There’s been so much going on in my life lately:

• moved house back to Northcote which is very delightful, Lou and Anto have been putting heaps of energy into making a new dream house with a beautiful garden.. i’m struggling to deal with all my excess baggage newly out of storage (move on, baggage, move on);
• went to Womadelaide music festival, an extremely exciting and wonderful trip involving South Australian salt beaches, Mama Kin, Ojos de Brujo, Nortec Collective from Mexico, and much more;
• went to see Alice in Wonderland and loved it – except for the 3D;
• riding my amazing new bike every day and getting so much enjoyment from it – so super fast i have to be really careful;
• joined in Tim and Sam’s working bee sessions up at Elphinstone Manor, put up curtains in their bedroom, worked on a new carport with Tim, planted some trees and helped dig a long ditch for the plumbing pipes;
• read Russell Banks “Dreaming up America”, a history of the USA through his experience of film;
• went to see Lauren Simmonds’ exhibition down in Footscray, an intriguing paper-based installation;
• saw Monsters of the Deep in 3D at the Comedy Festival – very funny;
• joined the first chorus band of singers in recording with Emma Tonkin at Fairfield tafe studios;
• catching up with Buffy season 8 in comic book form, and it is getting super scary,
• plus all sorts of other things involving meditation and yoga.

But telling stories here on the blog.. haven’t had the follow-through lately. Too busy enjoying life, too nervous about writing in public, too stressed about moving house and finding new workplaces.

So there’s the overview.

Maybe i’ll come back with some detail, one day soon.

photo credit: cloud_nine

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Emma Bathgate opened this extraordinary gig at the Fairfield Amphitheatre by welcoming 8 year old Zafiya Witkoski-Blake on drums and poetry. Beats and words. There is something really moving about a child who’s able to get up and work her performance magic in front of a bunch of adults. Plus Zafiya is an amazing performer. A great way to start the show.

Several of Emma’s songs i’ve heard before, having seen her perform with Natalia Mann (the incredible harpist in Shima) and the Wikimen as well as solo. i enjoy the way her soulful voice jumps across various registers and tones as she searches for the most authentic sound at any moment. Great to hear Emma step away from the crowd-pleasing (crowd-horrifying?) Dilapidated Diva and sing as her own self.

.. and so it was lovely to be a part of the backing band of singers (first chorus), singing This Ancient Land, Flame Trees and Adoration – a song devoted to Emma’s singing teacher for many years.  There were a few emotional moments in the show, especially when Emma was talking about her inspiration for the song about the wombats during the 2009 bushfires.

Plenty of deliberation before the show about whether to go ahead in the cold windy rain. In the end Tim the sound guy who’s had experience running outdoor gigs said, “Let’s just do it!”

i hope someone got a photo of the choir with all our umbrellas out. i’ll have to settle for these photos of the bridge at Fairfield park.

Links: myspace pages for the musioes:

• Emma Bathgate,
• first chorus band o singers

photo credits: yewenyi (thanks)

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• an event with Emma Bathgate
• at the Fairfield amphitheatre.
• More details, plus book tickets at the Melbourne fringe site.
• (This Sunday 27 September at Fairfield Amphitheatre, near the Boathouse.)
• (Here’s the faceboo event page if you have a residence in that place.)

—————————————-

Plus, from the Victoria hotel event in August:

The choir i’ve been singing with had our big big night.. seven original songs by the songwriters in the choir. Songs in genres including folk, pop, jazz, operatic and gothic-epic, the arrangements all worked by Virginia Bott the amaazing musical director.

i wish i could put up the video right now, but it’ll take ages to be ready. i’ve heard the bootleg recording came out well.

The first show was electric and intense.. while the second was more sedate, laidback, and somehow harder work. Probably because we were already exhausted. As Lou said, it was as though we had a whole season, from opening to closing night .. in the same evening.

The Victoria Hotel has really picked up its game, reshaping into a kitschie Melbourne style classic. Upside-down lampshades hanging from the ceiling.. which any self-respecting Melbourne bar must have.. since the Night Cat started the tradition back in ooh 1990-something.

Really great to be involved in such a dynamic and powerful performance, eh!

Lovely people.

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