ba's' to make up for it, and with the audience going along as well, it didn't feel like anything was missing.

The last of the set was a real highlight, with "Pete International Airport" blissing me out until it lead into "Boys Better" which was a super crowd pleaser and topped off the musical euphoria. As a 'final' song they went with "Country Leaver", which was an odd but cute choice that in the end I was glad for, as it is the type of song to put a cheeky smile on your face and leave me with a sweet memory to take home with.

Courtney's cheeky smile

It had been such a long set, at least over an hour and 45 minutes, so I wasn't expecting an encore. But soon after exiting, the band returned for "the only encore of the Australian tour", although I may need confirmation from other concert goers... If it was true, we were the lucky ones treated to a cover of "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC. I am by no means a fan of AC/DC but they did an excellent take of it, and I enjoyed a final helping of their sound before heading home.

I couldn't really speak about it afterwards as it was so much to take in. A culmination of years of Dandy fandom all in an epic 2 hour explosion of music, left me a bit speechless. God knows what I'm going to be like if I ever see something like Radiohead. I'll probably have an aneurysm.

Nine unzipped bananas out of ten, and a serious contender for gig of the year.... but we'll see about that, there's Pulp and Elbow to yet see.........

.... and i also got tickets to Steely Dan. Bet you can't wait for that post.

(some of the) Caxton Wine and Seafood Festival, Caxton St, 1st May, 2011

So this site is back to normal now it seems, without wanting to recover any of my lost stuff, so here goes again. I promise reviews will be more regular (well as I see shows!)

Thought I would check out the Caxton festival on the first sunny weekend of May, with my parents... again, why can I not find people my own age to see bands with? Oh well, the more you hang out with your parents at events the more drinks they buy you without realising...

I hadn't been feeling the best that day, and I am afraid it overshadowed the experience somewhat, and being a seafood festival I felt a little uncertain about it... not wanting to disrupt my recent foray into vegetarianism (too much). Nonetheless I was there to see the bands, and while there was a stack of artists there, there was one in particularly I was really keen for, which was Hugh Cornwell from the Stranglers. For $25 dollars entry, that was a bargain for me. Not too mention the other quite seminal Australian acts on offer.

As we wandered around the area looking for some food, wine and a place to sit, we were treated with some house music before the first set: Beck's "Odelay". I know this information is irrelevant, but this immensely pleased me as it is an excellent sunny day soundtrack.

The first act that we saw was the Radiators, and while we sat for most of it, the music washed over the crowd indulging in seafood, wine, beer and sunshine. From a distance they looked pretty decent for their age and the music was quite good. Not really having known much of the Radiators, I wasn't sure what sort of stuff they had brought to the Australian music industry, but I was pleased to recognise a few songs. So it was a nicely educational and enjoyable experience.

Sitting in the hot sun drinking wine and eating food my body hadn't been used to in a while, was not a good mix for someone who had not been feeling well in the first place, so as we walked over to check out Gangajang, I quickly started feeling pretty faint. This was disappointing, not just because I was feeling my worst when they played their iconic "Sounds of Then", or as Dad would describe it "Down by the Patio We Sit". Kids of young and old were dancing along to it, after looking pretty stoic during their previously played songs, which were well played and while a little dated-sounding, nice tunes. I think. I was kinda seeing stars at this point.

As much as "Sounds of Then" has been flogged over the years not least because of ad campaigns milking the lyrics for all its worth; it really is a great song that does capture what Australia is all about, even now.

A couple of bottled waters later, I was feeling a bit better and stumbled over to see Hugh. He announced himself very subtly, "Hello. My name is Hugh. I used to play in a band called the Stranglers, you might have heard of them". A sweet humbling introduction. I'd seen the Stranglers play the Tivoli many years ago at one of my first ever gigs, with Paul Roberts fronting, who had long ago replaced Hugh once he had decided to leave the band. That was a great show, but it was fantastic to see the original frontman in action, and you could see on his face and in his voice the huge relationship he had with this music and lyrics.

See, you can see it on his face.

Hugh and band opened with "Nice and Sleazy", and immediately my ill feeling left me, as I got into the music with the rest of the crowd. It was fantastic to bop around with the old dudes who had come to hear the classic songs they loved so long ago. He played a great selection of the Stranglers' best material, "Peaches", "Duchess", "Golden Brown". Golden Brown was quite amazing, sounding a little different without an organ but still having the same vibe as the original tune. (My dad thinks otherwise). His voice was clear and it was lovely to hear the original voice of the Stranglers live, and the songs sounded just as good as on record. Even though it was a festival gig, he managed to do an encore as he had finished a little earlier. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, he came to the audience and told us "I think we'll do an extended version of "Walk On By"", which was a nasty tease. He did instead, a great version of "Get A Grip (On Yourself)" which was just as satisfying.

Whenever I see gigs like these, I again, as I've said many times before, feel like I really was born in the wrong era. It's still great to see the passion and creativity still persisting many years after the creation of the true 'punk' revolution. The songs still resonate, but to a different audience. You could tell Hugh was proud of the songs he was singing and enjoying every minute of it.

Due to a topsy turvy day, I decided to leave after Hugh Cornwell, missing out on the huge amount of other artists that were performing that day. Unfortunate, but I still got more than my monies worth. And no more sunshine wine on a icky stomach, or seafood for me. Blerg.

7.5 overpriced wines out of 10. Would have been more had I been fit to drink more overpriced wine.

Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Rockwiz et al, Byron Bay Bluesfest, Monday 25th April, 2011

Here I was, yet another concert experience with my parents. This one was a little different; being a festival experience. How was I going to handle the idiosyncracies of my family at a festival? How were they going to handle the idiosyncracies of a festival?? We were there also to celebrate my uncle's 50th, so what better way than with a historical musical assortment?

We began by checking out the RockWiz show, my mum's favourite thing in the whole world, which of course my siblings refer to with disgust (luckily, absent) because as if you could enjoy something your mum likes?? I tried to get said mum to compete as a contestant, as Brian Nankervis was finishing up recruiting as we got to the stage, but to no avail. Half of me wished I had the guts to put my hand up, but the other half knows that my reaction time plus limited knowledge of anything I'm not a fan of, would make me look a right fool. So on with the show, and Nankervis entertainingly got the 18 selected people up for a few rounds of the game, so that the 4 best could be determined for the show. This was a bit of fun, and some of the personalities of the people up there were quite colourful, including a bubbly young girl in her 20's (or younger) who managed to make it through, and a young strapping hippy fellow, determined to throw as many corny pick up lines to her rockwiz highness Julia Zemiro, as possible. Julia is even dishier in real life as she is onscreen, (that picture is awful) and her charisma even bigger. It was very obvious that she's done this for so many years and things were pretty heightened and over the top, but to be 'on' for such a long period of time has got to be hard, and she does it well. She also handled sleazy hippy guy without batting an eyelid.

The incredibly charismatic and entertaining Henry Wagons, and put-out looking Kate Miller-Heidke were the guests of the day. I realised on this day, after an exciting little number from Henry, what I don't like about Kate. Kate prides herself on her quirky tunes with a little in joke involved (see that Facebook song, Australian Idol song, Psycho Killer cover), which could be misleadingly described as well written. Take away those jokes though, and you have some pretty vacant and awfully written songs. Also, that quirky fun personality that she tries to emit through her songs, just does not transfer through her on stage persona (or, as I have not seen her perform in years, televised persona). It certainly didn't today, and throughout the whole show, she looked like she would have rather been anywhere else. Julia tried to banter with her with very brief returns, and she really didn't provide much to the experience at all. Perhaps she was roped in? Perhaps she was hungover? Hmmmm.

"Henry, f*** off so I can go write a song with Bemg Folndes"

The greatest part of the RockWiz show were the regular musical guests from other artists at the festival, a lovely treat, as we were only there for a day and wouldn't have the opportunity to check everything out. We got some great performances from Irma Thomas (ahhh she just had to open her mouth slightly to make amazing sweet music come out of it), Eli Paperboy Reed, and Barrence Whitfield, finishing up with a group song at the end with the whole gang.

So the RockWiz part of the day could have been the most value, not just for the gameshow and Julia, but the performances we were treated to. I walked out of the tent to be graced with moans and groans from the oldies at their aching bones and backs and legs... and being the smug young thing I am, I had to say "This is only the beginning!!"

Catering for the older group, the festival had some differences that I was not used to at Splendour and Sunset Sounds and such, particular as it had designated places for picnic chairs, which diehard fans had set up in the main tent for hours staking their prime spot for Bob. So in the end, my dear father got us some chairs for us to copy, and I have to say it was nice to be able to sit and relax in between acts.

Before Bob, we caught a snippet of Tim Robbin's band, and a set from Buffy Sainte Marie. She was quite interesting, and I was surprised to find she'd written a few pretty well known songs, such as "Universal Soldier" (Donovan) and "Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong" (but we won't talk about that...). She was very passionate about her Native American upbringing and standing up for rights, and had a lot of energy and passion... I did feel nasty comparing her voice to Yoko Ono, but it really is quite unique and hard to warm to. Her set was much more interesting than the one that followed, by Warren Haynes of Allman Brothers' fame, a band I really know nothing of and doesn't seem to be my preferred style. I was very bored with Warren's set and could not get into it, but I think it's just a type of music, that country-blues-m.o.r. style, that isn't for me.

That was over soon enough, and Dylan's time was now. As anticlimactic as the whole thing was, it was... truly a unique show. They had shut off the screens for the audience, so there was no closeups of Bob's anything. Because the crowd was so huge, all you could see was a blur with a top hat.

As the music began, I experienced the worst live performance of my life. From beginning to end, it was the dreadfullest. His voice was not a voice, but a crackle of spat out verses... not in sentences but in quickly strung together words. There were moments where he sounded like he was loosening up a bit, but it never really improved. There were so many songs that both myself nor my long-time-Dylan-listener family members could not identify. Even such obvious classics like :Tangled Up In Blue", "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" and "Like A Rolling Stone" were impossible to pick until a poorly executed version of the choruses were played. If the band had been amazing, one may have been able to pick the tune, but even the band weren't anything to rave about... they did the job required, nothing exceptional, but nothing terrible.

From not being able to see much to not being able to hear anything worth hearing, it was much like a really bad session of karaoke, but one you did not have any patience for. Actually, at least a really bad session of karaoke is a bit cheaper and supplemented by egging on and alcohol. This was much much worse, and worser still from such an iconic musical hero to so many people.

By the end of it I was so happy for it to be over. It was embarrassing. I usually have no problem with ageing rockstars touring in this day and age, because they do often have some appeal to the new generation- and while they meant something different to the people listening when they were big, they mean something else to me now. But Bob Dylan needs to stop. right now. Brian Wilson was endearing in his lack of performance skills, and at least he seemed to be enjoying himself. And we all know he's crazy. Bob is ruining his music genius and influencer of all status, by making us pay squillions to squirm at awfulness.

If it weren't for Elvis (and RockWiz earlier) it would have been a total money waster.

What I love about Elvis Costello’s performances, this being the second one I’d seen (first being his QPAC Brisbane show in 2004) is his tendency not to mess around, but get straight into playing as many much loved tunes as he can, with only a small break of minimum crowd banter in between. He flies through one after the other smooth as a whip, swapping guitars now and then thanks to on-guard roadies. It makes for such an energetic show, coupled with the fact that this guy refuses to lose any momentum due to age. His voice is still stunningly powerful and full of emotion, his musicianship is still amazing, and he looks like he’s having a fantastic time, unlike Mr D an hour previously (well from what I could hear anyway). Elvis began with a classic guaranteed to move the crowd out of their depressed slumber, "Pump It Up", and moved quickly through an excellent selection of favourites, including a fair few from 'My Aim is True', 'Next Years Model' and 'Oliver’s Army' (the three essentials in my humble opinion). He also played a couple of new ones from 'National Ransom', and brought up Secret Sisters to sing one (1) word of the chorus of “A Slow Drag with Josephine". They sounded like sweet songs, with as much of the country element as the last toured album I'd heard, 'The Delivery Man'. We were treated to an emotional “Alison”. "Beyond Belief", and an extended version of "(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding". He didn’t play my absolute favourite that gave me tears in my eyes at QPAC, "I Want You", but I wasn’t going to hold it against him; its themes of dark stalkery obsession aren’t really festival material.

Once that whirlwind ended, the feelings of hopeless embarrassment were replaced with a warm fuzzy sigh of relief, and thankfulness that it all hadn’t been a wasted festival. I was so glad Elvis had headlined the Monday night and the best was saved until last, but still a shame that his performance was overshadowed by the folk king Dylan.

Upon writing this review, I’ve looked at a few other reviews of the day, and many sung the praises of Bob’s performance. I don’t know whether they were at the same show as me, or there is a little cognitive dissonance coming into play… justifying paying an arm and a leg (up to $150 a night??) for a terrible performance, by pretending it was awesome?? The inability to accept that such a legend can sound terrible? Geez, get a grip journies.

Post re-edited and re-posted! phew. 6.5 blog hosts out of 10.

I said do it again, do it again (turn around GO BACK)

GOMA, or the gallery of modern art to you non-brisbane folks, is an absolute godsend and has improved Brisbane million fold. At the moment they are exhibiting "Let There Be Rock", a cinema program, where they are showing an amazing range of musical act movies, from The Wall to A Hard Days Night to Spinal Tap to D!G... Ahhh it's a fantastic program. You can, no should, check it out here: http://qag.qld.gov.au/cinematheque/current/let_there_be_rock.

Anyway there are so many I am hoping to see, and today I started with probably the number one movie on my must see list, D A Pennebaker's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I'd seen it before many years ago on DVD, and it was before my insane David Bowie obsession truly formed, so I had not retained quite so much of it. As it stood, it was a striking documentary, simply capturing the last show of the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars tour, and the 'last show we'll ever do' (everyone of course freaking out until realising that the character of Ziggy Stardust and his Spiders were disappearing, eventually making room for Bowie's next character). I sat there mesmerized and enchanted by the entire film, heart in throat as if I was actually an audience member with 70's hair and undying adulation for the glittered slenderman in front of me. I found it difficult not to clap at the end of each song and was relieved when audience members eventually relented and did so themselves.

Let's get real here though people, in many aspects it's not the best filmed documentary. Onstage the camera captures much of Bowie and the band's action, including wonderful detail... for example, the close up while he plays the last verses of "My Death", captures a tear forming and streaming slowly, adding extra depth and passion to the words of the song. However, any camera work directed at the audience is pretty shockingly done, so that there are great big spaces of darkness, amid bad resolution shots of ladies with massive glasses and screaming mouths. It's also weirdly put together, so that a few of Bowie's entrances are totally missed or delayed, with the camera choosing to focus on blurry audience members instead.

What makes it, is him, and the band. Mick Woodmansey, while mostly hidden from the camera, is dynamite on the drum kit, nailing every fill and driving the whole process. Trevor Bolder also doesn't share as much film time, but his presence on the bass is everywhere. Mick Ronson, god of guitar, is nothing short of fucking motherfucking amazing. He effortlessly fingers the electric like he could do it in his sleep and totally steals the show. Meanwhile, Bowie takes his place front and centre, gaunt and bony, with his electrified hair, awful teeth and multiple coloured eyes, no doubt in full throe of his cocaine addiction, and obviously so. Through what feels like 20 costume changes and androgynous makeup, his emotion filled vocals, theatrical stage moves, and his general Bowie charm, this plain and simply ugly man, turns into a sexual madman. Yes, had I been a teenager (or anyone really) in 1973, I would have been absolutely mad for it. David Bowie, and his Ziggy Stardust persona, is a perfect example of what a presentation of oneself can do for one's charisma and desirability. As well as a little mystery.

I honestly do NOT believe in this day and age that anything as amazing and anyone as talented and creative and dynamic as Bowie will ever take over music and life as much as he has. Granted, his 80's-90's catalogue is pretty lacking, but dammit, the 80's-90's was kind of a shitty era for consistently good music (thanks to marketing and the paint by numbers industry). But the humorous thing about that scene in 'Extras' with Andy Millman coming up to his idol to wonder if he'd sold out, was that, at least in the decade where he held the world in the palm of his hand, David Bowie could never say that he had sold out. He broke so many rules in the music world, through his personae, his imprint on the media, and most of all, his music. Half of 'Heroes' is rarely listenable to me. 'Low', is my parents worst nightmare. But Bowie wasn't interested in pleasing a body of people, he was interested in experimenting, trying different sounds, and as a result, "Low" was WAY ahead of its time. He has inspired more artists than people realise, even if they turn into horrible pop monsters like Lady Gaga.

After this film warmed my heart, I couldn't help but lament on the fact that I do not live in the 70's, and Pennebaker's film was the closest I was ever going to get to that amazing moment. David Bowie may (oh, PLEASE) tour here again, and it will be epic... I would be the happiest girl in the room would it happen. But of course, he is a much saner, and older person now (and I have to say, he's aged better than he should have). The magic of glam, groundbreaking live music is over, and in its place is a memento of what was. The what was, I never experienced nor ever will.

In the 60's and 70's, what was played on the radio, was actually pretty good. Have you ever wished you were born in another era or place, and you got stuck here when you were supposed to be somewhere else? Sometimes I feel mad that I'm in a world where Justin Bieber is a household name, and a The Books gig isn't even half sold out in a small room.

But I'll stop feeling mad, and instead grateful that I got to see a classic live performance on a big screen, and thank GOMA for making it happen, and see some more terrific shows at the same venue. AND SO WILL YOU.

Gareth Liddiard and Dan Kelly, the Zoo, 26th April, 2011

I like the Drones. I like the couple of well crafted powerful songs that I've come to know, although i have not purchased an album. However, I don't like them enough to say they're these genius mentalists, and hence I have not an album. I saw them at the Hifi when it first opened, and it was enjoyable, but i have to say, it began to bore me by the time the last spitting poetic ballad was on. It's extremely hip (and hippie) to hail them as one of the best australian bands and Gareth Liddiard, front man, as a lyrical saviour. i have to say i have not studied him enough to say either, but i do feel a little put off. Still, at my mother's suggestion, I came along to the Gareth/Dan Kelly gig (one of my mum's favourites) to check his solo thing out.

It was the third (or fourth??) time I'd seen Dan Kelly, so I knew what to expect from the rockabilly fringed tongue in cheek nephew of Paul. He came on stage advertising a sore throat, and despite this pulled off a well executed, entertaining acoustic set comprising of his most

recent and previous Triple J played songs ('Hits' is not the word I would use??) Dan chatted to the small crowd gathered in front of him, myself included front and centre, simply because there was more than enough room for me there. He carried through tale after tale, and probably tattleda little too much, but not too much that he didn't get a decent bunch of songs in. He played 'Dan Kelly's Dream' tracks such as "I'm Coming on", "Bindi Irwin Apocolypse Jam" and the title track in his varied, talky style, making good use of himself with just a guitar and voice, and remarking on bits "where the band sounds really cool".

Dan got the smallish crowd singing along and cheering and appeared genuinely grateful to have us here, despite knowing this sold out show was thanks to the headline act. I like Dan, much to a few close people's dismay, but I do feel his jokey manner overshadows and cheapens his talent. Some of his songs are really outstanding and he has the alt country vibe with an added creative twist, but the novelty cheek (see "Bindi" and "Drunk on Election Night") can become a little weary, so that he's in danger of becoming a joke fad musician. It's all well and fun, but I'd like to see a serious side, until before he realises it, he becomes a joke himself in his middle-aged years, ala the likes of Ben Folds.

Having said that I thoroughly enjoyed his performance... the fact he doesn't take himself too seriously makes for a great connection with his audience and a good show. At the end of it, my parents were a few wines in, and knowing that Dan is a Brisbane brought up fellow, and that my cousin went to the same school as him, tried to egg me on to talk to him and "see if he remembers *JOHN SMITH*, eh!??? DO IT!! GO ON!! GO ON!!!" 'Oh excuse me Mr k=Kelly! Do

you remember this guy who was at your school and you may have seen some times in your youth?' No fucking way was that going to happen. This is why you go to gigs with sensibles and not crazy ageing hipsters.

After they settled down, Gareth Liddiard decided to show up, in all his scruff. Gareth prattled on for as long as Dan did... then a little longer.. then longer still.. until it was evident that he probably wasn't going to ever shut up. I couldn't really understand what he was going on about

most of the time, so to be completely honest, I didn't listen too attentively. Eventually within the rambling, Gareth played a song. A slow, boring, ranty, unengaging mess. He played a few more just like that, continuing to talk way too long in between songs. As he continued, it was obvious how wasted he was, and totally uninterested in entertaining anyone but himself. His words were brash and rude, and even admitted that "This'd be embarrassing if I cared". Glad to see you appreciate the fandom of the ones that do, Gareth.

Half way through (of what I saw), he broke a string, prompting Dan to come up and assist him by fixing it up. Much later, the same process resumed. It was painful, tedious, and quite a waste of time. We chatted amongst ourselves (mostly damning this whole affair), at the side of the room near the window, and kept getting awkward glances from a few people watching him faithfully next to us. Eventually, our chatting incensed one guy so much, he turned to us, said "SHHHHH!" and gave us the finger. Well man, if you're going to take this crap, you are welcome to it, I thought; the others agreed, and we left the die hard nutty fans to the fucked up wanker on the stage.

I felt dirty for leaving early without a prior reason apart from that we were too bored, but i don't think i could have taken much more of it. At least Dan saved the night with his professionalism, and better manipulated talent. i understand that being a rockstar often means being hyped up

on drugs, alcohol, etc. but even the most wasted musicians known for their excess still managed to put on a decent performance. This guy totally ruined any desire for me to discover any more of his music, and make a better assessment of his lyrical ability. Sorry Gareth, I really am.

Gareth gets 1 broken string for at least making it to the stage, and Dan gets 6 intact strings plus Gareth's broken one.

SURF ROCK WEEK: Wavves @ The Zoo, Tuesday 8th of March & Best Coast @ Woodlands, Thursday 10th of March

I had to wait until going on a surf rock appropriate holiday AND five day weekend to type this review, as this is my method. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Wavves and Best Coast are both fun sprightly bands, highly riding the massive wave of indie surf/stoner lo-fi rock that have been dominating airwaves over the past year or two, as well as my headphones (also see Beach House, the Drums, Surfer Blood, Neon Indian, et.al.). They all managed to tour around the same time as well, which is quite handy if that was what floated your boat at the moment.

The week started off with Wavves, whose very catching 3rd album 'King of the Beach' would have been an appropriate addition to my summer albums list (had it been worth celebrating). Having only heard this (oh me, what a lame late fan), I decided to check them out. Bleeding Knees Club supported, and the description given to me "They're like Wavves!" was pretty accurate. BKC consisted of 2 prepubescent looking lads, casually dressed in baseball caps and metro shirts, chatting to the audience like they were just mates sitting in on a jam session in

their garage. Their cassssual attitude worked a treat to relax the audience despite it's air of "hey we really don't know wtf we're doing..". Having said that, their bread and butter short fast Ramones-y indie punk tunes were played without a hitch... quite doable if you're using the same time signature/beat/chords/style for each one. They were entertaining enough, and I very much expect them to climb up the popularity ladder thanks to their slapdash style, and hopefully gain more experience and creativity along the way.

As Wavves took the stage in slightly similar attire (Chicago bulls shirt, welcome back to the fashion fold), it became obvious to me that so many in the young audience were wearing an odd assortment of hats. I guess this meant both BKC and Wavves were a hat, or cap band, with a cap audience.

That may have been the worst description of a band I've ever written...HEY LOOK HERE'S A PHOTO

The band appeared with energy levels already at 11, and maintaining throughout the night. They played a great deal of unfamiliar (to me) songs which were very much in the same vein as those I'd heard, and just as catching. As I watched the 3 piece, simply consisting of frontman Nathan Williams, drummer Jacob Cooper and bassist Stephen Pope, I realised how simply structured and themed their songs were... while still being a million times more complex and developed than their supports of course.

In that effect, they were very tight, nailing each song and building up in energy in all the right places. The crowd went insane for the title track hit, as well as "Idiot" and "Post Acid" as well as my own favourite, "Green Eyes". Through their music and little fuss or conversation, they knew just how to work the crowd that they were designed for. Thus I was glad I was a little way back from the mosh, although that didn't stop a few overexcited teens flinging their bodies in all directions, including at myself and my group.

Once they had ripped through each short and sweet indie pop song, they had reached the last moment before their encore, but decided to play through the last few songs, in the same 'fuck the method (sorta)' vibe that had carried the night through. It was all good fun, and suited the crowd fine. The set felt as short and sweet as their songs from 'King of the Beach', which is really what I was in for, and quite satisfying.

SOME SLEEP AND WORK LATER...

A few tiring days later, and yet I was still energetic to see Best Coast on the Thursday. I'd heard negative feebdack from Best Coasts's prior shoes beforehand, particularly supporting the epic classics Os Mutantes (sadly cancelling their Brisbane gig- but thankyou more proactive friend for bringing me back a memento!). This is understandable to me, like experiencing a slice of homebrand cheddar before anticipating a triple cheese brie and haloumi platter. Not that Best Coast is not palatable (all cheese is good cheese imo!), but it's quite clear that BC are not here to change the world of music.. they're about fun, breezy pop, and they don't try to be anything else.

I didn't catch much of Feathers, the support act, but managed to get a great side stage position

amidst the packed Woodlands venue. I don't know if I have said this before but it is always handy having gig buddies that are much shorter than you, if you can (I'm surprised I have any).

Anyway, after a long ado (Woodlands, please make your shows start earlier kthx), on came the bodacious Bethany Cosentino, flanked by Bobb Bruno on bass and drummer Ali Koehler. The band were warmly welcomed by a receptive audience, and launched into their set of basically every track from "Crazy For You", plus a few extra new ones thrown in. The small venue was pretty perfect for this kind of show, as their simple twanging sound filled the space well. Bethany's voice was only slightly distorted since my last show there, and was strong. She chatted a little bit in between songs, the others silent and stoic as she held fort, mentioning that we were a much more fun audience than their last show. Fun ensures fun, and Bethany seemed to be having a good time up there, feeding off the audience's excitement and energy. Which must have meant Bobb and Ali had to even up the score by saying nothing and smiling little, but doing their musical jobs well.

As their set progressed, I could see how a non-fan would have a pretty average time here; there really is little variety in their style, and a lot of songs could be seen as indiscernible from each other. Were the songs any longer, it would have begun to bore me, but luckily not so, and the track order meant that all their best work wasn't clumped together. The crowd went mental for 'Boyfriend', 'When I'm With You', and 'When the Sun Don't Shine', and were all falling in lust with Bethany by the end of the set (unless that was just me?). It was late and tired by the last song, but the sugary energy pop of the set was buzz inducing, and I stumbled from Woodlands a pretty happy camper.

Waaves get 7 surfboards out of 10. Best Coast get 7.5 green sparkly hemp glasses out of 10. I get 100 tardies.

HEY, WHA HAPPEN??

Where'd this humble blogger go, after promising she'd never procrastinate on this blog again? WHERE DID SHE GO!?

I apologise, you reader, or maybe even two readers, for my absence and broken promise of keeping things up to date. There is no excuse, apart from the fact that I honestly could not actually um, post any blogs, for a good 3 weeks.

This is because I have moved house, from out of the family home, a second time, to a nicely positioned home in the Valley. Or Spring Hill, whichever floats your boat. It's on the cusp. Either way, it's inner city, and ten minutes away from the station for the hour long trip to work, but it's comfy, spacious, co-habited by nice people, and it's MY SPACE. Privacy! Control! Whee.

One of the plus's of my new situation, apart from all that, is the location, and the fact that about a 4 minute walk away is the Tivoli, and another 10 minute walk is most other venues that bands I am interested in are usually playing. Prime blog fodder, now that internet is activated!!

There is also the trillion bars and clubs that exist in brisbane which is a hop skip and jump away, and restaurants everywhere. I'm kind of excited to have that at my doorstep.

However, this year I've discovered that the things I loved about the valley once upon a time, have changed very much, which I knew somewhat already, but not to what extent...

Many years ago, I was younger, a little freer, and sillier, and would go out most weekends to a younger, freer, and more fun Brisbane and FV. There would be the weekly treat of Common People (an off-shoot of the Depot), a club night playing only alternative all-time music, and of course whatever was flavour of the month at the time as well. It was the only place you would find a Talking Heads song playing on a dance floor, followed by The Kinks, the Smiths, New Order, Bowie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blur, LCD Soundsystem, and a million other of my favourite artists. And yes they even played the William Shatner cover of their namesake song.

It was always in a pretty dodgy location but I had so much fun there, dragging along whoever I could find who was even a little bit willing to go with me. (It was hard to find friends as excited about it as I was). It became a little bit of a culture and a family, as you'd see the same people there every week, always atrociously dressed, but just there because they liked to dance to the same music you did.

If it wasn't Saturday night, then you had a limited choice, but the next on the list was Ric's Cafe. Ric's was a tiny downstairs and upstairs room, which not only put on free upandcoming bands most nights, but had a pretty good selection of songs playing on their dancefloors. Upstairs could be pretty fun- their playlist not quite as top notch as CP but not far below it. The nice thing about Rics was it's simplicity, again it was just a kind of dodgy room, but a few stools and couches and a bar and that's all you wanted. There was no pretense or expectation, and not as much 'I can look even more ridiculous than you' fashion faux pas as CP had.

It was disgustingly difficult to find anywhere else that wasn't full of doof doof or repetitive r&b or predictable popular pub songs, and really those were the only two options I knew of. Soon, Common People closed its' operation, only to spring up in different locations every now and again, but without getting enough of a crowd aware of them to stick around.

Then, Ric's got sold, and sold out. Upstairs turned from a fun alternative music night to a doof doof club, and in doing so, pushed the people who would have danced upstairs, to downstairs, where there just isn't enough room to enjoy oneself. They've turned the lot behind it into a 'backyard' area, for smokers and people wanting fresh air to enjoy- and no dancefloor there either (though, nothing stopping one from making their own!)

Other than downstairs Rics, there is Alhambra Lounge on a Thursday nights for some alternative dance tunes, but being a full time employee means I'm most likely in bed by the time things get good.

Since moving, I've ventured out on various escapades, and tried to adjust to this change of options. Now I'm older and less exciting, I really just want a nice place to have a meaningful conversation, so outside of Ric's has een useful. However, my last visit disappointed me while hearing the same sequence of songs played as the previous visit. Still, better than any other venue I've visited in dance mode. None of my dancing friends share my dance music taste, so I've had a few oddly painful moments of walking down from the upstairs ear-splitting frenzy, to hear familiar enticing hints of songs wafting up to greet my ears. The first time this happened, it was none other than “All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem, one of my favourite songs of the last few years. My stomach twisted and my heart raced, feeling torn and cheated. What was I doing upstairs, when my favourite music, the things that really make my feet move, were just a few steps away? But I'd be selfish to make others endure it, right? I'm to take it upon myself to endure theirs, right? Because the music that moves me, is not typical, and no one else finds it danceable, apparently. Clubs cater to a majority, not the weird minority of people whose ears curse them when entering these majority ruled venues. I know this, and I've accepted it, but I never feel true to myself doing shoulder dips to fitty cent or usher or whatever is blasting out at me. I do however, love spending time dancing with my girlfriends, and that makes it all worth it.

I wanted to talk more about the dying off of Brisbane music venues in the same manner, but I feel i have waffled enough and any more waffles would be a breakfast with the Humphries/Van der Woodsens. Another time. I have also a little backlog of gig reviews to get posted! I'm sure the decreased revelance of them won't disappoint you half as much as it disappoints me. But I may prevent you from making bad future gig decisions, so who knows. Stay tuned!