goodbye.

The Tote always scared me a little because I never dressed right or looked old enough to be there, but it was one of the coolest places I have ever been in. My last memory of the Tote was seeing Digger and the Pussycats, The Stabs, Gentle Ben and then getting bruises to Sixfthick. It was amazing.

I'll miss walking in the wrong direction from Victoria Park station everytime I went to go see you.

Goodbye Tote Hotel x

yahoo.

I once had a friend in my year twelve History class, and nearing the end of the financial year, of that year, he started a band. It may have been established well before then, but that was the first that I had heard of them.

I went to their second show where they played to like, 6 people, after my English exam and I eventually made the effort to go see them again on Friday at Yahoo Bar.

I kind of hate Yahoo Bar because there is a really wanky bartender and everytime I see him I just want to shoot the orange juice hose all over his stupid face. Although, it is all that Shepparton has in terms of live music and I used to be able to get in there before I was eighteen, so I do secretly like it a tiny bit.

His band isn't really my cup of tea in terms of their music style, but I don't think anything that I like would go down too well in Shepp. So they're not too bad, and I guess they gave Shepparton kids some style tips and can be thanked for that.

I can't wait to go back to Melbourne.

save me a place

j

radelaide.

I had to go to Adelaide to see family after new years. I've yet to have visited a more boring city. My brother and I spent the whole time trying to sneak onto peoples wireless networks. They had a record store but I didn't even like it that much. Dad spent eighty million hours in there, but it was okay because he came out with Brian Hooper's record and a Grong Grong CD.

Radelaide is such a misleading nickname.

rowland s. howard

I'd been on a massive Rowland bender for the most part of 2009, starting from the swindling of my Dad's records from back when he used to be cool. Hee Haw has become one of my favourite albums, and Death By Drowning one of my favourite songs.

My Dad keeps an insane amount of junk from when he was younger, including a bunch of old band shirts- that like his records, have taken up shop in my room. I think it's silly to wear band shirts if you don't know more than an albums worth of songs, so before I could wear the Birthday Party shirt out in public, I decided to read some books about them and fill my little brain full of facts so that I could offer an intelligent answer if anyone where to quiz me.

After all that, I realised I'd never, ever wear the shirt. I think it used to be black or dark blue, but it now rests at a nearly white grey. It would probably fall apart as soon as its nanna-like threads met with the wind (and that could be embarrassing for me because I never wear nice bras).

I had heard a few songs off Rowland's first album, never the whole album in it's entirety, but I really liked it. I've always had trouble getting people to come see bands with me because I'm not very nice, but I really, really wanted to go see him. After giving up of finding someone to take I decided to go alone, and I'm glad I did because he was amazing.

I'm sorry for wedging your beautiful music between You Drive Like A Cunt and Last Night I Got Drunk on my mix CD.

Rest In Peace Rowland x

can i have my wine? i forgot i had it.

The water in Geelong must be somethin’ magical, like from a Harry Potter book, infected with time-rewind face cream, ‘cos everyone who was out the Nash looked like they were fifteen- or they were all on fake I.D’s.

It was the weirdest gig I had ever been too. I’m barely legal, but I felt like I was among the oldest in the band room. Everyone was jumping like they would on a trampoline, the band member were smiling and playing wholesome songs about kisses, girls and summer and I was just standing at the back with my arms crossed.

I can’t remember the bands that played, except for the first- Kung-fu In Technicolour. They were my friend’s friend’s band (excuse my apostrophes- I have no idea) and our reason for traveling east. They were first and were cute. Then another local band played that had a cool lookin’ girl lead singer- they weren’t too bad. It finished off with another band, who must be pretty popular in Geelong because it was getting more crowded.

It was a strange experience and reminded me of going out in my home town. Which mustn’t have been such a good thing because Shepparton’s most ‘famous’ band is playing tonight and I’m not even going (mainly because I’m grumpy at missing out on my true loves Eddy Current Suppression Ring tonight).

I also saw Thee Oh Sees at PBS on Wednesday .They were pretty sweet and the guy had some cool tattoos and I touched his hand.

faux junkies are dreamy.

Legends of Motorsport have been escaping me all year. I didn’t discover them until I saw the fabulously bearded Richard Fyshwick play at some Fringe Fest thing whenever the Fringe Fest was on, and fall deeply in love with the song Brunswick Ladies. Ever since I brought the CD and played it incessantly in my room, my friends who had overheard their sweet, sweet sounds would never go see them (by slyly being out of town, or ‘tired’).

Once again I am unable to attend Legends of Motorsport when they play along side Dynamo at the Cherry Bar tonight. My Cherry Bar cherry will remain unpopped most likely forever, as nothing there ever really tickles my fancy (although Digger and the Pussycats are playing there this New Years Eve, except I’m busy), but then again, I never really think about going there.

I like Dynamo. They were one of the first local Melbourne bands I ever listened to. Back in my country high school my friend gave me approx. five of their badly recorded song he swiped off his brother, and I used to listen to them all. the. time.

Because I can’t go see Dynamo and Legends of Motorsport tonight, I’ll just imagine what would have happened:

I’d probably wear one of my two outfits on high rotation- the tablecloth 80s party dress or the white, lace-trimmed, short-sleeved blouse with a skirt- and go buy myself (hopefully not by myself) a beer and stand by a piece of furniture or wall with my arms crossed.

LoM would sing new album songs that I don’t know, and I would get bored until they sing the ones that I know. I’d be happy (maybe tearful- depending on my alcohol level) when they play Brunswick Ladies and then I would stroke Fyshwick’s beard and find a family of birds.

Dynamo would play, and it would be fun and nostalgic and prompt me to send annoying text messages… Afterwards the drummer would remember meeting me on Wednesday and we’d discuss his missing cymbal prompting him to go see the band about the return of the cymbal. I would follow, because they are friends with good looking men, and I’d eventually meet a tall, thin man with facial hair who looks like a junkie (but isn’t really). Then faux-junkie and I would fall in love and I’d drop out of uni and we’d spend our days kissing and moulding each others faces in clay.

I haven’t used my imagination in a long time, so please excuse me.

spooky records tenth birthday

Sixfthick were delightfully disgusting once again, on Saturday night at Spooky Records 10th Birthday. They had their way with blow-up dolls, cracked glasses on backs, and sweated and grinded against ladies in the crowd. I missed the start of their set though, as I was watching The Stabs being fucking weird on the floor upstairs in the Cobra Bar.

I really like The Stabs new album, but last night they were a bit all over the shop. By the end of the set they were all sitting on the floor, instruments abandoned (except the guitarist) and the drummer was playing the bass with his beer bottle. I'd like to see them play again though.

Digger and the Pussycats also played, and were the main drawcard to my attendance (because I'm an obsessed loser). It wasn't their best show, but that's probs because last time they played at the Tote they were AMAZING, and all of their past shows I could never find anyone to go with 'til the last minute, so I cherished each of them as I do my eyes. I'm going to miss seeing them over Summer!

I also watched a little bit of Gentle Ben and his Sensitive Side, and it wasn't too bad but the singer just peforms so much better when he's playing with Sixfthick. Maybe the lyrics for Gentle Ben are more meaningful, so he has to tone down his movements and settle for gyrating?

Who knows- i stopped listening to lyrics when I started worshipping Digger and the Pussycats.

sam?

I thought that the Arthouse was really ugly, but my more artistic, design student friends assured me that it was not. Although, I did find the quilt looking ceiling a bit cute and I shouldn't be one to feel negatively towards them as the door guy did let us in for free (and save us $6- dinner for two days).

I went there to see my friends old babysitters band. I can't remember what they were called, but the singer/guitarist looked a little like Sam from Digger and the Pussycats from a distance. They played shitty nonsense and kind of sounded like Kamikaze Trio, but I did like one song. I couldn't understand anything of the lyrics that they were shouting except i nearly got the gist of one repeated line- "bahkjhfkahfkahfkharfmotherfucker".

They had this little thing going on where the drummer would flip out on his drums and then the guitarist would start banging a spare snare- until it's legs broke (the snare, not the Sam look-a-like), and that was the end of that. But it was funny, and their show made me smile.

brian hooper.

So, so good looking. Brian Hooper- marry me. You can buy g-strings with his face on them if you really want to here. I'd totally be up for it, except he's really only insanely attractive when he has short hair- like in the photo above, swoon...