Damien Rice, Faithless and ACO
Whew! What a week. Work has been busy and I've been doing minimum hours because of a cold I caught over the weekend. And then I go home and crash out. So I haven't been able to do my usual thing of typing up a post before/after work.
So it's nearly the next weekend and I haven't posted about last weekend! So here goes...
Friday
I practically ran home after a late night thinking I was going to be late for the Teacher's birthday dinner. As it turns out, I had enough time to change, get to the restaurant and still be the first one to arrive. Not such a problem except that they sat me at the wrong table! Thankfully, half her guests were sat at the wrong table, so I wasn't the only one feeling like a fool. But it did mean that I ended up sitting next to the Ex, as that was the only free seat by the time I got to the right table. Since I hadn't even known that he would be there, it was a bit awkward. Ah well. Still, there was good food, good wine, good company - so it was still a worth while little venture.
I left the restaurant about 8:45pm, aiming to get to the Tivoli by 9pm, which I thought would be in time to get a drink before Gorgeous started. I did get there by 9pm, but Gorgeous had already started. Bugger. The crowd around me seemed to be mostly Irish (judging by the accents) and seemed to have no idea who they were, but Gorgeous played a great set with plenty of banter and were well received by the crowd. I bought their latest CD after the gig.
During the break, I was very impressed to hear Matthew Sweet being played. He's one of those artists that Australian's don't tend to know, so to have his stuff played by the Tivoli was enough to make me a happy girl.
Maybe this was why I was chatted up during the break. This cute little teenager started chatting to me after he saw me straining over the heads to try and see DR's guitar and mic set-up. At least, I assume he was a teenager, since he said he was too young to have gone to Ben Folds' first solo gig at the Tivoli a couple of years ago. Anyway, he was sweet and kept me occupied until the set up was finished.
And then Damien Rice came on. The crowd went wild. I'd forgotten how good this guy is. He was performing solo, but had one of those repeat sequencers that record a riff and then play it back to boost his sound. During some songs, he must have had about 8 or 9 riffs (both guitar and voice) going at once. It sounded like the full band as on the CD. Pretty impressive - an amazing voice as well.
The first encore was Cheers Darlin', a break-up song that he performed as if drunk, complete with smoke and a glass of red wine in one hand. As soon as the song was over, the act was dropped and he went back to normal. Very cool.
Both of my favourite songs from "O", Cannonball and The Blower's Daughter, were also in the encore, so I spent the whole thing swaying and smiling and feeling very much the contended girl.
And then he topped it all off with an unmiked version of Jeff Buckley's Halleluliah. Now I'm a big Jeff fan and don't usually like covers of his songs, but this one just knocked me out of the water! Damien's voice has the same range and passion, and the crowd (unprompted) joined in with the harmonys in the chorus. It was a magical moment. Almost as good as the 3-part harmony in Not the Same during Ben Folds' Tivoli gig (which did sound just as beautiful as the recorded version on the Live CD).
Saturday
I had to be up bright and early Sat morning to head over to T's sister's Tupperware party. I promised T that I would go, even though she wasn't going to be there now, so I could help her sister with anything that she needed. As it turns out, my help wasn't needed, she had it all under control. And I had an alright time, despite it being just as "mumsy" as I'd feared. I bought nearly $300 worth of stuff, $150 for me and $150 in birthday and Christmas presents.
Sat arvo/evening, I just bummed around and watched The 4400, which I'd taped last weekend. It wasn't as sci-fi as I'd thought it might be - more of a look at communities and how people fear what they don't understand. Very X-Men. I liked it. I'd thought it was worth a shot anyway, since I'm a big Jacqueline McKenzie fan - I've loved her work since seeing her on Aussie TV not long after she'd graduated NIDA I think.
I also got a call from the Vegetarian to set up time/place to meet for Sun night. We ended up chatting for nearly an hour on the phone. It was good - I caught up with some of what he'd been up to during his road trip in NSW/Vic and we fell into our old routine of just chatting and joking.
Sunday
I caught up with housework, washing etc on Sunday. My flatmate had told me that he was going away for the weekend, so I also took the opportunity to clean the place up a bit in terms of getting stuff away.
The Vegetarian picked me up at 6pm and we headed into West End for a bite to eat. After an aborted attempt at Lebanese (the guy was rude and had no idea what was in the veggie platter), we found a little veggie place that did great burgers and shakes.
Then we headed into the Convention Centre for the gig. We met up with the Nymph and her boyfriend (who had got free tickets the bastards!) which was a bit of a surprise since I hadn't known they were going. I also saw the guy who chatted me up at the speedstar* gig - he was selling merch again. He seemed really happy to see me, but he still hasn't emailed me, so who knows. I'm not really that concerned. At least I did get to see him when I was sober though and I still think he's kinda cute. ;o)
Anyway, the gig. The support was Way Out West, a sort of dance version of Garbage, with a couple of older guys doing the music and a younger, good looking girl doing the vocals. They were good. They got the Vegetarian and I up and dancing anyway. I wouldn't buy their CD though.
And then there was Faithless. These guys just know how to get a crowd moving. The crowd wasn't quite as dancey as last time I saw them, but they still got into it. I danced my butt off and was dripping with sweat by the time they'd finished. They seemed to enjoy the crowd and Maxi Jazz commented a couple of times that we were the best crowd they'd had in Australia and they wanted to take us back to England with them. I know it's a cliche and they probably say that to all the audiences, but I have to admit that the crowd were incredibly into it, especially for a Sunday night.
On a side note, I'd never been to the Convention Centre for a gig before - it was actually a surprisingly good venue. I'd see a band there again. Anywhere is better than the bloody Arena anyway!
Monday
Monday morning, I was again up bright and early to head off to Toowoomba to see my folks and the concert that night. Mum was working in the morning, so I hung out with Dad and chatted to him for a couple of hours. It was bloody freezing up there (as well as wet, foggy and windy), so I managed to con him into turning on the heating and was perfectly happy cuddled up in the sofa with the dog. In the afternoon, Mum and I headed over to B&S's place and I gave my nephew his birthday presents. Both of them went down very well. He let out a "wow" as soon as he saw the tow-truck, but wasn't as impressed by the circus road-train initially. But once he started playing with it, he didn't stop. And he proudly showed both to my brother when he got home. It was lovely to see him so impressed.
We had to run off pretty early to get ready for dinner before the concert. Mum had made a booking at Jilly's in Margaret Street for dinner and we met Genie there at 5:30pm. Unfortunately, it wasn't a particularly good choice. The service was slow and rude, the meals and drinks were expensive and not particularly good, except for my meal, which was so peppery that it was inedible. At least they didn't charge us for it, but the waitress made some comment about it being "personal taste" - sorry sweetie, but no-one likes risotto that burns your tongue.
But the concert was great. The program started with just the ACO, doing the Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G major, then Smith's Alchemy revised for string orchestra and finally Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major. The cello soloist (Emma-Jane Murphy) was absolutely brilliant - she's so expressive and man can she make that cello talk! I couldn't take my eyes off her - who knew an eyebrow could say so much.
After the interval, Tim and Terepai from The Whitlams joined the orchestra for the "Freedman songs" part of the program.
Tim started off by complimenting Emma-Jane with a comment about a "uncircumcised slob" like him not having heard the cello solo piece before. I started shaking with laughter - not so much for the joke, it wasn't really that funny, but more that this crowd -really- didn't get it!
Much of Tim's banter revolved around the ARIAs the night before. He seemed hungover - he was drinking water! - and made a few comments about the amount of alcohol that had been drunk the night before. Despite that, he still pulled off the gig with his usual aplomb. He didn't even forget any of the words.
Tim also flirted through most of the gig with Emma-Jane (even though the cello section was behind him). And she was flirting back just as hard. I wonder if there's something going on there? I have to admit that you couldn't blame him if there is - she's extraordinarily talented, very attractive in a Catherine Zeta Jones way, and seems quite fiery, with a spark of humour in her eyes.
Mum finished up the evening by commenting, "he has a very nice voice doesn't he? Very smooth. Quite the entertainer. He's a bit scruffy though."
I think that sums up Tim nicely.
Tuesday
With storms predicted for the afternoon, I hadn't wanted to leave to head home too late. So I bummed around with Dad for the morning, met Mum for lunch and a little bit of shopping and then headed home. I got home about 4pm and started in on the Buffy DVD's I hadn't opened yet. It was nice to have a quiet night.
This weekend
This weekend, I have no plans. So I'm thinking I might just bum around home and recover from this cold. I might catch a movie or something. Probably catch up with T&S if they're around. I'll play it by ear. See how I'm feeling. That sort of thing.
Listening to: Faithless - Mass Destruction single
So it's nearly the next weekend and I haven't posted about last weekend! So here goes...
Friday
I practically ran home after a late night thinking I was going to be late for the Teacher's birthday dinner. As it turns out, I had enough time to change, get to the restaurant and still be the first one to arrive. Not such a problem except that they sat me at the wrong table! Thankfully, half her guests were sat at the wrong table, so I wasn't the only one feeling like a fool. But it did mean that I ended up sitting next to the Ex, as that was the only free seat by the time I got to the right table. Since I hadn't even known that he would be there, it was a bit awkward. Ah well. Still, there was good food, good wine, good company - so it was still a worth while little venture.
I left the restaurant about 8:45pm, aiming to get to the Tivoli by 9pm, which I thought would be in time to get a drink before Gorgeous started. I did get there by 9pm, but Gorgeous had already started. Bugger. The crowd around me seemed to be mostly Irish (judging by the accents) and seemed to have no idea who they were, but Gorgeous played a great set with plenty of banter and were well received by the crowd. I bought their latest CD after the gig.
During the break, I was very impressed to hear Matthew Sweet being played. He's one of those artists that Australian's don't tend to know, so to have his stuff played by the Tivoli was enough to make me a happy girl.
Maybe this was why I was chatted up during the break. This cute little teenager started chatting to me after he saw me straining over the heads to try and see DR's guitar and mic set-up. At least, I assume he was a teenager, since he said he was too young to have gone to Ben Folds' first solo gig at the Tivoli a couple of years ago. Anyway, he was sweet and kept me occupied until the set up was finished.
And then Damien Rice came on. The crowd went wild. I'd forgotten how good this guy is. He was performing solo, but had one of those repeat sequencers that record a riff and then play it back to boost his sound. During some songs, he must have had about 8 or 9 riffs (both guitar and voice) going at once. It sounded like the full band as on the CD. Pretty impressive - an amazing voice as well.
The first encore was Cheers Darlin', a break-up song that he performed as if drunk, complete with smoke and a glass of red wine in one hand. As soon as the song was over, the act was dropped and he went back to normal. Very cool.
Both of my favourite songs from "O", Cannonball and The Blower's Daughter, were also in the encore, so I spent the whole thing swaying and smiling and feeling very much the contended girl.
And then he topped it all off with an unmiked version of Jeff Buckley's Halleluliah. Now I'm a big Jeff fan and don't usually like covers of his songs, but this one just knocked me out of the water! Damien's voice has the same range and passion, and the crowd (unprompted) joined in with the harmonys in the chorus. It was a magical moment. Almost as good as the 3-part harmony in Not the Same during Ben Folds' Tivoli gig (which did sound just as beautiful as the recorded version on the Live CD).
Saturday
I had to be up bright and early Sat morning to head over to T's sister's Tupperware party. I promised T that I would go, even though she wasn't going to be there now, so I could help her sister with anything that she needed. As it turns out, my help wasn't needed, she had it all under control. And I had an alright time, despite it being just as "mumsy" as I'd feared. I bought nearly $300 worth of stuff, $150 for me and $150 in birthday and Christmas presents.
Sat arvo/evening, I just bummed around and watched The 4400, which I'd taped last weekend. It wasn't as sci-fi as I'd thought it might be - more of a look at communities and how people fear what they don't understand. Very X-Men. I liked it. I'd thought it was worth a shot anyway, since I'm a big Jacqueline McKenzie fan - I've loved her work since seeing her on Aussie TV not long after she'd graduated NIDA I think.
I also got a call from the Vegetarian to set up time/place to meet for Sun night. We ended up chatting for nearly an hour on the phone. It was good - I caught up with some of what he'd been up to during his road trip in NSW/Vic and we fell into our old routine of just chatting and joking.
Sunday
I caught up with housework, washing etc on Sunday. My flatmate had told me that he was going away for the weekend, so I also took the opportunity to clean the place up a bit in terms of getting stuff away.
The Vegetarian picked me up at 6pm and we headed into West End for a bite to eat. After an aborted attempt at Lebanese (the guy was rude and had no idea what was in the veggie platter), we found a little veggie place that did great burgers and shakes.
Then we headed into the Convention Centre for the gig. We met up with the Nymph and her boyfriend (who had got free tickets the bastards!) which was a bit of a surprise since I hadn't known they were going. I also saw the guy who chatted me up at the speedstar* gig - he was selling merch again. He seemed really happy to see me, but he still hasn't emailed me, so who knows. I'm not really that concerned. At least I did get to see him when I was sober though and I still think he's kinda cute. ;o)
Anyway, the gig. The support was Way Out West, a sort of dance version of Garbage, with a couple of older guys doing the music and a younger, good looking girl doing the vocals. They were good. They got the Vegetarian and I up and dancing anyway. I wouldn't buy their CD though.
And then there was Faithless. These guys just know how to get a crowd moving. The crowd wasn't quite as dancey as last time I saw them, but they still got into it. I danced my butt off and was dripping with sweat by the time they'd finished. They seemed to enjoy the crowd and Maxi Jazz commented a couple of times that we were the best crowd they'd had in Australia and they wanted to take us back to England with them. I know it's a cliche and they probably say that to all the audiences, but I have to admit that the crowd were incredibly into it, especially for a Sunday night.
On a side note, I'd never been to the Convention Centre for a gig before - it was actually a surprisingly good venue. I'd see a band there again. Anywhere is better than the bloody Arena anyway!
Monday
Monday morning, I was again up bright and early to head off to Toowoomba to see my folks and the concert that night. Mum was working in the morning, so I hung out with Dad and chatted to him for a couple of hours. It was bloody freezing up there (as well as wet, foggy and windy), so I managed to con him into turning on the heating and was perfectly happy cuddled up in the sofa with the dog. In the afternoon, Mum and I headed over to B&S's place and I gave my nephew his birthday presents. Both of them went down very well. He let out a "wow" as soon as he saw the tow-truck, but wasn't as impressed by the circus road-train initially. But once he started playing with it, he didn't stop. And he proudly showed both to my brother when he got home. It was lovely to see him so impressed.
We had to run off pretty early to get ready for dinner before the concert. Mum had made a booking at Jilly's in Margaret Street for dinner and we met Genie there at 5:30pm. Unfortunately, it wasn't a particularly good choice. The service was slow and rude, the meals and drinks were expensive and not particularly good, except for my meal, which was so peppery that it was inedible. At least they didn't charge us for it, but the waitress made some comment about it being "personal taste" - sorry sweetie, but no-one likes risotto that burns your tongue.
But the concert was great. The program started with just the ACO, doing the Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G major, then Smith's Alchemy revised for string orchestra and finally Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major. The cello soloist (Emma-Jane Murphy) was absolutely brilliant - she's so expressive and man can she make that cello talk! I couldn't take my eyes off her - who knew an eyebrow could say so much.
After the interval, Tim and Terepai from The Whitlams joined the orchestra for the "Freedman songs" part of the program.
Tim started off by complimenting Emma-Jane with a comment about a "uncircumcised slob" like him not having heard the cello solo piece before. I started shaking with laughter - not so much for the joke, it wasn't really that funny, but more that this crowd -really- didn't get it!
Much of Tim's banter revolved around the ARIAs the night before. He seemed hungover - he was drinking water! - and made a few comments about the amount of alcohol that had been drunk the night before. Despite that, he still pulled off the gig with his usual aplomb. He didn't even forget any of the words.
Tim also flirted through most of the gig with Emma-Jane (even though the cello section was behind him). And she was flirting back just as hard. I wonder if there's something going on there? I have to admit that you couldn't blame him if there is - she's extraordinarily talented, very attractive in a Catherine Zeta Jones way, and seems quite fiery, with a spark of humour in her eyes.
Mum finished up the evening by commenting, "he has a very nice voice doesn't he? Very smooth. Quite the entertainer. He's a bit scruffy though."
I think that sums up Tim nicely.
Tuesday
With storms predicted for the afternoon, I hadn't wanted to leave to head home too late. So I bummed around with Dad for the morning, met Mum for lunch and a little bit of shopping and then headed home. I got home about 4pm and started in on the Buffy DVD's I hadn't opened yet. It was nice to have a quiet night.
This weekend
This weekend, I have no plans. So I'm thinking I might just bum around home and recover from this cold. I might catch a movie or something. Probably catch up with T&S if they're around. I'll play it by ear. See how I'm feeling. That sort of thing.
Listening to: Faithless - Mass Destruction single
posted by OLS |
Friday, October 22, 2004 | 11:28 am
4 Comments:
You have such an interesting life. I love Gorgeous. It was a pity when they moved down to Melbourne but I suppose they had to do it for the sake of their career.
You think? I would have thought that, as one of my regular readers, you would know just how boring my day-to-day life actually is. ;o)
- OLS
I have a massive favour to ask. Can I borrow your tape of 4400? I realise this means that I may well have to came and get it and that because of this, we may well have to meet. Or you could place it in a neighbours letterbox and tell me the address...
The reason being when I taped the second episode of the 4400, I didn't allow for Australian Idol to go as overtime as it did, so I didn't get the end. You can of course say no, but it would be very cool if you said yes as I would quite like to know how it ended.
Di - sure you can borrow 4400. Just email me at observantlittle@mailblocks.com with your address and I'll drop them into the mail. I think that is probably the easiest thing and will preserve my "secret identity"... well, it's getting so it's not so secret anymore, but anyway...
Actually, before I make that promise, I'd better check that I haven't taped over them (I don't tend to keep stuff once I've watched it).
sarni - I don't know why I didn't update on blo.gs - I use it too to keep track of updates and it usually works...
As for 4400 for you, once Di gets the tapes back to me, I'll post them to you... or maybe it would be easiest if Di posts them directly to you. Anyway, we can chat about this by email (and yeah, I know I owe you one!)
- OLS
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