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Gas Stew & Dump .. rock Brunswick Laundromat
Sep 23rd, 2009 by michael chalk

Now i really feel part of Brunswick. Invited to a special performance by the one-and-only Gasoline Stew and the Dump. Lou and Anto put on their magic rubbish dump costumes and transform themselves into the essential oil of Grunge Itself. Where else but Andy’s Laundromat. Killer gig. Loved every minute.

Big thanks to the Stew and the Dump.

Plus, special treat .. Anto hands me their brand new freakishly amazing camera and says would i mind taking some shots. So i pretend to be a rock photographer. Yes this was back in late october 2008, but i’ve just tracked down the video:

and here’s their mad backyard video clip for “put that thing on”:

i dream a highway.. 2nd birthday
Sep 14th, 2009 by michael chalk

I Dream a Highway just had their 2nd birthday gathering.

(If you don’t know yet, it’s a funky retail outlet on the Northcote Hill opposite the Wesley Anne, with clothes and cds and lovely arty stuff.)

Ben and Rhi laid on the liquor and some scrumptious Mein Leibe pizzas for all their friends, family and neighbours.

  • Yum.
  • Lovely glamorous lusciousness on the top of the Northcote Hill.
gray kicks bass !! (updated now with video)
Sep 3rd, 2009 by michael chalk

flying-scribble-gig-posterExtraordinary moments.

For the Melbourne hall of fame 2009, i would nominate the Flying Scribble percussion artist gray taylor for her one-armed drumming set at the Wesley Anne, sunday 28th June.

Not only did she valiantly play with her left arm out of action, she played one song blindfolded. Go gray! You are a star and a legend. We love you.

Oh and Louise was good too. You both rock.

PS

Ooh look here’s Lou and gray again playing at Anytime Place in July, filmed by the Qua on his mobile phone. Video is lame.. get closer man, but it sounds good. This was a really good set. Many people dancing.


And guess what! Update! They’re having a CD launch (single) next Thursday evening 10th September at Wesley Anne.

Woo hoo. Can’t wait.

PPS:

yes Flying Scribble was magnificent:

    • Fab to see gray double-armed again.
    • And Louise’s new fully electric hot red mini-organ sounds just as good as the 6-ton-slider.
    • The Bon Scotts were fun too.


Here’s a review of the single already over at Mess and Noise where you can listen to the song.. in one piece if your bandwidth will do it. Oh and read the comments as well as the review.. you’ll find a funny NZ story and Ben Butcher’s shoot of the ladies gettin glamorous on a Northcote monkey bar.

Fly scribble fly.

Amazing Northcote artist
Aug 1st, 2009 by michael chalk

Ahmarnya

life as a trekker .. on the stimulation train
May 14th, 2009 by michael chalk

Kirk VS Klingon

Last week Tim and i hit the city for an early movie ..

11am in the central place, the new beginning/ prequel version of star trek, with Sylar Guy as Spock.

Hamish .. a festival winning film
Mar 30th, 2009 by michael chalk

i went with annie to a film festival in Northcote .. to see a film we heard about on 3RRR the other day.

There were a few short films made for this competition, and “Hamish” was the winner for many good reasons. Really enjoyable film, great character, gentle humour.

Claire Moon has Asperger Syndrom and her sister Hannah wanted to make a documentary about her .. partly to learn how to make movies. Well Hannah learned pretty well, because this film has won more than one

Wealth of Nations .. hilarious
Mar 23rd, 2009 by michael chalk

michael-and-sam-as-agents-hog-n-smogSam Downing as Agent Smog was delighted when she heard that one audience member had asked, “Who was on the door? She was such a bitch!”

Job well done Sam!!

Tim gave us the brief to be casual and dismissive in our authority as customs agents, interrogating and searching immigrants to the Wealth of Nations Nut Economy by Sanctum Theatre.

Of course Tim has the expertise as Sergeant Blank from the Watch-house. He knows all about tormenting people who refuse to acknowledge his authority or try to play funny games.

Nice to be directed by a master of his craft.

Gran Torana makes me cry
Mar 22nd, 2009 by michael chalk

GRAN TORINO- the asian pirate cuti’ve never been a big fan of Clint Eastwood, but i must now admit he is a genius. Went to see Gran Torino with michael on the weekend, and i was in floods of tears.

Can’t write too much about it here because i don’t have any way to conceal the spoiler effect .. but the grumpy old man character arc i found astonishing, refreshing, touching!

And yes, when i thought the movie would be about a car, because i kept mispronouncing it Torana .. turns out i was right about that.

So i’m off to the Movie Reel in Westgarth to stock up on Clint’s back stories.

Have you seen the movie, and did it make you cry?

Creative Commons License

Scribble-folk fly again
Mar 16th, 2009 by michael chalk

How much delight can a melbourne music goer bear?

On a night when the rest of the world was huddled around the s/MCG watching everyone from Kylie to Wolfmother and Split Enz, Annie and i headed for Northcote’s Wesley Anne to see the ethereally magnificent Flying Scribble with Pikelet playing solo.

Louise and gray are in very fine form; their new magic shines wonderfully just like the old numbers. gray’s drumming always astonishes and Louisie somehow manages to play 15 instruments at once, pumping out eg bass, organ, accordion and macbook samples.

Yes i was transported again by their beautiful rhythmic genius.

Here they are caught on video back in ’07:

Great News: they’ve finished recording the new album!
Bad news: Shame the wesley still shuts down sound at 11pm.

Who’s Flying Scribble?

Lou and gray are one amazing melbourne duo. Find out more:

Theatre twice in one day
Mar 16th, 2009 by michael chalk

Some days are just brilliant. The Melbourne theatre scene is alive and well.

in-the-dark-flyer-300x113

i was lucky enough to have a sneak preview of Roundangle‘s latest – “in the dark” – which promises to be very enjoyable and innovative. (Part of the Art of Difference festival.)

It was an early dress rehearsal, so Jodie would say things like, “You have to imagine a long screen here. You can’t see those people.” .. and “Okay now it’s a complete blackout, so close your eyes please.”

yumi-in-the-burlesque-hourLater that night Zeena and i headed to the recently rescued La Mama in Carlton for a fabulous evening with Moira and Yumi’s “Salon de Dance“.

Gritty, sexy, horrific in places .. as you’d expect from those hellish dancers; and romantic in an old-school kind of way.

This show opened with a priest stripping down to his red-crucifixed knickers. Hilarious! and raunchy.

Yumi wrestling with her jacket, a couple of young Town Bikes apprentices dancing out an actual wrestling match, Moira slow-dancing with a cigarette on Highway 66. All fun.

The centre-piece was Moira and Yumi playing out a Gothic feast, beginning with the tall one eerily peering through the window .. and ending with an outrageous red wine splash-o-rama.

Gorgeous.

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