Bands To Look Out For...

And if you see them coming... RUN!!!

Went to the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills last night, at the invitation of a friend of a friend, to see a few bands, one of which features the son of a member of The EasyBeats on drums. This makes 2 bands I've seen with Harry Vanda's progeny in them & as far as I can hear, you can lump both boys in with the likes of Adam Cohen, Jakob Dylan, Julian Lennon (& Sean Lennon for that matter), Deni Hines... in the crate of apples that fell a long way from the tree ~ in fact, into a completely different orchard. The Presence's set was cut short when the guitarist blew at least one valve in his Marshall amp. Up to that point, it was the return of 3-chord, 3-piece power-pub-rock which is, in itself, no really bad thing but the songs aren't quite memorable enough yet & they could do with another guitarist to introduce some dynamic & fill out their sound. No, I don't want the job.

They were followed by a rather strange outfit in even stranger outfits & an array of double-neck guitars (& bass!?!?) not seen since either your last viewing of Spinal Tap, or the last time Yes came to town called Super Florence Jam, who seemed to be the bastard children of Ween & The Alan Parsons Project raised on a drip-feed of Led Zeppelin. While all that sounds interesting on paper, it actually sounded mostly like a car-crash.

After all that, a few drinks at the GasLight pub ~ one of the last downbeat, genuine, old-school 'pubs' left anywhere near Oxford St & away...

And today??

New Stuff

Unexpected days & nights in... at home, result in me having too much to think.

I don't know why it's either been so long since I ever, or have never, made kumara mash. With home-grown basil & bell chili, cheese & soy milk it's a winner & a keeper.

I wish I knew how to resolve a situation that's creating friction & threatens to cause a rift between a good friend & I... but the problems exist on more than one front & are inseparable & insoluble while the situation refuses to deal with itself, or go away... he said, conveniently absolving himself of further action, even though he knows it's also up to him... he said, in the 3rd person.

Another situation needs to get worse before it can get better. We have to agree on that, if nothing else...

Good thoughts & pain-killers go out to a musician friend who, following keyhole surgery for an all-too-common problem for active blokes trying to support their music habit, is doing it pretty tough post-op. He sounded better today than Friday... which can only be a good thing.

Speaking of which... Friday night put into place the 1st long-term plans I've been brave enough to contemplate since the collapse of the Melbourne relocation in late '06. These plans don't involve moving physically, but will hopefully result in changes just as affecting... as well as the (regular?!??) odd trip to Melbourne anyway ~ music & musicians willing.

After a few nights respite, I'm having trouble sleeping again. At the risk of sounding repetitive ~ 4 hours in 48... here we go ~ again.

Where have all the good job vacancies gone!?!?!