MELBOURNE 2018

It has been 2 years since I was last in Melbourne, way too long.

I had planned to head down to see the Alice in Wonderland and MoMA exhibits before they ended. Then my youngest sister moved down there for work and her birthday was coming up so the timing was perfect.

Friday

I headed down on the Friday before her birthday. I love that familiar feeling of getting off the plane in Melbourne, the surroundings of the airport and waiting for my pickup into the city.

This time I was taking a St Kilda pickup which dropped me near the pier at the beach. I trodded along the cobbled sidewalks of Acland Street to Fitzroy Street and topped up my Myki card, then headed along the mainstreet opposite the water to my sisters, it was about a 20 minutes walk which would have been pleasant had I not been dragging my suitcase behind me. The sunset was divine though and I was there before I knew it.

My sister has a lovely apartment on the second floor with views out to the water, and we settled in for a night of catching up and Uber eats!

Saturday

The next day we headed for a cafe my sister likes on Acland and had a yummy brunch and a little shop before heading to the South Melbourne markets. I had visited them on my last visit and was suitably impressed with their wares and their fresh food.  We had a fun afternoon wandering and shopping and picking up fresh food for the next few days.

An afternoon nap and then out for dinner at a fancy restaurant on the banks of the Yarra was a lovely way to end the day.

Sunday

Sunday we headed into Fed Square for Melbourne Writers Festival. The Arts Centre put on lovely markets of a Sunday so we had a wander first before heading to a cafe for something light. I then lined up for the first session, which I was doing solo.

Melbourne Writers Festival - Sacred Texts: the book that made me a feminist
This was a large panel with a lot of women I admire, Neko Case, Emily Nussbaum, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Michelle Law and also a poet called Hollie McNish. I loved their answers to what made them feminists. Mostly they realised when looking back they all were young feminists without really realising it.

Neko spoke about studying Art at University, and the very expensive art book she had to buy and realised there was only 5 female artists within it. She constantly queried her professors about this.

Emily remembers a book on record by Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda called Free to be me and you. About equality generally, I recall this book, unsure how or why, but I do.

Maxine said The Babysitters Club and Judy Blume. Michelle Amy Sedaris and Margo Lanagan book, Tender Morsels.

The panel were witty and smart and fascinating, my only negative was one hour was just not long enough for five people to get their thoughts across.

But I was thrilled to be listening to their brilliant minds and thoughts.

Melbourne Writers Festival - Leigh Sale's Dream Dinner Party
The next session Amanda joined me, the panel led by the lovely Leigh Sales, included Tony Martin, Lachy Hulme, Jan Sardi, and Samantha Winston. The panel was about writing for television and film. 

Tony Martin was brilliant and funny as you can imagine. Jan Sardi (wrote Shine) was more restrained but had much to say. Sam Winston has written for Wentworth and Rush and much more and was more practical in her chatter. Lachy had worked with all of them as an actor and spoke about writing and what he looks for as an actor.

For those that know and love Lachy in Offspring, he gave wonderful and hilarious anecdotes on how he developed the character of Dr Clegg. Tony Martin sung lyrical about his love for Singin' in the Rain, and what a great timeless story it is. I so agree, as if I could not love him anymore! Jan spoke about listening to Rachmaninoff the entire time he wrote the script for Shine. All these insights were fascinating to me and made the session great.

We had lunch at Degreaves, a little shop and headed home for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Monday
I had a little sleep in and then headed into the city. The tram ride from my sisters to the city is a sheer delight. I wandered down to my sneaky little French Creperie, Roule Galette. It is a teeny little cafe hidden in one of the lesser laneways, and authentic with a quirky French guy running the show. And the food is divine.

 

 

MoMA

From there I headed to NGV, my favourite place possibly in the entire world, but at least Australia. Whenever I walk towards that building, I feel my heart skip a beat in the anticipation of what I will see, the pieces I know like the back of my hand and the new exhibitions. Oh boy, the joy and peacefulness of being in that building. It is perfection. This time I was there to see the MoMA exhibit. I have been to MoMA so have actually seen most of the pieces before, but not one to shy away from a blockbuster art exhibition I had to go. 

It was a wonderful afternoon of amazing art. I realised as I moved through the exhibit I had seen a lot of these pieces in other exhibitions over many years of observing art. It was still great, and the shopping in the Art shop (one of my other favourite things) was superb, I went a little nuts. Thank goodness for reciprocal art gallery card. A tip for art lovers, I am a patron for Newcastle Art Gallery, for all of $70 (I think) I get two years worth of membership, which gives me a whole lot of stuff for Newcastle but also gets me into most other Australian art galleries at a cheaper rate and at NGV $15 off shopping!!! I make my money back easily between Sydney and Melbourne let alone Newcastle each year! And I get to assist my local art gallery!

After the exhibit I took a quick little tour through the modern section of the galleries permanent collection to visit a few of my faves.

Australian Music Vault
After NGV I popped into the Arts Centre and had a look at the Australian Music Vault Exhibition. Over the years I have discovered a lot of great exhibits there. It is a smallish space to the right of the building and always free. This was full of memorabilia from Australian Music, posters, costumes, instruments, videos, interactive bits and pieces etc etc. Totally worth a good hour or so of your time if you are there. This will be a long running exhibit from what I can make out and they will exchange some of the display for newer pieces over time. So def one to keep your eye on.

I then headed home taking in the amazing architecture of the city as I love to do.

Tuesday
Tuesday was my people day. I had a lovely long sleep in and headed into the city to meet Julie for lunch. Julie is a Tweep I have been friendly with for years but have never met. We met at the 1932 Cafe, a lovely deco cafe in the Manchester Unity Building that does a great all day breakfast menu. Julie, of course - like most Tweeps I have met - was delightful and we had a great time.
Next I headed out to Brunswick to catch up with my dear friend Michael (another fabulous Tweep and fellow Librarian, we have been friends for years thanks to our mutual friend Anita), who was convalescing in hospital after a Scooter accident. We spent a splendid afternoon in the hospital cafe chatting and catching up.

I next went back to the city and killed some time at the State Library of VIC before meeting Marnie at Chinatown for dinner. Marnie is another tweep from Newcastle who happened to be in Melbs, so was a good opportunity for us to catch up. We had a delicious feast and some wine.

I realised I didn't take a single photo this day!

Wednesday
I had started to feel tired so took this day as a slow and rest day. Long, long sleep in, then headed up to Acland Street, did some shopping, and settled into Abbey Road for lunch and a read of my book. Abbey Road is a huge cafe in the middle of Acland, like a diner with loads of memorabilia and I guess a bit cheesy, but they do great burgers, the music is fab, and you can sit there and chill. Which is just what I did. I then had a little walk and picked up some cakes for later and went home for a nap!

Thursday
Thursday was a chilly day with rain expected so I headed into the city for a shop and to see the Alice exhibition.

Alice in Wonderland
This exhibit at the ACMI was fabulous. I love this book and collect various editions and memorabilia of it. I had heard about crowds and so forth but was lucky to visit on a cold and quiet day. It was a great exhibition. The earlier stuff was a little freaky, there was a lot of footage of earlier films that were almost horror films, creepy looking rabbits and so forth. Loads of interactive things, and many doors to walk through. Great things for children too. It works through Alice and her history in book and film through the years right up until the Burton film. There was an interesting tea party sans Mad Hatter unfortunately and some great crafting, which I couldn't help but join in on.

The shop was low key which was probably a good thing. Most of the books to buy I already owned, so I didn't have to go overboard. 

I then had a shop in the Ian Potter Gallery Shop, and picked up the most stunning Margaret Olley Calendar for next year.

I then met Anita for lunch, she was there for a MWF event with local schools and we had a wonderful lunch at the ACMI cafe taking time to catch up on our lives since we last saw each other on her last book tour in Newcastle.

By the time we finished lunch the rain had hit, so we dashed off in separate directions, I did a little shop and then headed home for a nap.

That night I met Amanda for dinner at the closest restaurant to her place, we had looked at it and it looked good. A pub feel with a bar and a good classic, reasonably priced menu. We ended up having a three course meal and it was delicious. I think this will easily become her local.

Was a lovely way to spend my last night there.

Friday
We said our goodbyes and I finished packing and walked a few blocks to the tram on Fitzroy that would take me to the shuttle collection point. This was only a few stops away but it was cold and looked like rain and I was dragging my suitcase. I got to the shuttle stop easily and took a few pics and just as I got on the shuttle the rain hit. The trip to the airport went smoothly and once my bags were checked I could do what I love to do, airport people watching. It is fun to watch people and wonder what they are up to and make up stories.

It was sad to leave after such a great week, and also sad to leave my sister, but I felt happy she was happy and settled into her new life and with her there now I can visit far more regularly.

DYLAN 2018

When I heard Dylan was touring again, I pondered, should I give him another go?

I saw him about 4 years ago and it was a great experience. Should I risk it again? His most recent albums have been covers of classics, and whilst ok, I couldn't sit through a concert of that. I looked at set lists of recent concerts and my heart skipped a beat. Not only was it full of greatest hits, he consistently played Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. This is the song, that made me not only love Dylan, but get him. It remains my favourite, and I would never expect to hear him play it live. Maybe I should give him a second go, throw caution to the wind, and when I realised he was coming to my hometown, the deal was sealed.

Like last time, I went solo, but on the night I had a few friends there to chat to prior the concert. Like last time, I kept my expectations low. Bob does what he wants to do, plays what he wants to play, plays them how he wants to play them, and that is perfectly fine by me. The man is a legend and I am just happy to be privileged enough to be in his presence.

So I take my seat, we were all warned heavily, no photographs, Bob doesn't like that. Who are we to piss Bob off, but I did manage a sneaky couple!

At 8pm sharp the band walked on stage followed by the legend himself, he sat behind the piano and got straight into the first song.

Things Have Changed, from Wonder Boys, which I love. It was a fucking mess, he was playing a totally different song to the band, the sound was off, the piano sounded untuned and he sounded awful. I sat there holding my breath, bugger, maybe this had been a mistake after all. By the end of the song the sound had improved slightly, so I then worried it might just be the venue and where I was sitting.

But I had nothing to be worried about, by the second song, It Ain't Me Babe, he was back on form and sounded great, as did the piano and the band. Who knows what happened with Things Have Changed, but the rest of the concert was bloody amazing. I was in awe. He was better than the first time I saw him. I wept with appreciation when he picked up the harmonica in Highway 61 Revisited. This was Bob. He may not have sung the hits as they sounded way back when, but they sounded great and recognisable and his voice sounded better than I had heard it in years.

The more jazzier and bluesy the version of the song, the better they sounded. His voice suits that style now, and he knows it, hence the versions. The band were tight, the drummer doing some magical solos which were worth price of admission. Dylan remained behind the piano the entire time, moving for a drink of water or standing for the more upbeat songs. The harmonica was used liberally, which was just brilliant. He just kept pumping the songs out.

Sometimes it took a few lines to work out what song it was, due to the style he played it in, but I recognised every song. Except halfway through there was one song, I could not make out the melody or words, it was a jumble, it sounded ok, but nothing like any Dylan song I knew. Now I do not know every single song of his, so I figured it was some obscure song, but it hadn't really been acknowledged by the crowd. About halfway through the song he uttered the immortal line, Tangled up in Blue, the crowd went wild, if only to acknowledge they finally realised what he was playing. It made me laugh.

And then he sang, Don't Think Twice, no it didn't sound like the original version, but it sounded enough like itself for me. I wept, I never thought I would ever hear this legend sing one of my all time favourite songs, I felt truly blessed.

He followed it with Thunder on the Mountain, one of my favourites off my favourite 'new' album, from Modern Times (2006). It was simply superb, easily the song of the night.

At the end of Gotta Serve Somebody, another fave, he disappeared off stage for all of a few minutes, then was back with the one two punch of Blowin' in the Wind and Ballad of a Thin Man. Both powerful and spine chilling, and then he simply lined up with his band, bowed, and left the stage.

It was not quite 2 hours of intensely amazing music; historical, important, and pure Dylan. I was thrilled. Not bad for 77 either!!

I left feeling joyous and lucky, I heard grumblings from many. I realised these people had no idea what they had experienced, didn't understand Bob, nor were they true fans, I felt sorry for them.

This may be the last time I see him, but you just never know, but it was a concert worthy of a legend.

Setlist 

• Things Have Changed (Wonder Boys ST, 2000)
• It Ain't Me, Babe (Another Side of Bob Dylan, 1964)
• Highway 61 Revisited (Highway 61 Revisited, 1965)
• Simple Twist of Fate (Blood on the Tracks, 1975)
• Duquesne Whistle (Tempest, 2012)
• When I Paint My Masterpiece (Greatest Hits Vol II, 1971)
• Honest With Me (Love and Theft, 2001)
• Tryin' to Get to Heaven (Time Out of Mind, 1997)
• Make You Feel My Love (Time Out of Mind, 1997)
• Pay in Blood (Tempest, 2012)
• Tangled Up in Blue (Blood on the Tracks, 1975)
• Early Roman Kings (Tempest, 2012)
• Desolation Row (Highway 61 Revisited, 1965)
• Love Sick (Time Out of Mind, 1997)
• Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 1963)
• Thunder on the Mountain (Modern Times, 2006)
• Soon After Midnight (Tempest, 2012)
• Gotta Serve Somebody (Slow Train Coming, 1979)
• Encore:
• Blowin' in the Wind (The Freeweelin' Bob Dylan, 1963)
• Ballad of a Thin Man (Highway 61 Revisited, 1965)

AUGUST REVIEWS

What I've Been Reading

The Trauma Cleaner: one woman’s extraordinary life in death, decay, and disaster by Sarah Krasnostein - What a remarkable book this was, more than I expected. Sandra Pankhurst is a trauma cleaner, efficient and kind, dealing with the home of hoarders or people who have died or lived rough. She is precise and no-nonsense and yet is keen to bring peace and kindness to these people. But what was most unexpected was the story of Sandra’s life prior to being a trauma cleaner, it unfolds throughout the book and you realise what a remarkable woman she really is. I cannot recommend this book enough, it is beautifully and respectfully written, and a cracking read!

South and West by Joan Didion - I love Joan's writing, she is spare and precise, and yet incredibly descriptive. This is a novella about her time in the South and then travelling back West in the late 60s and 70s. Fascinating snapshot of these places in this time.

Out there - Kerri Sackville - I have to admit I am not much of a fan of Sackville's writing. But this little self help book about online dating had me curious. I have joked that my online dating escapades have at least 2 books in them. This was actually really spot on and helpful, albeit very very vanilla. It gives good, solid advice on how to approach most situations. But mostly it mentioned the good. And look, there is a LOT of good about online dating. I felt it smoothed over the bad a little quickly. The weird and crazy. No matter how well you approach online dating, you WILL get the weird and crazy. Anyway, I do recommend this. In fact, a lot of it convinced me to give that crazy world another go

What I've Been Watching

Detectorists S2 - This is such a well written and witty show. About two hapless dudes who are into metal detectoring in hope of finding Saxon treasure. But it is also about their lives, loves, and friends. It is laugh out loud funny, and also very touching. Cannot wait for S3.

The Affair S4- Holy Guacamole, this show has knocked it out the park this season. Season 1 fascinated me, more the premise rather than the actual story, and most certainly none of the characters were likable, except maybe Cole (but then that could be my extreme Joshua Jackson crush). S2 stretched the premise, and S3 was a bit of a mess, and yet I am still here, why, who knows. And thank goodness, because S4 is something else altogether, superb storytelling, shocking turn arounds, utterly compelling. It was worth the struggle of S2/3 for this. Wish I could say more, but wow!

Sharp Objects - this has left me cold, it is based on a book written by that Gone Girl author, so say no more... I only watched it for Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson and they are great of course, but even they can't help such a weak and rambling mess of a story. Oh and I guessed the outcome from the start.

Patrick Melrose - enjoying this little series about Patrick Melrose, (Played perfectly by Benedict Cumberbatch), who had a traumatic childhood, and was a big druggie in the 80s, and yet is a loveable character. It jumps in time, from his childhood (his parents are played by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hugo Weaving), to his debauched 20s, to his adult life, married with children and all his demons. This is a great ride, funny and heartbreaking in equal amounts.

Dead Lucky - this could have been great, a fantastic cast led by Rachel Griffiths, but it just felt one note and not fleshed out enough in some ways and yet stretched in others. 

Orange is the New Black S6 - S5 was remarkable, how can they top that. Essentially they cannot, having said that, this season was really great.  It's the kind of show that is difficult to explain cause spoilers. But as always the cast is impressively awesome!

Wellington Paranormal - what a delight, there are few shows that are laugh out loud funny, but this NZ comedy is definitely one of them. Filmed for reals, like a doco, it follows 2 cops who keep stumbling upon weird crimes, and finally their boss explains that Wellington is home to quite a bit of paranormal activity. They play it straight and the special effects are excellent. This is a must see.


The Durrels S1/2  - they have replayed this from scratch leading up to the new S3. This is such a delightful show, I could watch it for ever. I never tire of the stories or the characters, and the beautiful island of Corfu.

The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling - this documentary by Judd Apatow about his mentor and friend is easily one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It does run for about 4.5 hours and I am a HUGE Garry Shandling fan, so I just lapped it up with great excitement. It covers, the good, the bad, and the ugly, but mostly it is good, uplifting, and very very funny. Garry was a melancholy dude, but he was also a genius and incredibly unique in his creativity. It goes into his family, his start in comedy and spends plenty of time of my favourite comedy ever, The Larry Sanders Show. The title of the documentary comes from all the diaries he gave Judd to use, and the fact he was essentially a zen Buddhist. I cannot recommend this highly enough, even if you don't know much about Garry, if you love comedy, you should. He really was one of the masters. This is utter perfection.

All things must pass: the rise and fall of Tower Records - this was an interesting documentary about the family behind Tower Records and how they got the company started, the excess of the 80s, and then how things went terribly wrong. 

Anh Do - I love this show very much. He is a remarkable talent and an interested man, which makes for a wonderful human interview. His guests are first rate.

Edward Scissorhands - I haven't watched this modern classic in years, and my niece, 10, was staying with me, so I suggested we watch it. She hadn't heard of it and I explained the basics to her, and she said ok with the look on her face that showed she was just indulging me. But I had faith, she would love it. And indeed she did, the first 15 minutes or so were filled with questions, excited questions. I explained a few things but finally just told her to sit back and watch. She was transfixed, watching it through her young eyes made this beautiful film even more beautiful. And you know she got it, the bullying, the hurt, the difference, the love. About halfway through I blew her little mind by telling her Edward was Johnny Depp. No way, Captain Jack??? Yep I said, wow, I explained he was in his mid 20s and young, it was a movie from a long time ago (now, we all feel old). She was even more impressed. I then tried to explain the Winona/Johnny thing, but she didn't get that, which makes sense when you think about it. Anyway, I need to rewatch favourites more, the joy they give you is worth bottling.

The Florida Project - nice little movie about a low income community living in motels near to Disney. Willem Dafoe is the manager of one of the motels, and keeps an eye on the kids in the area. Most of them are up to mischief and pushing the limits of the law and Dafoe. The kids - not actors - in this movie are mesmerising and Dafoe is great.

The Mercy - a biopic about Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth), an amateur sailor, who decides to enter a sailing competition. He was to circumnavigate the world without stopping, but things of horribly wrong. This was ok, I wasn't grabbed by it despite Firth's usual charisma. 

Isle of Dogs - like everything Wes Anderson does, this is a sheer delight. An animated feature about an island where dogs have been sent to live and a young boys mission to find his lost dog. Funny, dark, clever, stunningly presented. Loved this.

What I've Been Listening To

Mostly podcasts, and my 70s radio station. 

I tell a Fly - Benjamin Clementine - a mix of styles, Benjamin's voice is great, his first album is better though.