Well that was fun.

Last night I sang with around 80 people in Stephen Taberner’s Bigmouth choir at the Northcote town hall.

We sang stephen’s arrangements of numbers like The Smiths’ “There is a light that never goes out”, and Garbage “Only happy when it rains.

Between choir pieces, he’d orchestrated performers like Dan Whitton of the Wikimen, and a group of singers from Princes Hill HS. These were all amazing and a delight to experience.

I feel bad for not inviting all my friends now. I’d only been to 3 rehearsals and there were around 10 songs so I kinda thought I wouldn’t even perform. But somehow managed to learn most of them in time. The last song i had to have lyrics on my phone, and sneak in a look.

Ah this could make you smile.. the Spontaneous Tram Choir on the Lygon St Tram.

i hope we’ll see more from this bunch:

from You tube of course.

Ha ha. Thanks Logan for this video.

It was windy, raining and cold.. but the show must go on, isn’t it!

Emma Bathgate opened this extraordinary gig at the Fairfield Amphitheatre

First Chorus is part of the Melbourne fringe festival, this time featuring in

• 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.)

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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.

Daryl the lovely minister at Northcote’s heathen / community church, has pulled together a bunch of performers for a big event in support of bushfire sufferers.

• 3-8pm this Sunday 1st March at
• Northcote Uniting in High St.
• Heidi’s choir Expressive Women
• Kavisha Mazella
• Rod Quantock as MC.

$10/15 money goes to uniting church Victorian bushfire appeal.

Daryl says: “Please come and have a great time with us in solidarity with those who have not only lost so much but now contemplate a long physical and emotional rebuilding process.”

(Some moments of reflection involved.)

PS: i caught Heidi’s choir, and they were really good. Heidi sang solo and she was fab. Then Zeena and i fled the choir scene, over to Wesley Anne where “The Tiger and Me” were playing. They Were Good. Alt-Country-ish.

plus: get your Flyer here: Northcote-Concert-Flyer(pdf)

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photo credit: alana jonez

This Saturday night looks fantastic on the Northcote High Street.

Emma Tonkin is playing the Uniting Church .. but not alone; she has a choir behind her to really stretch the beauty of her songs. (Have a listen here, or visit her space.)

Competing with “Girl, interpreted” which is a celebration of Auslan song interpretation. Oh, why are they on at the same time.

Boo.